Stephanie's Trial

Breaking the ice

That night, instead of us gathering by the pool on our own, I insisted in including the rest of the pack (and I hated referring to them that way, but we were, to all intents and purposes, a part of the Whitewater pack, whether we liked it or not). The others were a bit unsure, but I presented what I hoped was a good reason.

"We're a part of this pack now, for good or ill," I said. "And for the last two and a bit months, we've more or less been excluded from pack life, mainly because we were outsiders. And because of the fact almost all our old packs had been decimated at Stonehenge. But now that we've been brought into the fold through our bond to the Alpha, I figure it's time we start making nice with them and actually seeing if we can't make a few ... ovetures of friendship."

Seamus raised an eyebrow. "An interesting prospect," he said.

The others nodded agreement. "But that doesn't mean there isn't merit in what you say," Siobhan said. "I for one would like to not be given the cold shoulder whenever I pass one of them by in the hallways, so I'm up for it."

"Me too," Aoife agreed. "Being Simon's mate gives me a bit of pull as well, so I can use it to remind the others that I'm now a part of the pack whether they like it or not."

I had to grin. "Are we in agreement?"

The others nodded, and I felt my grin turn wicked. Simon wasn't going to know what hit him by the time Aoife and I were through.

To be sure, the rest of the pack were a little suss when they got wind of our invitation, but after a few unbelievably awkward ice-breaker conversations, Zachariah got the bright idea to bring in a giant inflatable flamingo to break the ice even more.

And it worked.

To further lighten the mood, Caleb then introduced "drink chicken" whereby we played the usual game of pool chicken, but with glasses of wine, spirits, or other alcohol in our hands. The rules, he said solemnly, were moderately different - in addition to staying upright on our partners' shoulders, we also had ensure our drinks stayed unspilled. If anything did spill, it was an automatic forfeit, even if we managed to not tumble into the water.