Chapter 7 - Caleb
The pack hall is fuller than I’ve ever seen it since I arrived in Silvercreek, wall to wall with bodies and the low tension that comes from so many shifters packed into close quarters.
I’ve noticed that pack business, real pack business, is handled like this here.
Everyone in the room, no one hiding, all the decisions made public and final.
I could list fifty ways this would have gone wrong in my old life, but at Silvercreek, it’s different.
Here, everyone expects a little chaos, but they don’t turn on each other over it.
I move Alora’s car seat from one arm to another because it’s standing room only, until one of the older women spots me doing it and passes a small table down the line for me to put her on.
I flash her one of my best smiles in thanks and rest the car seat on it, amazed that Alora hasn’t so much as stirred since we arrived, even with all this noise.
I scan the room for Dina but can’t see her through the crowd.
My wolf knows she’s here, though. Instead, I find myself wedged near the east wall, shoulder to shoulder with a lineup of wolves I still barely know, even though I’ve been here a while now.
Thomas is up front calling the meeting to order, but half the room is still catching up on gossip from the BBQ.
I still can’t stop thinking about the BBQ.
Cheslem had pack events, but never one like this.
Silvercreek’s version isn’t about reminders of what you owe or threats disguised as team-building.
They’re weirdly wholesome, with kids running wild and adults keeping an eye on them but pretending not to, and the only violence is reserved for the sparring ring.
I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but I did. Even when I got my ass handed to me at the end in front of the whole pack, I enjoyed it.
But what really stuck was Dina. I’d known, sure, that she’d trained with her old man, that she’d survived Cheslem’s worst. But I hadn’t realized exactly how good she was until I watched her work through a perimeter map with Thomas and Bryan, red-lining every flaw in the design instantly.
After the sparring ring emptied out, I’d caught her timing sprints for the kids’ obstacle course.
Some little girl, Maisie, I think, was looking up at her like she hung the moon.
Dina cheered her through every lap, called out pointers, then jogged right alongside her for the last leg, matching pace.
For a moment, I just saw the wolf in her, not just the survivor.
She probably should take up the offer to join the security team, but the thought makes me panic.
After weeks with Dina around, the idea of her not looking after Alora makes my chest go weird and tight.
Not just because I don’t want to screw up solo with Alora or because the place feels colder when she isn’t there.
The truth is, I just like having her around, even if the feeling isn’t mutual.
I like that she doesn’t fall for my bullshit.
I know she hates me, or at least, she’s never going to let herself trust me.
I don’t blame her. Even if I could walk on water, there’ll always be Cheslem mud on my boots.
I could spend a hundred years atoning, and it will still never be enough, not for her.
And that’s fair enough, as long as it never impacts Alora. That’s all that matters right now.
A murmur ripples around the room as Elder Amelia makes her way to the front.
Her cane is thumping in time with the hush that rolls through the crowd.
Her hair is pulled tight, and her eyes have the flat, ageless look that makes you believe she’s seen a hundred winters and could see a hundred more if she wanted to.
“Thank you for coming.” Her voice slices the noise with surgical precision. “Everyone, old pack and new arrivals, listen closely.”
Nick steps to the side, arms folded, but I catch his eyes flicking from face to face.
He’s reading the room, not for trouble, but for who’s already figured out where this is going.
I see Ruby and Luna off to one side, heads together, and finally, I spot Dina standing near them, hands tucked in her pockets, eyes on the floor.
She’s the only one who isn’t looking around the room, and the longer I watch, the more I see her wolf pacing just behind her skin, restless.
I see her survival instincts are in full flow and wonder how well she’s really settling into Silvercreek.
Elder Amelia continues. “The last year’s been about change and recovery.
But if we’re to move past that, we need to anchor this generation properly to Silvercreek.
” She rests her hand on the cane, and her eyes sweep the crowd, daring anyone to break her gaze.
“This means a lottery. Same as before, same as always. But this time, the pool includes all newly integrated wolves. Every survivor, every Cheslem wolf cleared by Security and magic. There will be no exceptions unless they have already found a mate, of course.”
A noise ripples through the crowd, a cross between a groan and whispers of excitement. I feel every muscle in my back tense, and I know I’m not the only one. I glance at Dylan beside me, and he smirks.
“Shit,” he mutters, “that means you’re up, too.”
I can’t tell if he’s needling me or trying to sound encouraging.
Amelia taps her cane lightly on the stage floor to regain the crowd’s attention.
“You all know how this works. The lottery will bond you to Silvercreek and formally anchor the wards that keep us safe. It is not just tradition. It’s a necessity.
Pairings aren’t forced, but they are encouraged; I’d ask you to trust the magic. ”
I stop listening after that. Not because I don’t care, but because my mind has already run two laps around the implications and come to a hard stop at the only one that matters: Dina’s name will be in the draw.
Of course it will. She’s a new wolf. She’s unbonded, unattached, and still on the outside edge of the pack’s social swirl, so of course the elders would want to pull her in tight.
That’s what this is about. Making sure the next generation is fully Silvercreek and not a stray strand that could fracture the whole thing from the inside.
I find her again in the crowd. She’s not with Luna and Ruby anymore, but wedged between two women I don’t know, one of them talking animatedly at her while the other nods along.
Dina doesn’t appear to be listening. I can see it in the way her eyes go flat, in the way her shoulder blades are braced against the wall as if she’s trying to anchor herself.
Even from here, my wolf can smell her stress, sharp and bitter, an electrical charge coursing through my veins, and making my teeth hurt.
She’s not going to want this. There’s no fucking way.
If she’s told herself that Silvercreek was a safe space where she could take time to settle and recover, then this is the news that will destabilize everything.
I watch as she shakes her head at something one of the women says, flashes a smile that’s such a perfect copy of polite amusement that most people would buy it, but I don’t.
For a second, I feel sick. Not for myself.
I’d made my peace with the lottery the minute I signed Alora’s name into the pack registry.
I want to stay here more than I’ve ever wanted anything, and if that means getting paired off, so be it.
Or so I thought, not realizing it would happen quite this soon.
But the thought of Dina being forced into something, even if it’s just a formal handshake and a magic signature, makes something old and mean snap inside me.
My wolf feels on edge too, not liking this one bit.
Dylan elbows me lightly, like he’s sensing the shift in my mood. “You okay?” he says, not even bothering to hide the smirk. “You already got your eye on someone, you’d better speak up. Alora’s mom, maybe?”
I glance at him, side-eyeing the suggestion.
I know it’s hard for most to believe that her mom really doesn’t want anything to do with her, but I genuinely don’t think she’s coming back.
Fern helped me put out some feelers and try to track her down, but she’s long gone.
We found the diner she used to work at, and they said no one’s seen her since the day after she dropped Alora on my porch.
I shake my head, “nah, there’s no one.”
Dylan rolls his eyes, but I can see him watching me, calculating and amused. “Yeah, sure. Well, maybe you’ll get lucky and pull someone who’ll keep you in line.”
I almost say, I wouldn’t mind that, but the words catch in my throat.
Not everyone will get drawn in this lottery, and not everyone will want a Cheslem reject, but I don’t say that.
I focus on Alora instead; she’s still dead asleep, mouth open, and completely content.
I can’t imagine anyone playing the role of mom to her.
Least of all, someone forced into it by a lottery.
My wolf bristles at the thought, pacing and snarling at the bars of this new cage.
Amelia’s wrapping up now. “Names will be drawn in three days. There will be time for you to meet your pairing, and for the pack and family to weigh in if there are objections. But know this, laws were changed, softened, but the magic still takes the measure of you. It will not bind what cannot be bound.”
People are already starting to drift out; the meeting is dismissed in all but name.
I catch Thomas at the door, quietly starting to herd people toward the exit.
He glances my way and gives a nod, the kind that means he’s gauging someone’s mood even if he doesn’t ask.
I nod back and gather up the car seat, cradling it close.
Alora snuffles, then settles, never waking.
I half wonder if she just checked out of this meeting on purpose.
At the threshold, I catch sight of Dina again.
She’s making her way through the crowd, not pushing, just drifting between people like she was born to evade notice.
She’s almost to the door when Ruby materializes in front of her, grabbing her arm and saying something urgent and low.
I strain to listen, but the crowd is still loud, and whatever they’re saying is lost in the shuffle.
Dylan is right behind me out on the porch, lighting a cigarette with a practiced flick. He blows smoke into the cold and leans against the rail. “You going to the social after this?”
I shake my head. “Not my scene. I’ve got to run perimeter later, and the kid’s out cold.”
He grins, baring teeth. “Suit yourself. If you change your mind, I’ll be at the bar, betting on who gets matched with who.” He stubs out the cigarette, then adds, “Nothing’s set until the magic says so. But if you want something, you should make your move before then.”
I’m not sure if he still means to needle me or if he’s genuinely giving advice. Hard to say with Dylan.
I load Alora into the truck and drive home with the radio off.
The cabin is dark and cold when I get there, but I don’t turn on the lights right away.
Instead, I fire up the new heating I installed a few weeks back, leave the car seat by the couch, pop open a beer, and stand on the porch, letting the news settle.
My mind runs the loop again and again. Three days until the draw.
Three days until some of the unattached shifters in Silvercreek’s fates get rerouted by magic and the will of the pack.
Part of me wants to laugh at how little control I have over any of it recently—the job, becoming a single dad, how other people perceive me… and now even potentially my mate.
I know Nick and Luna have made a lot of changes.
Pack lotteries used to be binding, and all that has been softened.
I also know that the magic rarely gets it wrong; it doesn’t bind people for the sake of it.
But if Dina’s name gets called, I already know my wolf doesn’t like it.
Hell, I’m probably just feeling protective because of how Alora’s bonded to her.
I can only imagine how little she wants my opinion or care on the subject.
At least there’s no way the magic would bond her with someone from Cheslem.
Someone she hates as much as me.
I don’t get to dwell on why that thought cuts so deep because Alora begins to stir, so I discard the beer and head back inside to get her ready for Dina to come take over in a couple of hours.
I consider raising the subject of the lottery, but I know I won’t.
Things may have thawed slightly between us recently, but I doubt she wants to hear my thoughts on it.
I doubt I’d say anything useful anyway, not when my wolf gets so angry whenever I think about it.