A Part of This World

Amaris

"So, there are how many packs?" I ask, my head beginning to hurt at the amount of information that has been being hurled at me over the last half hour.
"Within the United States alone, there are almost fifty packs. In the world, there are more than a hundred different packs," Glendon, the Alpha tells me.
"Are there only wolves and humans that reside on the earth?" I ask, glancing between the four people around me.
"No," Zach says with a grin. "There are other shifters—bear, feline, dragon."
"Dragons?" I ask, stunned.
"Oh, yes, Dragons," Zach says with a wag of his eyebrows. "You definitely don't want to get on the wrong side of a dragon shifter," he warns.
"Zach," Zara cuts in before he can say anything more, "let's not scare the girl. She's only just become a part of this world."
"Fine," he sighs as he says this as though not talking about it is a serious letdown for him. "Guess it's a good thing that dragons aren't found in the U.S. There are also Kitsune and Selkie. Then, there are witches, banshees, and vampires.”
"Don't forget about the fae," Zara butts in, clearly excited.
"Fae?"
"Incubi, succubi, dwarfs, elves, gnomes, goblins, leprechaun, sprites, trolls, pixies, brownies," Zara ticks them off on her fingers excitedly.
"So, all of the fairy tale bad guys?" I ask, thinking through the Brother's Grimm books that I had read last year.
"Technically, that encompasses all paranormal beings," Zach reasons.
"True," then something he said hits me. "Witches? Like actual magical, spell-casting, witches?”
"Those are the ones," he says with a grin as he leans back, crossing his arms across his broad chest.
"Are there others, aside from witches, that have powers?" I ask, glancing around the room from one face to another.
"Vampires have speed and lure—it's a type of mind manipulation," he explains, clearly anticipating the question on the tip of my tongue. "Most fae has some sort of magic, but they differ between species."
"But no shifters?" I question, glancing at each of their faces. "Wouldn't shifters be at a disadvantage against any magical being?"
I find it odd that they didn't mention shifters, considering that *I* clearly do have some sort of magical abilities.
"No," Zane says, speaking for the first time since entering his father's office. "Outside of magic being responsible for us being able to shift, shifters do not have magical abilities. There used to be stor—"
"I'm sorry," his dad interrupts, casting Zane a glare, "we would be at a disadvantage, yes. But, luckily, we haven't gone up against the likes of them in centuries."
Glendon's reaction to whatever Zane was going to say has me beyond curious, but since I don't want to raise suspicions and bring about questions that I am not ready to answer, I move on.
"So, are there like rules or something that we have to follow as shifters?" I ask instead.
"Yes," Glendon says. "All packs have a hierarchy—The Alpha, being the leader of each pack, is the strongest and is highly respected amongst their pack. The Alpha's job is to protect their pack at all cost."
"Beta's," Zane picks up from his father, "are the second in command. The Beta is the second strongest and holds the most important title behind the Alpha and Luna."
*Luna? Kerryington had called me Kenton's Luna*, I think as Zane continues talking about the Beta of the pack.
"Beta's control the pack in the absence of the Alpha,” he finishes.
“Third in command is the Delta,” Zach says, picking up where his brother left off. “They are considered the third strongest, and are in charge of training the warriors of the pack to ensure they are fit and always battler ready, as well as acting general.”
“The Luna," Zara continues, "is the Alpha female of the pack and the Alpha's mate. She is the mother of the pack. While she assists the Alpha with his daily duties, she too must be trained and battle-ready, whether she fights by her Alpha's side or is to watch over and protect the woman and children, each pack and circumstance is different."
"The warriors, are as expected, the fighters of the pack. They are split into three different categories: Scouts, Sentinels, and Hunters," Glendon says, picking back up again.
"Does everyone have a title?" I ask, wondering what I would be if I were to stay.
"Not everyone, no," Zane says, pulling away from the wall to stand next to his dad. "Some packs have Omega's—they consider them beneath all others. But, we try to treat all non-ranking pack members equally."
"And as for rules, we respect the ranking rules, follow and answer to the Alpha, and don't expose ourselves to humans, or interfere in any type of human business."
"Why not?" I find myself asking, confusion, and anger warring within me.
*Is this why Kenton did nothing, if it was him, to help my brother?*
"It's against wolf law. The council forbids it," Glendon says by way of explanation, which is a crock of shit and not an explanation at all.
"That's stupid!" I shout, "If Kenton had stepped in, maybe Axel would still be here," only realizing too late what I'd just said. "Shit," I mumble under my breath.
"What?" Zach sounds taken aback at my outburst, and I can't blame him, to him what I said probably doesn't make a lick of sense.
"Who's Kenton, Amaris?" Glendon asks, his voice gentle.
"He's…Kenton is the one who helped me through my first shift." '*Mate*', my wolf yaps excitedly at the mention of his name. '*Tell them he's our mate.*'
*No!*
"In my brother's letter, he told me to seek out Kenton—and the only conclusion that I could come up with is that he is the person who witnessed what happened to him in the locker room and didn't help him," as I explain, my warring emotions only become stronger—not only am I now filled with both confusion and irritation, but also frustration, anger at the circumstances, but also understanding. *If Kenton was forbidden from doing anything can I really blame him? I want to, but in a way, I also understand.*
"Did you ask him about it?" Zach asks, crouching down next to me, looking me in the eyes.
"No," I say, shaking my head. "I had just shifted into a wolf—something that I didn't even know was possible." Sighing, I wipe my hand across my face, needing a moment. "I was confused and I wanted to be away from him. I just wanted to be alone, to get my bearings—so, I ran."
"You do now understand why he couldn't do anything, right? It likely wasn't because he didn't want to, but that he couldn't," Zach asks gently, his gruff voice raspy in its lower, softer tone. "If I were in his shoes, I would have wanted to step in, but because of Shifter Law, I wouldn't have been able to get involved in human issues either."
"But, he wasn't human," I say, my words barely audible even to myself. Then, a thought occurs to me, "he was a shifter. Does that mean that I can get vengeance for him?"
"Unfortunately, no. If this Kenton didn't get involved, it means that the…" Glendon stops talking, a disgusted look on his face.
"It means that those sick fucks were human," Zane interjects, his jaw and fists clenched when I look over at him. He's giving off this aura that makes me want to cower away from him and bare my neck. Instead, a low whimper escapes from me, as I fight off the overwhelming feeling of submission.
"Reel it in Zane!" Glendon commands, and slowly, the urge to cower lessons until I no longer feel the need to submit.
"Amaris," Glendon says my name, bringing my attention back to him. "Do you want to return to your old pa—home?" He asks, correcting himself at the last minute from saying pack since they weren't my pack.
"That place wasn't my home," I tell him honestly. "All that place holds are bad memories."
'*And our mate*,' my wolf pipes up, but I ignore her.
He nods his head in understanding, and then says, "You are more than welcome to join the Midnight pack if you would like."
"Thank you," I know that I need to join a pack. I most certainly don't want to go feral, but a part of me wants to find out where I come from, and where I belong.
'*You belong with the Artemis pack, with our mate*', my wolf insists, but I disagree.
*I need to do this. I need to find my place. I need to learn to stand on my own*, I explain, hoping that she will understand.
*I've always had Axel, and losing him devastated me. I don't want to rely on always having someone there for me, I need to learn how to stand on my own two feet, to protect myself.*
'*But Kenton is our mate. He is meant to complete us, to make us stronger, and to protect us*,' she continues and I can feel her pain at the thought of not returning to our mate, and I understand where she is coming from, I really do.
*And what if I lose him like I lost Axel?* I ask, wanting—no, needing her to understand. *If being his other half and Luna means taking on a pack if something happens to him, then I need to know how to fight. I need to know everything that there is to know about this world that I can.*
I can tell that she's not happy, wanting her mate more than anything, but when she says nothing more, I know that she sees where I'm coming from.
*I'm sorry. I'm not saying that we will be away from our mate forever, but I have to do this.* She just whimpers in response, then retreats to the back of my mind. 
My chest aches at not returning to him, and I feel as though a part of me is missing, but I can't let that hold me back from what I need to do.
"Can I train? Learn to fight, to protect both myself and the rest of the pack?" I ask, turning my attention back to Glendon.
"You want to be a warrior?" Zach asks a look of shock on his face.
"I want to be useful—and I think that I could be an asset," I say cautiously, thinking about how I created the gorge in the earth to keep the red-eyed wolves away.
"An asset how exactly?"
*Please let this be the right mov*e, I think as I turn to Glendon, ready to lay myself bare before the four other shifters in the room.