Outliers

Five

"To survive, do what season do - change."

Sara Singhal

Things had been quiet between us all the next morning, even Beta Adriel had quietened, exhaustion from travelling weighing heavy. Alpha Harris had remained silent for most of the trip as well, and thankfully he had refrained from saying anything on last night. That wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with him, with anyone.

It took five hours more of driving until we finally arrived in Colorado pack territory, and an hour after that until we arrived at the main house deep in the forest, away from human civilisation. By the time we arrived it was already the afternoon.

The main house was a large wooden construction, much like the other seven pack houses, though by far the smallest I had seen. In the shadow of a canopy of trees, green moss bled across the sloped tiled roof and low hanging branches kissed the wooden walls. By its height, it seemed like the house was only two stories, unlike the three-story cabin back in Idaho.

"The new trainees have arrived," Beta Adriel murmured eyeing the small group as he addressed Alpha Harris. I sat up from my awkward position slumped against the passenger window with a wince, a knot in my neck the size of a fist. I ignored the pain and the fleeting scowl Alpha Harris threw my way as my tired eyes greedily took in every inch of the land that was visible to me.

At roughly one-hundred feet from the main house stood a collection of smaller wooden cabins, similar to the one's families lived in back home, and the one I had shared with my parents. Another one-hundred feet from the cabins, in a near perfect triangle, was what I assumed were the training grounds. There, gathered a large group, some in their human form some in their wolf form; and separated from them was a much smaller group of people of around ten looking too stiff to be comfortable, no doubt the new trainees.

"You're late!" A women's voice called out from the main group towards us. I saw some of the wolves she was with flinch at her tone. She was someone of importance then, if she was able to command such a response from other wolves. Especially if she dared to speak to an Alpha and Beta in such a way.

Alpha Harris was already out of the car and stalking over to said women. Beta Adriel nudged me over towards the small group stood separate from the others, the new trainees, before he left me to follow his Alpha, to where the woman was impatiently waiting with her arms crossed.

Despite her short size, the short blunt cut of her thick black hair and vicious curve of her grin was intimidating, I suppose. From where I stood, I noticed there were tattoos spread across her toned arms, on show by her lose white training vest.

Beside her, turned away as he faced the rest of the people on the training grounds, stood a frighteningly muscled man with rich brown skin and a head of short, black hair. I couldn't see his face but it was clear from the way the others focussed on him that he was someone else who held a position in the pack.

Apart from the basics, I knew very little about the workings of the Colorado pack. The term 'pack' was a lose descriptor for the enforces, so just how similar were they to the official seven packs? While they had an Alpha and Beta, did they divide power between hunting, training and patrols?

"Hey," a voice from beside me caught my attention, dragging me from my musings.

"Uh, hi," I uttered, taken off guard by the boy suddenly stepping up in front of me, blocking my view. His gaze held no apprehension and his composure was that of confidence unlike the others stood by us whom practically pulsed with nerves. He was shorter than me, by a couple of inches or maybe more, his curled brown hair sticking up in disarray, matched by his thick messy eyebrows.