Aceso sat among her pack, waiting for something. She had a posture of regality and command. She could have sat there forever if it was required of her. William found himself admiring the strength of his alpha. Wherever she led them he knew that he would follow her with unquestioning loyalty.
They sat in silence.
“Was William really running as fast as I think he was?” Katherine asked.
“Yes,” Aceso answered. “I’m not sure if he and I have reached our limit but we are capable of those speeds for long periods of time, a full day or more if necessary.”
“That doesn’t seem possible,” Charles said, disbelief heavy in his deep voice.
“It’s not only possible it might be necessary for survival,” Achelois said.
“Why do only you and William seem capable of these great speeds without tiring?” Charles’ asked.
Aceso looked at the all-black werewolf and each of her pack mates in turn until her gaze came to rest upon Achelois. “Right now, we are just two pack mates and four other shape shifters.
“Hold up a minute,” Nicolas said holding up both hands in front of him. “My bitch of a teacher never said anything about any of this. She told me that you guys were my pack.” He looked around at each of them and then stared hard at Aceso. “But now, we’re out here in the middle of nowhere and you tell us that we’re not a pack.” The disbelief in Nicolas’ voice was very apparent. “Just who in the hell am I supposed to believe?”
“Just what is the difference between a pack and what we are?” asked Charles.
Nicolas sneered at the question. “Who the hell cares? I’m stuck with you fucktards any way I look at it. I’m here…” Nicolas was quiet and looked at Achelois. “Unless I can just walk away and go join some other pack?”
“That’s not the way packs are formed,” Achelois answered. She focused on the irate blonde. “The Elders form a pack in very specific ways. They take into account all manner of things from how old the werewolves are, whether they are human, or wolf born, and of course under which phase of the moon they were reborn under.” She glanced at William and Aceso. “When a pack is formed there is a bond that is made. No one can explain it, I’ve asked.” The usually quiet werewolf sat up straight and looked at every member of the group.
“Do you know how we create this bond?” It was Katherine.
Nicolas sneered. “Who cares? We are together as a pack isn’t that enough?”
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Aceso turned toward Nicolas. “No, it’s not enough.” She stood up and walked a few steps out of the center of the circle that she was sitting in. She stood a few feet away and looked down at the rest of them. “Have you forgotten so soon the speeds that William and I can move at?” She looked at each of them in turn as she spoke. “We all have our individual strengths, granted by our Lunar Mother. A werewolf pack has unique strengths as well but only a pack has those strengths. Right now, we are just a group of not quite so random shape shifters. We were chosen by the Elders for our individual talents.” She looked over at Nicolas once more. “To reach our potential and to give us every possible chance to survive we have to become a pack.”
William looked up at his alpha. “I’ve felt those speeds before, Aceso when you and I were running through the mountains to get here. Is that this potential you’re talking about?”
It was Achelois who answered. “You were able to run at those speeds and take strength from each other because you two had already formed a pack between you.” She stared hard at Aceso. “That’s why you were punished, isn’t it?” Her voice took on a harsher tone. “You accepted his oath?” She stood up and stared hard at Aceso. “You had no right, Aceso! Especially when he didn’t know what he was doing.”
“If I hadn’t done it, he would be dead right now,” Aceso almost whispered.
“So, the means are justified by a chance happening on the Whyte Plain?” Achelois turned away from her. “I guess I know why I’m here, now.”
“Hold on,” William almost yelled but maintained a fragile control on his emotions. Nicolas was lounging on his haunches seeming to enjoy the sudden drama that had sprang up around him. Charles and Katherine were still. None of them made any move to say anything or to intervene. William spoke into the icy silence. “I have heard about this oath several times and nobody has told me anything about it.” He looked at Aceso. “What is she talking about Aceso?”
Aceso glanced at the back of Achelois and looked at William. “When you said that you would follow me, that first full day after we escaped your forest, I accepted your oath as an alpha would accept it of her pack mates.”
William couldn’t keep the confusion out of his voice. “And for that you were being punished?”
“She deserved every bit of it,” Achelois snapped. “What she did is inexcusable.”
“I know it was against our laws but if I hadn’t done it, he would have died. I didn’t know what we were going to face.”
“You should have told him before you accepted his oath at the very least,” Achelois was still facing away from Aceso in a show of total disrespect.
“All right, that is enough!” William yelled. His anger filled voice echoed off the husks of the abandoned buildings of the city around them. He glared at Achelois and spoke to the whole group. “Look, I don’t know what you guys think of Aceso. All I know is she saved my life by risking hers, more than once.” He shifted his attention and looked straight at his alpha. “Whatever oath I made, I made it, I don’t care about the dogma of some set of laws that I didn’t even know existed. I knew what I was doing and I don’t blame Aceso for that, not one bit, Achelois.” The werewolf glanced at him at the mention of her name. “Even if I wasn’t absolutely sure about what I had done, it’s done.” He stood up and looked at all of them. “But I am sure about what I did. Aceso is my alpha, and I’ll have words with anyone of you who say that she took advantage of me or try to throw this city’s laws in my face.” He relaxed his posture. “Does what I think matter at all, Achelois?”