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Chapter 2

Oak Bane had always been one of the largest packs around. Even after the war had taken out so many. Over the years we have increased in numbers. Our members all had long lines of great lineage. The Alpha roll had been handed down to the sons of the same pack family, for over a hundred years, and since the Gentry line took over no one had ever challenged for the spot.

Compared to the numbers we had very few were here in the city. Father said it was to help keep suspicion down and gave us eyes and ears throughout the entire region. Each area was run by a high-ranking member starting with either a Beta or Omega. All made monthly reports to the Alpha. Everything generally ran like a well-oiled machine. There were still monthly gatherings which brought the whole pack together. Before we Lycans had been cursed this would have been hunting season.

The Alpha would gather everyone and hunt; freeing the beast inside. The stories tell it as a beautiful thing to watch. To see a pack in the light of a full moon and each one allowing the wolf to take over. The human form slowly fades into the background as a mass of different colors of soft fur replaces it. Each one's eyes gleamed in the night. The heads of these beautiful animals rose towards the moon, letting out the cry of the wolf. A howl meant as a warning that they were there and coming.

The run is said to have been the greatest pleasure of all of it. The lungs didn’t tire out like the human body. The air flowed through them as easily as water ran down the streams. Muscles bunched showing just how powerful they could be. The speed was unparalleled, strength to take down whatever game there may be, agility to jump over and around nature's obstacles and all done so effortlessly and with grace.

The elder members of the pack who could still remember the feeling of the shift and the freedom it brought could get lost in the memories they shared with the new generation. Thirty years was a long time to have the need and want to see and feel that kind of freedom again.

Even though meetings today felt more like a monthly family reunion, I loved to hear the history that it brought with it. There was a beauty in seeing this many of our kind come together in unison. To move as one, even if it was only in this form. Watching the beloved Alpha check in on all of his members and making sure every one of them was living the best possible life has a serenity to it that nothing could replace.

I enjoyed all of it, it really was one of my favorite things about this life. It helped a lot that Phoenix never attended. She felt no need or want to see her people. This often made some of the elder members concerned; Father just brushed it off as the modern way of handling everything. “Someone has to take care of things while I am here,” he’d said. I knew that wasn’t the reason, but he would often try to convince me of the same thing.

I knew differently but there was no reason to argue, besides I enjoyed the time I got to spend with just him and the rest of the pack. I wanted to be able to be like him in this way. To be loved and respected by this many people and with much more than just an Alpha bond to his pack. No one ever said anything about his heir being a daughter instead of a son. I wasn’t quite sure if this was a good thing or not.

It never bothered me when I was little. I enjoyed the attention that the older generation gave. To hear “Wow, look how big you’ve gotten” or “Any boys yet?” These people were my family, and I didn’t think I needed anything else.

Tonight's meeting, I am sure, would be much the same as all the others, minus one detail. It was time to start talking about my seventeenth birthday and all that comes with it at this meeting. Though I never minded the pack’s attention, probably because I grew up with it, I wasn’t looking forward to attention in this way. I could see and hear it now, “That would be a good match, strong pups,” Ugh shoot me. I knew that I was the future for these people, and I used to find this grand, but the closer it got the less and less sure I was the right one, regardless of how much I wanted to be like my father with the pack.

I could always step down and hand the reins over to one of the Beta’s but that would destroy my father. I’d be the first in over one hundred years to just give up our family name and the line of Alphas we had. I was just at a loss, trapped in a corner with no clue as to what to do with the problems in front of me.

It was a quiet ride to the meeting; Dad was handling business over the phone which didn’t allow for conversation. Tonight, though it was welcoming. The weather was getting much colder, the night held some snow flurries so the pack would hover over a bond fire. Meetings were always outside, it was a wolf thing with loving the outdoors. As we pulled up he ended his call and looked up at me, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” I didn’t get to hear a genuine laugh from him often, so it was a warming feeling when he laughed at my hesitation about tonight's big topic. There were specific people I would try to avoid tonight if possible, so I was scanning the crowd for a good place to stay incognito.

Father started to make his way through the crowd that had already gathered. Shacking hands and getting quick updates about families and business moves. Watching him there was no doubt about it. He was born for this life. As stressful as tonight was going to be the calmness that came with being with your pack was amazing. There was almost no fear of anything. I think I found more peace in it than most, knowing the love each had for the other, and the undying love was here but missing at home. The pack was what my mother wasn’t.

Finding a log to sit on just out of reach of the fire but close enough to stay warm, I watched as the rest of the pack showed up and our gathering was now in full force. Each Beta and Omgea took their turns giving the news of what's what in their area, followed by any problems they had. The children danced around the fire laughing and playing. Boys racing to see who was fastest or strongest.

The girls look on at the silliness of the boy's show. There were a few my age, bratty social butterflies who never had a care. Let’s just say we didn’t get along well. They wouldn't be seventeen until next year, so they weren't interested in hearing about someone else getting into the spotlight. Especially when it meant most of the males in the pack would drift their attention to whom they had a chance to have a mating bond with.

The Alpha finally made it to the front of the pack, where he called order. Every mouth shut and every eye turned to him. He was so made for this role. His tone was charismatic, it was almost impossible to not want to hear what he was saying. Even when it was simply dry-blain business. That was until the subject of his offspring turning seventeen. Eyes scanned the crowd looking for me. I wasn’t required to go to the front to stand with him, but he did expect me to. Grudgingly, I got up and headed to the front.

“As the heir to the Gentry name and the future Luna of Oak Bane, my daughter Cortlyn Gentry will soon have the “Rite of Heir” ceremony. She will soon begin preparations to start leading us to the future. I believe there are big things to come to us under her order. I take great pride in handing over the pack when she is ready, and the time is right.” I’m sure that my cheeks were as red as a rose, and I couldn’t bring myself to look out at the pack. There was a rise of applause and yells of congratulations among the crowd. Well, at least they didn’t seem to hate me, or not yet anyway.

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