I say nothing. I wait and she looks quizzically at me for a beat before she continues.
“In our community structure, the pack protects the territory, leads the youth, protects the secrets, and shares our history. We live together as a community and we support one another. Our pack has a great reputation as a group that’s happy to lend a helping hand. Having a diverse community with a whole lot of alphas in it means we’ve got a lot of strength and smarts. Our pack is unique. Because of our location and because of the presence of a lot of magic in this region, it grew from shifters settling here from elsewhere. Shifters from different packs moved here because it was a shifter haven for a time. The way it grew, how big it got quickly, instead of choosing just one alpha, a group of alphas decided to work together as a team. As time went on, it became a birthright for some, though not everyone. Sometimes leaders had sons who became leaders. Sometimes leaders would emerge from other families within the pack. With so many in close proximity, the community grew. We have several hundred people in our pack. And every alpha on our leadership council has some inherent qualities or certain heightened senses or skills that add up with the other alphas to form a well-rounded team. Some characteristics are essential for a pack council member. But to be our top alpha, our first alpha, you’ll have all of the core qualities, so you know. For the past three generations, it’s somehow worked out that each generation of pack alphas emerge in the same calendar year and the eldest tends to take top spot. What began as a measured decision transitioned to watching the youth to determine which age group had those inherent qualities. Three rounds of councils had the top alpha come from the same family, yours, and also have had the rest of the pack fall into place in birth order. The eldest born in a particular year has held all the vital traits and become the lead alpha on the council. In your birth year, you’re first, Mason is second, Riley is third, Grey is fourth, then Jason, Linc, and Joel in that order.”
I was told I had a strong sense of smell, was good with my hands, saw well, had strong ears, but are my senses stronger than theirs? I only knew they were stronger than Uncle’s. My intuition? I don’t know that it’s been strong. Then again, I have only known what I’ve known. My world has been very small until now. And with Uncle Cornelius being all I knew, maybe I tried to ignore my intuition with him because he was all I had. I know I did on certain issues. He was like a father to me. The thought makes me angry.
She keeps talking. “If you have questions about the past alphas in your position or other positions on the council, I can share that too. But it doesn’t all fall on you. You’ve got a team. You’ve got Linc who has a keener sense of smell than anyone. Greyson reads everyone very well and is wise beyond his years. Riley is strong, very strong, and extremely wise with a sense of hearing like nobody’s. Mason and Joel are also very smart with strong strategy skills and above average intelligence. Jason is so good with his hands. So good with them. We have several alphas who aren’t as involved as the top six as well as pack betas who are inherently alpha and could easily be alphas of their own pack because of their strengths, but we have a mutual respect so our alphas and the betas that lean toward alpha tendencies respect their place in the pack because every one of us provides value and every one of us feels appreciated. We love our pack. It’s a community. A big family. We’re a big pack and in demand as a group others wanna join.”
“Can anyone just join?” I ask.
“People apply. As you can imagine, we only have so much room in our village. And we don’t want it to get so big it’s difficult to take care of everyone.”
“That makes sense.”
“Where we get a bad rep from others is mostly more primitive groups who have trouble understanding the way we operate. Some packs have alphas that are more like dictators and would never want to share what they consider to be ‘power’. But instead of looking at it as sharing power, we look at it like sharing responsibility. One man shouldn’t have all that burden and if he has a strong pack, it’s not a burden. Our alphas take recommendations from all members of the pack. Occasionally someone who doesn’t qualify to be on the alpha’s council team has gone off and started their own pack or whatever, too. Some packs will try to chase down a wayward pack member, but we don’t do that. We believe everyone should choose their path.”