Unveiling The Pack

William showed me where I’d be sleeping. Beside my bed were a suitcase, a trunk, and a backpack. The trunk contained school essentials I’d be needing books and textbooks about things the human mind wouldn’t even begin to imagine exist.

The suitcase contained my casual clothes, pajamas, and uniform. Yes, a uniform, it sucks, I know, but it’s a boarding school, so I’ve got no choice. At least it looks nice.

After unpacking my belongings, William gave me the grand tour of the tower, which consisted of a living room, a small kitchen, a gym, and a gaming area. I guess werewolves love video games just as much as humans do.

I’m currently talking to William about the things he’s into and vice versa.

“You see those guys over there?” William says, motioning for me to look. I follow his gaze, and my eyes land on three buff looking dudes with shirts that really complement their muscles. They’re playing a game of pool, laughing at something one of them just said.

“Yeah, I see them,” I reply.

“They’re our leaders. The one on the left is Nathan White, our Gamma. The one on the right is Ethan Fang, our Beta, and the one in the middle is Tanaka Hatake, our Alpha,” he says.

“Alpha, Beta, Gamma… what do these titles stand for?” I ask, completely clueless about what he just said.

“What do you mean you don’t know what they stand for?” William asks, surprised.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t know any of this until a couple of days ago.”

“That explains it. You’re one of those kids whose parents try to hide them from this world, believing that they’ll be safer not knowing what they are making them think they’re just human,” he says triumphantly, as if he’s just solved a mystery.

“Well, I guess you could say it’s something like that.” I’m relieved to know there are others as clueless as me. I didn’t want to be the kid everyone thought was weird just because my mother hid me from the truth. “So, those titles, what do they mean again?”

“Ah, right,” William begins. “The Alpha is the leader of any given pack. He’s either the strongest or the most cunning of the pack. Alphas are faster, stronger, and slightly bigger than the rest of the normal wolves. They run the pack, and everything they say goes. Trust me, you do not want to disobey an Alpha, especially in front of others.” He looks at me to see if I’m following.

“I’m good,” I say. “Go on.”

“The Alpha’s spouse, mate, wife however you want to put it is the female Alpha, so every pack has two Alphas. The Beta is second in command, meaning the second strongest and biggest, followed by the Gamma. The same rules apply to their mates as well.”

“That’s a lot of people with a lot of authority, don’t you think?” I say. “Two of everything it’s really confusing, don’t you think?”

“Think of it this way. Humans have what they call a government, right? Now, the Alpha is the president, and the first lady is his mate. The Beta is the vice president, and the Gamma is the prime minister. It’s as simple as that.

Only there are two of each one male, one female. So, you see, it’s not that confusing. Well, honestly, it is, but you’ll get used to it,” he says with a laugh.

“So, if you’re the strongest, you become the Alpha?” I ask.

“Well, yes and no. Being the strongest doesn’t automatically make you Alpha. You have to be smart, strong, fast, and, of course, have the pack’s interests at heart. Otherwise, you can be overthrown. To do that, one has to challenge the current Alpha, although that rarely happens since no one wants to fight an Alpha.”

“I see. So, do you guys bow down and do everything for those guys?” I ask.

“Nah, those guys are cool. They treat everyone nicely, it’s why everyone likes them. Those kinds of things do happen in some packs if, of course, the Alpha is a dictator of sorts. Either way, it all depends on the pack. For instance, my pack doesn’t bow down or act like slaves to our leaders, but we do respect them.”

As I’m listening to William talk about werewolves and their hierarchy and customs, a bell goes off.

“Ooh, that must be dinner. We better get going,” William says, standing up and offering me his hand.

“Dinner!” I exclaim. “What happened to lunch?”

“We had lunch a few hours ago, remember?” William says, clearly surprised that I’d forgotten we’d eaten earlier during the tour.

“Yeah, sorry. I guess I’m just really hungry,” I say, taking his hand.

Earlier, we’d eaten lunch in the small kitchen, which had its own food supply, but I guess we have to gather at the dining hall for dinner.

As we walk into the dining hall, I’m surprised again by its sheer size.

‘Is everything here big?’

The hall is big enough to host a ball. Lining the walls are medieval weapons such as swords, axes, shields, and crossbows, along with portraits and other artifacts. The walls are made of fine marble with artistic designs no human could have possibly accomplished.

The floor is polished black stone, and the ceiling features a painting of what must have been a war. The hall contains eight of the longest tables I’ve ever seen. Each seems capable of seating over two hundred people.

“Alex, this way. Here, we sit according to our year. As you can see, the first years are at this table.”

We take our seats. Around us, kids from all parts of the world are talking and laughing. It reminds me of my friends back home.

The chair in front of me is empty, but in the blink of an eye, a blonde-haired girl is sitting there, making me almost jump out of my chair in surprise.

“How the hell did you do that?” I half shout.

“Vampire speed. What, are you dumb?” she responds. “Hey guys, so who’s the new kid?” she asks William.

“Hello, Sara. This is Alex. He’s one of those guys, if you know what I mean.”

“Ah, one of those. That explains it. Anyway, how was your holiday?”

“Mine was awesome, thanks for asking. Mom and Dad took us to Egypt. Gosh, you guys should really look up Egyptian magic, those guys were geniuses,” a boy with dark brown hair sitting next to Sara says. Based on his comment, I assume he’s a witch.

“What about yours, Kira? What did you do this holiday?” he asks her.

“Mine was boring, Sean. All I ever did was sleep all day long,” says Kira.

“I’m not surprised since it’s what you guys love to do,” William says with a slight chuckle.

Just then, the same white haired woman walks in with the three sisters in tow. As she does, all chatter dies down.

‘She must be important.’

“Greetings, everyone,” she starts. “I’d like to welcome you all back to school for our second semester.”

“That’s Lady Katherine Vincent, our headmistress,” William whispers in my ear as she continues addressing the school.

“Today, I’d like to welcome a new student. Please make him feel at home. Alex, may you come up, please?” Hearing her say my name, I feel everyone’s gaze land on me.

“Alex, dear,” she continues, “Will you please come up?” she says, encouraging me to join her where she stands.

I stand up from my seat, with about a thousand eyes on me. I stride slowly toward her, not one bit liking the attention. As I near her, she offers me her hand, which I take. Her hand is slightly cold but comfortable maybe she has a cold.

“Introduce yourself, please.”

I’ve never been a fan of crowds, let alone introducing myself to one.

“Hello, everyone,” I say with a slight wave. “My name is Alex Wolfgang.”

A series of murmurs arises.

“Silence, please,” the headmistress says, motioning me back to my table.

As I approach my chair, I’m bombarded with questions.

“Dude, why didn’t you tell me your name was Wolfgang?” William asks.

“Because you never asked,” I reply. “Besides, what’s the big deal with it anyway?”

“The Wolfgang family are the leaders of the strongest wolf pack in the world. I’m surprised you know so little about who you are,” he says.

A bell rings, and in walk people with hunched backs, small eyes, and big arms carrying trays with all sorts of food. They set the food on the table and leave.

“What are those?” I ask.

“They’re called Varkeen. They prepare the food here. Lady Katherine hired them because they make the best food ever,” Kira says.

“You can say that again! I love their food it’s all I could think about when I was home. Mom and Dad say they’re too expensive to hire,” says William.

Once the food is set, everyone starts filling their plates. I pile my plate with everything within reach because it all looks so mouth-watering. I’m about to dig in when I notice Sara munching on some steak.

“I thought vampires only drank blood.”

“Well, that’s what humans think. We eat and drink just like anyone else. We drink blood because our bodies can’t produce enough of it, plus blood is tasty and gives us strength.”

“Good to know. So, what’s this about my family being such a big deal?”

Sean looks at me with an expression that clearly says:

‘Seriously? Are you that clueless?’

“Your family, the Wolfgangs, has been the leader of the strongest pack for over five hundred years. Your family has the strongest wolf blood in the werewolf world. Being able to run a pack for five hundred years is incredible, no other family has held power for that long,” he responds.

“As I was saying earlier, Alex, you aren’t just born an Alpha. Anyone can rise to that title. You have to be the strongest, that’s how it is, even for normal wolves. It’s the strong shall rule over the weak kind of thing. Now, your family has been able to hold onto their ruling position for over five centuries, which is pretty impressive,” says William.

“Pretty impossible, if you ask me,” says Sean.

“Rumor has it that your ancestor, Eric Wolfgang, made a deal with a witch to ensure his family would remain in power,” says Kira.

“Well, whatever it is, you’ve got to be pretty badass to remain in power for five centuries. Especially considering werewolves don’t live very long,” says Sara.

I fall silent as I digest all this. Why on earth did my mother hide all this from me? If my family is so badass, why weren’t they there to save her?And why have I never met any of them? Why would my mother even hide her own family from me? These questions run through my mind, making me even more confused.

I’m brought back to reality by the sound of plates clanging as the Varkeen collect them and the leftovers. We say goodnight to each other, and William and I head off to our dorm.

Once there, I head for the showers. I take a long shower to relax my nerves. When I’m done, I dress in my pajamas and get ready for bed.

“Night, William.”

“Good night, Alex.”