Half of group number three made their way up the three floors, a pensive, nervous silence filling the elevator as each member squared their shoulders in preparation as if they were on their way to a dangerous mission. In a way, they were right, Ryle K. Tolk was the most dangerous person within the building. Everyone was on edge ever since she arrived, but her silence was doing nothing more than stirring the curiosity of the wolves on every floor. Her name was in everyone's mouths.
Kane had given Ryle three days to herself, while he rounded up everyone to discuss the best way to introduce themselves without being too overwhelming. So it was decided the calmest personalities would introduce themselves. That left Kane's second in command, Wade, one of the group hunter and trackers Vos, Li, and Hugo. Since Li was healing quickly, he would have no problem walking around, as long as he did not strain too much. Mandy, as always, didn't show much care about being left out, but Chase and Paul had both tried to argue their way out of it, before sulking off. Wilbert...would have to come out eventually, but when he was to speak to Ryle was her choice.
"She's been really quiet for the last couple of days." Kane looked over at Wade, his grumpy face focused forward. Behind him, Hugo glanced down pointedly, and as Kane followed his eyes, he realized Wade's fingers were tapping with obvious nervous energy.
"She doesn't know anyone here and has enough food to last her to the end of the month. I assume she would have holed up if I hadn't told her we were coming over today." Facing forward again, he watched as the third floor neared.
"Hopefully she'll warm up to us soon." Li shifted carefully, rocking on his feet, slanted orange eyes lifting at the corners as he grinned excitedly.
"Don't hold your breath on it," Hugo warned carefully. The doors slid open.
"That bad?" Li asked, turning to look at the huge man walking silently beside him.
Kane stopped in the middle of the hall, eyes on Ryle's door as he lowered his voice to a whisper. Ears straining to catch if anyone was nearby. Sensing the seriousness of his words, they stepped closer.
"Alizia suspects she might be planning to use her favor to stay within Silver Hall, but live separately." Their expressions turned various degrees of grim and disappointed, but none of them seemed shocked. If anything, they had all thought of it at some point.
"Will she get permission to do that?" Wade's question was more to himself, but Kane answered anyway.
"She's a bitten, the same rules don't apply to her." It was a truth Ryle wouldn't know the full extent of, but something they all had to keep in mind. Anything to do for her and those around her would be scrutinized closely. "Remember that. Alizia isn't the only one watching around Ryle."
"The Knight Hunters?" Wade's face darkened as a dark tone entered his voice. Even Li's easy-going expression stiffened. "You've got to be kidding. How did they even hear about this so fast?"
The rivalry Silver Hall and The Knight Hunters had was not known to everyone. Those outside of the pack might even suspect the two to be in a partnership, but anyone within both packs knew the root deep tension that never seemed to come to a solution.
"We'll discuss that later," Kane promised, taking a step forward and knocking on the door loudly. "Best behavior everyone."
"Always." Wade turned to look over his shoulder. "Li." He warned sternly. Hugo chuckled.
Li's mouth dropped in mock surprise, scoffing as his grip tightened on his gift basket. "Hey, I'm the friendliest person in this bunch."
They all stiffened when Ryle opened the door, waiting to see her reaction after a few days. Would she be indifferent to their attempts?
Ryle opened the door, a regrettable, but accepting expression on her face as she looked at the four men that stood at her door. One held a gift basket, a welcoming grin that tightened when her brows raised. Kane and Hugo recognized, but the other two were new faces. The first one that caught her attention was not the grinning one with a basket, but rather the unhappy-looking man that glared at her with hostile dark eyes. He wasn't as tall as Hugo, and certainly not as lean as Kane. He had a vivid and angry scar around his mouth that made it difficult to ignore, but she managed to do so.
"Good morning Ryle, I've bought some of the team members over today. You met Hugo the other day. This is Wade," Kane motioned over to the hostile-looking guy who gave her a nod. "And that's Li."
"Welcome to the team!" The man called Li exclaimed loudly, gleaming orange eyes peeking out from the curtain of hair he let loose on his left, the right side cut close to his scalp.
"Team?" Ryle's brows rose at the bold term.
"Family, if that's any better." Her mouth nearly dropped at how easily he seemed to accept her entering his life. She had lost count of just how many times she had heard the word 'family' since she got here. "Here you go." He pushed out the basket for her to take.
The guys watched as she eyed it, a slight tightening of her lips before she reached out slowly and took it. There was a mixture of a bouquet of flowers and what looked like various types of candy. Ryle suspected Li had a sweet tooth.
"Thanks?" Ignoring how it sounded like a question, Li nodded happily.
"He's always like that if you're wondering if he's being purposely cheerful."
"I'm always cheerful."
"To a troublesome point." Wade declared, looking off to the side.
"And he's always moody," Li snapped, motioning off to Wade, who turned with narrowed eyes. "He's not glaring, that's his normal face," Li added.
Ryle almost opened her mouth to make an 'Ah' expression, but catching herself, she pressed her lips together, but her eyes betrayed her as they all watched something that resembled understanding cross her face. Kane looked over to Wade and made a small sound at the back of his throat as he looked at the expression on his friend's face. He had gotten used to reading Wade's slight expression shifts, but even he at some point had thought there was an issue between the two. Turned out Wade did not use vivid facial expressions.
"Are you ready to step out, or should we wait for you?" Kane focused on Ryle, who was looking back and forth at the two with blank eyes. While he appreciated Li's distractive nature, it wasn't really the time.
"I'll just be a minute." She replied swiftly, retreating back into her door. He sighed, a hand coming up to rub at his face. The day hadn't even officially started.
"Nice going," Li muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and looking off pointedly to the side, chin up.
"What?" Wade took a step in his direction.
Kane let out a small rumble that made both men glance at him casually before Li's arms dropped and Wade let out a sigh. Ryle was quick to come out, although she wore an uncomfortable expression as she looked around, not as discreetly as she thought.
"We'll be going down to the meeting room you were in before," Kane informed her, hoping knowing where she was going to be taken would help relax her. It seemed to have worked as she let out a breath.
When Ryle walked back into the meeting room, no one was there waiting to stare at her as soon as she walked in, like the first time, as the room was empty. It appeared it was just going to be the five of them today. The only difference was that there was a square remote on the table. When Kane motioned for her to sit wherever she sat closer to the middle. Hugo remained standing closer to the door, leaning against the wall. Wade and Li sat on the other side of her, both far apart from one another, nearly to the end.
"What do you know about werewolves in general?"
"Full moons are aggressive days but don't force a change. No more than eight werewolves can enter a human-dominated establishment without prior scheduling if the group will exceed the max, because of past conflicts of human vs werewolf fights." Ryle gave an odd smile, her tone careful. "Usually started by us."
There hadn't been a Human vs Werewolf altercation in decades after the peace treaties were worked out, but that didn't stop scared humans from lashing out at creatures they didn't care to understand or interact with. Of course, the werewolves always defended themselves and depending on the outcome, always avenged themselves. Soon after, the government had decided public fighting only worked against the humans, who were in need of a barrier between the wolves and the worst out there in the world.
"At least she's honest." Wade looked her over with a new appreciation, eyes narrowing. Although he did look upset to Ryle, his tone did not dictate that.
"Humans, Ryle." Kane's silver eyes gleamed, his tone soft but push in his tone as he stared at her. "Not us."
"Umm, yeah, that." That was all she managed. She was still human until the moment she grew fur and claws and not a moment sooner. It was as if Kane could see her thoughts as he gave her a small smile.
"You'll get used to it." He would make sure of that. If she kept her 'us' vs 'them' mindset, then that would make things harder for her when the inevitable shift came.
He motioned for her to continue as he turned around and pointed the square remote to something on the wall. Ryle watched as a false wall panel slid out of place and a large screen appeared, turning on.
"Larger packs are put in charge of their cities and territories, and are in charge of protecting whatever their..." Ryle trailed off, not sure what word to use for something she herself could not recall. She moved her hands around in an awkward motion. "That's about it."
"A basic understanding then. I'm going to run you through a quick explanation of what we are, what we do, and how a pack functions. If you have any questions, feel free to ask right away. The guys will be inserting their own comments," the smile in his voice was obvious. "No doubt. If you want to learn more in-depth, we have a library full of any type of information and history you might want to learn. You can ask me or Elson if you want a specific type of book or a direct guide to the library."
"Should I be taking notes?" Ryle asked before Kane could start talking, the corners of his mouth lifted as she shook his head.
"If he tries to make you take a test, plead The Fang," Li commented. Hugo let out a small laugh.
"What's that?"
"Any werewolf is allowed legal representation." He clarified, lifting two fingers to his temple before saluting.
"Oh." That was something to keep in mind.
"Alright," Ryle sat up as the screen filled out with what she could tell was a PowerPoint presentation. She wondered if it had been exclusively made for her, or if it was what they showed all of the...new recruits? It was definitely made for her. There was no way the werewolves needed to be told about what they were since birth. "I'll be using Silver Hall as an example to keep the information on different packs from being too much. You can learn about those later."
Kane pointedly ignored the way Hugo sent him a disapproving way from the back. Ryle would learn about the other packs, that was inevitable, but for now, winning her over was in everyone's best interest and concern. Wade caught the look between the two, his hands slid under the table as his hands clenched.
"What you know about werewolves is essentially correct, the overwhelming majority are born with the extremely rare chance of one being turned. Shifts can come from ages seven to nineteen, with a small percentage making it to adulthood without shifting. Wolves are tied to the person we are. Some believe they come into this world already knowing what they will be like, others believe the word morphs them to be who they are. Wolves usually emerge for three reasons.
The first is out of anger, which is why it's rare to make it to adulthood without shifting since we're known for our quick tempers and even shorter tolerance to threats. The second is that exactly. Threats to us and ours, the majority of shifts happen between adolescence, and not surprisingly because of short fuses. The third is The Call. In some cases, the shift can occur as normal, but some people have a harder time snapping out of the shift, and the person with the highest aura has to call them out of their haze or risk being forced into a fight."
"Isn't that what Alizia called what happened to me? Something about a call?"
"For an awakened and a natural-born wolf, the call works differently. For you, it awakens the potential of a change of you decided based on who is calling to your aura. It has to be someone whose aura is on the same wavelength as your own or close enough, regardless of what either of you is. The call for a natural-born is more-"
"Like, snap out of it, or I'll have to really fight you, and you won't like the feel of my teeth around your neck." Li contributed with a grimace.
The image was horrible, especially since she imagined a wolf's teeth around her very human neck. A pang of phantom pain traveled down from her neck to her shoulder, making her inhale sharply. Her hand moved to cup her neck, but she stilled and pulled both hands under the table.
"Do I run the risk of not snapping out of a shift?" She tried to read Kane's expression, Li's sudden questions distracting her.
"Do you consider you easily blinded by rage and the ever-consuming need to get even with anyone who has ever looked at you wrong? Does a fight to the death stir excitement in you?"
". . .not really." She answered hesitantly. She did not consider herself to lean toward violence, but her genes were not something she could change.
"Well, that's good to know, but that doesn't mean you're in the safe zone just yet. Unfortunately, being stuck in a shift can happen to the calmest of souls." Kane sighed, fiddling with the remote in his hands as he looked over the screen.
"What happens during a shift? Am I going to break every bone in my body?" Ryle leaned forward as an alarm at the worst-case scenario of the horror movies she had watched as a child played out. She wasn't sure if she could handle that, no, she knew she wouldn't want to.
"That would suck." Wade shot Li a glare to which he rolled his eyes in response. Hugo caught as Ryle's scent took on a darker, almost sharp tang, something he recognized as distress.
"That's not an answer." She breathed.
"It varies. For some, it happens like a sudden gust of wind, blink and you've shifted. Others feel a sting, and you can see the visible shift as it happens." Hearing her whisper, Kane turned back around to face her, hands behind his back.
"That's not a definitive no on the bone breaking."
"I think you should explain ranks in order for her to get why nothing is a yes or no question," Wade suggested. He could never be human, as he had never been one, to begin with, but even he knew that learning about any new species was difficult when the very knowledge could save a life.
"Right, well, you've heard about the shifts. After that occurs, this is where rank and pack structure comes into play. Think of the following less as a pyramid and more as a circle with layers. Some people shift earlier because of their personalities. There is Alpha, Beta, Lacuna, and Omegas. Omegas are, despite always being listed last, at the center of the pack as the weakest. Be that physically or otherwise. Surrounding them would be the Lacuna, who are the main filler of the pack. They exhibit no strong ties to Omegas but are neither Alphas or Beta's but in certain situations can exhibit either of the two. After they are the Betas and Alphas. The two tie pretty close and can be difficult to tell apart."
A lot of people had been lost to being incorrectly ranked, finding themselves picking fights with those who turned out to be stronger than they were or weaker than they had suspected. For the most part, fights are respected in the pack as they are normal, but wolves are warned to beware of who they choose to make into an opponent.
"Which is where the call can come into play for natural-born wolves. An alpha can call on anyone and on multiple people. Betas can do two at most, as long as it's not another alpha. Beta's that try are idiots, so if you ever see one attempt that, run. No one around survives unscathed." Li clasped his hands on the table as he talked with a serious expression for once, his smile gone as he stared at Ryle and waited until she gave him an understanding nod.
"Just because someone fits in a particular rank does not mean they can boss around those below them. The pack would be filled with tyrants and over-eager competitors if that were to happen. The ranks help distinguish wolves into a category, but their talents are what give them a secure and proper place within the pack, but ranks also help to determine how rough or swift their shift is to be."
"The closer to an alpha you get, the more it's likely to hurt, but it will be fast. Omega's rarely shift because of the strain it takes on their bodies to go back and forth."
Ryle mulled over those words.
"Has there ever been a person from a werewolf family to just not shift?" There was a slight shift in the air as everyone flinched before regaining their composure. She wondered if she had just asked the wrong question.
"Yes." Came the terse answer. "They don't like very good or long-lasting lives."
The men all grew shadowed as their eyes turned to haunt to Ryle. Clearly, what she was about to hear was not going to be good. Not that much anything she had been told so far had in any way good. It was starting to seem to her as if the werewolf world was a never-ending world of struggling to fight out some conflict.
"We can tell right away when they won't be able to fully shift because they have accessive aggression from a young age, but the most telling sign is their ability to half shift." Kane continued, looking far off.
"A half shift is something like this." Wade added. Ryle watched as he lifted a hand up in a demonstrative way.
His hand, so similar to a regular man's hand, went from normal flesh into thick hairs springing out, , for a moment, it reminded her of a porcupine before hundreds of little bronze-colored hairs grew out blending smoothly together. The muscles in his arms seemed to swell and enlarge as his nails grew out in a coal shade of black, unerringly thick, before they sharpened into curved tips. The fur stopped growing along his bicep, but the skin around it looked off somehow, blurry if she looked too long. Where pale under skin was supposed to be on the inside of his hand, black rough texture game together, not fur but not skin.
Her palms stun as her nails dug into her flesh. She stopped breathing as her mind focused on his sharp claws. She knew how deadly they could be. How easily they tore through clothing and muscle. Her sides ached at a phantom pain. She looked elsewhere as they continued to talk. Wade's hand returned to normal as soon as her eyes looked away, so she did not see the looks on the guy's faces at her evasive and frightened expression.
"If a child shows signs of mastering a half shift, it's seen as an omen of death, because soon after their body tries to force a full shift. A body that tries to shift when the aura is yet to stabilize is like a hurricane tearing you apart from the inside while your aura suffocates you." Kane continued, storing her reaction to the back of his mind as old and new plans regarding Ryle began to shift to accommodate to what he suspected.
It was easy to be accustomed to violence when he had always lived with it, but she did not have such an upbringing. There were many things the team would have to work on with her.
At his words, she refocused, a saddened look taking over, enough to distract her and calm her nerves.
"Yeah, it's terrible." Li leaned on the table. "Awkaned are ranked just like any other wolf, but we can't say for now what shifting is going to be like for you until we've spent enough time with you to see what your aura will develop as."
Aura was a word she had been hearing a lot lately, but as always, they never dived into deeper explanations. Ryle was brimming with expectations now that she had learned a little more, but there was also fear behind those new realities.
"And aura is?"
"Something that you'll come into contact with and better to experience than to be told about. As the days pass and you become more accustomed to being around us, I'm sure you'll notice it." Kane said vaguely, with an almost excited smile as he motioned to the wall as a new slide took place. She rolled her eyes at his answer but looked on. "Silver Hall is the biggest pack on the western continent and in charge of the city of Lasien, Mhallic, and Liolin. In each city we usually have the same jobs, tracking down and hunting criminals that are of higher risk, providing protection to those in need or guarding. I myself run a team in charge of hunting and tracking criminals."
This was news to her. She had known the scale in which they worked was large, but hearing of the three most favored cities being essentially run by one pack was amazing and daunting. All three cities were always bustling with life and tourism, despite being an interactive places for all types of humans and nonhumans to mingle. Which made them all the more difficult to keep tranquil with so many people about. Out of the three, Mhalic was the smallest, and yet from what she knew of the place, it was the best protected, even though the consequences for causing chaos were mortally high.
"I'm in charge of getting my hands on the bastards and making sure they don't escape." Li's chest puffed up with pride as he grinned her way, both hands lifting as he wiggled his fingers suggestively. He motioned to Hugo behind her. "His talents lay in masked scent tracking, and Wade here likes to play with us like chess pieces."
"Chess pieces I keep from getting hurt so long as you stick to the plan." Wade countered, lifting a thick brow.
"There are four groups with eight team members within each Silver Hall building, with different purposes. Pack members who are not in the teams hold jobs that provide some kind of aid to Silver Hall."
"What type of aid? Do they work normal jobs outside of the building?"
"You won't be bound to remain inside forever. Elson isn't just your floor manager, he assists multiple hotels in business management around the city." There was more to Elson assisting, but it wasn't as if she needed to know all the finer details of his spy work. "Awkaned have been recorded in history as always showing some type of distance talent or gift, and usually join a team soon after."
Everyone had been quick to catch onto Ryle's silence whenever she learned of something that might not have sat well with her, but as controlled as she was withholding her tongue, her facial expressions were always a few seconds slow to return to her, usually neutral, albeit displeased, but expressionless face.
"But if you wish to decline that offer, we will understand," Wade added quickly before she started solidifying any negative ideas about the pack. Finding what interested her or what she desired would work best, but he already saw the difficulties of getting her to open up. "Now, let us learn about pack laws and how they keep us safe."
Wade watched keenly as she took in everything, her furrowed brows, the way her hands would come upon the table when interested, or slide under the table as she leaned back and pinched her lips. He would have a long road ahead of him, and he was sure that she would question him every step of the way. He couldn't wait for it.