Chapter 9
As much as I hated to admit it, the pack lands were impressive.
The pack house acted as a sort of watchtower, situated at the north point of the town. With the Alpha’s rooms at the top of the house, it reminded me of a king in his castle, watching over his kingdom.
At the centre of town was a large market, where people sold fruits, vegetables, milled flour, and handmade crafts of all kinds.
The town centre seemed to act like a hub, a communal meeting place, with hundreds of houses scattered around the outside for miles in every direction.
There was a hospital, a library, even a movie theatre.
Konnor followed at my side, my chain in his hand, and Dinah chatted as we walked, telling me what each building was for and who owned it.
“This is how your people make their living? From the market and stores? How do you sustain that with no tourism? How do you buy land?” I was full of questions. Despite my biting need to keep my distance, I couldn’t help my curiosity.
“We don’t buy it, we already own more than enough.
Each mated pair gets a plot of land of their choosing to build and grow on as they wish, either gifted to them by the Alpha or inherited from a mated pair who have passed on.
” I stared at her, confused. Kole didn’t seem the type to be giving away pieces of land for free.
“They don’t pay for the land? Why? Doesn’t it belong to your son?”
“Technically, yes, his name is on the deed, but the land belongs to all of us.” She smiled.
“All of our buildings are made from repurposed, sustainable materials. We use solar panels for power, and water wells are dug at various sites. We live off grid as much as possible, but we also aren’t heathens.
We have the internet, TV, and modern medicine.
We just try to take as little from the earth as possible. ”
“You really aren’t human, are you?” I muttered and Konnor snorted. “I have another question. How do you pay for education? Kara’s a doctor. How did you cover her college fees if you live off grid like this?” Dinah raised her brows at me. “That was a rude question, huh?”
“A prudent one. You’ll be a leader soon, so you need to understand how we run things.”
I didn’t tell her that I had no intention of becoming their leader. I wanted her to think I was trying to get to know them.
“That’s where Maclay Construction comes in.
A lot of our wolves work for us by day, we’re strong, fast and able to get the work done in half the time a human crew would take so we get a lot of work.
” I remembered in the human town, I’d seen more than one building under construction with the Maclay Construction sign hanging from the scaffolding.
“The company pays our workers, our family, and it supports our pack as a whole. It funds the fixing of the roads, buying medical equipment and so on, as well as paying the college fees for our medical staff. ”
I nodded, wrapping my head around what she was telling me. “People don’t get jealous of Kara for getting to go to college?”
“No. We need and serve each other. We don’t get resentful like that. We aren’t human, remember? We’re a pack, we work as a unit. Our emotions are more instinctual, less complicated.”
I was quiet for a moment. Under different circumstances, I probably would have liked living here.
As we walked, it hadn’t escaped my notice that people were staring from every direction. I scowled back at them.
“They’re excited to see you, Luna. Your presence gives them hope for their future.”
“It’s a shame they don’t give as much of a shit about my future,” I snapped before I could stop myself. She came to a stop, turning me to face her.
“Every single member of this pack would die for you, even the children. We would all die for you.” She paused, letting her words sink in.
But they didn’t. Because they were barbed and self-serving.
“I know you don’t trust us, but we aren’t what you think we are.
You’ll see.” Dinah gave me an easy smile before walking towards The Closet.
She wasn’t a woman easily riled. I needed to remember that.
The Closet was like any other clothing store, except this place was a lot more minimalist. The clothes were simple, functional, except for one section that had nicer items. I liked it.
“I don’t have my purse with me,” I told Dinah, “Can they set up a tab or something so I can pay them later?”
“It’s on the Alpha’s account,” she explained, waving me away.
“I don’t need him to pay.”
“It’s your money too,” she said with a shrug, already turning to look through a stack of shirts.
I didn’t like it, but I needed clothes, and I had bigger things to worry about than who paid for them.
Konnor unlocked my cuffs and with him on my heels, I quickly selected jeans, hiking pants, and a few t-shirts and sweatshirts.
I stepped into the changing rooms to try them on.
Dinah followed me, waiting on the other side of the curtain.
Ten minutes later, I emerged with an armful of clothes and a determination to do a better job of building trust with Dinah. She was the matriarch here. If I couldn’t get her to trust me, I would never get away.
I followed her to the footwear section to find a pair of walking boots.
“Do they fit alright?” Dinah asked, a basket full of my clothes in her hand.
“I think so.” I wiggled my toes. She crouched, taking one foot and then the other in her hands, pressing on the toe and running her fingers around the ankle of each boot, making sure they weren’t too tight. I was so surprised, I didn’t even think to kick her away. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t help it. It’s the mother in me.” She smiled, oblivious to the pain her words caused. Ignoring it, I kicked off the boots, slipping my feet back into my own shoes.
“They feel fine.” I could feel their eyes on me and once again the urge to run took me, but I was stuck, so I kept my focus on the plan. “Thank you for showing me around, by the way,” I said to Dinah.
“You’re welcome. You looked like you could use the break from Kole.” That was an understatement. I stood and Konnor reattached my cuffs with an apologetic grin. I decided not to complain about it.
“I thought you would be all about glueing me to your son's hip.”
“I am.” She smiled wider, a smile I hated. I followed her to the counter to pay. The cashier smiled brightly when she saw me.
“Luna, I’m Glenda. I’m so, so happy you’re here.”
“Me too,” I replied, unable to hide the sarcasm. Before I said something I regretted, I walked away, heading for the door.
I threw open the door and stepped out onto the street. My body collided with another and I gasped as the woman dropped her basket, groceries flying everywhere.
“I’m so sorry,” I crouched, helping the woman return the fallen groceries to her basket.
It was clumsy work with my hands cuffed.
“Are you alright?” I asked, forgetting for a moment that she was one of them.
Groceries restored, the woman collected her basket and straightened.
I was surprised to see her scowling, instead of wearing the same excited smile everyone else wore when they saw me.
I could feel Konnor’s presence at my side, silent but watchful. He took up the chain again, eyeing the woman. For once, I was grateful he was there. I wasn’t sure I could take on a werewolf if this woman attacked me. Not handcuffed anyway.
Before any of us could speak, Dinah stepped out of the store to join us.
“Moira, how’re you today?” She smiled at the woman who sniffed in return.
“Very well, Luna. Thank you.” She gave Dinah a tight smile before stalking away.
I stared after the woman, the only person who hadn’t seemed happy to see me.
The woman met a man at a vegetable stall, her hand linking with his.
He must be her mate. She leaned up and whispered in his ear before they both shot a grimace my way.
I wondered if she could be useful to me. “Who’re they?”
“Philip and Moira Tourke,” Dinah answered. “The Alpha will explain to you who they are. Come, let's go visit the school.” She headed off, leaving me to wonder what the secret was there. Philip and Moira Tourke. I needed to remember those names.
The school's rustic aesthetic matched the rest of the town, giving it a cosy atmosphere. I followed Dinah as she led us into the main entrance. Noisy classrooms echoed down the halls.
“Luna Dinah, we didn’t know you were coming!” A sweet-looking woman approached, and Dinah hugged her. The woman turned her smiling face on me. “Luna, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m —”
“Iona. My name’s Iona,” I cut her off. I was getting really sick of my new nickname. The woman swallowed, looking to Dinah for guidance.
“Um, alright. My name is Kat, I’m the school receptionist. Did you come for a tour?”
“Yes, please,” Dinah answered. “It’s been a little while since I checked in and I thought it would be good for our new Luna to start learning the ropes.
” The two chattered as we walked, Dinah asking if they needed more resources, if a leak had been fixed, and on and on. I wondered how she kept track.
Kat led the way, giving me a running commentary of each room as we passed it.
Through a small glass pane in the door I could see what looked like older teenagers taking a science class.
In the next room, more teenagers, taking history this time.
I wondered whether they learned their history or human history.
As we walked, the students got younger and younger and I began to notice the classes getting smaller too. By the time we reached the five year olds, there were only two in the classroom.