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Hours passed and Damon wasn't back.
Jackson stared into the flames of the old fireplace, listening for any sign of the Alpha's return. Alastor and Wesley's indistinct conversation echoed beside him, and the wind whistled quietly outside. However, inside his head, his thoughts were as loud as a thunderstorm.
If The Herald really was the cause for his flashback, then what did it mean? He frowned, trying to recall his dreams of the nursery, but it was like he was locked behind a jammed door, one he wouldn't be able to break into until this world lost its grip on him. He didn't feel like sleeping, though. After all, he couldn't think while he was asleep, could he? How would he make sense of what he was seeing if he couldn't decipher anything during his recollection?
With a quiet sigh, he rested the side of his face on his clenched fist and leaned his elbow on his knee. His dream wasn't the only thing perturbing him, though. He glanced over at the red, gold-trimmed flag and stared at the golden A Z symbol. Every time he saw it, the feeling he'd seen it before grew stronger, but it frustrated him—he had no idea where he recognized it from.
And then there was Damon and Wilson. Jackson knew that if he couldn't convince Damon to help him, he'd be leaving the moment he was ready to navigate Greykin on his own, but he couldn't help but feel despondent about it. He wanted to find his friend—he wanted to find all the people Dawnward seemed to want to forget about, but when he thought about leaving Damon behind—when he thought about walking away from a man he'd fallen for, a man he suspected felt the same as he did, it hurt. A part of him wanted to stick around and see where things with the Alpha might go, but he knew he couldn't. He wouldn't let these feelings impede his search, and if he wasn't able to convince Damon, he'd have to leave him.
"Nah," came Wesley's voice. "Hey, city boy."
Jackson looked over at him and Alastor.
"What was it like?"
He frowned. "What was what like?"
"Your first shift," Alastor answered before Wesley could.
His frown thickened—he wasn't sure whether he felt confused or uncomfortable. "Oh...uh...well—"
"You don't have to answer," Wesley said, "we were just curious. We've never really been around a bitten wolf walker."
"Well...what was it like for you?" Jackson asked.
"Weird," Alastor answered, tapping his hand on the couch's arm. "Liberating. Like I finally understood myself—like this...whole new part of me revealed itself and made everything that didn't make sense, make sense, you know?"
Jackson nodded slowly—that wasn't what it had felt like for him at all. "It was...painful," he uttered, looking down at the floor. "At first, it kinda felt like I had a fever which kept getting worse. I got this headache, my entire body felt like it was on fire, and then it just...happened. My body...tore itself apart."
Both Alastor and Wesley glanced at one another.
"It doesn't hurt anymore, though—when Alpha Damon makes me shift."
"I guess that makes sense," Wesley mumbled. "We were born with our wolves; I suppose yours had to...bind with your human body. I imagine that sort of thing would feel horrible."
"How does that work?" Jackson asked curiously.
Wesley chuckled and shook his head. "You're asking the wrong guys. We don't know anything about the how and why side of things."
Alastor added, "You should talk to Tokala or Elias; they're both Alpha Damon's Betas—well, Tokala is a Zeta, too—"
"Y-yeah, I know," Jackson interjected. "They're teachers, right?"
Wesley nodded. "Or I suppose you could just ask Alpha Damon. He probably knows more than the whole pack combined. He comes from a long line of powerful wolf walkers. All that history and stuff...I'm surprised The Herald doesn't make his head explode."
While Alastor and Wesley laughed, Jackson's curious frown intensified. "Powerful how?"
"Ancient blood and all that. The longer the bloodline, the stronger the wolf walker. So, if you had a kid, that kid would be stronger than you are. If your kid had a kid, that kid would be stronger than your kid, and much stronger than you. Our wolves' power grows stronger with our bloodlines' age," Alastor explained.
Fascinated, Jackson nodded. "So, how old is Alpha Damon's line?"
"We don't know—none of us does," Wesley answered. "Old enough for him to know the history of wolf walkers without needing cave paintings and campfire stories."
Jackson had witnessed Damon explaining the story of Fenrisúlfr to him without falter, almost as if it were a fond memory. And now, he wondered just how much Damon knew about this world—a whole other world Jackson hadn't long learned was more than fairy tales and folklore.
However, before he could ask any more questions, the howling wind carried commotion upon it. Jackson, Alastor and Wesley turned their heads and stared over at the door; they all listened for a moment, and when Elias' voice yelled something which sounded like 'move it', Jackson felt a gush of both angst and excitement race through him.
Damon was back.
He didn't want to look like an eager child desperate to get to his mother when she got home from work, so he waited as patiently as he could for Alastor to tell Wesley to stay put, and once the man headed for the door, Jackson followed.
They headed through the halls, outside and into the courtyard, where most of the pack were watching from the doors and windows as Elias dragged a man Jackson had never seen before along the ground while he struggled and tried to pull free. Tokala left Damon's side and hurried after Elias, and as the pair disappeared down into the cellar with the man, Jackson looked over at the Alpha and watched while he headed over to Aysel and their sons.
"What was all that about?" Alastor mumbled.
Jackson shrugged, watching as Aysel shot an evil glare at Damon while he patted Remus and Romulus' heads and assured them everything was fine. He heard the Alpha tell them Brando would be okay; Jackson looked over at Bly and her Thetas, who were carrying the blonde-haired man through the courtyard and into the door he and Alastor had just come out from.
"I don't know," Jackson drawled. "Who was that guy they took into the cellar?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, and we probably won't know until Alpha Damon's talked to the council."
He looked over at Damon again and watched as the council joined him. Elias and Tokala came back out of the cellar, and once they closed its doors, they made their way over to the Alpha, too.
"Come on," Alastor said as he turned around. "Let's get back to Wesley. Maybe Brando can tell us what happened."
As much as Jackson wanted to linger and eavesdrop on the council's meeting, he knew better than to pry, and he was curious to hear what Brando had to say. So, he went with Alastor, headed back through the halls, and stepped into the lounge.
In front of the fireplace, Bly and two of her Thetas were tending to a few cuts on Brando's body using some old rags and a battered bucket full of water. The other guy checked on Wesley.
Jackson returned to his seat and observed.
"What happened out there, man?" Wesley called to Brando.
The blonde-haired man sighed heavily as he dragged his dusty hand over his face. "A whole lot of shit."
"Enlighten us," Alastor said, sitting on the arm of the couch.
"I don't know—it all happened so fast. We were stalking the caribou, and next thing we knew, these four wolves came out of nowhere and came straight for us."
"Wolves?" Alastor asked.
"Like...hostile wolves?" Wesley questioned.
"Yeah," Brando confirmed. "We didn't see an Alpha or much coordination at all, which is why we think they were just a pack of rogues, but they got the drop on us. We chased them into a mine, but there was this old crate of unused dynamite down there, and I tossed one of the fuckers onto it and didn't realize until it was too late. The whole place caved in."
"Shit, man," Wesley drawled.
Brando continued, "Alpha Damon caught one of them, though. Well, the dude didn't really have much of a choice. It was just me and him down there. He had nowhere to go. When Alpha Damon and the others shifted the rubble, the guy tried to run, but his leg was really fucked up. Probably going to take a day or so to heal."
"Wait, so...you brought one of them here?" Alastor asked.
"Yeah. Alpha Damon thinks there might be more of them out there, so he's going to interrogate the guy, I assume," Brando mumbled.
Alastor shook his head. "And they just went for you?"
"Yeah. We didn't even see them. Although there was a cadejo stink in the air, which is why we didn't smell them, either."
"What are we gonna do if there's a whole pack out there?" Wesley uttered.
"We didn't see anyone else," Bly called. "Alpha Damon had the Enforcers scour the area, but there were no signs of wolves coming looking for their lost."
"They could've been keeping their distance," one of the Thetas said.
"Lance, we had this discussion with Alpha Damon," Bly uttered, cleaning Brando's last cut.
"I know. I just can't help but feel like all of this is too good to be true," Lance replied as he leaned back against the wall beside the fireplace. "We finally get over the mountain, no cadejo incidents, nice, big walled castle—the best place to hole up; something bad is bound to happen. Law of average."
"Stop being so cynical," Bly said with a sigh, tossing the rag into the bucket. "We've all been through enough lately. It's about time things started looking up."
"She's right," the woman who had been cleaning Brando's wounds with her said. "Alpha Damon will make this work."
"I don't doubt him, Vera," Lance assured her. "I just know how bad our luck's been since we lost the Packhouse. We find someplace, we start relaxing and letting ourselves believe, oh, this might be the place we settle down in, and then bam!" he snapped, slamming his fist into his palm. "We're up shit's creak again."
"Maybe it's all your pessimistic thinking causing our streak of unfortunate turns," Bly uttered as she slumped down into one of the armchairs over by some fallen wooden beams.
Most of them chuckled while Lance pouted.
Jackson smiled discreetly; he was slowly getting to know the pack, and the more he learnt, the more he saw that behind the ominous murk which surrounded them all, there were individuals with their own voices, feelings, and aspirations. He didn't feel as cast out as he had before, but he was sure there was a long road ahead before any of them considered him as much of a member of the pack as everyone else. He wasn't sure he'd be with them long enough to see that happen, though.
"The other wolves are dead, right?" Wesley asked.
"Dead-dead," Vera said with a nod.
"Is Alpha Damon going to kill the one he caught after questioning him?" Alastor questioned.
Wesley nodded. "Most likely."
"I kinda wanna be there for the interrogation," Lance uttered. "I wanna hear myself what that stray has to say, but I'm sure only the council will be allowed down there."
"Alpha Damon will tell us what he gets out of him," Vera said.
"What if he tells him a bunch of scary shit?" Alastor uttered. "What if there is a whole pack out there? I think Alpha Damon would keep that from us so we don't panic."
"He's never kept anything from us," Bly assured him.
"Whatever that stray has to say, we'll be told all of it," Vera said with a nod. "All we can really do right now is just sit here and wait."
"The guy looked terrified, to be honest," Brando said. "I reckon it'll take Alpha Damon five minutes to break him—less, even."
"We'll see," Alastor uttered.
Bly then shot an irritated glare his way. "Stop freaking out—all of you. The last thing we need right now is for you to assume, panic, and scare everyone else." She glanced over at Jackson. "He brought this rogue back and no pack followed."
Jackson wanted to frown and correct her—he wasn't a rogue anymore, but he knew it was probably best he kept his mouth shut right now.
"Calm down," the Theta said, ending her statement.
Nobody said anything else. The room went quiet, the only sound coming from the crackling flames.
And that was how it stayed.
A while later, though, a howl summoned everyone from inside. Wesley and Brando stayed behind, and Jackson followed the others out into the courtyard. He stood beside them, waiting while the rest of the pack emerged from the walls and stared at the council, who stood in the centre of the courtyard with Damon and Aysel. Jackson wasn't sure what this was about, but evidently, everyone was soon to find out.
Damon slowly looked around at each conflicted face of his pack. "As some of you know, we captured a stray wolf walker not too long ago when we rescued Brando. This wolf, along with three others, attacked Brando's hunting party. They chased these strays into a mineshaft, which collapsed, trapping Brando and killing three of the strays. The fourth is alive and locked in the cellar. I intend to interrogate him shortly and find out what he knows about us and where he came from. We're not yet sure if his group were a part of a larger pack or were simply a band of rogues, but I assure you, I will inform you all of what I learn, and we will act accordingly."
A flurry of fearful, unsure voices echoed around the courtyard.
"However," the Alpha continued, "we will continue with our plans. This ruin is the safest place we've found in years and we're not going to give it up over the possibility of hostile wolves. These walls will keep the cadejo out and protect us from whatever else is out there. Continue preparations to repair the walls; once we have more information regarding the strays, we will discuss a hunt and a visit to the town."
The crowd's murmurs grew a little less pensive.
"What do we do if there are more of them?" someone called.
"Judging from their actions against Brando's hunting party, we're quite sure they're not likely to consider a treaty," Rachel called. "However, peace is our first option. Our kind's numbers are withering—surely that knowledge is not only our own. If there is another pack, we hope they will understand as much as we do that it would be best if we didn't start killing each other. We have enough problems."
"Should we be expecting war?" another man called.
"We are going to do our best to avoid it," Tokala called.
"And if it happens anyway?" Alastor called.
"Do you have a plan?" a woman called.
"If there is a pack out there, and a war is at risk of breaking out, then we will do what we must to ensure we don't lose anyone else," Aysel called. "We won't know more until Alpha Damon has spoken to the one we caught. Until then, as he said, we will continue with our plans."
The pack murmured again, but no one called out this time.
"That's all," Aysel said, and when she left Damon's side and headed over to Remus and Romulus, the pack began to disperse.
Jackson glanced around, watching as everyone headed back inside. He let Alastor and Bly and her Iotas pass him while he looked over at Damon, who he followed with his eyes. The Alpha made his way towards the cellar doors, and after dismissing Tokala and Elias, he headed down. Jackson wanted to go with him—not so much to hear what the captured wolf had to say but to see if Damon was okay. He knew his place, though. He'd not break any more rules or do something else that might piss the Alpha off. So, he caught up to Alastor and trailed behind him, heading back to the room where they'd left Wesley and Brando.
He was sure it was going to be a long night, and he hoped he'd get to talk to Damon again before the morning came.
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