Chapter 2: Chapter 2
The excitement of the pack had hardly died down in the following days. Everyone was eager to see the new leaders work. They took every opportunity to watch their superiors. They approved of every good and questionable decision they made. Both young and old looked up at them for guidance like children.
Cooper watched them too, but only from a distance. His brother had been so busy it wasn't hard to avoid him. They exchanged a few friendly words at home, but that was all. Cooper completely avoided Samuel and Kyle however. He had tried to be the bigger man, but found it impossible to look them in the eyes. He could only grit his teeth as Samuel dominated every conversation with a decisive tone and intimidating stance, while Kyle snickered his way into everyone's hearts.
As soon as Cooper settled down for a mid morning nap, his new normal as of late, he heard the bling of his phone followed by the enormous ring of the gathering bell, a bell found near the center of the neighborhood used to signal the pack. The notification on his phone was one all the pack members were subscribed to. It was an alert to a town meeting.
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Arriving at the gathering hall with many others, he could see why this place wasn't used for the coronation. The outside looked like a local bank, but the inside was more of a local disaster shelter and war room. This was the place they were always gathered when something bad happened. If it wasn't for the stench of sweat, the fear scent from the last meeting could probably be sniffed out from between the floorboards.
"Alright! Seems like we're pretty much all here. Let's get this over with so we can all go home." Alik stood up at the podium upon the raised section of floor that served as a stage.The majority of the pack sat at the long meeting tables that were kept in the room or stood politely behind the tables.
Alik stood back as a fierce woman with short tied hair in her late 30s rose to the podium in his place. She gripped the sides of the podium so tightly that Cooper felt sorry for it.
"As you all know, it's been around a year since the Cave Shadow pack was defeated and pushed out of their territory. They are now considered rogues, but make no mistake; they are still grouped and organized. That being said, we have recently been alerted to the presence of such rogues a few days North of the Northern border of our territory. They are most likely just passing through in the search of new territory. However, since we supplied troops in the battle against them and gained many supplies at their loss, the possibility of revenge cannot be ignored. Starting this afternoon we will send numbers to occupy the North. Any attack will take at least 3 days to reach our Northern outpost so there is time to prepare for any possibilities." She stood back for a moment and searched the eyes of the crowd.
"An attack is unlikely, and the majority of our most trained forces will remain in town. We will ask that any able bodied people willing to camp at the border do so as a deterrent of attack." She took a full step back, bowed slightly, and returned to her previous position on the stage.
"Uh thank you Chief Joanne. Your ability to lead the warriors and help protect this pack is greatly appreciated." Alik received only a curt nod from the head warrior.
"You are all dismissed."
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Walking back home to return to where he left off, he was started by a slap on the back. Turning, but not stopping, he saw Alik standing there with a grin.
"Heyy. I'm going to the border tonight. I could use a breather. Plus it'll make me look brave and stuff. Wanna come with?" Cooper's response was cut off by "Wasn't a real question bro. Go pack." Alik grinned wide. It wasn't an order from an alpha, but it was definitely a promise to annoy the hell out of him if he decided to try not to go.
"Fine, whatever."
And so, pack he did. He went home alongside Alik and put all the clothes he'd need in a bag. He didn't bother packing the camping gear as he knew he'd be staying with his brother in the station by the border.
He threw his duffel bag through the open window of Alik's truck when he was done. Getting in the cab at the same time, Alik started the truck and they began to move off the drive and onto the street. They drove back to the gathering hall where young men and women waited. As soon the truck halted, bags were thrown into the bed of the truck and the entire vehicle swayed as the volunteers loaded up to catch a ride.
With eight passengers in the back, the truck lurched forward and headed out of the neighborhood. Everything was fine until soon the pavement ended and they landed on a dirt road. Cooper could hear their passenger groan as they hit every bump. Some of them were smart enough to sit on their belongings to cushion themselves and the others were sure to be sore.
The dirt road soon became surrounded by trees on every side. The vegetation didn't release its grip on the sunlight above until they had arrived at their destination. The warriors called it a station, but in reality it was merely a cabin. The cabin stood in the middle of a small field. The trees and grasses that surrounded it had been worn down by years of setting up tents and small fires.
Cooper had only been here once before; a winter some eight or so years ago. His father had taken him there during the coldest night of the year. He'd had a drunken delusion that surviving a few nights out there would make his son more of a man. He locked himself and all the supplies in the cabin and made Cooper sleep outside.
When morning and sobriety came they left. Cooper had never seen his father look so ashamed of himself. His Dad never really drank around him after that, seemingly afraid of what he'd do to his youngest.
Cooper didn't see his Dad as a bad man, but it made him think of himself. His father never had to stop taking any liquor around anyone else. Something about his second child made his intoxicated state want to do bad things. But he controlled himself. He had restraint. He was a good leader and good father. What am I?
"Welcome Alpha Alik! The cabin is open for you." A juvenile warrior, who barely came up to the passenger window, looked straight up at Cooper with a try-hard stance that could melt hearts.
"Oh, no. That's him." He leaned forward in his seat so the real Alik could be seen throwing up a peace sign from the driver's seat.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. You look very alike in the face. And you look so tall in this truck! I'm Kip. Let me help you bring your things inside." While Alik got out of the vehicle to demand that their passengers don't spring off the sides of the truck when getting out, Cooper decided to accompany Kip to the cabin with their belongings.
"You look a little young to be a warrior." Kip looked up to him as he talked, which was a surprise inside itself. It's quite rare for any shifters to be any shorter than him. He enjoyed it.
"Oh! Yeah. I only got my necklace yesterday. This is my first posting. Most don't get in at my age, but I'd been an intern for as long as I could walk and talk. They felt obligated to give me a position after so long. And everyone needs a coffee runner, I guess." He joked as he opened up the door to the cabin. Both the interior and exterior matched each other as a rustic cabin. It wasn't quite to the 'hanging on by duct tape' stage but the station had certainly seen better decades.
"How old are you?"
"I'm only fourteen." Kips strawberry blonde hair and freckles stood at such a sharp contrast to the dank innards of a station made to keep an eye on vicious invaders. The warriors pendant on his throat seemed to climb too high. The ears of the wolf shaped into the rounded metallic piece pulled back as it growled. The eyes, like the rest of the necklace, were entirely black. It looked deadly- a vision of what every warrior should be.
"You say that like it's not impressive. You should be proud. You might be the youngest willing warrior in the country." Kip smiled and gave out a soft snort. The two placed the materials on the beds in the side room of the cabin.
"Well you're pretty impressive too. I mean, I heard you were in the running for Beta." The way Kip looked up at him made him really believe the admiration.
"Key word being 'were'." Cooper sat down on one of the two twin beds in the bedroom that would be better described as a closet. "Sit down." He told the warrior.
"Oh. Uh, yes." He sat down on the identical bed across from Cooper. The bed was against the opposite wall but in such a small space the beds were close enough that their knees brushed against each other.
"Just because you didn't become Beta doesn't mean you're not great. Everyone who was considered was awesome. They just had to pick someone." Kip's way of thinking was far too pure for a warrior. Cooper wondered if that attitude would last a single year now that he was employed.
Regardless of their different way of thinking, the two ending up talking for hours. Before either of them knew it, the sun had melted away and the clouded night brought darkness.
Sorry for the build up, but I promise there will be some action in the next chapter!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone