Darcingtowne Wolves: The Misfits (Book 1)

Chapter Seven: Induction

By the time Penelope and Carrie entered the mansion, the boys were already hauling ass up the grand staircase.

“f**k off Ryan, I’m getting first pick-” Sebastian said, charging ahead of the gentle giant with inhuman speed.

“Hey, hey! Calm your t**s, there are plenty of rooms - and the ranked suites are all the same anyway.” Penelope called out to the boys just as Ryan grabbed at the back of Bastian’s shirt and yanked him backward. 

“Ooohhh, so we are going to do rankings then?” Carrie said, clapping her hands. “Sweet. I want to be the Delta! I like the idea of organizing the household.”

“He’s the Beta.” Ryan said, thumbing at Sebastian. “And I’m the Gamma, obviously.”

Sebastian blinked a few times, and looked up at Ryan. “Seriously, bro? You...you don’t want to be the Beta?”

Ryan looked down at Sebastian, letting go of his shirt so that the smaller man flopped forward onto the floor.

“‘Course not. I’m a healer. Much better suited to Gamma position. Protecting the Luna and children...though I suppose we won’t really have a Luna, and there aren’t actually any children.” Ryan shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Light pack duty sounds pretty good with my crazy class schedule.”

“Normally the Beta is the strongest member of the pack after the Alpha…” Mason chimed in, trying to disguise the amusement he felt at the raw look of irritation that Sebastian was giving the presumed Gamma when he rolled over onto his front.

“Yeah.” Ryan said, tilting his head as he reached down to offer Sebastian a hand up. “And Bastian is both faster and stronger than me.”

“Damn right I am.” Sebastian growled, slapping the hand away. He tucked his knees to his chest, then threw himself back up to his feet in a single fluid movement. “And don’t you forget it, or I’ll hex your ass into next week.”

“No hexing. In fact, we need to establish some ground rules before you all decide if you really want to join my pack or not.” Penelope said, putting her hands on her hips as she took her friends in. “You can live here regardless, because no matter what you’re my friends...family, really. But, I’m not going to force you guys to take a blood oath to me unless you’re sure you want to.”

Mason remained silent, observing the proceedings with his usual neutral expression. When Penelope glanced his direction, he gave her a slight, almost imperceptible nod.

Carrie was the first to react; she laughed, of course. It was a sweet, tinkling sound that broke the stunned silence into a million little pieces. “Penelope Dawn Silvius, how could you think for one second that we wouldn’t want to join your pack? And honestly, it’s OUR pack. We are The Misfits!”

“Damn right.” Sebastian said, grinning as he snapped his fingers, reappearing seconds later right in front of Penelope. “...And as Beta, I want to be the first inducted. Let’s do this s**t right now.”

Penelope resisted the urge to glance at her father again, and instead met each of her soon to be pack member’s eyes - Carrie, Ryan, and finally Sebastian. Sebastian’s bright blue eyes were steady and sure. He was going to be a great Beta; well, so long as he could keep his temper in check, anyway.

Penelope reached down to pull her utility knife from her boot, where she always kept it, and created a small slice across the center of her palm. Sebastian offered his hand with no hesitation, letting her create a corresponding cut across his palm with the same knife. Although she could only see it from the corner of her eye, she knew that Ryan was cringing - probably because of how unsanitary it was to use the same knife or something like that.

They slapped their hands together, and Penelope intoned, “I, Penelope Dawn Silvius, welcome you, Sebastian John Justice, to The Misfits of the Darcingtowne Alliance as my Beta. I pledge to you my loyalty, my protection, and the comfort of my home.”

“I, Sebastian John Justice, pledge my loyalty, my strength, and my dedication to you, Penelope Dawn Silvius, Alpha of The Misfits of the Darcingtowne Alliance, and accept my place as your Beta.” Bastian responded, giving Penny’s hand a squeeze to emphasize the strength part.

Carrie, Ryan and Mason all clapped politely as Penelope gasped, feeling a link establish itself between herself and establish itself. Even though she knew that, as the Alpha, she would be linked to all the members of her pack, she was surprised at how very strong the link was; she even thought she could see it, like a silvery thread connecting them at the chest - heart to heart. The thread faded after a moment, and when she looked up at Bastian’s face she saw that he was looking down at the place where the thread had connected to her chest. 

“That was...wow. Sorry.” Bastian cleared his throat, realizing he’d basically been staring at his Slpha’s boobs for the past several seconds.

Penny laughed lightly, “It’s fine Bastian, I saw it too. I know you’re not checking me out.”

“It’s only going to be like that with your ranked members.” Mason said as Sebastian took a step back, allowing Ryan to step forward in his place. “The connection between you is going to be stronger than the one you have with unranked members.”

Ryan and Carrie were both sworn in in short order, though their responses were slightly different from Sebastian’s because of their differing purposes as ranked members of The Misfits - and would be different from the standard one that she would use to swear in any new, unranked members that joined. Should they even get any new members, anyway.

Penelope hadn’t really been thinking that far ahead. She just wanted to ensure that she and her friends had a safe, secure place to live for their university years. What happened after they completed their schooling, she really had no idea. Her lofty ambitions as Alpha only extended as far as graduating with her degree in business management, and then she’d just assumed they’d all go their separate ways.

Once the bond had been established, something in her mindset shifted a little. Her connection to the territory and to her friends, made her turn one eye to the future - a future where they might have a full pack house of Misfits like them who were going to need strong mentors to help guide them. She could see Bastian training warriors, Carrie educating children, and Ryan treating patients both old and young.

Before she could get completely distracted, her father approached her and offered her his hand.

“Didn’t forget about me, did you Princess?” Mason asked, one eyebrow lifting as she blinked up at her father in surprise.

“Pops...aren’t you already a pack member, technically?” Penelope asked.

“Only on paper. I’d prefer to be blooded in.” Mason said, eyeing the knife in Penelope’s left hand meaningfully.

Penelope nodded, and cut both of their hands, then joined them together. With Mason’s pledge, The Misfits had their first Elder, and Penelope saw the sketch of the future she saw in her mind fill the rest of itself in. It was odd how everything was just falling right into place; if she was a less trusting person, she might have found that suspicious. As it was, she chalked it up to the will of the Goddess.

“Ok, so NOW I’m going to go claim my room - and I definitely get first pick because I’m the Beta!” Sebastian cried, snapping and reappearing at the top of the stairs before Ryan could get a hold of him.

Carrie and Ryan hurried after their Beta, leaving Mason and Penelope alone as the new pack bond settled over them.

“I should get going and let you kids get settled in.” Mason said, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Penelope’s forehead. “I’ll call tomorrow to check in. My place is nearby, just on the other side of the Bramble. I’ll text you the address when I get there.”

“Thanks, Papa..” Penelope said softly, giving her father a sweet, sad smile. It was strange to know that they weren’t going to be sleeping under the same roof. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Princess. Sleep well.” Mason said, giving his daughter a brief hug.

She led her father to the door, and waved a bit before closing the door and locking up after him. It was then that Penelope realized just how tired she was, and her shoulders slumped. She’d been awake since before the sun came up, and now it was setting, and she’d hardly had anything to eat. Just as she was pondering ordering a pizza, as they hadn’t bothered to shop for groceries yet, Carrie came sliding down the polished dark oak banister of the grand staircase with a high pitched squeal, hopping off before she reached the wolf head balustrade at the end. 

The petite redhead came stumbling to a stop just in front of Penelope, waving a few sloshing bottles of blush wine.

“Let’s get lush!”