The 'party' turned out to be a pack meeting. The party would come in afterward. Everyone was gathered in the back yard. It was a huge place so everyone was comfortably seated. There was a stage erected near the house. Sitting atop it were me, dad, mom, George the beta, together with his wife and son and Sam who I insisted should sit beside me. Her mom and dad, however, were with the rest of the pack. Sam looked magnificent in a flowing blue evening dress. I had a hard time getting my eyes off her. I was dressed in a black tux which had a little complication since I didn't know how to tie up the bow tie. Luckily, Sam was there to save the day.
As it turned out, George was the MC. When everyone was settled comfortably, George got up from his seat and welcomed everybody. He went through the evening program, giving a detailed explanation whenever it was necessary. After he was done with that, he called my dad out to address the pack. There were cheers from the crowd as dad approached the podium. When he got to it he raised his hands, waved the pack then gestured for silence. The pack promptly obeyed the silent order. Then he began.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here tonight to celebrate a new addition to the pack. I know you have all noticed the young man seated on my right. His name is Kyle Joseph Harrison. He is the new member we are welcoming today and you guessed it, he is my son."
There was a collective gasp from the crowd after dad's last sentence. This was followed by a moment of silence then murmurs erupted across the grounds. Dad tolerated it for five minutes then he silenced the pack. He cleared his throat and continued.
"Kyle grew up in exile here in the United States of America. My wife, your luna, and I sent him here for his own protection. He just joined us today in the afternoon and because he is related to me by blood, when we induct him, it will only be ceremonial, to officially welcome him into the pack. Before we get to the induction, I want to bring you up to speed on the other pressing matter. As you all know, we have endured some turbulent days in the recent past. We were even forced to go into exile by our enemy. I stand here today to reassure you that we are going to take back our territory. Our lives in exile will be but for a short while. You all know the reason we came South into the United States of America was to avoid unnecessary slaughter of our pack members. Choosing instead to regroup come up with a counter-assault plan. Needless to say, my son will be on the strike team that we are going to send back home to liberate our territory. He is well trained and primed for the task and I believe it's his destiny to put an and to the rogues." dad paused and sipped some water. Then he went on. " Now back to the task at hand. Kyle, please step forward." I got up from my seat and edged forward towards where dad was. Then I heard Sam's voice in my head. *'Kyle,' * *'Yeah? '* *' You want to know what I'm thinking right now? '* *' Uh-huh. '*
*' Please don't trip. '* *' Young lady, you are going to regret that'* *' Bite me'* *' I just might'*
I got to the podium next to my dad, turned, and looked at Sam, then I saw her wink at me. Jared, the beta's son was giving me the evil eye. I didn't know what his problem was so I just ignored him. I turned my mind back to the present. "You ready for this son?" dad asked, " As ready as I'm ever going to be," I said.
The induction was a simple affair. The alpha (my dad), only needed to formally welcome me into the pack and acknowledge me as part of the pack. Dad made me kneel before him. He then put his hands on my head and said. " I Peter Harrison, alpha of the royal pack do accept you as a member of my pack. Do you pledge to protect and defend the pack against any hostile force?" "I do." "Do you pledge to be a model member, obey your alpha and respect the rest of the members?" "I do." "OK then son, welcome to the family. "
There were loud cheers from the gathered members of the pack. I felt my nervousness suddenly lift. It was replaced by a feeling of joy and a sense of belonging. Having been alone for so long and now experiencing this made tears come to my eyes. I barely held them in. I was so lost in my own world that at first, I didn't catch on to what the crowd was now chanting. Then I heard it. "Shift, shift, shift..."
I looked at my dad who had this proud dad look on his face and saw him nod. "What about my new tux. I just wore it like an hour ago?" "Is that an excuse I hear my son? " " No of course not." "OK then do it. They are gonna love it. And honestly, your mom and I can't wait to show you off."
So I went ahead and shifted. It happened fast. One moment I was human on two feet and next there was this ripping sound followed by a giant wolf on all fours. *' Damn son, you are a frigging giant wolf'* dad linked. I turned and looked down from the stage at my pack. Most of them had their mouths wide open in awe. I thought to myself, what are they wowing about? Then it hit me. A giant rare white wolf. Duh.
I could catchphrases from the seated pack mates. They went something like; "Damn, that wolf is a giant." or "Wow, I wish I could shift that fast." or "He's got a white coat. It's so pretty." or "I've never seen a white wolf before."
I was feeling very proud at the moment. Like I was standing on the moon. Then I felt the itch, that crazy craving to howl. I tried my very best to hold it but it couldn't so I turned my eyes to the sky and let go.
When my lungs got empty and there was no more air left in there to howl with, I turned my gaze back to the pack. Only the sight that greeted me was that of wolves. A lot of them. Well apart from the under sixteen kids who couldn't shift yet. Back on the stage, the situation was the same. Mom, Dad, Sam, beta George, and family. Then as if we were all of one mind, we turned and looked at the sky and howled together. That must have been the loudest sound I'd ever heard. When it was all over, there followed a wave of silence. Not even the crickets were making noise. The silence was broken by my dad who linked to me. *'You owe me a suit son'* *'OH shit .'* *' Hey, just kidding. Alright everybody, since we were not done with the function, please head into the house in an orderly fashion for a change of clothes. The ladies will go first. '*
