Derek’s pack had descended on him from the moment he woke up on his name day, and they hadn’t given him a moment’s peace since. Even Erin had dragged herself away from her personal library to come out and socialize with the rest of the pack as they spent the day with Derek.

The twenty-fifth name day of a pack member was generally a big occasion. It was up to each pack to host the celebration in whatever manner they chose. It allowed for a great deal of variety, depending on the pack’s mentality and resources. Their pack was known for being as reserved as they were noble, but not when it came to celebrations. Somewhere in the pack’s history, celebrations, particularly those of a twenty-fifth name day, were regarded as exceptions to the stoic personas they were expected to maintain in their day-to-day life. It allowed the pack to release all their pent-up emotions and have a bit of fun.

Their alpha, Derek’s father, hadn’t followed suit. Derek would have thought on the day of his twenty-fifth name day, his father would have been a little more jovial than usual. His father wasn’t what Derek considered a happy person, but he normally didn’t look as dour as he did standing away from the rest of the pack. His greeting to Derek that morning had been curt and short, and Derek hadn’t seen him talking to anyone during the course of the day. Even when some of the pack began to drink a little too heavily, becoming somewhat rowdy, his father remained an impassive, expressionless figure in the background.

His mother, however, was all smiles, hugging him every time he came within arm’s length. She was already a happy woman by nature, and on the day of her eldest son’s twenty-fifth name day, she was even more joyous. Derek noticed she hadn’t touched any of the alcohol that had been dragged out from numerous storerooms; she was just naturally friendly.

“Look at you, it seems like only a year ago Gaia brought you out from me and into the world,” she said, for what he felt was the fiftieth time in an hour.

“You’re off by about twenty-four years or so,” he told her with a little laugh, his head buzzing from the alcohol.

She reached up to run a long-fingered hand through his short-cropped hair. “Ah, that’s true, but it feels like it sometimes. It’s a mother’s prerogative to see the child in her children, even when they are grown men. Men who look more and more like their father every day. Sometimes I wonder how much of me Gaia saw fit to give you.”

He couldn’t blame her. He looked almost nothing like her, save for his eyes. His brother and sister had taken after their mother, having both her golden hair, and a litheness that spoke of grace and dignity. Derek had his mother’s eyes, both the exact shape and shade of bright, sky-blue. The twins had taken their sleek looks and sharp eyes from their father, making them look like birds of prey. Derek had taken everything else from his father: his height and bulk, the deepness of his voice, the coal black hair, and even the thick, strong jaw that Derek had seen tighten on his father’s face more and more as he aged.

“I suppose you’ll just have to look harder,” he told her with a smile.

She smiled at the age-old joke shared between them, running a finger gently over his eyes. “Yes, I suppose I will. I’ve always wondered if you’ll one day see the world through those eyes the same way I do. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

He frowned at her wistful words. “You know something I don’t?”

“Everything in good time Derek, but I think your time will be soon,” she said with a sad smile.

“You’re worrying me,” he said, lowering his voice so nearby pack members couldn’t hear.

She drifted away from him, shaking her head. “Don’t you worry yourself over it. What did I tell you about worrying too much?”

He sighed. “That Gaia will never give me what I’m not ready for, and that she’ll always do things in her own time.”

She nodded. “Good. I’m glad that all the times you pretended to listen, something managed to leak into that head of yours. Carry as many of the lessons I’ve taught you through life and perhaps one day, they will come in handy.”

She was gone before he could protest, winking at him as she drifted out of the courtyard the name day celebration had been held in. It was situated right in the middle of the various pack member’s homes. Most of the sept was located in the mountains at the center of their territory, and Derek’s pack was no different. Even if the packs tended to live locally, they still grouped their homes according to pack allegiance. His pack’s homes were built in a semi-circle near a cliff that overlooked a broad expanse of valleys and woodland below. The courtyard was situated in the center of the homes, looking out over the cliff onto everything below. It was a breathtaking view, particularly at sunset. And as the pack proved, it was also an excellent place for a celebration.

He thought about trying to find his mother, but knew he wouldn’t make it very far. If he so much as looked like he was trying to leave the celebration, a member of the pack would end up dragging him back into the crowd. Derek had never realized just how many members there really were in his pack until they were all gathered in one place. He’d known his pack was the largest in all the septs, and probably one of the largest in any sept, but he hadn’t realized quite how large it was until his name day. His pack was large enough that there was a werewolf or three for just about any role imaginable in a sept. They had almost all been called back from wherever they were to celebrate the twenty-fifth name day of the expected heir to their pack alpha and sept leader.

When he looked around to see where his father was, he saw him motioning to him. If Derek thought his father looked annoyed before, it was nothing compared to the glower that shadowed his father’s face now. He didn’t want to call it murderous, but his father certainly looked angry enough to strike someone. Derek wasn’t sure what he’d done this time, but he obediently followed after him.

His brother, Aron, sidled up next to him as he walked. “What’d you do this time, Derek?”

“Nothing as far as I know,” Derek responded with a shrug.

“Can’t you even get through your big day without screwing something up?” Aron asked with a laugh.

Derek growled. “Don’t you have to go get turned down by another priestess?”

Aron snickered. “How was I supposed to know she was a priestess? And she might have turned me down, but her sister sure didn’t. Maybe that’s what you should be trying to do. If you got laid, or even attempted to get laid, Father might get off your back.”

“And what, have someone in the room while I tried? Not all of us got to have all the training without all the responsibility and supervision,” Derek snapped at his younger brother.

Aron falsely pulled a sympathetic face. “Oh, you poor thing. How hard it must be, being the great one of the pack, handed everything on a plate, including sept leadership. However do you survive it?”

Derek elbowed his brother as he pushed through the last of the crowd to meet up with his father. He had no illusions about his relationship with Aron. It was shaky at best, most of it due to the fact that both of them envied the other’s life. Aron was the one who wanted to be next in line for leadership, and eagerly soaked up every one of their father’s lessons and training sessions. Derek envied the younger werewolf’s freedom and autonomy. Sometimes Derek wondered if, after knowing about the end result of his father and uncle’s history, Aron was more like their father in every way that counted. Derek might look more like their father, but he often didn’t feel as if he was anything like him.

“Yes, sir?” he asked, bitterness in his tone as he stood before his father.

It was only then that he noticed a shorter werewolf standing just behind his father. “Ah, good, I was hoping to speak with you today, Derek.”

Derek vaguely recognized the man as one of the Council members. “Ah, I apologize, Councilman. I wasn’t aware my services were needed today.”

The Council member shook his head. “By all means, call me Noah.”

He would no sooner call the Councilman by his name than he would his father. “How can I be of assistance to you, Councilman?”

Noah smiled at his politeness. “I’m sure you’ve no doubt heard that we’ve been getting some frequent and disturbing reports from our…distant cousins in the city.”

“Even in a sept as large as our own, rumors have a way of getting around. So I’ve heard a few things here and there,” Derek answered, hoping he’d managed to phrase it so it didn’t look like his father had been discussing leadership matters at home.

Noah nodded with a faint laugh. “Of that, I have no doubt. Most of the communications have been deemed a secret, which of course, has done nothing to stem the tide of people who oddly enough, seem to know exactly what the messages are about. It seems our distant cousins in the city have been struggling more than usual in stemming the tide of Leeches. Their reports have been getting more alarming as the months have gone on, and they are now desperately seeking aid.”

Derek fought the urge to glance at his father. “Is that so? It’s a pity that they’re so…lacking. May Gaia keep them safe and aid them in their endeavors.”

The councilman snorted. “If Gaia is even keeping an eye on those who willingly walk so far from the places sacred to her. However, we are not without sympathy, not only to their just cause of keeping the unnatural abominations in check, but to their difficulty in doing so. They have sought us out for help and after much discussion, our sept leader, and the Council itself, has decided the time has come to give them the aid they seek.”

Derek nodded, putting on a look of polite approval. “I hope the help will be enough. I can’t say I know much about what the City Wolves do, but I know they’re vital in keeping the Leeches in check. Anything that keeps the vampires from growing out of control seems worthy of help.”

Noah grinned at that. “I’m glad you said that.”

His father shifted irritably. “Because you’re the aid that we’re sending.”

Derek’s attention snapped to his father. “What? Me?”

“Are you drunk? Yes, we will be sending you,” his father responded curtly.

Erin’s words from the other day echoed through Derek’s head. “All respect to the wisdom of the Council, but wouldn’t someone with more experience and knowledge be of more use? As I said, I know next to nothing about the city or the werewolves who live there.”

“Which will be a perfect learning experience for you. I’ll level with you for a moment, Derek. You are the perfect choice for this endeavor. You’ve already seen battle and you have extensive training, due to both your pack and your father. You’ve yet to take on any sept duties, so it frees you up without harming any of our day-to-day routines. And really? Many of the traditionalists within the sept are still bitter that we have taken out the Rites to the Warrior for those who have reached their twenty-fifth name day. With all eyes focused on you to be the most likely candidate for sept leadership in the future, sending you out on a seemingly dangerous mission to prove yourself will mollify them,” Noah explained smoothly.

“Seemingly dangerous?” Derek repeated.

“You’ll be traveling into unknown territory, dealing with vampires. I have no doubt the City Wolves will do everything in their power to make sure you are kept safe, and you will gain precious knowledge in the process. They get the help they need, we get to satisfy many members of the sept, and you are given the honor of representing the sept; everyone comes out a winner,” Noah said, beaming at him.

There was something about the way Noah explained it that made Derek take an instant dislike to the werewolf. It was too smooth and presentable, and was also at odds with the shadow that lay across his father’s face. He had a feeling this was more than just a simple solution to their problem. His father was a strong man, and a clever one, so Derek trusted that he was good at making sure the laws and decisions within the sept were truly his own. Yet the comment about “traditionalists” had given Derek pause, since he knew his own father had lamented the loss of the Rites.

He was beginning to suspect that the smiling councilman before him, and many others, had used the protests of the traditional members of the sept as a convenient excuse. Derek might be slow on metaphors and allegories, but his instincts were sharp, and he sensed danger coming from the councilman. It was also a tradition for the Council to attempt to undermine the leader of the sept, especially when it came to the next in line for that leadership. It was an old rumor that the previous Council had been the reason Derek’s uncle had been driven to such shame that his father had been forced to challenge him to be next in line.

Yet, he smiled at Noah. “I know better than to argue with the wisdom of the Council. I would be only slightly less of a fool if I were to argue with a Priestess of Gaia.”

Noah gave a short laugh at that. “Yes indeed, but even the Council would not dare put ourselves on the same level of the representatives of Gaia’s voice, as our priestesses are. But you honor us by placing us almost as high as them.”

Derek was pretty sure the Council, or at least some of them, would put themselves up there if they could get away with it. “No. You honor me, Councilman. I never thought I would be given the chance so soon to prove myself worthy of this pack, and of this sept. When will I be leaving?”

The hard look on his father’s face tightened. “Tomorrow.”