Page 29 of A Wolf's Heart

“Interesting you should ask. This might surprise you just a little, but shifters don’t follow human law. Human law falls below shifter law. Do I have a piece of paper saying I can do whatI do? Yes. Mainly for the benefit of showing humans. Does it mean anything? No. Do I have training in my field of expertise? Yes.”

Rainor sighed. “What Weylin means is, while he isn’t certified in the human world, he is certified in the shifter world.”

“Certified insane,” Weylin whispered under his breath.

Rainor grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, drawing two circles overlapping in the middle. “Think of the worlds as a Venn diagram. We have shifters here, humans here. Humans have their own laws and governing bodies…well, shifters, too, have their own laws and governing body.”

“So, you’re the governing body?” I asked.

“No, the council is. Each continent is run by a council of appointed board members. Above them is the high council, which takes care of each continental council.” He began drawing boxes. Up top was a single box, where he wrotehigh council, and from there, he drew seven lines to seven different council boxes. He moved to one he labeledNorth Americaand began spanning a series of lines.

“You’re going to need more paper if you do that,” Weylin said.

“I’m just picking the ones in our area.” Rainor looked up at me. “There are a hundred and thirty-seven packs all over North America, but in our area, we have four large ones. Still with me?”

“Yeah, just, one second.” I got up. “Excuse me,” I said to Weylin. He moved out of the way, so I could go around to Rainor’s side of the table and sit next to him. Rainor stiffened right away, licking his lips and clearing his throat. Ignoring his reaction to my nearness, I held on to the tablet. “So, the four main packs are: Nadair, Awlen, Sgrios? Is that how you say that one?”

Rainor’s lips twitched with a warning of a smile before he controlled himself. “Close, it’s uh, Gaelic. PronouncedSgris.” He seemed to relax a bit more as we continued talking.

“Okay. And then Cridhe, but on here, Cridhe is easily ten times the size of the others.”

“Ah, this is a territory map. Our pack resides mainly in the city, but we control all this land that’s still considered Cridhe Pack. Within Cridhe are smaller packs with their own alphas. We call them clans, and they all report to Kage.”

“So, Kage controls the pack but not their clan?”

Rainor and Weylin exchanged a look with one another, but it wasn’t just the look—it was something else. A form of communication. “It’s more than that,” Weylin said. “An alliance, of sorts.”

“Cridhe is a very old name, an EGP—established generational pack. These are packs that have been handed down within the same bloodline through generations. There are only a handful of EGPs left worldwide.”

“Why?”

Rainor hesitated. “It really does come down to power. EGPs are held in high regard among our community. Thriving for as long as they do or have been, imagine the victory when such a pack is over thrown.”

Power. I glanced back at Weylin. “These alphas, the victims, are they part of an EGP?” I asked.

Weylin shook his head. “Yes. So far, the alphas to three of the four EGPs on our continent, are missing. Nadair, Awlen, and Sgrios, all confirmed. We have a missing alpha from Ophidian Pack, but it is yet to be determined if it is connected, they are not a generational pack.”

“To me, it seems obvious they are going after the main packs, so would it be safe to assume they’ll go after Kage?”

Weylin scoffed. “I mean, if they try, then good on them.”

“What? Isn’t he, like, your leader?” I asked.

Rainor chuckled, sitting back against the booth. “He isn'tlikeour leader. Heisthe leader of our pack. He may have become alpha by birthright, but he trained and earned the position, nonetheless.” His eyes darkened. “I take pity on any wolf that tries to go after him—or his pack.”

I looked back down to the tablet, then zoomed in on my town. It was lined in purple. I smiled and shook my head. “Lilac?” I asked Rainor.

He shrugged.

“I was adopted, obviously, since I was raised by humans. But my mother named me Lila because, after I was born, I was left on her doorstep wrapped in a blanket, with nothing but two sprigs of a lilac branch.”

I clicked on it. It was labeled as Lilac Pack, only one member, and I was listed as the alpha. “How many people will see this? Doesn’t this make me a target?” I asked. “I mean, if someone is going around, wiping out packs, wouldn't they go for the one with only one member?”

“This version is only available to Weylin, Kage, and me.” Rainor leaned forward, clicking a few buttons, and then my lilac color disappeared and was replaced with the same reddish orange as Cridhe Pack. “This version is what's available to other packs.”

“You made me part of your pack?”

My wolf within was awoken to the tendrils of scent escaping Rainor. I found myself angling my body towards him. “You are our mate. You will be under the protection of our pack until we work things out.”

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