Little Wolf

Ch 47 The Other King

Mac shook his head, unable to explain how the other wolves got there.

"Mac, you are not a storyteller my friend."

"We heard you call," said Cherokee. "I couldn't sleep. Every time I dozed off I dreamt of your howls. We were almost here when Black Wolf called. The others heard you as well. We came. Of course we came."

He looked thoughtfully at me. "Spirit Wolf lives within you."

"He is not mine alone."

"Did you howl?"

"All frigging night long!" exclaimed Derrick.

I threw him a look.

"What? You did! For hours!"

I had to nod. "I did."

"You went far into the wolf you said," he added.

I smiled slightly. "I'm always into the wolf, now more than ever."

"About you being an Alpha King..." Lobo's friend asked as he bounced his daughter on his knee.

"I don't claim any kind of kingship. Wolf packs have an alpha, not a king. I do claim to be alpha of our pack when we run as full wolves. Though if I were a king, you heard the only laws I'd have; no killing, no biting if they don't want bitten, and obviously no kidnapping people or forcing women.

"Lone Wolf played up the whole royal thing a bit because of what my," I kept myself from saying Sheep, wanting him to have some dignity, "young friend's alpha had taught him. If I have to play up being an Alpha King to keep those wolves from hurting their own pack members or other people, I will. I don't expect anyone who knows better to actually believe I'm insisting on being king to all wolves or some such nonsense. "

"Good to know you don't expect me to hail you as my king. Yet you do claim to be alpha of a pack of alphas. Who is in your pack?"

"First you have to remember what an alpha is among real wolves. It's the breeding pair. As humans, that's really every adult. Your pack is your family. As a human, I have no right to rule over your family.

"When we get together as a pack of wolves, wolf nature needs us to have an established hierarchy. Wolf nature would have us killing each other for dominance unless the weaker wolves run away or submit. Being wolf and man, I can give respect to each member of my pack as both the wolf and the man they are.

"Anyone who comes to run as wolves gets ranked same way real wolves do. Those who have no idea what a wolf pack is start learning. Once you learn which of your reactions come from the wolf nature within, you can be conscious of what actions as a man are actually coming from the wolf. You learn balance."

He looked at me thoughtfully, questioning my assertion. "But you're talking about being feral."

"No, what dad and I understand as being feral... we refer to it as being lost in the wolf. I've gotten lost a time or two. Dad has. Family helps ground you, family and good friends. What you call being feral we just refer to as being wolf."

"And you've been...wolf?"

I shifted, wolf looking out at him from my human face. My nose wrinkled, and something like a snort came out of me. I saw the looks I got from around the table and I shifted back. I felt tired still and didn't want to overdue things.