“Everything you need to succeed here. The history of the direwolves. Pack dynamics. I want to give you the tools you need to see yourselves as truly Bonded,” he replies.
Truly Bonded, huh? Not in a thousand lifetimes. I’ve accepted my situation, but I’ll never see myself as one of them. I’d have to erase everything I am to get there, and I’d go down fighting first.
Still, I can’t exactly stand up and shout in his face, storming out in a fit of fury. I’m pretty sure they’d send Stark after me.
Just the thought makes me shiver as I settle into my seat for what is no doubt going to be a long, cripplingly boring lesson.
And it is. But at least Aldrich’s voice is soft and flowing, not grating like Egith’s or fierce and cold like Stark’s.
Aldrich discusses general pack structure first. I’d picked up on most of this from Izabel and just generally soaking things in, but he fills in the gaps.
There are the four distinct packs, which he scrawls out on the board with a series of gentle taps and drags of chalk. Each serves a crucial role in defending the kingdom and the humans within it against the aggressor Siphons who would drain us all with their heinous blood magic.
“Daemos are known for their brutality and battle prowess. Their Bonded tend to be large and temperamental. Their wolves, even more so,” Aldrich says.
“Are all of their wolves as brutal as Cratos?” Henrey asks.
Cratos. Stark’s direwolf.
“Mm. No,” Aldrich says. “Cratos is… dominant. An alpha pair.”
“That’s a relief,” Henrey grumbles. “Still not looking forward to inter-pack training.”
“Ah, but youshould,” Aldrich chimes in. “You are of Phylax. The guardians. You learn how to blend in alongside all the other packs, support them and protect them.”
His gaze shifts to me.
“And Meryn, Strategos,” he says, pointing to the name on the board. “The tacticians and leaders. Masters of strategy. You more than any of the other packs must learn to cooperate with the rest.”
Cooperate. I try to picture it. Riding out into the field with the other packs at our side.
Fucking Daemos, with that piece-of-shit Jonah. I’d let Anassa weed out the weak there. I’d rather choke on a luxurious poached egg at breakfast than cooperate with him.
“Then, of course, there’s Kryptos, the shadow walkers. They specialize in stealth and intelligence gathering,” Aldrich continues. “Above all of us,” he goes on, circling a name he’s written above the pack names.Siegrid Therion. “The Sovereign Alpha, currently a fearsome woman named Siegrid who can communicate with all wolves across all packs. A feat of immensestrength and control. She is the head of the Bonded, and she serves as the king’s second in command.”
A memory hits me from orientation. The two women who were lusting after Stark mentioned that his mother was the Sovereign Alpha. Of fucking course she is. Stark moves with the violent confidence of someone who knows he’ll never get in trouble. Nepotism at its finest.
“How is the Sovereign Alpha chosen?” Henrey asks, putting a voice to something I’m wondering too.
“Family line,” Aldrich tells him. “The Therions have been the crown’s sworn protectors for as long as anyone can remember.”
Which means that after his mom, Stark will become the Sovereign Alpha and will be in charge of all of us. Great.
I lean forward. A question wriggles in my mind, one I’ve wondered for a while.
“If the king isn’t actually bonded to a wolf, why does he maintain ultimate control over the wolves and the Bonded?”
Aldrich looks pleased that I’m engaging. “A good question! It has been this way since time immemorial. The king’s role is to ensure that the commoners he reigns over always have an equal balance of power with the Bonded and the direwolves. So while Siegrid is the highest in power for the Bonded, we ultimately all answer to the king.”
It makes sense, in theory.
But in practice? What are we meant to do when the man appointed to protect the common people’s interests starts to ignore us? When he’d rather watch his wolves parade dead men through the streets or sleep with unwilling Rawbonds half his age than look into, or even notice, the abductions of children in his cities?
“Now,details,” Aldrich goes on. “I’m sure you are both well acquainted with telepathic communication at this point—”Yikes. “—but you should know that wolves can telepathicallycommunicate within their own packs but can’t typically speak across pack lines unless through the Sovereign Alpha.”
“How doesthatwork?” Henrey asks.
“She is essentially a conduit. Think of her like a translator, relaying a foreign language to you in words you can understand,” he replies. “Within their own packs, wolves can communicate freely. Then, of course, you with your wolves.”
