Chapter 215 - Pure Fire

"How do we prepare for an unknown vampire?" Sam growled, pacing the dining room as Graeme stood behind the counter watching him, one hand running through his beard as he thought through what was known to them about vampires. It wasn't much.

August and Greta were in the backyard with the pups who were finishing their paper mache masks for the festival. Samhain was tomorrow, and the pups were so excited. Graeme watched his mate as she seemed to dance from one pup to another, filled with the same excited energy as they were. Something about working with them made her light up inside.

"Increase perimeter security and runs. Once the elders are outed, it will be easier to determine who is loyal to them rather than us. I don't want to alert Damon about this yet," he told his Beta, shifting his attention away from his mate and back to the serious dilemma at hand.

"You think Damon is aware of it?"

"I don't know, but he preferred Andreas stay in leadership."

It was hard to believe anyone outside of the elders and Zoe would know the extent of their acts given that they were so heinous, but it would be naive to assume anything at this point. There were still a lot of unknowns.

"Lucas called with information about the roles of those who were on Zoe's alyko team," Sam recalled, consulting the notes he had set on the counter.

"Zoe likes to talk," Graeme grunted knowingly.

"There were team members in genetics, interpack communication, obstetrics," he paused, a muscle feathering in his jaw as he shot a glare at Graeme, "but everyone else was some kind of computer genius, it sounds like. And we don't have names. She claims to not be able to say."

Graeme groaned.

"She did say that the only one left on pack land is Kai. The others are scattered. After everything was up and running, they weren't needed except for occasional consultations," Sam clicked his tongue and shoved the paper back down on the counter.

"Zoe did tell me at one point that she had a friend from her team who went to study genetics off pack land. It could be that the others did something similar. They would have had their schooling done off land anyway if it was that extensive."

"Could they even be from other packs?" Sam asked.

"That's possible. Andreas definitely made it clear there are many others invested in the project," Graeme growled. Andreas acted terrified of the map being put out of commission. It wasn't just his own pet project—it was important to many others. "And Kai hasn't been able to tell us anything?"

"No, he only knew his specific role. He doesn't know anything about Zoe other than that she never left her wing of the pack house," Sam confirmed.

"So that wasn't much help."

They stared at each other, lost in thought as the happy sounds of the pups outside broke through, peppering the silence.

"We need more time," Sam mumbled. "We have no idea what's coming."

"Let's just worry about how tomorrow is going to go. We can torture Andreas and Pearce for information afterwards," Graeme replied, the cold certainty of that future for the elders evident in the snarl that accompanied his words.

"Calix has all of the preparations underway at the pack house now. There's also a haunted forest some of the older pups from Meadowside had presented as an idea for something different this year, so that is being set up in the woods south of the pack house."

"The pure fire will still be lit in back?"

"Yes, the fire churn is being assembled right now as is the frame for the larger fire next to it. And the torches are already made for each family's hearth," Sam nodded. "Calix prepares for this all year. It should be spectacular as always."

"Perfect."

One ritual that was absolutely sacred to the pack's celebration of Samhain was the annual lighting of the pure fire at the pack house using a large apparatus known as a fire churn.

The fire churn consisted of a wooden frame with a hearth log along the bottom and a moveable, six foot long double pointed wooden spindle nestled at its center. The wooden spindle was made to rotate on its point against the hearth log when the rope wound around it was pulled back and forth, creating the friction needed for the fire to spark below.

This highly symbolic fire for the pack was ignited in the early morning of Samhain by pups who were selected for the honor—nine males who were the first born in their families—and it often took quite some time. While much of the festivities occurred later in the evening, many pack members attended the early morning lighting of the pure fire as well to cheer the pups on and rejoice in the success of their efforts.

Once the fire was ignited in this special way, it was stoked and transferred to the frame for the bonfire that would burn large and bright later that night—a cleansing fire that served to symbolically burn away the old and welcome the new for the pack as well as to mark the beginning of the darker, colder days of winter.

And from this fire, each family would take a torch to their own home. A torch was also taken to light the hearth in the pack house that would burn there all winter long. The symbolism served to unite them—one fire to warm and protect the whole pack during the dark days of winter.

During Samhain, plans were also discussed for the pack's upcoming year, and often ceremonies were announced for those newly mated. It was actually the perfect time to bring the elders' sins into the light and have the pack see their Alpha and Luna officially presented to them for the first time.

"This will be the first Samhain you have attended in years. The symbolism is… perfect," Sam smiled, as if reading Graeme's thoughts.

Graeme nodded his agreement. He couldn't wait to see the reaction everyone had to the evidence that their true Luna was among them and had conceived his heir. This would be a historic Samhain for many reasons, and he reminded himself to focus on cherishing the hope and promise of the pack's future rather than being overcome with only the need to burn the sins of the past.. They both deserved equal weight.