As we reach the square, Grace brightens up, greeting the other women with hugs. I know she struggles socially, but she seems genuine in her warm reaction to them. I really hope that she can find a place where she belongs.
Alisha told me about how Grace has always been an outcast and that it might be hard for her to get comfortable with people. It looks like it’s going well, and I really hope I’m right about that.
I want to go with her as the other women lead her away, but I’m pulled away by Curt, one of our new council members.
“Let the women go and do their thing,” he says. “They want to set up a garden and some food shops, and they want their luna all to themselves.”
“Okay,” I agree, happy to be distracted. “What do the men do in the meantime? Battle strategy?”
Curt chuckles. “Our perimeter is secure. I spoke to our scouts this morning. They said they checked in with you and Rex?”
“Yeah, they did, but I still thought we’d be training warriors.”
“Oh, we will be, but today we have something far more challenging to do.”
Jesus fucking Christ, what?
“I’m afraid to ask,” I mutter.
Curt laughs, pointing out across the oval. I see what looks like an ocean of kids charging at us, all of them screaming at the tops of their lungs.
“Oh, holy hell,” I say.
“You got that right,” Curt replies. “Brace yourself.”
The kids pour into the covered area, all of them shouting at once. At first, I’m completely overwhelmed and have no idea what to do, then something inside me snaps.
“Hey, pups, listen up!” I bellow, at the top of my lungs.
To my surprise, it works, and the small army of tiny people shut up and turn to me as one.
It’s not really that many. Maybe twenty, mixed boys and girls, and not a single one over eight years old.
“I’m assuming that you guys are here for some official training today, yes?” I ask.
The kids all reply with their affirmatives, voices ranging from soft and shy to great yells of excited anticipation.
“Okay,” I bark, noticing that my tone seems to have a direct effect on them. “I want you to sort into groups. Anyone with a bit of experience shifting and running in the pack over this side. Anyone who’s never shifted or been on a pack run, over here.”
To my surprise, it’s something of an even split, and some of the older kids are in the group that has never shifted. I realize I have a lot to learn about how our young wolves develop, and I feel the massive weight of this responsibility falling on my shoulders.
But it doesn’t feel bad. It feels… pleasant. Like I belong here.
“Right,” I say, smiling. “I want you kids who have never shifted to hang here with Curt for a minute while I talk to these guys. Everyone just stay settled and don’t get too rowdy. I promise you’re going to need all your energy today.”
The kids gather around Curt while he talks to them about their new homes and how they’ve handled the transition from the other packs. I take my group out into the field, and I can feel their attention focused on me, almost like a palpable force.
So, this is what Rex talked about when he said becoming an alpha would feel different. That even my senses would change as the others looked up to me as their leader.
“Okay,” I say, smiling at my group. “What I want you guys to do is focus on completing a fluid shift and using your nose. There will be dozens of scents to follow around here, and once you’ve become comfortable with a shift, I want you to try and count as many different scents as you can and follow just one. I’ll be asking you at the end of the exercise what trails you could pick up and why you chose to follow a particular one, as well as how difficult it was for you. Do you all understand the rules of the game?”
The kids nod, and one girl puts up her hand.
“Yes?” I ask, a new wave of horror flooding me as I realize I’ll eventually have to learn their names.
Sometimes, I can barely remember my own! How am I supposed to commit all these names to memory?
“I’ve only shifted once before,” the girl says. “I’ll have a hard time just managing a comfortable shift, and I probably won’t get a chance to participate in the game.”
