Ch. 2: Monday Afternoon

ALEKSANDR

“Alpha Aleksandr Volkov, please explain to everyone what plan you’ve come up with to expand and protect our territories and continue to grow our finances.”

“Of course, Alpha Reece.  We know that the human population keeps growing and as the towns expand, they inch closer to each of our territories.  This means that our pack members have to be more cautious when letting their wolves out for a run.  It also puts our young pups at a greater risk of being exposed to humans before we have properly prepared them.  I proposed we expand our immediate territory and the human areas we also protect through investment properties.  We can run some businesses ourselves providing additional jobs to pack members, and some properties we can rent out to humans for their own business ventures.  We can help the humans by offering them reasonable prices on their leases, while also controlling how close they set up to our official pack lands.”

There are seven different North American packs represented at this meeting.  Our territories are close enough to each other that we have been sharing ideas for several generations.  Actually, all of our great-grandfathers were good friends, and fostered relationships between the packs that have lasted through several generations.

Each pack has its own schools and businesses so we can function independently from the nearby human towns.  Our young pups attend a private school on pack lands where they learn all about being a werewolf and how to conceal our identity from the humans.  As wolves we experience our first shift between the ages of 13-15, although we can't recognize our mate until we reach the age of 18.

Werewolf pups aren’t that different from human children in that they are both very naïve and honest.  If one of our pups is around a human when they are very young, there is a good chance that they would say something to reveal us to the humans.  It has happened a few times, but thankfully most humans brush it off as kids with wild imaginations. This is why we limit contact with the humans until the pups are older and they understand the importance of discretion.

By the time they hit high school they are allowed to choose if they want to stay on pack lands at our school or attend the human high school in the closest town.  If they want to attend the human school, it must be approved by both their parents and their alpha. It presents new challenges, but it does help prepare them for future interactions with humans.  Not that there are many, but since we all train as warriors as well, we like to be prepared for anything.

Alpha Kaden jumps in with a question. "What types of properties should we be considering?"

"That will probably vary from pack to pack."  I respond.  "We each have different strengths and different needs, so it would be up to you to decide what properties would best benefit your pack."

After some deliberation, I was pleasantly surprised that the other alphas agreed with my plan so quickly and easily. I’m glad they can see that this would be a great way to protect our packs, expand our territories, and influence the nearby communities in a positive way.

We wrapped up the meeting and a few of us hung around shooting the breeze.  Betas are present at the meetings, but not allowed to talk.  Now that we’re just hanging out they join us at the table.  We’re all so busy with alpha duties that we rarely get a change to simply socialize.  It’s refreshing to talk to another alpha who understand the pressure and struggle of this position.

Alpha Reece is one of my best friends outside of my own pack.  His pack, Crescent Moon, is also one of the closest to my territory, so we have the most interactions with each other.  He’s a bit younger than me and hasn’t found his mate yet, but we get along really well.

We were also joined by Alpha Levi of the Lunar Eclipse pack, who is my age and mated with two pups at home.  Alpha Kaden, of the Blood Moon pack, just found his mate last year but doesn't have any pups yet.  We’re all at different stages in our lives, but we get along so well, and we are really able to help each other with our different life experiences.

My pack is known as the Silver Eclipse Pack.  We are the second largest pack in the area, and that is largely due to my father’s efforts.  The pack really thrived under his leadership, and I hope I can carry on that legacy.

"How's the rogue situation over at Blood Moon, Alpha Kaden?"  Alpha Levi asks as he leans back in his chair kicking his feet up on the table.

"Better than it was," Alpha Kaden answers, "We've only caught two trespassing in the last three weeks.  Neither was a real threat to the pack."  He folds his arms across his chest and and leans back in thought, "Have any of you given any more thought to the idea of allowing certain rogues to join our packs if they want to and agree to follow all the rules?"

We each nod our heads and reluctantly grumble that we've been considering it.

The packs that met today don’t have any official treaties or alliances, but we have maintained friendly relationships throughout the generations.  When my great-great-grandfather was the Alpha, there was an uprising of rogues.

A group of rogue wolves had the brilliant idea of teaming up to exact revenge on the packs that they held grudges against.  They were able to play on the anger of other rogues to convince them to join as well.  They were mildly successful until the packs decided to unofficially band together and protect one another as well.  The rogues were spread too thin.  They started losing the fights, many died, and their fragile alliance began to crumble.

There is a reason they became rogues in the first place.  They don’t do teamwork, they don’t follow orders, and they don’t submit to a leader.  Rogues are also usually matless.  This is either because they never found their mate, or their mate died.  Most wolves die after losing their mate, but those who go rogue have used their desire for revenge to fuel their anger and keep them strong.

It has been decades since we have had major issues with rogues in this area, but we make it a point to remember what happened in the past so we can be prepared for anything.  We still have the occasional rogue that crosses into our territory, but they are usually apprehended or flee before being captured and we have not seen any sign of rogues working together again.

That’s good news because the human population has grown significantly since the last war, and a rogue uprising would be almost impossible to hide from the humans today. However, not all rogues are bad.  Occasionally there is a younger rogue who ended up in that situation through unfortunate circumstances, or someone who went rogue and then regretted it.  We know it's better to bring those rogues back into the pack rather than to keep them out and allow them to turn bitter.

Our wolf nature makes us naturally aggressive.  We are fiercely loyal to and protective of our families, but as an alpha that extends to our entire pack.  An alpha’s traits are amplified, and we feel everything more intensely than your average wolf.  It can feel overwhelming when things are not going well and you feel like you have failed to protect your pack.

This is why the support of other Alphas is so vital.  We encourage one another and build each other up so we can all be the strong leaders our packs need.  We may have a more animalistic side that allows us to hunt and protect, but we also have the full range of human emotions to balance out the animal within.  Both sides are necessary and make the other better, stronger even, but we still aren’t complete without our mate.  Our mate also calms us and helps us keep a level head in tense situations.

I manage to control my wolf fairly well because he had the privilege of experiencing the mate bond.  A wolf who found their mate and then lost them to death is still in better control than a wolf who has never found their mate to begin with, but as I said before, many wolves can’t bear the pain of the loss and end up following their mate in death.  This is usually accomplished by taking unnecessary risks such as fighting a group of rogues alone.  The truth is, I tried that once, but I was too strong.  I defeated all the rogues and came home to an empty, lonely house.  As time goes on, I feel my control over my wolf slipping and darkness slowly takeing over.  I sometimes wonder how long I can hold on now that Ana is gone.