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The submissive signals in his brain argued vehemently with the signals of fight or flight; adrenaline coursed through him, making no small attempt at putting him in auto-pilot in order to escape this ordeal. It failed, however, and some other sort of instinct took center stage.

Fear did not win that day.

“Fall back!” came the stern voice of Balto ringing out.

The pack fell back as they were ordered, the storm of bites and pricks stopping as suddenly as they had started. Finbar stayed completely still where he was.

Silence fell for a short moment, but it was soon broken by the regal, thunderous voice of the pack leader. “Finbar, you have shown that you can withstand all that is expected of you. What you just experienced was a wolf’s way of checking if a stranger will make a good pack-mate; they bit, and you did not fight back. If you had, they were fully ready to permanently drive you away from here. You would not have been welcomed back.”

Finbar said nothing, staring with his mouth slightly agape. A chill traveled down his spine; if he had fought back like his brain had wanted him to, he would have lost everything. What a terrifying thought.

Balto smiled and beckoned him to come forward. “Come now, young male. You have demonstrated for all of us here today that you deserve to be one of us,” the tawny brown wolf said.

While the wolf-dog hesitated at first, still inherently cautious of the other wolves, he slowly stood up and bravely placed one paw in front of the other until he had come to stand directly below the Alpha’s ledge. At his back, everyone that had previously been threatening to him sat down to watch whatever it was that would unfold.

Was he really about to be officially accepted? Finbar could hardly believe his own eyes. He glanced behind him to see his doting mate joyfully cheering him on; she looked so incredibly proud, and that in turn made him feel like the greatest success the world had ever seen. Fulfillment gripped his heart in the sweetest of ways.

“I, Balto, the rightful Alpha of the Isolation Pack, declare this wolf-dog Finbar to be among our ranks,” Balto declared with conviction. “As you all know, this male is not a full-blooded wolf, but he has shown that he is able and willing to assimilate to our way of life. He has much to learn, and will need someone to teach him our ways so that he may flourish as every wolf deserves.”

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The way Finbar’s gaze lightened and danced like an aurora in the night was indescribable.

Murmurs rippled through the amassed crowd behind him.

“Thorn,” the Alpha called out. “Step forward and greet Finbar.”

The family scarred male shimmied his way through the gathered wolves and made his way to Finbar, where he pressed his big paw on the wolf-dog’s forehead. It was likely another one of their traditions and the new apprentice was all for it.

‘“I’m so happy to be an apprentice now, and I’m grateful you were chosen to be my mentor, Thorn,” Finbar said, hardly able to contain his excitement. He was not often a man of many words, but this moment was an exception for certain.

Thorn stared at him without much expression, then snorted, facing away as if annoyed or bothered. “Yeah, I am not sure anyone else could handle your greenhorn ass.”

Finbar laughed; he had gotten used to the older male’s standoffish behavior, and it had not taken him very long to know that this was his way of expressing care.

“You will be responsible for training him in the way he should go,” Balto continued, his chest puffed out proudly, fur strands blowing like a flag in the forest wind. “Please teach him our traditions, combat skills and our synergy in a group setting.”

“Finbar! Finbar! Finbar!” The crowd cheered, giving Finbar yet another surprise. Were they actually that happy to have him there? If so, he would gladly accept such a blaring sign of goodwill.

“That is all,” the Alpha concluded. “You are all dismissed.”

As everyone began to dissipate back into their usual daily duties, some howled out messages of encouragement, such as “Good job, Finbar! Keep it up!” and “You are a great father. Thank you for being a good man to High Lady Willow and the pups!”. It seems he had made quite the impression on the folk that lived in this quaint, old mountain kingdom.

Thorn leaned in. “I will admit that I never thought you would get this far, boy. You still have a long way to go yet, though, so shall we spend a few hours doing some real training?”

“Real training?” Finbar tilted his head. “We haven’t been doing that?”

A smug grin was spelled upon the gray wolf’s face. “Pfft. You thought that was real? You have another thing coming. I was going easy on you; all we needed to see was your current skill set, and your endurance, we were never intent on building upon it… until now.”

“Oh,” Finbar smiled, a tad bit anxious about what to expect going forward. “I hope that I won’t be a disappointment, then. I’ll do everything I can to make sure I become a good soldier.”

“You just keep being attentive and quick to listen, and do not ever hesitate,” Thorn dipped his head, turning away as if he were leading the wolf-dog somewhere. “Do that, and I promise you that you shall go places in our domain.”

“Understood. Also, please give me a moment, I want to go talk with my mate about the good news,” Finbar smiled, trotting across the grass.

“Make like a tree and hurry up! I will be waiting for you at Birches.”

The white apprentice sauntered over to where he had spotted Willow and danced around her, light on his feet. His happiness was beyond measure, and the weighty stress he had been carrying upon his shoulders was finally lifted off. “Willow!” he said, grinning. “I made it in!”

“You did!” She exclaimed enthusiastically, playfully bowing. “I knew you would. You’re a wonderful husband, and an even greater father; there wasn’t a chance in Hell that you’d let us down.”

“You’re damn right,” Finbar said with gusto, stamping his paws into the ground.

“Shall we celebrate tonight?” the light-brown furred female asked, winking.

“Definitely,” he responded. “What do you have in mind?”

Willow rubbed against him. “Hmmm… good question. I’ll surprise you, honey.”