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Chapter 61

"Would the Princes, Super Alphas, Alphas and any member of the Council of 27, please step forward. The rest of you, please return to your homes. Like Father said, please spread the word and help us set up a Council that can best serve you and yours."

He waited several minutes as a crowd gathered near the stage while another, larger crowd, headed for their cars. He then looked at the gathered leaders of the vampire world, and spoke.

"As my father said, none of you will be required to swear allegiance to the Council, or to the King. If you desire to follow the King, please remain. If you do not, you are free to go, and we are here to assist you with your packs at any time." No one turned to go, so he went on "The princes of the Council of Nine have sworn an oath to forego the business interests of the past and focus on the wellbeing of the vampires of the world. In order to do that, we will set up a `chain of command', for lack of a better way of putting it, with each Serving Alpha under a Council member, and three Council members under each Prince. This doesn't mean they rule over you, it means they are there to serve your needs."

"Just like a Delta deals with the issues for a portion of a pack, and answer to their Alpha, who answers to a Super Alpha, if he has one. Council members are your point of contact so you can get guidance and help with issues, assistance in forming schools or solving social issues. This chain is simply a chain of communication, so, for example, if Alpha Jones comes up with a great idea for solving a problem, he tells his Super Alpha, who tells the Council, who tells his prince. The prince can spread the word back down the chain to Alphas around the world so the next Alpha that has the same problem doesn't need to wonder what to do."

I saw heads nodding throughout the group as they understood the concept. One spoke up and asked "Are we going to have to surrender our financial holdings?"

"The King is not interested in the money. That's what caused the mess we're in now. Alphas worldwide have lost touch with their true responsibilities and have focused on building business empires rather than focusing on the needs of vampires. If your concern is your business, you're not an Alpha we want to work with. Take your business with our blessings, and allow us to care for your pack. Father has stepped away from all of his businesses, and will be finding managers to run them so he can focus on vampires. We're hoping you all will follow his example and put the needs of your pack foremost in your hearts."

Seeing concern on some faces, Joshua added "Don't misunderstand, if your talents are in the world of business, we welcome your expertise. Father is just saying that worrying about business is not the role of an Alpha. Several of our Alphas have stepped aside to focus on business and allowed another Alpha to serve their packs in their place. All of these men have the respect and admiration of their King, for knowing how best to serve their packs."

More heads were nodding, and several groups formed as they discussed and negotiated changes. Joshua showed his wisdom as he said "Now is not the time to make changes and decisions on these issues. A snap decision is usually a bad one. There is no rush, take your time and do what is best for your packs, please."

There were several more questions about details of how things would work, and Joshua calmed their fears and answered as much as he could. When the Alphas and Super Alphas questions were answered, he asked them, as I had, to spread the word to those who were not here today. When most of the crowds were gone, and Joshua stood with the remaining princes, and 22 of the Council of 27, one of the Council members spoke up, and in a harsh tone asked "Who are you to be telling us how the Council will act in the future? Why isn't one of the princes telling us all of this?"

Joshua let his eyes shift and glared at the one who had spoken, as he said "I am the Crown Prince, son and heir to King Gregory, and I am the head of the Council of Nine."

The man immediately lowered his gaze and said "Forgive me, my Prince, I didn't know."

Joshua quickly returned his eyes to normal, and calmly spoke "Father is asking that, like the Princes of the Nine, those who serve on the Council of 27 focus on improving the lives of vampires worldwide. We are not called to rule, but to serve. If any of you don't feel you can do the task as we're describing it, there will be no shame if you step down. But understand, serving on the Council is not a place of power, it is a place of honor and service."

Two men glanced around, then stepped forward. One spoke "My Prince, I am a man of honor, and because I am, I know in my heart that I desire power. I enjoy the feeling of importance I got from serving on the Council. Also, because I am a man of honor, I know cannot serve on the Council. I fully support the King, and the changes he is trying to implement, but I am not the man for the Council."

The second man simply said "He spoke my feelings better than I could have, my Prince. I am a powerful man in the world of business, and I will serve in that role, if my King desires, but I cannot serve on the Council. Forgive me."

Joshua smiled at them both as he said "There is nothing to forgive. You both show you're honorable by showing your integrity. I'm sure there is a place where your skills can be used to help the pack, worldwide. Please be safe as you travel home, and don't be surprised if you get a call, asking you to work for Warnick Industries somewhere." He grinned as he said the last, and offered his hand to both. They both shook his hand and left.

Joshua then asked the remaining 20 Council members and 7 princes to follow him to meet with me. He led them into the office wing library and they sat around the conference table, with a few standing at the sides. He asked them to help themselves to drinks as he excused himself to get me.

A few minutes later I walked in, and they all stood with their heads bowed. I walked to the head of the table, with Joshua at my side, and I spoke "Gentlemen, as I said, I do not plan to rule over the vampires of the world, I plan to serve them. In that spirit, I ask that you please refrain from bowing or kneeling, and when speaking to me, my name is Greg. I'll certainly not be upset if you use Sire, at times, but it does make productive conversation difficult. That said, please sit, and hear my plans. When I'm done, I ask for your honest input. I can't do this alone, or I would simply dissolve both bodies. I need your help, to help our pack."

What followed was essentially a rehash of my meeting with my Serving Alphas from yesterday, with a much broader view. I told them about me and my family, and I told them of my desires to move away from antiquated views on women and pups. I told them of my desire to provide education to our pups, and how we could provide extended education while requiring service. They all appreciated everything and said the changes were long overdue. Some expressed concern that we would have problems in parts of the world where discrimination was more accepted by humans, especially the middle eastern countries where homosexuality was a crime punishable by death, and where women were required to keep their entire body hidden from public view. Prince Hasim assured us that while in public, vampires in that part of the world were able to blend in, they would welcome our forward-thinking attitude.

The next issue was the Council itself, or more properly, Councils. I quickly assured them that I had full faith and trust in the current princes, and explained that my plan was to keep the Council of Nine. Eight princes, with Joshua being the ninth, and leading the Council. As policy issues came up, they would discuss matters, and if they couldn't come to a consensus, they would vote, with Joshua only voting if there was a 4-4 tie. As things stood, we were short a prince. Joshua was in my place, and Igor needed replaced. I asked that we put that off for a moment, and discuss the Council of 27. Two had resigned today, three were solid supporters of Igor and most expected them to refuse to serve, and two were absent due to family issues. I was assured that those two would fully support our changes, so we needed five Council members. My next question caused some debate.

"Are any of you Alphas, or Super Alphas?" I asked, as I looked around the room.

Every prince, except Joshua, raised his hand, as did 12 of the 20 Council members. I had expected this, and I also raised my hand. I nodded my head and lowered my hand, and as their hands went down, some of their faces showed they understood my point. I needed them all to understand, so I explained.

"As a member of either Council, myself included, we're responsible for the world as a pack, not individual packs or groups of packs. I can't decide a disagreement between a Serving Alpha in my pack and one from your pack, regardless of how much integrity I think I have, I'll always be biased. I'll either lean towards my pack, or decide for the other, just to demonstrate how fair I am. Add in the added responsibility you each will have, your own packs will suffer neglect due to your time working with others, or the others will suffer due to your time with your own. How do we solve this?"

We were still discussing this when Andrew entered and asked what to do about lunch. I asked him to set things up in the dining room and we could move there and continue over our meal. Viewpoints ranged from wanting to forbid a prince or Council member from being an Alpha, Serving Alpha, or Delta, to not seeing any conflict of interest. One even suggested that Council members in the future only come from the ranks of Super Alphas, as they had experience managing multiple packs. I refrained from sharing my thoughts, and if I'm honest, several of the arguments had me reconsidering my views. When the debate slowed, Sam Houston turned to me and asked for my thoughts.

"I have said several times that I will not rule, so the decision rests with you gentlemen. I will say what I plan to do, for myself and my own pack. I will allow six months, for the fates to provide an obvious choice to lead the Pittsburgh pack. That Alpha, as well as all Serving Alphas currently tied to me, will answer to a Council member, who will answer to Joshua, as their Prince. I will continue to be Alpha for my core pack, meaning my blood family, and those who have been with me from the beginning. That personal pack will probably not exceed 100, although I have so many pups, I can't say that for sure." I finished with a laugh.

George, Sam, and Hasim were nodding their heads in agreement when Hiroki spoke up "I see the logic in your thinking Sire. If I do the same, I am not giving up my pack, I am simply putting another level of management between me and them, to put it in business terms. Although, in the case of the princes, there will be two levels, the point is that I cannot help those in my pack when I am busy helping a Council member with issues from dozens of other packs. By letting someone else care for my pack, I'm able to serve more vampires."

"Exactly." George said "And while I might not be the Alpha of my pack, in their hearts, they still look to me, in the big picture. And they all look to Greg."

"That's how I see it George. I've made so many changes in the lives of the pack in Pittsburgh, they'll always look to me as their Alpha, but I can't handle hundreds of issues from them every week, while handling the issues of the world. You've done it for years, just on a smaller scale. When your pack grew, you added a Delta. Now, you're adding an Alpha, it's no different."

When I explained it that way, everyone agreed with my concept, and we agreed that within a year, we all would only directly serve our family packs, appointing temporary Deltas or hoping the fates would phase an Alpha to lead in our place. The Council agreed that, to fill the immediate needs, an Alpha or Super Alpha would be acceptable, if they would agree to the same terms. Any future vacancies would be filled by Deltas, as they had experience serving without the added issue of an existing pack.

With that settled, talk turned to filling the openings on the Councils. Some felt we needed the ninth prince while others thought that could wait until the 27 was complete. They went back and forth on which was more important for quite a while, and finally Hasim asked for my thoughts.

"If I were to name a name for either Council, it would seem as if I'm trying to rule." I started.

George cut me off, saying "Cut the crap, Greg. We're not asking you to put him in, we're asking for you to suggest who has your world view. Who will help us carry out your vision of the future?"

Yuan spoke for the first time as he said "I believe His Majesty has already given us a name, when he filled the spot in the Council of 27." He turned and looked at Joan as he said "Alpha Fabre of Paris would serve well as a Prince, and has shown that he handles matters in quite the same way as our King."

I laughed and shook my head as I said "I'm never going to get you to call me Greg, am I Yuan?"

He smiled at me and said "You might, when you are my age. Until then, allow an old man his traditions."

Dimas looked around and said "If I may, we have a small issue that needs to be considered first?" Everyone looked at him and waited, so he went on "We now serve on two new Councils, yet we're talking about things and doing things as if the old rules apply. How do we select princes and Council members? Do we follow the old rules or make new ones?"

There was silence as everyone realized he was right. Then the discussion turned to solve the issue. Most felt that the old way of the princes selecting the 27, and the 27 selecting the princes had flaws, the biggest was the tradition that a prince could select one Council member with no vote, allowing him to have a power base. After about an hour of discussion that included ideas such as Alphas voting, Super Alphas voting, the King appointing, and variations of those, it was decided that those present would vote and appoint the ninth prince. The 27 would suggest names to fill the current empty seats and the princes would vote on them. In the future, we would come up with a system for the Alphas and Super Alphas to choose a Delta to fill an empty seat on the 27. Everyone insisted that the King, be it me, or whomever in the future, needed to provide a name for consideration to be a prince. With that decided, I admitted that Alpha Fabre was my first choice as the ninth prince. He was approved almost instantly, and since he was present, I asked him to step forward.