51

Your decision finally made, you turn away from the door and wind your way back through the cramped halls of the elders' quarters. Hanska jerks upright from his room when he notices your escape and he races after you, wincing as his legs nearly buckle with the strain of moving so fast.

"What happened? Your conversation is over so quickly? Did he see you?"

You shake your head. "It's not a good idea right now, Hanska. If Ahote wants to hide away in his room, maybe it's best to leave him there for now."

A flicker of anger ripples over Hanska's features. "He was always there for you, Holstein. We all know what happened during your years in Haven!"

"He helped elevate me, yes," you're forced to admit. "But I was also a means to an end. He outright admitted that he wanted to connect with the younger generation through me. To pass on his will and the way he operates. And now, after all that, he attacks me? And rather than ask me for forgiveness, he hides away in his room? I'll talk to him if he comes to me personally, but I have no reason to go begging at his door when he's the one who's grieved me."

"This is a mistake," Hanska says as you continue out the cabin's front door.

You look back over your shoulder. "I make my own decisions now."

Several Days Pass

The needle stings your arm for the briefest of moments before Maker retracts it and gives you a curt nod. "Next!" she calls out, and the queue advances, Elder Nakai the next to receive Maker's cure for the feral rage epidemic sweeping the camp. You'd hesitated at the thought of taking Maker's injection, as had several other wolves, but after dozens of attacks Sonoma mandated that every wolf take the shot or face exile. For once the elders had been in full agreement and that had settled the argument. Supposedly, the injection doesn't affect your ability to transform, only the involuntary feral rages. Hopefully it's worth it.

I was grateful for the cure and was one of the first to volunteer for the good of the pack.

I reluctantly volunteered. I don't like the idea of suppressing my natural feral urges, but something had to be done.

I had refused the shot at first, but I had no choice when the only alternative was exile.

I refused the needle and even welcomed exile, but I was eventually convinced by friends and loved ones to take the shot.

Next

You held off for as long as you could, but eventually the pressure was overwhelming and you gave reluctant consent. You notice, however, that your resistance has been emulated by others, and several wolves still haven't taken the injection including Inferi's group of Metalheads.

Once the feral outbreak had been contained, the pack shifted focus to shoring up camp defenses and securing arms as well as allies.

I need to investigate Maker's unethical tests on the prisoner, Tayla. I know Kotori brings her her meals, so he's a good place to start.

Kotori and I led an effort to plant more cameras and motion detectors throughout the surrounding forest to monitor for intruders.

We reached out through Sonoma's private contacts to secure several high-powered rifles to take out our enemies before they can get into claw-range.

Pressuring Sonoma's contacts led to them hooking us up with a single rocket launcher, with limited ammunition.

We reinforced the stockade walls and added guard towers at regular intervals.

We reached out to the werewolf rights activists and leveraged social media to win over the public's trust.

We dug an escape tunnel so we could evacuate the camp in the event of an emergency.

Next

At first both Sonoma and the elders objected to spending the necessary time and resources to excavate an escape tunnel below the camp, but after Dena and several other concerned wolves helped make your case, they were forced to reconsider. Sonoma grudgingly reached out to her contacts and procured digging equipment while the former prisoners rallied together to cut and process lumber to be used as support beams for the tunnel.

I dug in on the front lines while in wolf form, shoveling with the power of ten humans.

I researched the necessary engineering to keep the tunnel from collapsing and produced detailed plans necessary for a project of such magnitude.

I took a more managerial role, pitching in where I was needed, but mostly keeping the process running smoothly and making sure the workers were well looked after.

Next

There had been some grumbling when you first announced your intention to manage the project rather than work the front lines with the rest of the wolves, but someone needed to take charge of the project and it might as well be the wolf who had proposed it in the first place.

Before the work could commence, you visited the elders' cabin to see if any of them had any experience with basic engineering. Ahote shook his head and directed you to Mitena, who then sent you to Elder Nakai.

"Mitena sent you, eh?" the old wolf comments with a smug grin. "I knew that even after all the things she said about me being long past my useful years, she knew the truth." He stops when he sees your reaction. "She likes to needle me, see? And I'll admit to a moderate amount of needling back. She'll never admit it, of course, but I strongly suspect she's in love with me. She's stubborn, though. She'll go to her grave before telling me how she really feels."

"Fascinating story, Elder Nakai."

"What does any of that have to do with engineering?"

"Quit rambling and get to the point, old man!"

Next

"Oh, it has everything to do with engineering!" Elder Nakai says with a firm nod. "I remember when I first tried to talk to Mitena about how I studied engineering in university…"

The elder's rambling goes on and on for what feels like hours and you learn far more about his unrequited love for Mitena than you ever had any interest in knowing. Somewhere around the tenth time you clear your throat Nakai realizes that you were just being polite.

"Oh. Right. I see. What did you come here for again?"

You grind your teeth in frustration—Nakai seems to have a one-track mind. "Mitena told me you knew about engineering. I want to get a tunnel dug under the camp so we can escape in case of an emergency. Who knows? It might impress her."

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?" he asks, briefly scanning a nearby shelf and plucking something from a shadowed corner.

"You didn't give me a—"

He cuts you off, dropping a thick tome down on the desk in front of you, sending up a plume of fine dust. Both of you sneeze.

"How wide should it be?" he asks, suddenly all business. "Three wolves abreast? We don't want it to be too small, especially if we'd be fleeing in wolf-form. We'd just get stuck in there and they could pick us off like wolves in a hole. That's the expression, right?"

"Sounds like you have the right idea," you say. "How long do you think it would take to make up some blueprints?"

Nakai taps a pencil on the bookshelf as he adjusts his spectacles with the other hand. "A few days for something simple. No bells and whistles, but it should be safe. Will that be sufficient?"

You nod, relieved to have finally gotten to the point.

"I'll send a runner to you when I'm done, then," he says. "I'm sure you're weary of an old wolf's ramblings and you have plenty of other preparations to make."

That You Do