A Pack of Their Own novel · Chapter 30 of 32

Chapter 30: Called

"Who speaks for your people?" the old woman asked again.

I looked back at them, and the whole hall looked with me.

They stood in a ragged line behind me, still holding their ground.

Nobody had told them to. They were just there.

"I didn't plan this part," I said.

"Most people don't," said the old woman. "Take your time. We've waited thirty years."

"A pack can't be recognized without a name, a piece of land and an Alpha."

"The land is forty acres below Dunmore Ridge, with a mill and an orchard," I said. "It was my Nana's family's."

"Name?"

I had not thought of it.

Callie leaned over my shoulder and whispered, "Orchard. It's got a creek. Orchard Creek."

"Orchard Creek," I said.

"Written." The old woman wrote it. "And the Alpha?"

"I don't want to be somebody's boss," I said. "I want a place where nobody's left out."

"Then the pack names its Alpha. That is the oldest way."

"Anyone who will follow says the name aloud, once, and the others hear it."

"Nobody has to say it. Nobody is counted for staying silent."

She laid down her pen.

"Begin," she said.

Nobody spoke.

I stood there with my face going hot, and thought, they'll let me down kindly.

Then Callie said it.

"Winona."

She said it loud, with her fist in the air, and a laugh in her voice.

"Winona," said Teddy, a half second behind.

"Winona Hargrove," Dale said from the benches. "On the record."

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