William couldn’t answer that. He had no idea what was going on. He felt more exhausted than he thought possible. He was starving beyond human capacity. His throat was dry and raspy. He didn’t have the energy to fight or argue. His body felt ten times heavier than it had a moment ago.

“William, would you risk your life to save Aceso, the way she saved yours?”

He jerked his head up and met the old man’s gaze. “She risked her life for me several times. If I could ever repay the debt I owe to her, I would.”

“Then you pass the test. Faith in ourselves and each other is sometimes all we have. My hope is that our tests showed you that you have a lot in you to be proud of and to have faith in.”

“Your tests?” William arched an eyebrow toward the old Englishman.

“I never did introduce myself did I? Where are my manners? My name is Jacob Marley.”

William gaped at the man in shock and surprise. The room erupted in laughter. He was more than just a little confused. Jacob Marley? He got the joke. He smiled and shook his head. The old people were having a little laugh at his expense.

The laughter died; the joke really wasn’t all that good. “I’m sorry, William but the look on your face was absolutely priceless.” He coughed once into a white piece of linen that he had pulled from his jacket pocket. “My name is Jacob Miller.”

William nodded to Jacob in polite courtesy and turned back to Huan, who was sitting in his chair with his arms resting on the arm rests of his ornate chair. He met William’s gaze as one would look through a window at the same surroundings that had filled said window for ten years.

“You have passed out tests, William. You will begin your training tomorrow. We have assigned Ares to be your handler and trainer. He will be responsible for your conduct while you are here with us in the mountain. Anything you do, or fail to do, will be a reflection on him and your alpha, Aceso.”

“Wait a minute. I have been told that Aceso should not have accepted my oath. Why is she still my Alpha?”

Ansuya rearranged her dress around her legs and arms. “Aceso is your alpha because you accepted her leadership. Your oath was made, and it was accepted. Whether it should have been or not, doesn’t matter at this point. The bond has already been made.”

William was a little disappointed in that answer. He had never served under anyone before. Aceso was fast and strong, she was his comrade. But now he would have to concede to her. He would be lying if he said that that didn’t make him a little frustrated. But, if he was going to have to follow anyone, he was glad that it was Aceso that he would be following.

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“Do you have any more questions before we leave you to your training, William?”

William thought for a few moments. “What are those shadows and why were they trying to kill me?”

The Elders shared looks amongst themselves and whispered to one another. Even the red and timber wolf were making soft noises to the people around them. It was Jacob that responded. “William, those shadows are our enemy. Ultimately, they are the reason why you were brought here.”

“Tasha told me that they are-”

Huan interrupted him. “Tasha is no longer with us. She made her decision long ago and she knew the consequences.”

“But she helped me and Aceso escape from those agents.”

“Aceso is being punished as we speak,” Eustace said. “She knew that Tasha was not to be trusted and she knew that her forest valley is forbidden to our kind. Whatever Tasha did for you it was because she thought she would receive something in return. The wilderness and her abomination of a pack have tainted her. She is not trustworthy and she just isn’t a very good person.”

“So, Aceso is being punished because of me?”

“No. Aceso is being punished for her actions,” Huan replied. “Aceso knew the consequences, you did not. She was responsible for you not the other way around.”

“What about those shadows? What are they and if the group of eight of us attracted them somehow, why do you continue to live in a city?”

Ansuya and Eustace shared a look and Jacob leaned over toward the grey timber wolf. The timber wolf barked once. The sharp loud noise echoed off the walls of the chamber. Huan nodded and Eustace folded her hands in her lap.

Jacob got up from his chair and the red wolf jumped down from her raised platform. Jacob walked toward him and stopped several paces away. The small red wolf sat down on the ground and looked up at Jacob with her head cocked. She lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed. She jumped back and growled loudly at William.

William stepped back and raised his hands in front of him.

Jacob looked from William to the red wolf and back again. He put one hand in his pocket. “William, those shadows feed on us. They are dark, relentless beings that care only about feeding.”

William would have loved if that small piece of information shown down on him like light from heaven and made clear everything that was going on. But it didn’t. And he was even more confused now than he was before.

Jacob began walking around the room. To William he looked like an absent-minded professor who had gone off on some tangent or other and forgotten where he was. Jacob motioned to the werewolf that was standing behind William. “Those shadows stalk the Whyte Plain and capture those of our kind or humans or anyone else that just so happens to wander in.”

“Is that what you call that place then, the Whyte Plain?”

“Yes. It used to be the vehicle of great communication and travel for our people.” Jacob was making small gestures with his free hand. “We shape shifters, both human and wolf born, used to travel freely and at immense speeds across that realm. We could talk to other shape shifters that were half a world away almost instantly.” He looked at William with a wry smile. “It was better than the Internet.” William cocked an eyebrow at Jacob’s humor. Of all the Elders he was beginning to like Jacob the best. He seemed to be the most approachable. “We used to be able to keep track of everything using the Whyte Plain.” He nodded toward William. “You would have been found much sooner and brought here years ago, if we could use it like we once did.”