We had dinner in silence. I was still reeling from what I had seen, and I knew that my mom wouldn't answer my questions about the past until I committed to accepting what she had told me about a pack. Leading a pack. The idea resonated in my head like a strange and distorted echo. It was as if my mother had opened a door to a universe completely alien to me. How could I even consider leading a group of beings I didn't even understand? The mention of a pack hit me like a blast of cold wind. It was bewildering, almost absurd. I had no slightest notion of what that really implied. Was that something done in the real world or was I immersed in a science fiction plot? I couldn't discern. The image of myself leading creatures that were half-human, half-beast, was so extravagant it was a

