The Fenrir Saga - Part I

Chapter 12

--- Henry ---

I could tell that the woman had thousands of questions, but at that pivotal moment, my phone chimed.

"The car is here."

We walked up towards the main road together, and when approaching it, I reluctantly placed the girl on the ground and walked up to the road on my own. After further instructions, two black cars finally found my location and pulled over. Somehow, I convinced the drivers that I wanted to drive back alone because I had a "sexy" date along the way, and with meaningful winks, they left in the other car.

I went back for the girl, noticing, with some irritation, that Tristan was already carrying her in his arms. As we approached the car, the woman turned to us.

"Tristan, why don't you take the wheel?" she asked concernedly. "Henry must be exhausted, and the girl could rest in the backseat. I'll keep you company in the front."

He agreed and gently put the girl in the backseat. I opened the jeep's trunk to place the backpacks there while the woman jumped into the passenger seat. A low growl behind me made me turn around. The black dog looked at me expectantly.

"I... ok, dog. Get in then," I pointed towards the trunk. He muttered in approval and jumped in.

We started to drive, with Tristan and the woman conversing in the front. She asked him about werewolves, and he explained most of what there was to know.

"I mean, you know the basics, right? You have a wolf; most of the time, it is just like a voice in your head that you can talk to, but you can also shift to wolf form. You heal much faster than humans, you can mind-link with people in your pack, and your senses are heightened. The wolf wakes up around the 18th birthday, sometimes sooner if they are powerful werewolves like alphas or something special happens. The Alpha is the pack's leader, and his second in command is the Beta."

"So, the alpha is always male?"

"Yes."

"And everyone always follows what he says?"

"Yes, of course. He is the alpha."

She seemed to ponder this for a while and then continued.

"But why?"

Heh, what a question. Ridiculous.

"Uh, how do you mean why?" the question was far out there for Tristan, too.

"Like, why do you always do what he says?"

"Well, he is our leader. It is safer for the pack to follow our leader. He is the strongest and knows what is best for the pack."

Yes. Exactly so.

"But what if he is an asshole? Like, what if he does something you disagree with?"

Uhm.

"Uhm."

"Like when you explained about mates and your mate and all that."

Tristan glanced back towards me. I understood he was uncomfortable, but I had heard the rumours about Ben Connors' treatment of fated mates. I didn't know Tristan was one of the victims, though. Nevertheless, no one criticises his alpha in front of another pack or non-pack members. He must have slipped his tongue with her but couldn't continue now that he knew I was paying attention.

"Well, he is doing what he believes is best for the pack, and I also want to do what is best for my pack. Your pack is like a huge, extended family."

She nodded contemplatively, and that particular part of the discussion died out as she continued to ask about the wolf part.