"That is Juan and your friends," our guide said. "They are at a telephone tree nearly two miles away!" He picked up a stick and slammed it into the tree. To my surprise, it caused a deep, reverberating bang. A few seconds later, there was another answering boom. We all got to take turns striking the tree, and I could hear the other group doing the same.

It wasn't until we were hiking again that I realized what we had done. I walked over to TS and slowed down until the group was out of earshot. "Is that dryad going to be mad we just hit a tree?"

He laughed. "I doubt it. That tree is made for it. I heard a lot of it last night, actually, but I didn't know what was making the sound." His mouth twisted into a smug smirk. "I imagine it comes in handy for werejaguars, seeing as they can't howl."

"Do you really not like cats?"

"I like to chase cats." He shrugged. "I suppose it's a werewolf thing. There's a werelion in the office. He's a decent bloke, but we'll never get too close. He's not the biggest fan of canines."

I couldn't help but laugh. He said it so matter-of-factly, but it was still a little strange for me to think of TS as a dog. He certainly reminded me of one, sometimes, but it was odd to think that so much of his behavior was shaped by non-human instincts. As I thought about werewolves I remembered what Thomas had said.

"So, what's this bonding stuff? Thomas said he'd explain it."

"Right. That." TS chewed his lip in thought. "Not sure if I've ever had to explain that before. I guess I'll start at the beginning for you."

"That's worked so far."

"Well, wolves have packs, right?"

"Yeah."

"So do werewolves. The difference is that our packs are a bit more, em... cohesive. Magically, I mean. What's the first trait you think of when someone says dog?"

"Loyalty?"

"Right, loyalty. We werewolves are fiercely loyal to anyone in our packs. Thing is that loyalty is sort of driven by magic. Out of all the species of magics, weres tend to have the strongest animal instincts. And sometimes you just can't fight instincts. It's a bit annoying. There are things I do that I know are stupid, but sometimes I just can't help myself." He laughed, but looked slightly embarrassed. "If you were to throw a stick right now, I wouldn't go after it, but I'd probably take a step or two before I caught myself."

"Really?"

He grinned and shrugged. "Can't help it. So, now that you get that, you'll understand when I say that sometimes we can behave a bit... irrationally I suppose, when it comes to our packs."

"Is your pack your family?"

He nodded. "Initially. When you're born, your pack is your family. As you get older, it expands to your friends and your family's friends. It gets a bit complex."

"That sounds like a lot of people."

"Well, not every friend," TS clarified. "It has to be sort of a best friend. You know, the kind you can really count on. Those are the kind who end up as packmates."

"What happens when someone becomes a packmate?"

"Now we're back to those canine instincts. Some of them, loyalty being a good example, gets, em... amplified when it comes to packmates. We're incredibly loyal to them. Sometimes it's a big pain in the arse. I could never, say, sneak out of my house as a puppy. If I disobeyed my parents, I'd just feel so guilty I'd either not do it or I'd fess up. You can lie to a packmate if you really want to, but it's always unpleasant."

"That would be a pain," I agreed. "So after someone joins your pack, you just turn super loyal?"

"More or less. If I had to pick between helping a friend or helping a packmate, my packmate would come first, every time."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"How does somebody join a pack?"

"Well, you don't join. It just happens. A friend says or does something, and then," he snapped his fingers, "they're part of your pack."

"How do you know?"

TS shrugged. "You just do. I could walk past someone I've never met in my life, but if he's part of my pack, say my grandfather's best mate or something, I'd know the second I saw him. If he needed something, I'd help him out, no questions asked."

"Wow." I was pretty sure TS had mentioned bonds, before, now that I thought about it. "Didn't you mention this when you told me about familiars?"

"Probably. It is similar."

I ran through everything I knew about familiars. "You can't sense the emotions of all those people, can you? That would be crazy!"

"God, it would be. No, no, it's not that strong of a bond. I only draw the comparison, because the only magics who can form a magical bond are werewolves, and witches or wizards with familiars. Werelions, too, I suppose, but they don't matter. With your pack, it's just a stronger affection and sense of loyalty. You can't pick up emotions or anything."

"I see." Thomas' voice as he talked about Hylay dying echoed in my head. "You wouldn't feel them die either, right?"

TS shrugged. "You wouldn't feel it, not like... like Tom did. You'd know, though. As sure as if someone walked up to you and told you. When a packmate dies, you just know. You know who it is and that they're dead."

"That's awful!"

"Better than feeling it, too."

"I guess so." We walked in silence, while I thought about packs. "It still sounds like a lot of people," I said after a moment.

"Well, like I said, it's a weaker bond. It's actually the only kind that can fade to the point that it breaks."

"How would it fade?"

"Life. Maybe you move away, make new friends. The bond gets weaker and weaker, and eventually fades, entirely. That rarely happens with two werewolves, but it usually does with other magics."

"With two werewolves?" I asked, confused.

"If two werewolves were close enough friends that one pack-bonded to the other, it's very rare that the other doesn't bond back." He smiled. "That's one of the best things about it. I've got a good-sized list of family and friends that I can call anytime, and I know they'll always be there. When it comes to packmates, we're driven to try and keep in touch. I've sent postcards to everyone, everyone, in my family, this summer. I know that just getting a card from me probably made their day. It also gave a little nudge to our bond. They'll write me back, bond gets another nudge, and it keeps going. It's even easier, now, with the internet and cell phones. But it's different if it isn't two werewolves. I had a good mate in Ireland-"

"Mate like packmate?"

"Oh." TS looked a bit sheepish. "Mate like friend. Sorry, I still haven't quite shaken all of my Irish slang."

"It's okay. I was just clarifying."

He laughed. "I had a good friend in Ireland. He was a stone elemental and ended up in my pack after a few years. I tried to keep in touch once I moved back to the states, but he didn't write me very often. And now..." TS shrugged. "I mean, I hope he's well. But my desire to contact him and see how he is isn't nearly as strong, anymore. It happens. Then again, I think I'd go mad if I had too many packmates hanging about."

"So, if they aren't a werewolf, too, a packmate doesn't, um..."

TS shook his head. "Nope. It's a one-way deal. That's the part that sucks."

"Do people even know when they turn into a packmate?"

He grinned, and his tongue lolled out. "Did you?"

TS laughed. "By the way, you worked your way into my pack a few nights back."

For a moment, I had no idea what to say. "W-what do I do now?"

"There isn't exactly anything you do."

"I mean, what do I do to be a, um... a good packmate?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Blimey. You can keep asking questions like that, for a start. I don't think anyone's ever asked me that, before. I guess, em... keep in touch, of course, if you want. And just... Just know that if you need me, I'll always be there. And I'll do any favors you ask, even if it puts me out of my way, so I'd appreciate if you think twice before asking."

"I'll do that." It must have been frustrating to be a werewolf sometimes.

"Other than that..." TS shrugged. "Be aware that I'm pretty much always going to tell you the truth about things. Careful what you ask," he added with a laugh. He studied me for a moment, looking slightly uncomfortable. "And... I don't think you have a mean bone in your body, but if you do... well, things can hurt a bit more when they come from a packmate."

"That must be hard."

TS nodded. "It is, but that's the nature of the bond. I'm glad to take the bad bits so long as I get the good. I imagine all werewolves are."

"Are Dani, Charlie, and Mariana in your, I mean, our pack?" I didn't even have to ask about Thomas. He had said that TS had bonded to him.

"They are."

That was good to know. It made me happy, too. If anyone made a good packmate, I was sure that they all did. Our group had reached a lake, and we had to get into a small boat with a bunch of other people. I wasn't too upset that our conversation had been cut short; I felt like TS had been able to explain it all to me. I tried to settle in and enjoy the trip. The goal was to spot caimans, but after nearly half an hour without a sighting, my thoughts started to wander back to the conversations I had had with Thomas and TS. Our boat ride was nowhere near over, when I remembered that Thomas had called it a soul-pack. I didn't think TS had used that term once. Suddenly, I couldn't wait for the boat trip to end. It seemed like hours, before we finally pulled back to the shore and jumped out. I was on the verge of grabbing TS and dragging him away so that we could talk, but he sat down right on the shore, looking slightly miserable. I knelt down next to him in concern; he looked slightly pale.

I froze in my tracks and turned to stare at him. "What?"