by Casey Morgan
I go back inside and find Anson hanging out a little bit away from the mess hall. He doesn’t seem to be doing too much at the moment, which makes it the perfect time to approach him. He really hates having his important work interrupted even if it’s just him having a glass of scotch in his office.
I take a deep breath, giving myself an internal pep talk. I shouldn’t be having this much anxiety when it comes to asking for a laptop, but there it is, making this task that much harder.
I walk up to Anson, ready to ask my questions. He spots me and starts to approach me himself, arms wide open. Before I can get a word out, he smacks me on the back, the contact making a hearty slapping noise.
“Pax! I was just thinking about you. Some of the other pack members were asking me if you could help out with some of the various projects we have going on around here. It sounded like a great way to keep you occupied because you’re always telling me that you want more to do.”
That’s true. I’ve constantly been asking him to give me more to do. And, finally, after month after month of me constantly bothering him, I guess Anson finally listened.
“Also,” he continues, “I was hoping to talk about some things. There’s a lot of stuff we’ve got to get organized around here.”
Of course, there’s a lot that needs to get organized. Everything we have runs fully analog, and we have centuries of logs just sitting in a whole bunch of rooms. It takes like an entire day, sometimes even longer, to find the file that simply will tell you the location of what you are looking for. And, hopefully, everything has been updated properly, or you are in for a world of headache.
This is a conversation we always have. I’m not averse to helping out on the compound, but I feel like Anson underutilizes me. I end up doing things that take me no time, and I’m back to my same usual problem of being bored.
But we could up discuss that for a while. I need to bring up the reason I came to find him.
“Yeah, yeah, we can talk about all that, but I actually came here to ask you something.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“Well, I was hoping it might be possible for me to get a new laptop, maybe update the internet connections we have around here. I think it would really be a benefit because then I could do all that research a lot faster. It always takes me such a long time to get the reports back to you guys. Maybe we could even get some of the younger members tech trained.”
I was hoping Anson would be more than happy to get things rolling with some minor improvements – and then maybe I’d be able to recommend even more – but he just frowns back at me. I kept going, adding how this would actually be beneficial for the pack, but the frown remains.
It’s the same thing over and over.
“I’ve already told you, Pax. I’m not getting you any computers or whatever other newfangled stuff you want. You already have all that stuff; I don’t understand why you need new ones. I’m sure you’re just not using it right or, I don’t know, I’m sure there’s something you can do to make it work.”
“I need a new laptop because the one I have, it barely works.”
“But it works?”
“I mean, technically. It like turns on and stuff.”
“There you go! That’s what it’s supposed to do.” He’s acting like he’s just made a profound statement, but it’s obvious that Anson really isn’t listening to me. “Plus,” he continues, “all that fancy stuff costs way too much money. What’s the point anyways? We don’t need all those over the top do-dads here. You have what you need, and that’s that.”
I hate when he throws that excuse in my face because I know we have literal billions locked up in the vault in the basement from the silver mine we own. We could do a full renovation of the compound and still have enough money to last us multiple generations. This feels like total bullshit coming from Anson.
And I don’t have what I need. He thinks I do because he’s like twenty, thirty years behind, but he’s the alpha, so there are some things I can’t push back too hard on. I just have to do whatever he says, whenever he says it. But something inside of me says to try just a little harder.
“Come on, Anson. I’m telling you, if you just trust me, this is going to be such a great investment. Why can’t you have a little bit of faith in me?”
Suddenly, he’s got a hold on my collar. I feel his fingers tightening as he pulls me really close to his face. I don’t even fight it.
“Look, Pax. What you should be invested in is what’s going on with the pack. You’re always coming to me, asking me for all this stuff, claiming it’s going to help us out or whatever, but how do you know what’s going to help the pack if you never actually concern yourself with our affairs?”
“I do pay attention.”
“How? You’re always playing around on that laptop of yours, doing god knows what. You don’t ask about what’s going on with the pack. You never come to any of the meetings anymore.” He lets go of my collar by pushing me away. I adjust my shirt, a little annoyed, but knowing my place. “You know what you should be doing.”
Chapter Three
Pax
He grabs my collar again, and it takes a lot for me not to twist myself out of his hold. Whenever the alpha tells you something, you have to oblige. I stomach all of my feelings and follow or get pulled by Anson into the large dining hall. It’s the weekly meeting with the elders, which, admittedly, I have known about and was planning on not coming to. I used to attend, but the meetings never benefitted me. Most of the people in charge are stuck in their old ways. So, I decided to spend my time finding ways to improve our lives. Some have been easier to implement than others.
When Anson lets go of me, I take a seat.
“Sit here and listen. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.”
Anson leaves me be to go and take his place in the alpha’s seat, ready to lead this meeting. “Thank you all for coming. I know there have been some concerns that a few of you have raised to me. Today we’re going to talk about it and see if we need a course of action.”
The meeting starts, and I listen closely. I may have been dragged here against my will, but I’m not going to pout. Actually, I’m kind of curious about the concerns people have been bringing to Anson. They must be serious if he’s bringing them up at a meeting with the elders. My whole time living here, nothing close to bad has ever really happened.
Ershin, one of the most respected members of our pack, stands up. “We’ve been getting reports that there is a rival pack closing in our territory. While we’ve been unable to verify this, it is alarming. We’ve been on this land for too many years to lose it now. What we have is much too valuable, and I think it’s time for us to come up with a plan to defend ourselves. Something more significant than the guards we have patrolling the perimeter.”
Konrad is next. Like Ershin, and really all the elders, Konrad commands respect. He just tends to be a little bit bristlier than the rest, leading to a lot of unnecessary confrontation. At least in my opinion.
“While what Ershin is saying makes sense, it only makes sense if there was an actual rival pack wandering around woods. You said so yourself that the reports are unverified, so why waste our precious time and resources protecting ourselves against someone who very well may not even be there? Besides, no wolf pack can take on the Staymans. Our access and immunity to silver make us untouchable. I think our time would be better spent taking care of our orchard and various affairs. You all know we have a backlog, and it’s starting to get out of hand.”
From there, the other elders start to basically squabble, everyone ending up on either Ershin or Konrad’s side. It sounds like some people think we’ve gone a little bit soft. If I wasn’t already on thin ice with Anson, I’d bring up how technology could help us protect our borders, but I know he’d end up just snapping at me, so there’s no point.
But watching the elders act like a bunch of fighting children is rather interesting.
“Everybody quiet down!” A
nson commands. Since the words came out of the alpha’s mouth, the whole room goes silent. “Look, both sides have made good points. Protecting our borders is important, but we also don’t want to waste energy or resources. Personally, I don’t think there is any need to worry. Our territory is secure, and, if it comes to it, we are more than capable of protecting our land. I’m sure if there is anyone wandering around our borders that it’s a lone wolf or two who’s in no way a threat.”
A lone wolf? This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of the concept of a lone wolf. Werewolves have been known to leave their packs, and, once someone leaves, they aren’t allowed back. It’s why I’ve never left. I know I butt heads with Anson a little too often, but my family is my family, and I couldn’t imagine not being able to ever see or talk to them ever again.
“I’m sure if we leave them alone,” Anson continues, “they’ll just wander away, and everything will be fine. The problem will just take care of itself. There is definitely a whole slew of things that we can occupy ourselves with that truly require our attention.”
Maybe I should go and check this out myself. I’ve never had the chance to see a lone wolf up close. I know a few of our own members have left, but this was a while ago before I was born. This was even before Anson was alpha. No one really talks about it, though. I only know about it because I went through the records in the basement when I was younger. Living in the compound has always stoked boredom in me, so it’s been a constant struggle to find something to do. But tonight, when everyone is asleep, I can sneak out and see for myself what’s going on.
The meeting continues with chatter that doesn’t really intrigue me. This is why I never come to these things. I end up being bored per usual and just want to leave.
And I try to stay focused. I really do. I lean back in my chair, ready to barely keep my eyes open for the next hour or two, but all of a sudden, the doors open. That’s not supposed to happen. The meetings are uninterrupted by Anson’s orders. He hates anything taking attention away from the elders’ weekly talk. The only reason someone can come in is if there is a real and true emergency.
“What is it?” Anson yells over the chatter that has already started to form. But, once our alpha’s booming voice looms over us, everyone quiets down. I look at the pack member who has walked in. I can already tell that whatever is going on has this person worried. If they were willing to interrupt the meeting, it must be something huge. Or they will face due punishment.
“There’s a car approaching the compound.”
“What’s the big deal with that? It’s probably a couple of lost travelers who got turned around.” That does happen every so often. If someone somehow gets their car driving along the paths we have here, it’s very easy to get lost.
We do get visitors every now and then, but it’s always scheduled. When someone is on our land, we make it our business to know.
But if it was just a couple of turned around travelers, I’m sure the guard would know that since it does happen sometimes. We usually just give them directions to get out of here.
If it is someone else, who could it be?
“I don’t think it’s that, sir. There are two people in the car. One is human, but the other one is a werewolf.”
That’s why it’s such a big deal. Other wolves would know that we’re already here. It’s not a mistake that whoever is driving up is coming here. They’re coming to see us for a reason. And, they have a human with them. It’s not totally unlikely for a werewolf and human to be friends, it happens, but we take the utmost care to avoid letting anyone outside of the community know what we are. There’s a chance this human knows about werewolves, but there’s also a chance they don’t. The only way to find out is to meet with them.
“Hmm, that is strange,” Anson mumbles. I’m sure we’re all thinking about what he just said. Anson looks back at the elders. “We should go see what this is about. Make sure there isn’t any funny business.”
Everyone in the room gets up. I can tell there are more than a few worried people among us. We aren’t a group that likes strangers because that could mean our secrets getting out, which is the worst possible thing. We’ve managed to live on our compound in relative peace for years, for centuries, really. We are far enough out of town that the locals don’t bother us. It’s a good setup for our kind.
But with isolation like ours comes quite a few cons. We’re so stuck in our ways that sometimes it feels like we’ll never move forward. And with the world not waiting for us to catch up, I’m worried we’re just going to get more and more vulnerable as time goes on.
I know there’s no use for me to stay back in the dining hall, so I get up and follow everyone. If anything, I’m curious to see who is going to come out of that car. Anson doesn’t allow me to interact with people not on the compound. I’ve had the chance here and there, I’ve even been to Renton a couple of times, but there’s always been someone with me to make sure I didn’t have too much fun. The few times I’ve spoken to a non-pack member, it’s been under very controlled circumstances.
Maybe whoever’s pulling up our long, long driveway is about to bring a little excitement into my life. Lord knows I could use it. And even if nothing happens, it’s a good momentary distraction.
Chapter Four
Mini
“So, my name's Flint.”
We've been driving for a few minutes, and, even though that's a pretty short amount of time, I'm surprised he's said anything. I mean, it's totally natural to make introductions to the random girl you picked up on the side of the road, but I don’t know, I’m just not really thinking straight. Running out of the house like that has really done a number on me.
But nothing has ever felt right in my life, so this is par for the course, I guess. That doesn’t mean I should let everything go off the rails. Once I get on that bus, I’m going to start making better and smarter decisions.
But, right now, I have to deal with the one I just made.
“Well, hello, Flint. I'm Mini.” Since I'm stuck in this car with him, I may as well turn on the charm. I can’t let him know how flustered I am. It’ll only make me seem more vulnerable.
“Mini, that's a cute little name.”
The inner me scowls because I hate when men say that about my name. I get that it is literally the short form of miniature, but it's so condescending. It’s like they think they are the first people to ever tell me such a thing. However, I hear it like all the time, so not a single one of them is original.
Not that I ever say anything about it.
“Well, I'm a cute little girl!” is what I say instead. I can see Flint just eating this all up. It's all for my greater good. That's what I've got to keep telling myself. I do all this cutesy, demeaning stuff because I need to get a better life for myself.
“That's funny. I'm sure you've used that line on other unsuspecting men.”
“I don't know,” I shrug, twirling my hair. “Maybe you're the first.”
“I doubt it, but that's a longer conversation for later.” He grins. I can guess how that conversation might go. “Once I'm done with my business at the orchard, we can get started on the business between the two of us.”
Something about this guy is setting off all the alarms in my head. He hasn't done anything explicitly creepy or wrong, but his general aura is off-putting. I hope whatever he has to do at the orchard doesn't take too long.
I've heard stories of the people who live there. My momma never let me go and check it out, partially because she found them extremely weird, but also because they are highly averse to strangers. The lore was that, if you were a bad kid, if you didn’t listen to your parents or do your homework or whatever, the Staymans would come and take you away from your home and rip you to shreds like some kind of local Big Bad Wolf. We were told our bodies would be in so many pieces that they’d never find us all of us or even be able to recognize the body. Our names would just get added to all the missing kids from Renton, assumed eaten by the
creepy apple cult people.
As I got older, I realized they were just a kind of eccentric group who liked to keep to themselves.
Admittedly, I am a little curious. Even though my Momma had always tried to keep me away from this area, one time, when I ran away, I found myself at the edge of the woods. I was too scared to actually walk into them, but I remember seeing someone close to my age wandering around on the inside. We kind of just looked at one another before running away.
So, this will be my second time being here, though I'd rather not be going with a complete stranger like Flint. I wonder what kind of business he has there, though. The only people in town who ever talk to the Staymans are the ones buying their apples.
“So, what are you going to do at the orchard? Do you own some kind of apple-based business or something?”
“Oh, no,” he chuckles. “I deal in property. Mainly farmland, stuff like that.”
“So, you want to buy the orchard?”
That would cost a fortune. I'm pretty sure the people who live there own most of that land. It's how they got away with being isolated for so long. If Flint plans on buying it, he must have a stack of cash hidden somewhere.
“Not all of it. There's some rough acreage on the borders of what the people up there own. They aren't doing much to develop it, so I think it's a great opportunity for me.”
That makes sense, I think. I guess if it's land they aren't using, they may as well sell it to this Flint guy. I'm not sure I would, though. Something just rubs me the wrong way about him. Like he's holding a bunch of nefarious secrets.
“That sounds like a good idea,” I comment.
“Oh, so you have a head for business?” he mocks. It sounds like he thinks I'm stupid. I have been turning up the bimbo factor, so it's whatever.
I’m still a little irked, though.
