The Flame Trilogy (Books I, II & III)

1.06

Angel thought it would be a good idea for me to get a real tour of the pack. Though I suspect her idea is actually a ploy to get me to socialize with some of the bitches since Irina and Viktorya also come along. They agreed with Angel that a tour is a good opportunity to bond with their Alpha-female.

Their desire to be close to me is more irksome than anything else, especially when it's the last thing that I want. It's frustrating to think that I am wasting time that could be spent doing something useful, but I don't argue. Instead I rationalise; perhaps seeing the pack would be useful for me, I would be able to help more if I knew my ally.

The building I had been cooped up in the previous day is the pack house; a communal hub for the pack as well as homes for higher ranking members. Angel is informative as she explains things to me. We walk at a leisurely pace, the cold barely biting as the sun peeks out from behind the imposing mountains.

A little while down the main dirt pathway is the clearing I had run through when I had come onto the territory. In my haste to escape the wild Epsilon on my tail when I had first arrived, I hadn't realised how large it really was.

The space is huge, bustling with life and energy as the late morning turns to afternoon. There are stalls and buildings dotted around and as busy as ever, women mill around- walking together, laughing together and buying things from nearby stalls and shops. There are several pups running around, some in fur some in skin, as they play and chase each other under the watchful gazes of the nearby women.

One of the nearby vendors calls us over, Viktorya pulling me excitedly. It's a bakery, the windows are lined with freshly baked breads and pies, inside a small stone furnace has something else cooking inside. A short fat man stands at the window smiling widely as we approach.

"What a pleasure!" He bows to his high-ranking bitches before handing us each a slice of freshly baked cheese bread. Just the scent alone is enough to make my mouth water. "Please try!"

I take a small bite as the three other girls dig in beside me. They groan and eagerly compliment the man on his skill at his profession. I nod in agreement, never actually speaking a word. I admit the bread is amazing, it's enough to let the emotionless mask that I usually wear slip for a second, in its place a visual representation of sheer bliss takes over as my taste buds sing.

I don't get to embrace the feeling for very long as I'm once again carted away by the excited bitches who are more than happy to tell me all about their pack.

"Everything we have comes from the earth, and we use it to trade within our pack and with other packs. Within our pack we are well provided for by the skill of the men. Since our territory includes the mountains, the males that do mining can find elements that may not be available in other territories." Angel explains to me as we walk through the main area of the pack.

It continues much deeper into the pack, nearly at the base of the mountain. Set up like a market, and filled with wolves. It hasn't escaped my notice that although the slight chill of the mountain can be felt, none of the pack members here dressed warmly- perhaps all wolves' blood run as hot as mine. Or perhaps their pack has acclimatised to their terrain.

It also hasn't escaped my eye that all of the vendors are male; the women walk about exchanging things, some make chat with others but none have any sort of business of their own. This pack is male dominated in every sense of the word.

"So, what exactly do the bitches do?" I ask looking around the bitches who, oblivious to our ongoing conversation, continue with their time passing activities.

"A bitch's responsibility is her home and pups." Irina chips in, "We also ensure emotional support for our males, they don't want us to get hurt so we look after them and they look after us. We also look after each other, we meet up each week for a luncheon!"