The Lone Wolf

7, Anodyne

Rishima was probably the least buff of the four Alphas, although still maintaining strong visible muscles. Her skin was a shade darker than Leyra's, and her hair was long and dark and braided down her back. She had thick dark eyebrows and full light brown lips, and a hooked nose. What seemed like homemade jewelry adorned her neck and wrists, a series of metal and wood beads.

Fox fidgeted in his spot, unsure of where to sit. Rishima didn't smile at him, but she held out a hand towards the table in invitation.

"Come sit, Fox," she said. She sat at the head of the table, with the Beta at her left and the Omegas at her right. Fox surveyed the available spots, and decided to pull out a chair that was two seats away from the Beta. He figured sitting away from the Omegas would help everyone get a decent impression of him. He folded his clothes up in his lap and used a slight grip on them as an anchor for his newly-returned anxiety.

"Sorry I couldn't take you this morning, getting everyone ready for the day took forever," Rishima said.

"That's alright, ma'am," Fox replied quietly.

"I see Ahren already got you the clothes Leyra promised, so we don't have to worry about that. I'm supposed to give you a tour, too, but I don't think you want to be carted around the town, so here's this map," Rishima continued, and she pulled out a long folded piece of paper from amidst her pile and slid it across the table towards Fox. Fox reached over and picked it up.

"You can study it so that you have a decent idea of where everything is for when you have tasks there," she said.

Fox was surprised he'd been given a map of their territory. He unfolded the paper and looked the map over. It had a satellite view of the town, with each building clearly labeled. There were highlighted lines of different colors spanning between the buildings and through the surrounding areas. A key on the bottom corner of the map told him which colors meant roads, sidewalks, dirt trails, and streams. It wasn't a map of their entire territory, because Fox didn't see the campsite, bonding sector, training sector, or the farm sector he had heard about that morning. It only showed the housing sector, the Alpha's houses, the town, and the edge of the territory where the busy road cut through.

Fox stared at the line for the highway, the road he'd been on before he got captured. It only passed through a small section of their territory, wrapping around the edge of the town, and the part that was specifically within the border was only two miles long. The jagged lines that highlighted the pack's border ran alongside that road, only half a mile apart from each other.

Disappointment, frustration, and self hatred brewed inside Fox's chest. If he had been on foot, he could have easily skirted around the edge of the territory and kept the road within sight, allowing him to continue on his planned route of travel without trespassing at all. And if he had just stayed inside the old man's car instead of panicking and bolting, he probably wouldn't have been spotted or scented out right away, and he could've passed through undetected.

He gritted his teeth and prevented himself from releasing a heavy sigh. He folded up the map and tucked it in his lap with his clothes. He was not happy with himself at all.

Rishima, not privy to his inner turmoil, proceeded to give him a rundown of what she expected out of him, and what his tasks with her would include.

Rishima helped oversee the schooling for the pups, who were taught by the three others in the room, as well as by some of the adult pack members. They had two schools, one for the younger kids and one for the older kids. Because of Fox's status as a lone wolf, he wasn't allowed anywhere near the pups, and therefore wouldn't have to worry about helping out at the schools. They also had a youth center, which was basically a recreational center for anyone under 18, and Fox wasn't allowed to work there either. Fox was glad for that; kids made him uncomfortable.