Pack Mentality

by Idella Breen

  “The kind that needs to stay buried.”

  Gwen sighed but relented and stayed quiet the rest of the drive back. She was just climbing out of his truck when Sam was upon them.

  “Those bastards! Remus, how could you let them get away with saying all of that?” Sam growled as he followed Remus into his house. They had all decided to meet here after the meeting so Remus could go over everything and they could decide on the next course of action.

  “Remus! Why didn't you defend Cait and Snow?” Sam asked.

  “Remus, what is going on?”

  “Are we at war?”

  “Did they take our land?”

  “What about the children? They’re too young to fight.”

  “Remus? What are we to do?”

  “Remus, what is the meaning of this?”

  Remus didn’t answer at first as he pulled out a beer from the fridge. Gwen tsked as she set about making tea and coffee for all the members that had crowded into the kitchen. She kept telling him to have these meeting in the living room, but for some reason, everyone liked to be in the kitchen and therefore in her way, as she tried to keep everyone hydrated and fed so they could burn all the energy yelling and huffing at each other. Oh, the annoyances of being an omega.

  “Remus!”

  “Remus!”

  “Enough,” he spoke the word quietly but the depth of intensity held the alpha’s command behind it and even though Gwen was immune to it she responded to it out of habit and quieted down. He looked at everyone in the room before glancing back down at his beer.

  “We will increase the wolves on border patrol as well as increase the frequency of training for the younger wolves.”

  Sam frowned. “Why?”

  “Art is more ambition than I thought. It concerns me. He was trying to bait me throughout the entire meeting. He was testing my limits for control. I don’t know if he got what he was looking for but I don’t like this. My gut is telling me to be wary while my instincts are telling me to prepare for a threat.”

  “What do you mean, Remus?” Gwen whispered.

  He turned to her, his brow in a deep frown. “I’m saying that Art wants our land and maybe even the land from the surrounding monsters and he’s willing to do everything in his power to claim it. He’s not only ambition but smart as well and maybe even somewhat desperate. Desperate people are unpredictable. I don’t like that. He’s a threat to us where we stand today and I believe he will continue to be a threat for as long as there is breath in his body.”

  They were quiet as what he said sunk in. Sam spoke first. “Then what do we do?”

  Remus shifted in his chair and took a drink. “We prepare for a fight. We will protect what is ours.”

  Sam and Gwen’s eyes met across the room as the kettle whistled. In each other’s gaze, they saw not only realization but also resolution. They would both fight to protect their way of life, plain and simple. Gwen quickly picked up the kettle and the silence in the kitchen was unbearable. “Coffee? Tea? Lots and lots of whiskey?”

  “Top shelf,” someone called out.

  “Right!” Gwen pulled out the shot glasses and the whiskey and Sam came over to help her. This was war. They were really going to war over land. Gwen had never experienced this sort of thing before. Sure, her old clan had been disbanded for this very same reason. It was how her father ended up meeting Remus. But war? Really? Right now? Right here?

  Her hand shook as she poured the drink and Sam’s hand came to rest on it, stilling it. She looked up and met his frown. He opened his mouth but then quickly shut it. Gwen saw frustration settle in his features before he opened his mouth again.

  “Gwen—”

  She waited but he closed his mouth again.

  “What is it?” She asked

  “We need to talk.”

  Gwen sighed and looked down at the shot glasses. Finally, she looked back up at Sam. “Not right now.”

  He nodded. “When?”

  “Soon, Sam. I need more time.”

  He studied her profile before nodding, picking up some of the glasses, he began passing them around. She had been avoiding him lately and it seemed he was getting as tired of it as she was. Sam had always been a good friend and as a result, he always seemed to be in her business more so than the rest of the pack. In some ways, he was her big overprotective brother and in others, he was just a good-old- pain-in-the-ass. Either way, she held a deep fondness for the man and as such he deserved to know what was going on in her life. After a quick look around the room, and a tense shiver as a draft seemed to flow through it, Gwen stood in the crowded kitchen holding her own glass up as Remus stood.

  “We will fight, and we will win, and they will sing of our victory and valor. For we fight for home and we fight for family. For Lander’s!” He held up his glass.

  “For Lander’s,” they all replied before tossing back the bitter biting drink.

  Gwen grimaced as she coughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Once again, she met Sam’s gaze across the room and held back her anxiety. Change was inevitable and the whispers of death sang to the silent beating of the drums of war, it was what her father had said before her old clan had gone to fight, and they had lost. Gwen feared more than she cared to admit. She had lost one home already and she had no intention of losing another. She couldn’t run from this, she didn’t want to, but her hands shook when she placed the glass back into the sink and a coldness seemed to slither into her bones when she climbed into the bed she claimed in Remus’s spare bedroom after the meeting. When she closed her eyes, it was to memories she wished would have stayed forgotten, and when she woke the next morning it was to tear stains on her pillows and gray skies threatening to release their burden of tears onto the earth below.

  10

  Gwen turned the corner and could clearly hear Elena’s voice down the hallway.

  “Uncle Remus said that you’re getting old. So, I understand Mom.”

  “Did he now?” Cait responded and Gwen could just imagine the fierce twinkle in her eyes.

  “Don’t be too hard on him, Cait. He’s actually the one that’s getting old.” Snow giggled.

  “I think it’s time we went a few rounds in the ring. Once I get a clean bill of health and before we take off again, Remus and I need to have a little conversation on the definition of old and how it’s defined by how hard you can hit.”

  Elena laughed and Gwen could hear the groan of bed springs and figured the girl had found her way onto Cait’s hospital bed. Snow laughed along with her.

  “I told you we would pull through it,” Cait said.

  Snow said. “You always keep your promises.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then I want you to make me one promise you will never break,” Snow said.

  “Anything.”

  “Value your own life as much as you value both of ours. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life Cait but I guarantee I would hate every minute of it.”

  Elena laughed. “I promise to protect you both!”

  It was to that declaration that Gwen knocked on the door to see the happy family smiling stupidly at one another.

  “Hey, all!”

  Elena’s face lit up, “Aunty Gwen!” She yelled as she jumped down and ran towards her. Gwen held out her hand and maneuvered around the child as her hands were currently filled with a fruit basket and Elena didn’t understand not diving at people when they couldn’t catch her descent.

  “Wait, Elena! My hands are full!” She felt the weight of the child slam into her legs and managed to not topple over. She was mildly surprised to see that Elena’s head now reached just above her hip. The kid was growing like a tree!

  “Elena, when did you get so big?”

  She stepped back giving Gwen enough room to place the basket down on the window ledge next to some flowers. “I eat my veggies and drink milk every day.”

  Gwen turned around and looked the kid up and down. Elena was lank
y, she had always been more like Cait in that respect, but there was definitely some muscle developing, she was going to be turning six soon. Gwen wasn’t too short, she stood around five-four, just at the average. Basing on her current height, Elena was going to be taller than Snow for sure, probably closer to Cait’s five-nine.

  “You’re growing like a sprig kid!”

  Elena threw out her hands and grinned, “I’ll be as big as a tree!”

  “We won’t be able to fit you in the house!”

  “I’ll be a house!”

  “We can charge rent to all the birds and squirrels. You’ll make a fortune!”

  Elena began bouncing on her heels. “I’ll be richer than grandma!”

  Gwen paused and rubbed her chin in thought making Elena pause in her excitement. Gwen shook her head. “It’s no good.”

  “What, aunty?”

  “It’s just no good, kid.”

  “What isn’t?”

  Gwen threw her arms out nearly hitting Snow who conveniently climbed back into Cait’s bed to watch. “You just can’t beat your grandma! That woman is filthy rich. Like bagillionaire rich. Like out of this world rich! Not even you growing into a tree could beat her.”

  Elena paused, then nodded as if coming to a conclusion then looked up at Gwen, and in all seriousness said, “We should do it anyway.”

  Gwen burst into laughter. “Good on ya kid. I like your spirit. Elena, you’re a born visionary, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  “Alright you two, enough planning future businesses. Gwen, how are you?” Snow said from where she was now cuddled into Cait’s arms. Elena pouted and climbed up only to snuggle down between them. Gwen saw Cait grimace a bit before the three of them settled into some type of comfort on a twin hospital bed. It was amazing really, Gwen was tempted to see if she could fit too but figured Cait might beat her up for trying, so she took the chair at the end of the bed.

  “Just came by to see how the patient was holding up and if good’ ole Cait was still live and kicking ass.”

  Cait smirked. “That reminds me, tell Remus, I’m going to kick his ass for talking smack about me!” She said and Gwen nodded thoughtfully.

  “Will you be up and moving again soon?”

  “I should be. We still need to speak with the doctor. I think Adam was speaking with him a minute ago.”

  Snow nodded when Cait looked to her. “They should be coming back soon.”

  Gwen nodded. “How are you guys?”

  Snow shrugged. “Tired. Worn out really. We did a lot in a very short time but what’s new, right?”

  “Are you coming to the moon festival in two days?”

  Cait nodded. “We wouldn’t miss it. It’s a tradition.”

  Gwen crossed her legs like a pretzel and rested her elbows on her knees. “So, tell me all about it, then! I want to know all the dirty details of your latest adventures!’

  “Gwen, really—”

  “Nope! You guys don’t have a choice. You don’t get to go on an adventure and not tell me about it. It’s the aunt rule.”

  “You’re not really—”

  Snow smacked Cait, cutting her off, and making the woman grimace. Gwen got an odd satisfaction watching Cait slowly getting beat up by her wife and child. It was only entertaining since the werewolf was usually so prickly and grumpy yet those two had her so wrapped around their fingers that she didn’t even know how whipped she was.

  “Where do you want us to begin, Gwen?”

  “From when you left here after dropping Elena off.”

  Snow nodded and began to recount everything that had happened to end with them in the hospital once again. Elena fell asleep at some point and they had to stop a few times when Adam and the doctor came back in. Adam kissed Snow’s head, and Gwen realized she was totally a daddy’s girl, and told her to stop by later or her mother would kill her, politically, and then they continued on until visiting hours were over. Then Gwen retired back to Snow’s apartment, to comfort the girl when she broke down into tears, like Gwen knew she would. Gwen held her and told her that Cait was fine now and that everything would be alright. Snow believed her. Snow calmed down and eventually fell asleep after a cup of tea. Gwen let herself out and made her way back to Remus’s house. She passed Sam on her way to her room in the living room. He was on the sofa staring moodily at the TV. Sam nodded at her when she walked passed. Remus had chewed him out earlier about his behavior yesterday. Remus had stated simply that if Sam wanted the second-in-command position in the clan then he needed a cooler head and to set a better example. He’d said some other things to Sam that Gwen didn’t hear but whatever Remus had said had left her friend in a thoughtful but sullen mood. They hadn’t had a chance to really talk either so there was still a tension between them but Gwen still wasn’t really ready to speak with him. She’d hardly had the time to make sense of all the drama in her life let alone explain it to someone else.

  As she prepared to go to bed she just kept running over the last few days in her mind. When she finally laid down to go to sleep, Gwen wondered, not for the first time, if love was really worth all the heartache. Elena’s happy smiles and Cait’s careful grimaces flashed in her mind and she had her answer as she rolled over and went to sleep.

  Gwen heard the sound of muffled voices as she followed her nose to the front door. The smells of peppermint, a solemn thunderstorm, and cleansing rain were permeating through the house alerting her to the arrival of her friends. There was a knock at the door but Gwen was already in the process of opening it.

  “Hey! You’re here just in time. The boys and girls are all set up in the backyard and ready for the kid.”

  Gwen bent down and pinched Elena’s cheeks making the girl giggle, “Are you ready, pup?”

  Elena frowned and tilted her head to the side, “For what?”

  Gwen looked up at Cait, “You didn’t tell her?”

  Cait smirked. “It’s a surprise.”

  “Well, it will be one heck of a surprise, alright. Will she stick beside you?”

  Cait nodded and Gwen stepped aside to let them enter. She looked over when Snow came up beside her and whispered as they made their way into the backyard, “Is the first time difficult?”

  Gwen thought the question over for a minute, then shrugged. “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Whether she’s a natural or not.”

  “What if she—”

  “Snow?”

  “What?”

  Gwen chuckled. “Calm down. She’ll be fine.”

  Snow gave an exasperated sigh. “Why do I feel like I’m the only one worrying about all of this?”

  “Because you are. Elena is a Fallon. Not only that, she’s yours and Cait’s daughter. She can handle this.”

  Gwen smirked as Snow gazed over at her and was relieved to see her relax a bit.

  “Okay,” Snow breathed as her shoulders sagged.

  Gwen smiled. “Good, now will you sit with me for old-times-sake?”

  Snow nodded and waved to Cait and Elena as Gwen led her over to the spot she had claimed earlier in the night with her heavy woolen blanket. It was a necessity to get a good spot and the blanket kept the chill from the ground. Despite being summer, the ground was still cold in the middle of the night. Gwen looked back at Snow when she realized she had stopped. Gwen felt her face flush when she noticed Snow was staring at the flask in the center of the blanket. All she could do was shrug and giggle nervously. “It’s been a long night.”

  Snow nodded, “No judgment here. I was just surprised. I didn’t think you were much of a drinker.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then I guess it has been a really long night.”

  Gwen took a seat and slipped the flask into her jeans’ pocket, “You have no idea.”

  Snow plopped down next to her and together they waited for the moon to reach the highest point in the sky. They chatted as they waited and Gwen was relieved to finally catch up with Snow and he
ar of her adventures with the goblins. She was a bit jealous that she couldn’t tag along and as Snow reached the end of her tale Gwen felt her cell phone buzz in her back-pocket, again. She had been ignoring this particular buzz since she got home from her date with Jezebel. This particular buzz belonged to only one person and it was the one person she was dreading talking with. So, like any sane person, she ignored the problem and pretended it didn’t exist, at least until she could get up the nerves to face it, or so she told herself.

  Gwen ‘s frown deepened when her phone gave another short buzz alerting her that she had another voicemail. Gwen had to give it to the woman, Silvia was nothing if not persistent, but she somehow stopped short of being an annoyance. She only called once every four or so days and her voicemails were short and simple. The first one Gwen had listened to simply stated that Silvia wished to make up their last attempted date and that she would really like to see her. At least, that how they started out. Gwen felt kind of bad for the woman as her voicemails had devolved to borderline begging for Gwen to just answer her phone.

  Gwen pulled out her phone and turned on her screen confirming that she did, in fact, have another message from Silvia. She was tempted to listen to it but the first howls of the moon festival broke the silence of the night. Cait’s deep and smooth song melded together with Remus’s rough howls into a warm melody as they say in their natural tongue.

  “I sing a song of the new one, let all who are near answer. I, Cait Fallon, welcome my kin to the Fallon Clan. She is young but strong and born to lead. I sing an oath to Elena Fallon. I swear to guide you, I swear to lift you up, I swear to be your words of reason and to never let you give up.”

  The other wolves from the Lander Clan sang in chorus, their howls rich and lyrical. As they sang, they began to slowly taper off until there was an anxious silence. Gwen could feel the nerves rolling off Snow in waves but from the rest of the wolves, there was only pure excitement and expectation that filled the clearing beneath the moon's glow. Gwen saw Cait’s glowing amber eyes, bewitched by the moon and drunk with its power, look expectantly to Elena and the little werewolf lifted her muzzle into the air, her glowing electric blue eyes a sharp contrast to her dark fur, she was the dark knight among the mismatched clan or white, red, and brown. Her youthful howl continued where the rest left off. The song Elena sang was sweet and innocent.