Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Ava
"Stop pacing. You're making me nervous."
I look up to find Rachel watching me from her position on my couch, laptop balanced on her knees. She came over an hour ago ostensibly to help me prepare for tonight's pack meeting, but mostly she's been trying to keep me from spiraling into full panic mode.
"I'm not pacing. I'm reviewing my notes while standing up."
She sets aside her laptop. "Ava, you're going to be fine. You know this material inside and out. You've presented research findings hundreds of times."
"To academic audiences. Not to a room full of werewolves who are already suspicious of me." I clutch my laptop tighter. "What if they hate me? What if they think Hunter's making a mistake trusting me?"
"Then you prove them wrong." She stands and moves to take my laptop away from me, setting it firmly on the coffee table. "Sit. Breathe. Tell me what you're really worried about."
I sink onto the couch, running my hands through my hair. "I'm worried I'm going to mess this up for Hunter. Marcus already questions his judgment. If I go in there tonight and say the wrong thing or come across as too clinical or not respectful enough of pack dynamics?—"
"You're going to go in there and be yourself," Rachel interrupts. "Smart, passionate, and committed to helping. That's all you need to be."
"Hunter said there are going to be over a hundred people there. A hundred werewolves, all staring at me, judging whether I'm trustworthy."
"Closer to a hundred and fifty, actually.
" At my expression, she laughs. "Sorry. Not helping.
Most of them are going to be curious, not hostile.
They've heard about you. The human researcher who found the contamination, who's helping investigate EnvironTech.
You're already a topic of conversation at every dinner table in Willow Creek. "
"That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"It should. Because it means they're interested, not automatically against you. And the ones who are against you—like Marcus and his group—they were going to be against you no matter what you said or did. So don't worry about winning them over. Focus on everyone else."
I take a deep breath, trying to let her logic calm me. "What else should I know? Hunter gave me the basics about pack hierarchy, but what are the unspoken rules?"
Rachel considers this. "Well, don't make direct eye contact with wolves you haven't been introduced to. That can be read as a challenge. Let Hunter introduce you before you start presenting. And if someone asks you a hostile question, stay calm and factual. Don't get defensive."
"Great. No pressure."
"You'll be fine. Hunter will be right there, and so will Caleb and I. Gregory supports you. The elders are cautiously optimistic. You've got more allies than you think."
My phone buzzes with a text from Hunter
How are you doing?
Totally fine. Not panicking at all.
That's what I thought. Want me to come over early?
No, I need to finish organizing my notes. See you at the community center at 6:45?
I'll be there. And Ava? You're going to be amazing. Trust me.
I set down my phone, feeling slightly better. "He has a lot of faith in me."
"Because you've earned it." Rachel starts gathering her things. "Now, I'm going to head home so you can finish prepping. But Ava, one more thing."
"What?"
"Remember that you're not just presenting evidence tonight. You're showing them who you are. Let them see why Hunter trusts you. Why you're willing to help the pack even though you've only been here a few weeks." She smiles. "Let them see the woman I've gotten to know. You'll win them over."
After she leaves, I spend another two hours going through my presentation. I've organized it into three parts. The evidence of contamination, the link to EnvironTech, and the proposed plan of action.
I practice my opening remarks five times, trying to strike the right balance between professional and personable. I'm a scientist presenting findings, but I'm also asking for their trust.
By six o'clock, I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I change into nice jeans and a green sweater that Rachel assured me was "pack meeting appropriate"—professional but not formal, respectful but not trying too hard.
I arrive at the community center at exactly six forty-five. The parking lot is already filling up with cars and trucks, and I can see people heading inside in small groups. My stomach does a nervous flip.
Hunter is waiting by the entrance, and the moment he sees me, his expression softens. "Hey."
"Hey." I let him pull me into a quick hug. "I'm terrified."
"I know. But you're going to be great." He pulls back to look at me. "Everyone's gathering now. I'll introduce you, give some context about why you're here, and then you present. After that, there'll be questions. Just be honest and direct. The pack respects that."
"What if they ask me things I can't answer?"
"Then you say you don't know. Don't try to bluff. They'll see right through it." He takes my hand. "Ready?"
"No. But let's do this anyway."
The community center is a large, open space with exposed beams and hardwood floors. Folding chairs have been arranged in rows facing a small stage area at one end. The room is already nearly full, with wolves of all ages settling into seats, talking in low voices.
The conversations die down as Hunter leads me to the front. I can feel every pair of eyes on me, assessing, judging. My heart is pounding so hard I'm sure everyone can hear it.
Hunter steps onto the small stage area, and I stand just below it, trying not to look as nervous as I feel.
"Thank you all for coming," Hunter begins, his voice carrying easily through the space. "I know mandatory meetings aren't anyone's favorite, but what we're discussing tonight affects every member of this pack."
He's different up here. More commanding, more authoritative. This is Hunter as Alpha, and I can see why the pack chose him.
"Over the past few weeks, we've discovered evidence of serious environmental contamination in our territory.
The prey animals have been affected, the water quality is declining, and the source has been traced to illegal dumping by EnvironTech Corporation.
" He pauses, letting that sink in. "Dr. Ava Sinclair is an environmental researcher from Clemson University who's been conducting a study of this area.
She's the one who found the initial evidence of contamination.
And she's here tonight to present what we've discovered and discuss our options for addressing it. "
He turns to me, extending his hand to help me onto the stage. "Ava, if you're ready?"
I take his hand, drawing strength from the contact, and step up beside him. The sea of faces looking back at me is overwhelming. They are young and old, male and female, all watching with varying degrees of curiosity and suspicion.
"Thank you, Alpha Turner," I say, and I hear approving murmurs at my use of his title. Hunter coached me to acknowledge his position, show respect for pack hierarchy. "And thank you all for taking the time to hear this presentation."
I connect my laptop to the projector Hunter set up earlier, and the first slide appears on the screen behind me. It shows a map of the watershed with contamination levels marked in different colors.
"I arrived in Willow Creek three weeks ago to study unusual mutation patterns in local flora.
What I found was evidence of systematic environmental poisoning that's been occurring for years.
" I advance to the next slide, showing photographs of mutated plants.
"These aren't natural variations. They're the result of chemical contamination in the soil and water. "
I can see people leaning forward, paying attention. Good. This is familiar territory. I’m presenting my research, explaining the findings.
"Initially, I couldn't identify the source.
The contamination patterns were widespread but seemed to originate from somewhere north of the settlement.
" The next slide contains the water sample analysis data.
"But three days ago, Alpha Turner, his brother Caleb, Ethan Wilder, and I conducted an investigation of the old EnvironTech facility on the northern border of your territory. "
I pull up the photographs we took. They show the barrels, the leaking containers, and the active vents on the supposedly abandoned building.
The room erupts in angry muttering. I see several wolves half-stand from their seats, faces furious.
"This is what we found," I continue, raising my voice slightly. "Dozens of barrels containing industrial waste, many of them leaking into the groundwater. And evidence that the facility is still operating despite EnvironTech's claims that it was shut down years ago."
"How do we know you're interpreting this correctly?" A man about my age stands up from the third row. "You've only been here a few weeks. Maybe you're wrong about the source."
It's not hostile, just skeptical. I can work with that.
"That's a fair question. My analysis is based on chemical composition matching.
The contaminants in the soil and water samples I've collected from multiple sites across the territory match exactly with the contents of those barrels.
Additionally, Ethan Wilder has documented similar contamination patterns at six other sites across the Appalachians, all of which are located near EnvironTech facilities.
" I pull up a comparison chart. "The evidence is consistent and reproducible. "
The man nods and sits back down, apparently satisfied.
"Why should we trust you?" This voice comes from the back. Marcus is standing with his arms crossed. "You're an outsider. You've been here less than a month, and suddenly you know all about our territory, our problems, our business?"
The room goes quiet, everyone watching to see how I'll respond.