William showed where I'd be sleeping. Beside my bed were a suitcase, a trunk, and a backpack. The trunk contained school essentials I'd be needing books and textbooks about things the human mind wouldn't even begin to imagine exist.
The suitcase contained my casual clothes, pajamas, and uniform. Yes, a uniform, it sucks, I know, but it's a boarding school, so I've got no choice. At least it looks nice.
After unpacking my belongings, William gave the grand tour of the tower, which consisted of a living room, a small kitchen, a gym, and a gaming area. I guess werewolves love video gas just as much as humans do.
I'm currently talking to William about the things he's into and vice versa.
"You see those guys over there?" William says, motioning for to look. I follow his gaze, and my eyes land on three buff looking dudes with shirts that really complent their muscles. They're playing a ga of pool, laughing at sothing one of them just said.
"Yeah, I see them," I reply.
"They're our leaders. The one on the left is Nathan White, our Gamma. The one on the right is Ethan Fang, our Beta, and the one in the middle is Tanaka Hatake, our Alpha," he says.
"Alpha, Beta, Gamma… what do these titles stand for?" I ask, completely clueless about what he just said.
"What do you an you don't know what they stand for?" William asks, surprised.
"To be honest with you, I didn't know any of this until a couple of days ago."
"That explains it. You're one of those kids whose parents try to hide them from this world, believing that they'll be safer not knowing what they are making them think they're just human," he says triumphantly, as if he's just solved a mystery.
"Well, I guess you could say it's sothing like that." I'm relieved to know there are others as clueless as . I didn't want to be the kid everyone thought was weird just because my mother hid from the truth. "So, those titles, what do they an again?"
"Ah, right," William begins. "The Alpha is the leader of any given pack. He's either the strongest or the most cunning of the pack. Alphas are faster, stronger, and slightly bigger than the rest of the normal wolves. They run the pack, and everything they say goes. Trust , you do not want to disobey an Alpha, especially in front of others." He looks at to see if I'm following.
"I'm good," I say. "Go on."
"The Alpha's spouse, mate, wife however you want to put it is the female Alpha, so every pack has two Alphas. The Beta is second in command, aning the second strongest and biggest, followed by the Gamma. The sa rules apply to their mates as well."
"That's a lot of people with a lot of authority, don't you think?" I say. "Two of everything it's really confusing, don't you think?"
"Think of it this way. Humans have what they call a governnt, right? Now, the Alpha is the president, and the first lady is his mate. The Beta is the vice president, and the Gamma is the pri minister. It's as simple as that.
Only there are two of each one male, one female. So, you see, it's not that confusing. Well, honestly, it is, but you'll get used to it," he says with a laugh.
"So, if you're the strongest, you beco the Alpha?" I ask.
"Well, yes and no. Being the strongest doesn't automatically make you Alpha. You have to be smart, strong, fast, and, of course, have the pack's interests at heart. Otherwise, you can be overthrown. To do that, one has to challenge the current Alpha, although that rarely happens since no one wants to fight an Alpha."
"I see. So, do you guys bow down and do everything for those guys?" I ask.
"Nah, those guys are cool. They treat everyone nicely, it's why everyone likes them. Those kinds of things do happen in so packs if, of course, the Alpha is a dictator of sorts. Either way, it all depends on the pack. For instance, my pack doesn't bow down or act like slaves to our leaders, but we do respect them."
As I'm listening to William talk about werewolves and their hierarchy and customs, a bell goes off.
"Ooh, that must be dinner. We better get going," William says, standing up and offering his hand.
"Dinner!" I exclaim. "What happened to lunch?"
"We had lunch a few hours ago, rember?" William says, clearly surprised that I'd forgotten we'd eaten earlier during the tour.
"Yeah, sorry. I guess I'm just really hungry," I say, taking his hand.
Earlier, we'd eaten lunch in the small kitchen, which had its own food supply, but I guess we have to gather at the dining hall for dinner.
As we walk into the dining hall, I'm surprised again by its sheer size.
'Is everything here big?'
The hall is big enough to host a ball. Lining the walls are dieval weapons such as swords, axes, shields, and crossbows, along with portraits and other artifacts. The walls are made of fine marble with artistic designs no human could have possibly accomplished.
The floor is polished black stone, and the ceiling features a painting of what must have been a war. The hall contains eight of the longest tables I've ever seen. Each seems capable of seating over two hundred people.
"Alex, this way. Here, we sit according to our year. As you can see, the first years are at this table."
We take our seats. Around us, kids from all parts of the world are talking and laughing. It reminds of my friends back ho.
The chair in front of is empty, but in the blink of an eye, a blonde-haired girl is sitting there, making almost jump out of my chair in surprise. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"How the hell did you do that?" I half shout.
"Vampire speed. What, are you dumb?" she responds. "Hey guys, so who's the new kid?" she asks William.
"Hello, Sara. This is Alex. He's one of those guys, if you know what I an."
"Ah, one of those. That explains it. Anyway, how was your holiday?"
"Mine was aweso, thanks for asking. Mom and Dad took us to Egypt. Gosh, you guys should really look up Egyptian magic, those guys were geniuses," a boy with dark brown hair sitting next to Sara says. Based on his comnt, I assu he's a witch.
"What about yours, Kira? What did you do this holiday?" he asks her.
"Mine was boring, Sean. All I ever did was sleep all day long," says Kira.
"I'm not surprised since it's what you guys love to do," William says with a slight chuckle.
Just then, the sa white haired woman walks in with the three sisters in tow. As she does, all chatter dies down.
'She must be important.'
"Greetings, everyone," she starts. "I'd like to welco you all back to school for our second sester."
"That's Lady Katherine Vincent, our headmistress," William whispers in my ear as she continues addressing the school.
"Today, I'd like to welco a new student. Please make him feel at ho. Alex, may you co up, please?" Hearing her say my na, I feel everyone's gaze land on .
"Alex, dear," she continues, "Will you please co up?" she says, encouraging to join her where she stands.
I stand up from my seat, with about a thousand eyes on . I stride slowly toward her, not one bit liking the attention. As I near her, she offers her hand, which I take. Her hand is slightly cold but comfortable maybe she has a cold.
"Introduce yourself, please."
I've never been a fan of crowds, let alone introducing myself to one.
"Hello, everyone," I say with a slight wave. "My na is Alex Wolfgang."
A series of murmurs arises.
"Silence, please," the headmistress says, motioning back to my table.
As I approach my chair, I'm bombarded with questions.
"Dude, why didn't you tell your na was Wolfgang?" William asks.
"Because you never asked," I reply. "Besides, what's the big deal with it anyway?"
"The Wolfgang family are the leaders of the strongest wolf pack in the world. I'm surprised you know so little about who you are," he says.
A bell rings, and in walk people with hunched backs, small eyes, and big arms carrying trays with all sorts of food. They set the food on the table and leave.
"What are those?" I ask.
"They're called Varkeen. They prepare the food here. Lady Katherine hired them because they make the best food ever," Kira says.
"You can say that again! I love their food it's all I could think about when I was ho. Mom and Dad say they're too expensive to hire," says William.
Once the food is set, everyone starts filling their plates. I pile my plate with everything within reach because it all looks so mouth-watering. I'm about to dig in when I notice Sara munching on so steak.
"I thought vampires only drank blood."
"Well, that's what humans think. We eat and drink just like anyone else. We drink blood because our bodies can't produce enough of it, plus blood is tasty and gives us strength."
"Good to know. So, what's this about my family being such a big deal?"
Sean looks at with an expression that clearly says:
'Seriously? Are you that clueless?'
"Your family, the Wolfgangs, has been the leader of the strongest pack for over five hundred years. Your family has the strongest wolf blood in the werewolf world. Being able to run a pack for five hundred years is incredible, no other family has held power for that long," he responds.
"As I was saying earlier, Alex, you aren't just born an Alpha. Anyone can rise to that title. You have to be the strongest, that's how it is, even for normal wolves. It's the strong shall rule over the weak kind of thing. Now, your family has been able to hold onto their ruling position for over five centuries, which is pretty impressive," says William.
"Pretty impossible, if you ask ," says Sean.
"Rumor has it that your ancestor, Eric Wolfgang, made a deal with a witch to ensure his family would remain in power," says Kira.
"Well, whatever it is, you've got to be pretty badass to remain in power for five centuries. Especially considering werewolves don't live very long," says Sara.
I fall silent as I digest all this. Why on earth did my mother hide all this from ? If my family is so badass, why weren't they there to save her?And why have I never t any of them? Why would my mother even hide her own family from ? These questions run through my mind, making even more confused.
I'm brought back to reality by the sound of plates clanging as the Varkeen collect them and the leftovers. We say goodnight to each other, and William and I head off to our dorm.
Once there, I head for the showers. I take a long shower to relax my nerves. When I'm done, I dress in my pajamas and get ready for bed.
"Night, William."
"Good night, Alex."
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