Page 56 of Tamed Wolf

When I make it to the main hallway where everything leads off from, I stop before a tapestry we'd walked by earlier.

It's massive, spanning several stories high and depicting in great detail the history of the Storm Pack.

It's clear the pack has pride, that they're proud of where they come from and what they stand for, but to me as an outsider, it means nothing.

I feel lost. I want to go back to the shelter and hide, go back to what I'm used to, what's comfortable, but the last time I was there something bad happened to me, so it doesn't feel like a safe place anymore.

Blake slides up behind me silently, wrapping his arms around me and giving me exactly what I was looking for. “What are you crying for, Lark? Talk to me.”

“I just I don't fit in here. I don't fit in anywhere. I’m always going to be the freak, the odd one out. The anomaly everybody wants to know about.”

I feel his head shake back and forth above mine. “Mom needed to hear that. We've been trying to get her to the shelter for a while, to interact with the wolves there. I think too many people from my pack have gotten too comfortable and forgotten the true meaning of the word ‘pack’. For generations, rejected mates have been talked about like they’re a contagious disease, something to fear. We need to change the narrative.”

I spin in his arms, inhaling his herby scent that puts me at ease every time I get a whiff of it. “I don't know where I belong,” I admit. “They got into the shelter before, so I can't go there. I don't fit here; nobody wants a rejected wolf walking around these sacred halls.”

“You have just as much right to be here as I do,” he informs me. “If it makes other people uncomfortable, they can go fuck themselves. Come with me, I want to show you something.”

He tugs me to an office space a few halls over, shutting the door behind us and then pulling me onto his lap as he sits in a chair in front of a computer. He types in passwords and clicks on programs, opening up a file that looks like a quickly illustrated visual of a new construction building.

“What's this?” I ask.

“We told you we've been working with Heroes for a while, that group that works behind the scenes to aid rejected wolves in any way they can. This… is something I’ve been toying around with. The current shelter should have been replaced years ago. I thought building little cabins like this might be a better fit. Wolves that needed them would have their own quarters with access to pack events, and the ability cook and even make a home.”

“There's no way there's a budget for something like this though,” I volley back. “Where would they even go? And how are you going to get every other pack on board?”

“For now, I need to help wolves in our pack. That's where we need to start. I'm hoping once we get this program running, we can work with alphas from other packs to get something similar going on their own lands.”

I hate that, but I get it.

“As far as financing,” he starts, “we’re looking into different options. One of the things we want to spearhead as we start to get more power in the pack, is a mating tribunal. We want to make a council, for when a wolf is rejected.

“It’s blown my mind for years, that anybody can reject their mate, and they automatically have to go live in poverty. It'll take a little bit of time to really implement, but the idea is that when somebody is rejected, part of the in-processing for the shelter will be to take an account of what happened.”

“Good luck with that,” I say snarkily. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to simply function after being rejected? I highly doubt anybody's going to be able to sit down and calmly explain what went down so that blame can be appropriately placed. Assuming that’s the point of the tribunal.”

He nods, confirming my assumption. “That's why the pack that rejects them will have to chip in for their mate to stay in a medical rehab facility until they're well enough to have a discussion,” he explains. “Being rejected is treated as an inconvenience, when really with our species, it should be treated medically. Sedation should be offered for instance, and comfort. We want to build a clinic to service women in those initial weeks, to get them stable.”

“That would actually be really helpful,” I reply in a quiet voice, wondering why that's never been thought of before.

“It's going to take time, Lark,” he says as he turns me on his lap, making me look him in the face. “None of this is going to happen easily or quickly. Would you be interested in helping us, though? You have insight we don't. You know what would be likely to work and what wouldn’t, what things those wolves will be able to handle and what they won’t. You’re the best resource we have for helping the rest of our pack that’s stuck in that goddess forbidden shelter.”

“Uh, yeah; but can I ask why this is such a passion project of yours? It doesn't seem as if you were raised in a way that would expose you to the plight of rejected wolves nor to becoming a champion for them.”

“You're right,” he admits. “My brothers and I have always known we'd take over the pack one day. Therefore, we've always been looking for ways we could make it better for everyone. The rejected wolves are still part of our pack, even though they're treated as if they're not. They're not just rejected by their mates— they're effectively rejected by the entirety of the pack.

“That's always bothered me. When I got involved with the Heroes, I started to hear some of the stories, and it was impossible to let go of. It…affected me. I heard Aspen’s story, witnessed the evil that people like Arabella were capable of, how they were able to take advantage of a system that in no way serves the wolves that really need it. This feels like the thing we need to focus on to make our pack great.”

It’s almost too good to wish for. Just thinking of other, younger wolves going through everything I had to deal with twists up my insides, because there has to be a better way. “Do you really think other packs would change if we did?”

He shrugs. “It's worth a shot. There's a forum every year where all the packs get together. If this program is successful, we're hoping to present it then, and we’re hoping we can show some of the positive outcomes. If we were to empower the wolves that get rejected, imagine all they could accomplish.”

“And you’re sure you wantmeto help?”

“We’re courting you. Of course we want you involved.”

That’s news. “You are?”

“Fuck. I was supposed to wait to tell you that. Beckett had this whole thing planned.”

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