Chapter 1 - Arrivals
Adam smiled as he waited for Fabian to arrive shortly after lunch finished. They had stopped for a lunch break with them before they left the city, as they had needed it, and they would have just been making lunch at the pack. Pulling Brook against his side, he relaxed. He couldn’t believe it was almost two years they had been at the pack, and the first of the instructors for the Academy were arriving. The nearest international airport was about three hours drive away in the city he had grown up in as a human. Wild Valley was a shorter drive than MacLaren for where his road connected to the highway had almost a straight shot there, as long as the road wasn’t closed, which could happen if the weather was bad enough, or they needed to deal with avalanche risks.
The two SUVs drove up and stopped in front of them, where he had made a loading area near the pack house’s front door. The granite and river stone worked well on the exterior of the pack house.
Fabian exited and looked at the place, then around. Pine trees had been planted in lines, although they seemed to be random and natural, as had been planned, around the outbuildings, hiding them from view. The pack house had a cleared area around it, as a fire break and as a meadow for the pups to play. It was the only part where they had brought in grass, to make it a clear delimitation for the pups of what was permitted vs not permitted. Even the grasses were left mostly wild, with a few patches of clover, and other wildflowers adding definition and showing it wasn’t just a groomed grass lawn. Not only did it cut down on maintenance, but it also helped the native insect populations. He loved seeing the Crocuses coming up in spring.
After trading the normal Were greeting of hugs and sniffs, Fabian shook his head, “From what I can see, it is a much more impressive building than it looked while under construction or even on the plans. Well done!” He told the two.
Adam grinned at the compliment and Brook laughed, “Wait till you see the inside,” Brook warned, before guiding Fabian and the other five instructors. Several helpful wolves came and carried the bags, following them.
Leading them up the stone steps, onto the enclosed wooden deck which wrapped around the building, opening the storm door, “We enclose the deck in winter, to help keep the heat in, and to provide some more warmer area to be.” Adam told them, “When it gets warmer, we take the windows and doors off, and leave it open to the air. It’s not quite time to take it down yet.”
Opening the wooden looking doors, the steel inner barely visible under the carved wood, showing several wolves and many pawprint trails. Adam smiled and held the door for them to go in first.
All six instructors had identical stunned look as they stopped just inside the door. The floor was a rough granite tile, with marble and other stone tiles along the walls for the bottom four feet, with wooden contrast. They had used stone in the bottom, for running wolves wouldn’t smash through it, like they would drywall, and might through wood. A line of wooden baseboards hid lights which were slightly pointed down to light up the floor late at night, to not disturb others, even if doors were opened.
The upper part of the wall had a mix of photographs; a nice one of Adam and Brook was front and centre in a large photo with a nameplate at the bottom that identified them as Founding Alphas, as you came in the door. It had their human heads partly facing in, and their wolves behind them facing out. The background was of Northern Lights over a mountain, which he had taken one night as they were finishing the building. When Adam had made it, added a slight transparent to fade them slightly. It made a very nice look, and most of the pack had very much liked it when they had presented the finished version. Many of the pack had requested copies of it and he had made 8x10 prints, and on the mat around it, Adam and Brook had made personal comments for the person. It would become a family treasure for each of those who got the copy. Eventually, the picture would be relocated, when they stepped down, or he decided they needed a new one.
Other forms of artwork, mostly of wolves or nature, were around. From time to time, pictures were planned to be taken down or moved, as new ones were put out. They had taken a trick from the castles in Europe and had a steel wire that went from the roof and was affixed at the top of the stone lower part, which all the pictures were attached to. It made it so they didn’t need to put holes in the walls and had the advantage of each picture held by at least four points. A few had already been moved, as they didn’t look nice with the others which were around them.
Wolf pawprint silhouettes were used as decorations all over the place. Pictures of other key roles were on the wall, including one of the Elders together, with a nameplate listing their names and Founding Elders. Below it, it had the names and their birth years for each of them. Already, the pups were expected to have their names and the details memorized, as part of their Pack Education. It had been decided to not have it listed what pack they had moved from, as that was of no consequence, and they didn’t want them to be continuing to use it to divide members by what pack they were from. It was known in their personal history, but as they agreed, they were treating it as if it was a willing transfer, where rarely was the name said of the pack they left. It was a common thought in the pack; this pack was so different than their old packs, they didn’t want to compare them. Those from MacLaren felt differently, but also preferred this pack and didn’t want to have a separation into where someone was from; the elders helped the few who didn’t think it through on their own to realise what it could cause.
A picture of Gareth and Maria was on the wall, with MacLaren Alphas and Source Pack Alphas. They were considered officially the only source pack, with it sharing much of the same culture and traditions as Wild Valley did.
While there were three other packs that also had founding members that came from, one pack had been declared rogue and before Adam and Brook petitioned for a change, only the females and pups would have been saved. They had asked to save the non-combatant males, and any who were shown to only have participated under the threat of death and had immediately surrendered when given the opportunity. That pack, because of how it ended, was now considered nameless, and any record of its name was being suppressed or replaced. It would be as if the pack never existed, except as a warning to others, to not follow that path.
The other two, Adam had fought and defeated the Alpha, and with no Next-Alpha, Second, or even a strong enough Beta to keep them together till an Alpha was found, the members had joined the pack which had defeated them. In both cases, the Alpha led using respect borne of fear, and didn’t want to have anyone close to their power, as they could then challenge them for the pack. One had been declared a Rogue by a council of Alphas, for breaking Guest Rights in fighting a Pup, and then fought the Challenge Fight against Adam, which he lost. In the case of Alpha Night, he had killed himself when he lost the fight, and the members had voted to give him a lost burial, showing few had any loyalty to him after he died. There were only the two who had buried him who knew where it was, and so far, none had asked for it. With that, they had decided they wouldn’t have a photo of them, unless someone asked for it. In both cases, the packs were considered dead with the passing of the Alphas. Unlike the rogue pack, the names of those packs were not suppressed, it was as if all the members just decided to change packs, all at the same time. Even that end was one which most wouldn’t like, as it showed much of the history wouldn’t be taught to others, was a finality. In a few centuries, the name of those packs could be lost, having a final death in being forgotten.
The nameplates on the pictures had many empty spots for death years to be placed, showing how young the pack was, with the fact none of the founders had passed on yet. Most didn’t expect to have it last for long.
The main stairs had wood railings, and stone risers. The pawprints of the members were clearly displayed around the edge of the second floor, which was a railing overlooking the main hall. There were now two colours: the black ones of those that joined before the pack was completed and helped—they had the pups and the Elders helping on the work, either supervising or doing some of the painting, or helping carry; it was done so that even the pups when they were older could say “I helped build our home,” to any future family—and if they counted they would find 165 of them. To help the pawprint stand out, a light coat of a silver had been gently painted in, at a suggestion, after they switched colours, and it was hard to see them compared to the new colour.
An additional 45 of the pawprints that were a dark grey for those that had joined in the year since the construction, including the cosmetics, was finished. It was about another nine years before they planned to change to the next colour; at that point they would finalize the membership. Although they hadn’t decided if they would break the bonds, which they still had with MacLaren, easing any transfer. Any transfers after they finalized would have to be petitioned and go through a review to decide on it, not the simple transfer they were doing. By tradition, the packs had at least five years to decide if they wanted to switch to the child pack or stay with the parent, so they had at least three more years before the pack would decide on when to ‘close’ the pack.
About half the tables were packed up and stacked against a wall, out of the way, as were many of the chairs, since the mealtime was officially over. Several wolves were still eating at one table. At another, others were doing a card game, and a few others had laptops out. Some pups were using the open space for an activity, under the supervision of an Elder. A couple more were curled up on the couches by the fireplace, reading. The fireplace was more of a fire pit with an exhaust hood over it, as it was not in the wall, but out on the floor, and the couches were rounded to match the curve of the pit, with several walkways separating the couches. A wide slate hearthstone around the pit kept the fire from expanding. For their roots, it was a wood fire, not run from any sort of hydrocarbon. Currently, there was only a couple of small logs on the fire, crackling merrily, more for ambience than any need for heat. It had also been built so that if someone wanted to roast some meat, they could. Hot dogs, and steaks were in a small fridge near it, with some buns, condiments, and other items on a table beside the fridge. Adam had loved the idea, and generally had at least one snack using it a week. For many in the pack it was a new novelty, so right now it was used regularly. Large windows surrounded the area and opened to the deck, overlooked the meadow, and sloped away to a panoramic view of the mountains. With the nice weather, even if cool, a couple were open, so the fresh mountain air was able to come in. In that corner, the outer deck panels had already been taken down.
Leading them up the stairs, Adam described the features of the place, “We have built it with in-floor heating, all the lights are LED, and during the day, natural light is fed into the common areas, especially ones without windows, including the hallways.” A technology he had come across, used a solar collector dome on the outside, and fibre-optic cables which then connected to a dome on the inside, which looked like a light fixture, but used no electrical power, instead just used ambient sunlight. The model they had used also had LEDs for dark and gloomy days to assist, or for at night. All the lights were intelligently controlled by their building automation system, with the servers sitting down in their datacentre. As they climbed up the main central staircase, he continued telling them how well insulated the place was, and other green technologies. He told them there was a staircase in the middle and at the far end of each of the three wings.
One of the instructors was puffing when they reached the fourth floor, “I am going to be in better shape by the time we finish here.” He complained. The last place had been a single floor for everything and hadn’t needed to leave the building unless they wanted to go for a run.
Fabian laughed, “Boris, if you ran more and laid off the sweets, you would be in better shape.” He teased.
Adam grinned, “It could also be the altitude; we are well over a kilometre above sea level here. We do have a cargo elevator, but it is not designed for lazy wolves.” He looked sternly, “If there is an injured wolf who just needs to go to their room, it is available. Those who work in the Medical area all have access.” Leading them to the first wing, “We have eight individual rooms on each side, with two at each end, and two on either side of the middle staircase. I’m not sure how you want to allocate them, and that is going to be your decision.” This wing was the East wing and had three pairs of student rooms before the mid stairs, then two pairs on the outer part.
The North and South wings had four instructor rooms closest to the central part, before two pairs of student rooms, on each half of the wing, per side. The hallway had fire doors at each third of the wing which also were security doors. The hallway wasn’t too small, allowing for several to walk abreast without issue. The pair of instructor rooms which in this wing were student rooms, had been set up in a way which could easily be turned into student rooms too. All the rooms were sound insulated to the Were standard, so with the door and window closed, no sounds would be heard from within the room.
Fabian nodded and went to the first door, and opened it, and looked inside. A nice queen-sized bed, a bedside table, desk, closet, and a door that led to a bathroom lay inside. Checking the bathroom, and it was shared between the two rooms. The floor was also stone, as using wood or carpet would show wear faster, due to the many clawed paws which would be going over them, but a warmer colour than the hallways, and had a digital control panel where a light switch would be.
Adam tapped the control, and the lights turned on as the panel started to display the options and tapping the indicated spot and the steel shutter opened up. As the sun lit the room bringing the level above the level set for the illumination, the lights automatically turned itself off. The controls not only controlled the lights and shutters, but it also controlled the HVAC system for the room, with in-floor heat/cooling loop, and the forced air vent having a cooling ability too above the door. They used a lower ceiling in the halls, to hide the service conduits, including the power, data, water, and some of the sewer lines, along with a cool fresh air ducting.
As the others exclaimed in pleasure of the room, Adam commented, “All the rooms are basically the same.” Pointing behind the desk, there were outlets and a couple network ports, one used to connect the VOIP phone. “The phones, once you are set on the rooms, they will link to the ID number on the ID card. That is your personal extension. We can set it to also ring on other devices, such as a wireless handset,” He pulled the one that was hanging off his belt, “Like this one. Or a computer if we set them up for it. The other port is also network, for if you have a laptop or PC to connect.” They had decided to do desk-high ports, as most were going with laptops, not PCs. “There is also Wi-Fi covering the entire building, most other buildings, and much of the close area around them.”
Fabian smiled, “I’m taking this one!” he called out, looking out at the view from his window, if not breathtaking, it was jaw-dropping. It was a view over an untouched valley with mountains surrounding it.
The other five would have run to pick rooms if it wasn’t entirely undignified. They did walk fast and look at the views from the other rooms. Adam and Brook shared a silent chuckle as they watched them.
After they had picked their rooms, he showed them the bunk rooms, as the helpers moved their bags into the chosen rooms, leaving each the IDs they already had made for them as well. Adam had already assigned one helper the duty of registering who was in what room, so it could be assigned in the security system. Each student bunkroom had three bunkbeds. Each of the beds were a queen sized and were much heavier built than any human one. As the wolves tended to share beds, they were made in that manner, and the top bunk was just as reinforced. They did have a ladder at the foot of the bed. A storage room doubled as a walk-in closet for each room, and every two rooms shared a bathroom which had two large shower stalls, and two toilets in stalls.
After that, they were shown the features of the larger common room they had on this level, since it didn’t have the balcony overlooking the main area, which the second and third floors did. There was stacked tables and chairs on one side, and even a kitchenette on one end, along with a stack of mattresses in a closet that they were shown. The mattresses were spares for the rooms, or for if they wanted to gather in the common area.
They seemed almost gleeful over that, with several larger windows, and even a fireplace of its own. The biggest window faced west, but there were also one on each corner, where two wings met the common area. “I decided that you may want your own smaller gathering area for the students, away from the pack, and set it up as basically a miniature great room.” Adam said. “The woodworkers haven’t gotten up here, if you wanted detailing, or if you wanted to leave that for the students.” There was also a pair of smaller meeting rooms at the end of each wing, with windows on two sides, which he though would make for good rooms to have study groups in, or for gatherings of more than one room. As such, each would fit about a dozen at the table, but could fit more if they didn’t need a seat.
He already had a map up with a selection of pins in a container below, and explained he wanted to use it to show where the students had their packs, prides, or other groups. It would be a great item to have once they left, to show how far and wide their pack was known from all the students. Expelled, he’d put a black mark on, those who withdrew would get a green, graduates a blue, while the current students would just be plain. All of it was described on a sign beside the map.
Fabian smiled, “This is way beyond what I expected! You are definitely setting the bar high!”
Adam and Brook chuckled, “You haven’t even seen most of it!” she told them, leading the six past the ground and downstairs. They showed off the computer lab that had a dozen stations. Several were doing photo editing, others were gaming. Each station had three monitors which were mounted on arms, then were mounted to a bracket attached to the desk. The monitors were all high-end, colour calibrated. He didn’t tell them, but the room’s lighting had been expensive, as he had it set up with a system to keep the lighting colour calibrated as well. They had set it up with licenses for many software items, although some he was annoyed at, since they liked to chat back to the manufacturer often, and some didn’t like multi-user environments and instead wanted them to license them per person. Most, he had a work-around for it, where the computers had a specific special user which had the license and was used by whoever needed it. They already knew that access to the room would be restricted to those the pack trusted and wasn’t really considered a class area.
Willow smiled when they came over when she saw who was with Adam and Brook. “This is Willow.” Adam said, as he wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned into him.
Fabian smiled, “Ah! One of those you have sponsored.”
Adam nodded, “The other from my pack who is starting this summer is Cody. He’s out on a patrol right now.”
The other instructors asked a few questions about the room, seeing the plotter and expensive photo printers in the back of the room. “I’m a bit of a techie, and love having technology.” Adam said, leading them to the theatre room, “I have been working to upgrade some things, but do it in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the older members.” He grinned, “It also gives me more privileges that I can remove when disciplining someone.”
He didn’t show them the photography area, which had a wide selection of camera gear, and an attached darkroom with its own isolated ventilation system and even a couple fume hoods for processing film or other “alternative” printing methods. Those the students would not have access to, without explicit permission from him. As it was, there were few that had access to it, and all were interested in photography, and had been given an introduction by Adam or one of the few he trusted. All were trusted to not abuse the very expensive equipment in that room, since most of it had come out of Adam’s personal funds.
The instructors laughed at how it could be used as punishment, then asking about devices brought in, “They will connect,” Adam said, “But they are isolated from the rest of the pack’s network, unless they are added to the ‘authorized device’ list. All they would be able to do is connect to the internet using the secured connection. They can’t access the servers, or the printers. Even accessing the WereNet would require configuration. If they have the right software, they would be able to connect to the phone systems if configured, and take calls using it, but that is about it.” At their blank faces, “I have a Wolf who has a background in IT Security in charge of securing and monitoring the network. I have more who will be doing the tech support and can get the devices set up.”
Fabian smiled, “Chris, wasn’t it?” He had talked to that changed wolf at the conference a year and half before. At Adam’s nod, he asked, “How’s he doing?”
Adam smiled, “He’s learning. Most of the time he gets being a wolf, but occasionally his human roots show through.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t sponsor him,” Fabian commented.
“I offered it, and he declined.” Adam admitted, as he knew some wouldn’t want to go, “He does have a girlfriend now who is helping him settle in more.”
Fabian nodded, as they walked into the Medical through a heavy door painted blood-red.
“I wondered when you would come down here.” Healer McCoy said, walking up. “I’m the head of Medical. Healer McCoy.” He told the instructors, giving them each a greeting as they introduced themselves.
The healer took over, as they had discussed, and showed off the well-equipped Medical area, “We have even been tasked once to stabilize a human, as we have a helipad outside, and can handle trauma cases here. Once they were finished being treated and recovering, they were taken by ground ambulance to the human medical centre, an hour drive away.” That case, they would not have survived the flight to the nearest hospital which had the ability to treat them, a forty-five minute flight away, in the city. With their help, they hadn’t needed to go that far. They did have the occasional climber or hiker that broke a bone, and they dealt with them and got them on their way. Those the pack did as good neighbours and didn’t bother charging for, although did collect and submit to the health services for reimbursement. They had arranged to be able to bill to the nearest two provinces.
As they left medical, with all six looking very impressed, Charlie head butted Adam.
“Hi Charlie,” Fabian said, pulling a strip of jerky from his pocket and offering it to him. Turning to the instructors, “He’s one of the wolfdogs I told you about.”
“I’m wondering why you have them,” Asked Judy. Adam had smelled the Tiger in her when he greeted her.
“Initially, they had been created by the founders of MacLaren, as they were a tiny pack and needed some help with patrols. They kept them on, partly to explain the fur for the humans that don’t know of us, and as security for the humans we care for or are related. Now, we use the least intelligent ones as service dogs, and the income MacLaren received in grants and tax rebates is a source of income.” Adam smiled, “We have started our own breeding and training here, as well. Some of our patrols, we have used the dogs to relieve worn out wolves or for extra ears and noses.” Some patrollers regularly took them out for training, and especially in winter, the extra bodies to help with plowing through all the snow and to curl up with was nice. It also helped to keep the yearlings out of trouble.
Judy frowned, “But why do you have one? You’re a wolf.”
Adam grinned and nodded, “But I wasn’t born one. It is an open secret in my pack; most just don’t bother mentioning it unless it comes up.” He outwardly ignored the stunned silence from the instructors and continued the tour. He had decided to take it as a complement that they couldn’t tell. He pointed out the green door to the emergency shelter and the black one to the security office. He didn’t bother showing them down the hall behind the security office which went to the data centre and the other which was to the laundry and other services which were above the emergency shelter, or beyond that to their small water treatment services.
Adam led them down the tunnel and then up into the greenhouse, as the instructors digested the thought of this Alpha being a Turned-Wolf, not Born. “We have redirected a natural hot spring to here,” he said, “It allows us to have a set of nice hot pools, with the hottest at the top, and the coolest at the bottom. It will be open to all. There are also some small ones hidden in the vegetation as semi-private ones.”
Fabian smiled, “I can see you have worked hard to get it going.”
Adam nodded, “It helps we have several who love to do gardening.”
“Wolf gardeners?” Another instructor echoed, “How strange.”
Adam nodded, “One told me it was one way to get away from the seniors at Night Depths, and to do something relaxing. I have used it a couple times for punishment, as the labours at times can be lots of heavy lifting.”
Fabian nodded, “Can we do so too?” he thought the fact many wouldn’t want to do it but would help the pack was a good thing. The heavy lifting or being stuck bent over would give a physical action as well.
“Lupita, my head chef would be the one to talk to.” Adam replied, “She is in charge of everything food related. I have no problems with having punishments for the less desirable tasks. She gets almost gleeful when she gets those on punishment duty and has them often doing scrubbing and other cleaning tasks in addition to hauling.” He didn’t mention that those who were on punishment had to haul the stuff from their large storage pantry in the basement up to their in-use pantry by hand and using the stairs, while the kitchen staff used carts and the elevator. As he led them out the double sets of doors, and down a bit of the hill, to the training area, with an attached building for the theory classrooms for the students to use. Adam wasn’t sure what he would use it for after they left, or if they would take it down. He considered having it a conference centre, but that was decades away.
There was a basic wooden rail fence that wrapped around the training area, to delineate the edge of it. There was an outside training area, with several training circles, an obstacle course could be seen at the edge of the trees, along with climbing and repelling walls.
“We have the training area a little way from the pack house, so that there is less chance of the little pups getting underfoot and hurt.” Brook offered, “There is a long tunnel which links it to the pack house.” The tunnel also had all the utility connections, as it made them easier to service. Entering the short concrete overhang, they could see the edge of a heavy steel door, “It is also a Safe Area.” She said in reply to their enquiring look.
After swiping her badge, she opened the door to the gym, she led them in. There was another track inside, with areas of weight training equipment and free weights in one corner. Treadmills, including over-sized ones for Were and longer ones for when full wolf, and stationary bikes in another, and several more circles in the middle. There were racks of various weapons as well. The area was well lit from quite a few translucent domes which hung from the roof. As with the entire property, the ceiling was a height to be comfortable for a Were-form to work out in, which generally had up to a metre on the height of humans.
“We have a gallery for bow and crossbow downstairs, as well as for guns.” She offered. The last was hidden, as getting the licenses for it was very difficult, and they were still in the works, so officially didn’t exist yet.
“We are planning on having the weapons training inside, and the hand-to-hand outside.” Adam added, “Although both can be used for each. Mostly the treadmills and bikes are used in bad weather, or when needing specific training or monitoring. Healer McCoy had also had some specific requests for them, so that if the wolf is willing to listen to his limits, they can get in some controlled exercise on the equipment instead of being ordered to do no training.”
All the instructors smiled at that. “I much prefer to have the support of the healers, rather than just blanket ‘no training’ from them.” Fabian commented, “It means less time to get back up to speed after recovery from an injury. I will make sure he knows I will support him and follow what he calls for exactly.”
All the instructors were exploring the area. At the back, there was a single change room, with cubbyholes for putting clothes if needed. A large laundry hamper bin, with a rack of bags with label tags was sitting just inside the change room door. A communal shower area was also there. A shelf of quick snacks which would keep, for those that needed a quick boost of energy was sitting beside the change room door. They didn’t bother separating the sexes, as humans did, as it was just a waste of resources. Those who refused to be respectful, were disciplined. Repeated or grievous issues with the students would be expelled.
Lighting, since it was day, was using more solar collectors, which gave a good amount of light. There was LED lighting available as well, for when there wasn’t enough natural that could be collected.
“What do you have for workshops?” Caleb asked. He hadn’t seen the shops, but there were other buildings hiding in the trees he had just seen as they came in.
Adam smiled, “That’s our next stop.” He replied as he headed towards the door. As they walked down the path, past the pack house, and toward the road, “We have a vehicle mechanic shop, that is sized so we can do basically any vehicle, and is well insulated for winter, as are all the shops.” He said pointing at the first shop, with four large garage doors. “We also have a wood and metal workshop,” he pointed to the other shop, that the building was about the same size, but with only one garage door, and many windows.
Several of the trainers, Caleb included, went to look in the shops, while the others looked around, “We have two garages,” he pointed at the other side, “Both are very similar, just that one is for pack members, and the other is going to be you and any other guests. Both have a policy of mandatory wash before parking and have a wash bay just inside the first door.”
Fabian nodded, “I like that idea; park them clean, and since they are warm, will dry nicely.”
Adam nodded, “That’s the idea.” He didn’t mention they had many stalls in both equipped for electric vehicles and would add more as they switched from hydrocarbon vehicles to electric. They had designed it for eventually all the stalls to be equipped with digitally controlled chargers, but there was a fair amount of power available to the garages, with both having solar panels covering the roofs, which also helped heat them.
Leading them in, it was the start of the dinner time. All the tables and chairs were now out, and the buffet tables just outside the kitchen were being filled. Leading the instructors, they went to get their food, joining the line of wolves making their choices.
Tonight, as with many nights, there were slabs of bison steaks, as they had been able to get a small bison herd going, but still needed to get the cattle going. That would be another year or two in the works to get the stream of cattle needed. So, in the meantime, it was often bison instead of beef, and what beef they did get came up from the farms that supplied MacLaren. They planned on keeping the bison going, as they were more environmentally friendly, and they seemed to get more output for less input.
Sitting down at a random table, they started eating. A couple of the instructors moaned in pleasure as they ate the food. Adam smiled and nodded at Lupita when he caught her eye. She grinned back before ducking back into the kitchen.
“I hope you will join us on the hunt for the second Blue Moon of the year,” Brook asked hopefully of the instructors.
Fabian grinned, “Wouldn’t miss it! Two Blue moons in a single year! That is an auspicious start.”
Judy leaned back and patted her stomach, “I am sure going to need to watch how much I eat here.” She didn’t mention that it would be a nice change from some of the recent places they had been at.
Adam grinned, “Well, we can show you the trails we have here, they should keep you fit!” he joked, knowing it was very hard to get overweight as a Were.
Seeing that most of the pack was there, Brook stood and howled to get everyone’s attention.
“You all know that shortly we will be hosting the Academy here.” Brook started, many nodded in reply, as it was anticipated. “We have the head of it, Fabian,” he waved to the gathered wolves, “And several of the instructors arrive today,” She went on and introduced each of them by name.
“They will be with us for at least the next decade. Make sure you make them all feel welcome and help them if they need it.” Adam continued, “Remember we have a Blue Moon night in six days, and the instructors will be joining us. There will be others here over the next couple of weeks, and the students should be here around mid-April.” It had already been announced they would be participating in the trials.
*****
The other instructors, when they arrived over the next couple of weeks, as their courses finished at the old location, when Fabian greeted them and showed them around, were all in awe that went gleeful as they realised the facilities at their disposal. Adam saw several as they came back from the gym area and had to laugh at the large, awed grins on their faces. They looked like kids coming out of a candy shop for the first time. His wolf always showed him a different though, of a young werewolf coming out of a butcher’s shop for the first time!
Luckily, the pack was doing well, and they were now providing support for Arctic Shadow, Forest Edge, and Longview for their sensor network and computer system if their own techs couldn’t resolve them, with the support contracts adding to the pack’s long-term income. The money they were getting from The Academy was enough they had lowered the dues from the members to almost nothing, and for some of the newest members who were financially strapped, they had given them a good loan, with no interest for a decade, to help them get going. If they paid it back before the interest started, they would not need to pay any.
They had three in the pack who had financial background and were managing not only the pack’s money, but for many, also their personal finances. Adam had found out the Weres had their own bank, which he found amusing, as they were set up mainly for the packs, where they had one to a few who would manage the money for the members. They also knew members would not generally need to have much coming out, so were more in it for the long haul, and with Weres living longer, they had some older people. It had formally started in the late 1970s, where technology was starting to be used, as had been one of the main reasons they even had dial-up internet access before he came at MacLaren!
Adam loved how he didn’t need to look at his accounts even quarterly, or the pack’s accounts that often, since the three who now did it came back from their formal training, and now were handling the finances. His largest expense personally was his pack dues, as the rates did go up for the more senior ones, but they could easily pay them. Him and Brook also paid the dues for their pups too. He had put much of his money into the camera gear he could now afford.
Eventually the students who were finishing up their education, and for some reason needed an extra semester arrived and Adam had barely spoken to them, as it happened while Brook was already dealing with an issue, and Brook was needed to deal with a meeting right after they arrived, due to a delay in their arrival.
Several had gotten dropped back from a series of bad injuries earlier on, enough they had some physical classes dropped, so still needed to do some for their last semester; they would be the Guinea pigs for the training program, and how it fit with the pack. Others had failed one or more courses and had to re-take them. There was only twenty-five of them, instead of the 150 students it would be later, with also each having the option to also have a Theta go with them and get training as well.
At the first dinner, there was a bit of a scuffle as two burly trainees, who were from the Eastern Siberian pack which had hosted the pack for the last decade, pushed some wolves out of the way to get at the buffet table first.
“Dmitry! Igor! Front and Centre!” Adam called out showing his power, with a growl. He had personally greeted each of them as they arrived and had a feeling those two would cause a problem for him early on, so had kept his eyes on them. The usual hum of chat stopped, as everyone turned to watch.
Fabian walked in just as they were considering if they could ignore the order, having been alerted silently. “You heard him: move!” He roared. The two slunk slowly over, knowing if they refused, they would be kicked out.
The two wolves stood mulish and not impressed. This wasn’t their Alpha.
“Before Adam disciplines you, I am warning that you are now on notice. One more time of having to be disciplined and you will be expelled.” Fabian said, “No.” He continued as one opened his mouth, “You will not get any more chances. I have had enough of you two.”
Adam looked at them and thought about it, “You are guests at this pack. You will follow the guesting laws. You will follow the pack laws that govern this pack. You will follow the Academy’s code of conduct.” All three had items about being respectful of their hosts.
Brook stepped up with two e-readers, handing one to each of them, giving both a deadly glare as they leered at her.
“Your first punishment is to review those documents and tell me which you failed to follow already. That report must be handwritten and to me by dinner tomorrow.” Adam ordered, “Then I want a report within a week on how my pack laws are the same or different from your own.” Leaning forward he growled nastily, “Fail to deliver either and I will have to do a better punishment. Fail to do them well and I will add more punishment, or just let my mate use you as nails and hammer you into the punishment ring.”
Fabian smiled ferally, “And they both will be graded as mandatory assignments.” It meant if they failed either, it would be considered as a class fail, and as both had hit the maximum already, it would cause them to be dropped. On average they lost thirty percent of their students before they graduated. He had one year where only a third graduated, but they had started a better vetting process since then, to try to weed out those who couldn’t handle it before they spent the money to come. If they were able to fill the seat, they would have their unused portion returned. Usually, they were able to fill the seat for the next quarter of the year, as only if they were willing to have a late start and be short the time would he even allow it within the semester, and almost never more than a week or two. “You are not at your own pack. You are guests. Wild Valley was kind enough to grant you Guest Right, to let you complete your training. Don’t make me look bad for asking it of him.”
Looking up, much of the pack was there watching, “Now you must wait for everyone else to eat. And I want the e-readers back when you are done. In good condition.”
Fabian walked over to get his meal as Adam sat down and started his. *They have been a thorn in my paw their entire time.* Fabian told Adam silently, *If they weren’t from the host pack and two of the pack’s sponsors, I would not have authorized this time for them, as all the classes they are taking now are ones they had failed.* He was feeling a little bad about that. He was glad they had used all of their sponsor spots up, as he now had placed a mark against the pack for any applications in the future, meaning they would be less likely to get in.
Adam nodded, *Well, it is first meal. We will see about how well they do with the next week or two. They are going to be watched, and if they step out of line again, I will have to consider revoking their Guest Privileges and send them home, no matter what else. I have had eighteen who asked for a ‘new start’ or declared themselves as Lone Wolves already join up. Many are a bit skittish, and I want them to know they are safe.* A few were ones who had been declared Rogue and kicked out, but when he heard their stories, had looked for further details, before deciding to grant their wish for a fresh start, and sealing their previous details, as the reason for being kicked out didn’t seem good. In all of their cases, they had worked hard to fit in, and to follow the rules. None had any major issue, just minor ones as they got used to being part of a pack. The first couple of times he went easy on them, even as he reassured them that he wasn’t going to kick them out. Now, he had arranged with the elders that any of those, would have an intense course with an elder to review the pack laws, and how they were used in practice, to make sure they knew how they were expected to conduct themselves. The three who had gone through it were thankful for it.
After dinner, several other students came up to talk to the Alphas, and with them being respectful, found them to be laid back and willing to discuss many topics. Several asked for copies of the pack’s rules and let them know they were going to be getting them the next morning at their orientation. He was considering how to not have this happen this way again.
*****
Handing in the first report the next dinner time, he sighed, as they had done it in Russian, not English, following the letter of what he had ordered. He passed it to Fabian, who gave a mental sigh, *I’ll see about getting you a translation.* He told Adam, who nodded. *Our common courtesy, is if a language is not specified, and if known, is done in the instructor’s language, or English, which all know.* Fabian added, annoyed at the two even more.
*As you said, they are thorns in your paw. I will be refusing to extend their guesting, so will be gone no later than the Solstice.* Adam replied. Some of the wolves who were coming didn’t need the additional stress of wolves like them.
Fabian sighed, *I don’t know how I let them be sponsored. It is also why we didn’t renew with that pack. They had not much care for the others, and especially those you call Theta, and they call Unranked.* It had started right from the beginning. *Your pack is restful compared to the work I had to do; all are respectful, and many seem to go out of their way to be helpful.*
Adam grinned, *Many got out of a bad spot, from their last Alphas. They seemed to understand what I want and expect of them at this point, but there were several who had to be taught the lesson.* Luckily, after the first few of disciplinary actions, where the wolves did crawl out of the challenge ring, covered in painful bruises, without any broken bones, and they hadn’t got more than a touch or two on Brook or himself, the respect of them grew.
