Blood and Silver: First Bite

A Brief History Lesson

The next morning, Abigail woke up to a familiar smell, that of the pancakes that Jackson had made on their first meeting at his cabin. She wandered into the kitchen, and Jackson set a plate of blueberry pancakes topped with whipped cream and maple syrup in front of her. Laura was already halfway through her pancakes, and looked up at Abigail.

‘These are the best pancakes I’ve ever had,’ she mumbled, forgetting to swallow before speaking. ‘You’re in for a treat!’

Abigail laughed.

‘Thank you Jack, they smell amazing!’ She said, as she tucked in.

‘Only the best for you, my sweet!’ He sang, clearly in a glorious mood this morning.

Since Hannah had gone home, Jackson insisted on taking Abigail to school, “for her safety”. They didn’t speak much on the short journey, apart from some awkward comments on the weather. As they stopped, he got out of the car and raced around to her door, opening it for her and holding out his hand to help her out of the car. She blushed, feeling like royalty and charmed by his chivalry.

‘I’ll see you later!’ He said, giving her a wink and getting back into the car. Abigail laughed nervously and waved as he drove away.

She was distracted that day, and struggled to pay attention in all of her classes. She couldn’t help but think about her and Jackson’s escapades the night before.

Part of her was worried that the next time they were alone together, he might expect more. No, she thought, he’d promised to go at her pace and he was her mate, she could trust him.

She longed to tell Hannah every detail about what had happened, but held back. Part of her was worried that if Hannah sensed her hesitation, she might invite herself back over to her house to act as a chaperone. As much as she was nervous, she still had the need to spend time alone with Jackson and be close to him.

She wanted to know more about the mate bond, but didn’t know how to approach it with him.

At lunch, she sat, mindlessly spooning yoghurt into her mouth as her mind wandered to all of the things that had happened the night before. Suddenly, she felt the thud of a tray being put down beside her, and the bump of Hannah’s elbow against her side.

‘Whatcha thinkin’ about, cuz?’ Asked Hannah, still in awe and excited that Abigail and her were related.

Abigail looked up and laughed nervously.

‘Oh, hey Han! Uh, nothing, just uh, you know, taking in all this crazy information from the past few days.’ She thought on the spot, not wanting to give too much away.

‘I know, right? It’s crazy!’ She brought her voice down to a whisper. ‘I can’t believe that werewolves and witches are real. I always thought they were just for fairytales and mega blockbuster movies, but look at us living our own silver screen life!’ She flipped her hair over her shoulder for emphasises.

Abigail laughed at her friend, and they chatted over lunch until the bell rang.

‘See you in English later!’ Called Hannah. ‘Toodles!’ She said, putting on a terrible, fake British accent.

Abigail packed her tray away and picked up her books. She had a free period which she was planning to spend in the library, but she suddenly had a better idea. She headed towards the school offices and knocked on the secretary’s door.

‘Excuse me, Miss Green?’ She said politely, directing her voice to the elderly school secretary. ‘Is Mr Howard available?’ She asked.

‘You will have to make an appointment, Miss Moore.’ She said sternly. ‘Mr Howard is a very busy man.’

‘I know, Miss Green, and I don’t want to disturb him when he’s busy, but I would really like to speak to him.’ Abigail stated, this time adding some authority to her voice.

Miss Green sighed. Mr Howard was not having an easy time with the students of late. They all seemed to have lost respect for him and he was finding it increasingly difficult to manage them as school principal. She was a human and knew nothing of his demotion to Omega, and even if she did, would not have understood. The pack boys were the first to lose respect and start to give him a hard time, and the human teens, through sheer pack mentality, had followed suit.

She picked up her phone and dialled Mr Howard’s extension. ‘Mr Howard, Miss Moore is here to see you and is being quite insistent.’ She said. ‘I have told her that you are busy and she needs to make an appointment, but she doesn’t seem to be leaving.’

‘Miss Green, thank you! Send her in! Miss Moore is always welcome in my office.’ He replied, and Abigail smiled at Miss Green.

Miss Green waved her in, and she went to Mr Howard’s office and closed the door behind her.

He looked awful. There were dark circles around his eyes and he looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He stood up, respecting Abigail as his Alpha’s mate, and she smiled sweetly at him and took a seat in the chair in front of him.

‘Hello Miss Moore! Are you comfortable? Can I get you something to drink?’ He asked, making Abigail feel uncomfortable. She still saw him as a leadership figure, and he was treating her like she was above him.

‘Mr Howard, I was wondering if you could help me understand a few things, please? Serena said that you are the most knowledgeable member of the pack, and I realised that if I wanted to learn how the pack works, who better to come to than you?’ She said.

Mr Howard’s eyes brightened. He loved to feel useful, and this beautiful girl had walked into his office giving him the opportunity.

‘Of course! Tell me what you need!’ He said excitedly.

‘I’d like to know about pack dynamics, the different ranks etcetera. I realise the Alpha is the leader, but I don’t understand the rest. Could you explain it to me, please?’ She asked.

Mr Howard’s heart felt warm. Young wolves were taught this knowledge from an early age, but Abigail hadn’t been exposed to it. Now was his chance to impress the Alpha’s mate.

He grabbed a notepad and a piece of paper.

‘May I sit next to you, Miss Moore?’ He asked. ‘It’s easier to show than to tell.’

Abigail nodded, and he sat in the chair next to hers, starting to draw a crude hierarchy chart.

‘See, at the top is the Alpha. The Alpha, as you said, is the leader of the pack, and their position is gained through birth or through challenge.’ He started.

‘Challenge?’ She asked.

‘Yes. Alphas are naturally the strongest, fastest, largest and smartest of the pack. But if an Alpha is challenged, and loses the challenge, the winner becomes the new Alpha and gains all of the Alpha traits. Realistically this barely ever happens - most Alphas have an heir who is young and strong and takes over the pack when they are of age. But the Alphas that don’t have an heir become older and lose some of their strength, and that is when they may get challenged. Alpha Jackson’s father died when he was 12, and he was the Alpha by default, but his father’s Beta ran the pack for him and groomed him until he was of age.,

‘Beta?’ Abigail asked. ‘What’s that?’

‘The Beta is the Alpha’s closest confidant. They are usually natural leaders and loyal to the Alpha. A Beta possesses great strength and wisdom, and may be named as the Alpha’s successor if they have no heir and are unable to fulfil their duties.’ He stated.

‘Who is Jackson’s Beta?’ Asked Abigail.

Mr Howard sighed. ‘It was me, but now it is my wife, Serena. I didn’t expect it to last as long as it did, I was his father’s Beta, and usually a new Alpha selects a new Beta, but he let me continue by default. But I messed up, and Alpha Jackson was merciful in letting me stay in the pack. He has a second Beta as well, who commands our army. It’s not the norm, but in our pack, historically, there has always been a Commander and a Guardian. One who is a skilled fighter, and one who is a skilled thinker.’

Abigail did not feel that Jackson had been merciful. She saw what Mr Howard was going through, and how he was being treated at the school. Just yesterday, he had come out to his car to find it plastered with wet toilet paper. It hardly seemed fair, especially as he had helped to prepare Jackson for his role as Alpha.

‘Next you have the Delta wolves, these are an elite team of the strongest fighters in the pack. They aren’t the smartest of the pack, but they have good defensive skills and are strong and loyal fighters. Mr Lennox is a Delta, and a highly revered one at that.

The rest of the pack fulfils the Gamma rank, I suppose in the human world it would be the middle class, suburban family? And then…’ he paused, ‘there is the Omega rank. The lowest of the low, not respected or revered, not entrusted to important information, just the bottom…’ his voice trailed off.

Abigail hated this for Mr Howard, and found herself reaching out to console him.

‘I’m okay, Miss Moore. It is a better fate than becoming a rogue.’

‘Oh yes,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard about them. But tell me, what do you know about Mates?’ She asked, quickly changing the subject.

‘Ah yes,’ said Mr Howard, his eyes glinting once again. ‘The most sacred and beautiful bond known to all packs, and once that we have not seen in many years…’ his voice was interrupted by the sound of the school bell.

‘You had better get to class, but you are welcome in my office at any time, Miss Moore!’ He said, as she thanked him and ran for her next class.