Chapter 24: The Underground

Once they arrived in the cul-de-sac, Sasha looked out the window noticing her grandparents' rental car parked outside her home. Todd looked out his bedroom window before he rushed outside to chase down the car as it rolled down the driveway. Toby's mother stopped just before she made her turn into the garage. She was not too pleased with his recklessness, but he did get the message when he noticed her hostile gaze, which he backed up timidly.

She parked her in front of the garage door before Sasha got out of the car, which she was very concerned, but her brother gave a very energetic smile. "Mom's back home, and Grandma and Grandpa are going to stay a little longer too!" he shouted. He and Sasha looked over at Toby trying to climb out of the back of the car, which his mother snickered as she walked around to assist him.

Toby looked up at them embarrassed and refused his mother's help. Sasha could not cease her delightful giggling as he looked like a newborn giraffe taking his first steps on the ground. Todd's eyes grew wide when he saw Toby stand up completely then he looked over at Sasha nervously. "Did he get taller?" he asked.

Sasha nodded slowly and leaned in. "He's still not fully grown yet...he and Zoe" she whispered futilely shielding their side conversation. He gasped and made eye contact with Toby as he walked up to the door. Toby turned away pretending to not hear them as he entered the house.

Lilian watched on and smiled. "Why don't you come inside?" she asked as she opened up the trunk.

Todd rubbed his arm nervously before he looked back towards his sister. "Well...Mom really wanted to see Sasha and Toby" he mumbled as they watched her pull out a large black tote box.

She sat it on the ground and looked at them cheerfully. "Oh? Well, you're free to come in at any time. Though, Toby's going to be really busy today with writing a speech" she said as she flipped the door shut.

Todd growled lowly. "Why's he got homework? You don't get homework during winter vacation!" he shouted.

Lilian smirked as she lifted the container. "It's all a part of growing up. You should enjoy being a pup now" she said as she sat the container onto a shelf in the garage. "Now that you mention it...I do have to talk to your mother" she said before she walked back towards them.

Sasha looked at her surprised. "Wait? You're not going to make sure Toby writes his speech?"

Lilian gave her an intimidating leer then she looked back towards the house being absolutely sure that he would hear them. "I don't have to watch him. He knows exactly what shall happen if he disobeys his mother wishes! I might be small, but I can take down Zoe, Bernie, and even his own father without a problem!" she raised her voice to emphasize the last bit of information.

This got Todd and Sasha to shutter timidly especially when she turned towards them with a bright warm smile at the drop of a hat, for they knew exactly what she was capable of. As she walked past them, Sasha nudged Todd to follow, but he only hesitated. She left him behind before he rushed up to them into the home.

Once they got inside, Sasha's mother sat down on the chair facing her Parents and Lilian who sat on the sofa. Todd sat on the floor while Sasha opted into leaning against the wall crossing her arms over her chest loosely. Her Grandfather took a sip of very strong coffee eyeing his daughter and their friendly neighbor.

Sasha's mother rubbed her arm nervously before looked up briefly. "Thank you...I'm sorry about what he did to you. I had no idea he was that kind of a man" she said weakly.

Lilian shook her head at her. "No...he wasn't the same man you fell in love with. I don't put blame him for what he did. It was the tumor..."

Sasha mother got up and winced. "I know..." she spoke hoarsely. The scent of tears came off her wake as she paced towards the kitchen. "...After what else he did, I won't have the same man ever again" she finished.

Her father spoke up to break the ice. "Sandy told us that you used yourself as a diversion to help Todd escape. It's amazing to me to think that a woman that pregnant could jump over that fence, drag him out, and throw him clear over to the tracks." He sat his mug down before he looked towards Sasha. "So, just what happened exactly? I figured Toby killed them all, but how did he not get killed when they were armed to the teeth like that?" he asked.

Sasha shrugged her shoulders then looked down at the ground trying to push back those thoughts. "Zoe helped...and I guess they stole the weapons and body armor. I didn't see the whole thing either" she mumbled.

Her Grandmother smiled at them. "It's a nice thing that SAM is helping us out. I can't believe how dysfunctional SAD is. I feel so bad for how your kind were treated" she muttered.

Lilian was stunned, and Sasha was speechless. "SAM? Why are they getting involved with you two?" she asked.

"Well, we are Canadian citizens, so we are under SAM's jurisdiction, not SAD's. I actually have not been completely honest with you all, but since you all are werewolves, I can legally tell you what I've been up to all these years..." Sasha's grandfather said.

"You worked for SAM since your accident, and you have been pulling strings the whole time just to see if the rumors of my boyfriend being a werewolf were true" Sasha interrupted.

Her grandfather raised an eyebrow before he looked towards his wife. "Did you tell her this?" he asked. She shook her head before he looked back at Sasha and sighed. "Yes...well, no...not exactly. I knew Toby was a werewolf since I saw that Halloween picture on Facebook. I just wanted to judge his character...I didn't honestly to be...well...abnormal? I mean for a werewolf that is. When I heard about him being Steele's kid, things began to make sense" he said before he looked towards Lilian.

Todd's jaw dropped. "You're a secret agent Grandpa!?" he shouted.

His Grandfather reached into his pocket and pulled out his flask, which out popped a false backing which hid a badge. He flashed it to them, and his wife flashed hers from a hidden pocket in her blouse. Sasha smiled weakly when she saw her grandmother's badge. "So which one of you helped get my vlogs back online?" she asked.

They looked at each other and smirked. "We both did" Her grandmother said before she looked back at Sasha happily. "Though, I'm under their protection. Marty heads the Atlantic Provinces, and Toby was his first actual personal werewolf encounter. Even though we normally deal with Merfolk and Vampires, we know about the whole political situation. We both feel that things should be going forward...not backwards" she added.

"Thank you..." Sasha said before she left the room to comfort her mother. She did not know what to say to her, but she rubbed her back regardless.

"Well, since you two are initiated, how about I invite you all to Toby's inauguration ceremony?" Lilian asked.

Todd looked at them concerned. "Inauguration? What's that?" he asked.

His grandparents both beamed with delight. "We would love to see that" they both said in unison.

"So when is this inauguration exactly?" Sandy asked from the kitchen.

Lilian sighed. "It's in a couple hours. Toby's writing his speech as we speak" she said.

"Oh, isn't this exciting!? Our Son-in-law is an Alpha Werewolf!" Sasha's grandmother shouted.

Todd finally got the idea before another thought rang up in his head. "So...was my dad a super-secret spy?" he asked.

His grandparents shook their head emphatically. "He was a...Soldier turned Amateur Hunter. Nothing more, nothing less" he said before Toby barged into the house.

Everyone looked at him awkwardly as pulled in Olivia then left her in the living room without saying a word. Lilian let out a heavy sigh remembering that Olivia would be just as mobile as Todd was, so she pointed to the couch. "Sit down, please" she said.

Olivia nodded before she sat next to Sasha's grandparents. "Are you werewolves too?" she asked.

They both shook their heads, but Sasha stepped in with her arms crossed. Olivia's jaw dropped and looked down at her own chest feeling very inadequate when she looked at the rest of Sasha's female family members. Todd stared at Olivia and then back at three orphans as they walked down stairs to investigate. "Hey? What gives? Did you forget about us?" Sean asked.

He shook his head and gulped. "No! I..." Todd muttered before Tammy interrupted.

"Are you taking us too?"

Sasha smiled and laughed lightly. "Of course we are. You're a part of our family" she said cheerfully while reaching up to grab her on the top of the head cheerfully. Olivia watched on envious with Sasha's natural talent with children as they all seemed to adore her.

Lilian looked over at her and took notice. "Why don't you and Sasha talk?" she asked.

"Talk about what?" She wondered.

Sasha looked back Lilian and read her stern glance as a prompt to work with her, which she forced a smile trying to push back her hurt feelings. "We can figure something out...come on" she said enthusiastically beckoning her over. Olivia looked at the adults seeing that she was out of place with them, so she reluctantly followed her upstairs.

Once they entered her room, she looked around at all of Sasha's belongings, and the little editing studio she made in the corner of her room. "Wow! You really are hard into this Supernatural stuff" she commented before she sat on her bed. "How long were you into them?" she asked.

Sasha sat on the chair in the corner and swivel it around leaning back, and she nodded with a big grin. "Yup! I was mostly into ghost hunting until I met Toby. He's really blown my mind on a whole lot of things"

"So is he like the strongest werewolf around or what? Are boy werewolves normally that mean?"

Sasha frowned and looked at her for a very closely before she shook her head. "He's not the strongest...but he's pretty far up there, and...there are a lot of things going on with him right now. It's best you stay clear from him until he can get over what you've done" she said before she gasped realizing she let something slip.

Olivia looked away and frowned. "Oh...yea...I don't remember any of that. I don't want to be on his bad side, but I just keep making things worse" she said.

Sasha looked at her strangely. "Just what did you do exactly?" she asked.

"Uh...well..." She muttered while she traced patterns onto the wolf themed comforter. "I was just asking if he needed anything...I touched him, and he freaked out on me" she said nervously.

Sasha raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "And just where did you touch him and in what way?" she asked with a thick amount of skepticism.

Olivia bit her lip and squirmed realizing her mistake. "Um...I wasn't thinking. He's got really big...arms. I didn't mean to touch them as long as I did. I couldn't help myself!" she said quickly.

Sasha laughed and set her arms side. "I know the feeling...but only I'm allowed to touch him in that way" she said playfully. Olivia blushed and looked back at her.

"What ever happened to the werewolf boyfriend that Lilian says I have? Why hasn't he come to see me?" she asked.

Sasha shrugged before she thought about it a while longer. "Well, you two had a big fight, and...what happened to you afterwards...he might be feeling responsible for it for some reason" she said.

"And, what about my parents? Why haven't they come to see me?"

Sasha stared at her blankly before she took in a deep breath. "I don't know...I never met them" she said before she trailed off thinking about why Olivia acted the way that she did. "I don't know if you had a close family before..." she mumbled.

Olivia did not know what to say, so she looked at the floor. "I thought we were..." she muttered more to herself.

"Hey! Never mind that! I mean maybe it has to do with the werewolves trying to protect you from your parents knowing about you being a werewolf" Sasha suggested as she held her hands up defensively.

Olivia looked back at her and sighed wearily. "I just want to feel like I belong" she said lowly.

After a couple hours, Sasha and Lilian left to go check on Toby. Sasha rushed upstairs and walked into his room casually. He looked up at her from his laptop and pushed it aside, and he dropped his guard seeing it was her. She put her hands behind her back and tiptoed up to him cutely. "So? Did you get very much done?" she asked before she craned her neck around to see the screen, and she noted the page count. "Wow, six pages already?" she commented.

He nodded and leaned back against his headboard rubbing his eyes vigorously. "It's just a rough draft" he said nervously before she asserted herself onto the bed with him taking over the laptop.

"You don't mind if I read it, do you?" she asked already scrolling up to the top.

He stared at her feeling that he did not have any choice in the matter, but he was feeling very insecure about what she thought about his writing. "Uh, okay? But, it's not done yet!"

She had already got deep into his speech, and she looked back at him amused. With a guy his stature and talent, she found it adorable that he immediately thought the worst when being critiqued. "Relax big bad! I want it to be that best too" she said before she looked back at the screen. He watched on and whimpered softly. She looked over at him and giggled before she reached up to ruffle up his hair. "It looks great! What are you so worried about pup?"

He cracked a smile before he started to laugh as she continued roughing him up. "Hey, knock that off!" he said as he pulled back. Sasha had other ideas, and she climbed on top of him refusing to relent on her rough play. Lilian poked her head into the room, which she was half annoyed with them, but the other half was very pleased with them.

"Ahem!" She interrupted them before they stiffened up and looked towards her. She walked in and looked at the computer screen to see if he had any progress. "How is your speech?" she asked as she began to read where Sasha left off.

Toby froze with fear, but Sasha glanced back with a spirited smirk. "He hasn't finished it yet!" she shouted.

Lilian giggled to herself as she headed back out. "Well, he's just going to have to edit his speech on the way over then. Bernie advised us to use the Sunset Transit Center, so we're going to have to leave a little earlier" she said before she closed the door.

Toby gasped and sat up. "Wait what?" He jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. "Why can't we just go to Bridgeport Village? It's much closer!" he shouted after he flung the door open.

"Because, we'll make people uneasy if we all crowd one station!" She answered back.

"Fine!" He muttered giving up on making things easier for them. Sasha could see both sides, but she did not know just how many of werewolves lived in the town as she only knows a handful that went to her school. He looked back at her and smiled weakly. "Are you ready?"

She climbed out of the bed and adjusted her clothing. "Yeah, we better get going" she replied while watching him stuff his tablet into his backpack.

Soon after, they got into the cars, which Lilian lead Sasha's family onto the freeway. Toby rolled the window down, and he felt the wind hit his face. Sasha watched Toby's canine like behavior and giggled. They took the highway 217 exit off to another freeway which by then Toby had his whole head out the window.

Lilian reached over grabbing Toby by his shirt collar and yanked him back inside causing him to yelp abruptly as the car bounced from the sudden shift in weight. Toby looked back at Lilian surprised. "What? I can't help it, it feels good" He said.

Sasha laughed. "You're acting like a dog, Toby..." She said.

Lilian growled. "Toby, show some restraint. You're making us other werewolves look bad" She said before she looked back at Sasha. "I've really tried my best to teach him not to do it. Maybe you can work on that with him" She said.

Sasha nodded. "I'll keep that in mind" she said before she smiled at him happily. "Toby, have you seen that many werewolf movies at all?" she asked.

Toby looked back at her and smirked. "Yep...actually I've just seen_An American Werewolf in Berlin_" He said.

Sasha cocked her head. "How was it?" she asked.

Toby laughed. "I thought it was hilarious. It's the closest movie to werewolves yet. I liked how in the end he controls his Thrall abilities instead of the other two, which the first the main character dies, the second the main character is cured, but this one the guy accepts his wolfiness and adapts" he said.

Lilian laughed. "You know I read it in the_Daily Howl_ and Werewolf.wikia that the Director is a werewolf...didn't you know that Toby?" she asked.

Sasha cocked her head. "Was there Ghosts in the movie?" she asked.

"Yea, it's still creepy. I know if I saw discomposing ghosts, I would find a helmet first" he said.

She cocked her head cutely. "Why would you do that?"

He laughed and pointed to his head. "Because I don't want my brains to be devoured" he said.

"That's zombies you dolt!" His mother said in an amused tone.

He snickered to himself. "It's a Zombie ghost" he said.

Sasha laughed with him. "Yea, you got a point there" she said.

Toby smirked. "See, I'm not as stupid as I look" he said.

Lilian smirked and shook her head before she looked up into the rearview mirror to look back at him. "I sometimes wonder" she said. Sasha laughed, and Toby scowled. "Well, we're here!" she said as the parking garage came into view. The freeway ended, and she turned towards the station.

Sasha looked at the parking garage and looked around only to see a briar of blackberry and black raspberry bushes, nice upper-middle class houses, and some commercial buildings. She frowned trying to picture a place where a large group of werewolves got together. "This is where the ceremony is going to be?" she asked.

Lilian laughed. "No, we have to take the train to get to the Underground. There aren't enough parking spots there let alone in Bridgeport Village" she said as she drove into a parking garage. You could hear the motors from gas powered cars deep in the bowels of the garage echo through the corridor, and it was easy to get disoriented especially with having a newly heightened senses. They pulled into a parking spot near the elevator, and Lilian looked back. "This is going to get complicated with the transfers, so don't lose your ticket when we get off the train" she said.

Sasha nodded slowly as they all unbuckled, and she got out on her own before Toby got a chance to help her. Toby blinked and whimpered feeling bad for not opening the door for Sasha. Sasha looked at Toby and smiled. "You don't need to give me the royal treatment all the time, my fingers aren't broken" She said.

Toby sighed as he shut the door, while Lilian walked up to the ticket machine and pushed a sequence of buttons on the touchpad screen, which it beeped with every button pressed. By then everyone caught up to them as she slid a credit card in before the machine began to print off the tickets. The Tickets landed in the bay under the buttons with a light flashing to show the tickets were finished printing. Lilian grabbed the tickets and passed them out to Toby and the others one ticket. "We're getting off at Galleria" Lilian said.

Sasha's mother nodded. "We're getting on the Streetcar right?" she asked.

Lilian nodded, and she smiled seeing that Toby had already pressed the button to the glass elevator on the right side of a Kiosk. They all crowded around him, and there was a beep before the doors clanked open, and Toby got in first and pushed the button. Everyone but Todd got in before the door closed. There were two sides with doors, and you could see Todd run down the stairway trying to beat the elevator, which people stared at him when he jumped over the side halfway. Toby balled his fist ready for immediate disciplinary action; however, when the doors opened, Sandy gave him a swift smack upside the head.

"What in the hell are you thinking! You could have gotten hurt!" She shouted making a production out of the whole situation. She looked back at Lilian, who nodded with approval, and the onlookers went on with their everyday routine. Toby refrained himself from striking Todd, but Sasha gave her little brother the most hostile glare before she bumped into him as she walked towards a bench seat under the long glass awning.

Toby bumped into Todd's other shoulder nearly knocking him down, and no one said a thing when he turned back for his mother's protection. Sasha looked up at Toby as he sat beside her, which she smiled as she scooted up against him. "So...Is this your first time riding the Light rail?" He asked.

Sasha nodded. "I've seen it many times but never been in one...I've been on the Metro back in D.C., but we don't have those things in Roanoke" she said.

Soon there were clattering and roaring noises coming from afar, and then two white bulky self-propelled railcars hooked up to each other came out into the station pit. The train was Black, Red, Orange streak decal on the side. The window said "Gresham" in white lettering in a blue background. There was a high pitch electronic humming noise from the traction motors, which the train was showing it was on its last legs of its service as it screeched while the brakes where applied. The train decelerated and stopped before the doors clicked open in perfect unison showing how perfectly maintained the unit was. Some people came off. Toby and Sasha both rushed in before any of the passengers, which they manage to scope out a pair of vacant seats towards the front.

Lilian saw a friend flag them over. "The doors are closing" The automated voice said on the speaker. Lilian tugged at Toby before she went up the steps to the upper floor, which he saw his mother sit beside her friend, and he smiled walking up the steps. Sasha followed behind Toby closely and sat down next to the window across from Lilian. Toby looked back and smiled. He sat beside her and sighed heavily. The train started moving with the electronic humming noise starting up again, and the wheels against the joints in the rail began to clatter rhythmically. The train made it into a passage, and they flew out over a bridge overlooking a busy highway junction. They were going as fast as the cars on the divided highway beside them, which it had grown very congested at this time. Sasha's nose was pressed against the window taking in all the sights.

"I guess Ian's fight with Toby did more damage to the road than I thought" the woman said.

Lilian looked at the woman confused. "What do you mean? They're still fixing the road?" she asked.

The woman nodded. "Yea, the retaining wall near the tunnel gave way during the first couple of big storms. I hear the slope is still too soggy and unstable for them to do anything" she said.

Lilian looked around seeing the huge group of passengers. "Wow...I didn't think that many people lived here on the Westside" she said in disbelief.

The woman laughed. "Well, it's a good thing that the city planners preserve some forests. Jez, can you imagine how bad it would be if they didn't?" she asked.

Lilian nodded and looked outside. "I know that it wouldn't benefit anyone's health to not allow wolves some place to escape the city life that's for sure"

The woman shook her head. "Yeah, well the humans really screwed us over when they started jacking up the rent all over town. Tch, it's a wonder that society hasn't collapsed after Trump!" she muttered.

"I think it already had...it just seems all the stupid people breed like rabbits" Lilian muttered.

The woman laughed before she nudged her. "Well that explains why most of the wolves here are ready to get their knife and forks! There's a bunch of them running all over the place! And there starving!"

Sasha looked over at the two women, and she was trying to both determine if they were speaking in code and decipher it at the same time. There was one thing that was very clear to her, and it was the absolute disdain towards the rich and people who admire them. She wondered if this was entirely true for those who joined Ian and Amarok's ranks. She looked over at Toby and hoped to get his opinion on the whole thing. "So, speaking about Trump...do you think that most of the werewolves who joined Ian are just as misguided as the people who voted for him?" she asked.

He shrugged and pulled out his tablet to go over his speech. "I don't think it's that simple. Trump shown us just how hateful people can be, but yea, he's also shown how many people just hate how the system works. I mean isn't that the whole reason why they voted for me?"

Lilian and her friend snickered. "I would say you're more like Bernie Sanders than Trump, hun!"

Sasha giggled and nodded. "I read and saw videos about him! He sounds like an awesome guy!" she said before she glanced over at Lilian. "But...don't you think we should better educate people? I mean Humans aren't inherently dumb"

Lilian closed her eyes. "Not when Cognitive dissonance is around. You can teach people until your blue in the face, but it'll go in one ear and out the other" she said before she shrugged. "I have a huge problem with indoctrinating children into religions as it is. It teaches them to not think critically, thus glorifies ignoring things that contradicts their beliefs. So long as people do this, I'm afraid that it's really hard to break out of that way of thinking. It's not genetic, but it's taught from parent to child"

"Well, it's why I love being a wolf instead of a sheep!" her friend chimed in. There was a little boy in the woman's lap that kept growling at Sasha and Toby. Toby growled back, and then looked at the tablet. The mother raised an eyebrow at him before she returned to her conversation. "Any who, we're not saying that it's hopeless...There are still people who don't follow the herd. I'm sure that you can attest to that"

Sasha smiled and nodded then smiled at the two year old boy. Toby was not paying attention to the boy very much as he was engrossed in his work. Just as the Train plunged into a Tunnel the boy jumped off his mother's lap and sank his teeth into Toby's leg. Toby yelped and clobbered the boy in the head with great restraint, but the boy refused to let go and shook his head into the bite.

"What the hell!? Get off of me ya runt!" Toby yelled trying to figure out a way to get the werewolf toddler off of him. Sasha froze and did not know what to do, so she flicked the boy in the nose making him yelp and release Toby's leg at the same time. The toddler scampered to his mother growling at Toby and Sasha instinctively, but she looked down at the blood dripping out of Toby's two puncture wounds.

Toby growled at the boy and raised his voice at him. "I'm not a Chew toy!! How about I gobble you up? You little runt!" He said in a scary deep voice before the boy's eyes widened in horror, fearing for his life. Toby smirked evilly and leaned over slowly. His fangs and claws grew larger, and the boy clutched his mother's leg. Lilian and the boy's mother both smacked Toby almost in unison.

"Stop drawing attention, your almost as bad as little Benjamin" Lilian whispered into his ear viciously. Some of the people were looking at them oddly, but Tai and the pups paid little attention to something that was this commonplace to them.

Toby whimpered. "But these were my favorite pants too" He said. He growled in a deep tone sounding like he was ready to unleash his inner wolf on little Benjamin.

Sasha looked at Toby's leg and frowned seeing the blood stained a large portion of his pant leg. "Should you get that looked at?" She asked worried.

"Probably, good thing it wasn't you he bit" Toby said.

Sasha sighed. "He was just protecting his mother Toby. You are very scary after all" she said as she nudged him. "You're probably healed up now, right?"

"Give it a moment"

The automated voice began to announce the next stop over the speaker. "Washington Park, Doors to my left" before it was repeated it in Spanish. The Train entered a Subway station and stopped before the doors opened. More people got off and on the train. Sasha looked over and saw that Toby stopped bleeding, and she smiled gratefully before she leaned into him and hooked her foot around his. "The doors are closing" The voice said. The train started to move again. "This is a Blue line train to Gresham, transfer to Red line and Green line trains at Gateway Transit Center" the speaker said before saying the same thing in Spanish.

Toby looked at his mother after looking at the transit map above the window. "Mom, Galleria is a westbound only station; Library is the eastbound station" He said spontaneously.

Lilian sighed. "You ride the light rail too much...it's a good thing isn't it? Or we'd end up in Gresham" She said amused. She got up and walked over to Sasha's grandparents to tell them the proper stop.

Benjamin's mother looked at him working on his tablet, and she smiled at him cheerfully. "Are you ready for your speech?" She asked sweetly.

Toby growled. "Don't remind me!" He said.

Sasha hugged him. "It's okay Toby...you're going to do great!" she said sweetly.

Ben's mother smiled warmly. "I can't wait to see you break Gleipnir" She said.

Sasha looked at him confused. "Gleipnir?"

"It's the name of the set of fetters that were used to tie down Fenrir. It is said to be made of 6 impossible things and forged by dwarves. It's supposed to hold until Ragnarok. I think that we have implemented during the inauguration ceremony. It's like Excalibur from King Arthur's tale. So it is a rite of passage that signifies when the individual has become an Alpha." he said before he leaned in closer. "I think they will swap out the fetters, just for some inspirational bull shit like that"

The train popped out of the other side of the tunnel. "Goose Hollow and southwest Jefferson, doors to my right" The voice said on the speaker before it being repeated in Spanish. The train stopped and the doors opened. Toby went back to typing up his speech on the tablet, while Sasha looked around his shoulder ready to assist at any moment. "Library and Southwest 9th Avenue, door to my left. Transfer to Streetcar on 10th and 11th Avenues" the voice said before it was said again in Spanish. Toby put his tablet away and stood up.

Almost half the train got off, and Sasha's family got lost with the mass of people walking down the side walk. Sasha almost got lost in the crowd, and she held onto Toby's hand even tighter.

"Hey, Toby how's it going?" said a voice in the crowd.

Toby looked around before he saw Zoe, but there was something different about her. It took a moment for him to register those protrusions jutting out from her chest; however, Sasha's eyes widened, and she shrieked. "Oh my lord! They're huge!"

Toby nodded in agreement before Zoe slugged him in the arm laughing playfully, and he rubbed his arm. "Come on, they are only double D's!" she said before Percy poked his head around her straight-faced unsure what to think of it. "I like how they turned out...Percy likes 'em don't you?" she asked. Percy wheezed and blushed, which Zoe ruffled the top of his head playfully.

"How long did it take for them to do all of this?" Toby asked.

Zoe scratched the back of her head and thought for a moment. "Uh...I think it only took about maybe two hours" she said before she looked back at Sasha and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Sasha jumped knowing she was caught staring. "N-nothing! It's just...You look so much more different now"

Zoe beamed with pride and giggled. "I know right?" she said before she gave her a wink. "Don't you want to know what happens to them when I transform?" she asked.

Sasha paused and tried to hide her curiosity, but Zoe knew her so well. She nodded slowly as a tint of red began to show. Toby raised an eyebrow before he smirked at her. "So you've already done it haven't you?" he asked.

"Maybe? Oop! I can hear the streetcar coming! Come along Percy!" she said before she dragged him along.

They could hear the electronic screaming noise echoing off the buildings coming towards them as this Orange futuristic streetcar rolled down the tracks in the street. The streetcar with a destination sign that said, "A-Loop," pulled up to the platform, and the doors opened. It was obvious to Sasha now that all these people were in fact werewolves when they all crammed into the Streetcar. She looked at every single person knowing deep down they were perfectly designed alpha predator, and some were better suited than others. She looked at Toby for once feeling humble that the strongest of them took her in as his mate. Tai and the pups got on, which by then everything was clustered together like a can of sardines.

Zoe decided to sit down on the bench under the shelter, and she looked up at Toby. "Ya think we should wait for the next one?"

Toby nodded as the doors closed behind Todd, which he turned back and pressed his hands and face against the glass as the streetcar pulled away from the station. "Yea, this one isn't the NS line anyway" he said before he looked towards his mother. "We're early anyway right?"

She nodded slowly before she looked over at Sasha's Grandparents. "I hope you don't mind waiting a little bit"

Marty smiled as he looked back from staring at the huge parking lot filled with foot carts stretched out as far as the eye could see. "Oh, it's okay! Aoife and I were looking all over for this place anyway" he said before his wife tugged his shoulder.

"I'm going to grab a few things inside the Target" she said after looking at the arrival time ticker in the station.

"I think I'm going to stop by also" Lilian said before she followed Sasha's grandmother inside the store.

Zoe leaned back and stretched her long legs out as Percy sat beside her. She looked up at Sasha amused then at Toby. "Man, I can't believe that you're the alpha now. Heh, I knew that you've become an Alpha...just not this soon" she said before she pointed to herself. "Just remember that I'm your second in command! It's only natural for the second strongest, and above all, the best friend to be at their side" she said proudly.

Sasha smiled and nudged him. "Do I get any special title or role?" she asked.

He looked over at her and laughed. "Oh, well...you are the Alpha Female. You've been playing your role all from the start" he said.

She scowled at him. "Being the damsel in distress?" she remarked.

He flinched and squirmed and raised his hands up defensively. "No, no, no! You've been doing your vlogs, and..." he stuttered before Sasha and Zoe laughed at him. Percy was just as confused as Toby was at this point before Sasha let him off the hook.

"You know you make the cutest face when you're intimidated" Zoe teased.

He scowled at her, while Sasha grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Hey! I was only kidding!"

"You know...You will have a lot of serious power by proxy. Look at how easily you can get him to eat from your paw!" Zoe remarked with a devilish grin.

Toby's eye twitched, while Sasha's mother giggled in the background. "That's because he's a good boyfriend" Sasha said with satisfaction. She looked up at him and smiled affectionately, which he stared at her unsure how to respond; however, he could only think about what she does for him before he pushed back his pride. He thought perhaps it was best to take pride in making her happy rather than proving his independence. "I already felt this strongly towards him even before he gained all this power. He was plenty strong enough for my tastes when we first met, so everything now on is just icing on the cake" she said.

"Yea, well, hopefully he doesn't get too massive for you" Zoe finished before she looked him over. There was still a sexual attraction towards him; although, she still had no romantic attachment. He was just a very pleasant sight with very positive experiences, which she was glad that someone would get more out of it as she did. She let out a heavy sigh as she pushed back those memories with him, and she looked over towards her new boyfriend who had a very good idea what she thought about, but he was too timid to say anything.

Toby looked towards the food carts, and his stomach started growling, which by then, his mother caught him as she stepped out from the store. "Toby! Where do you think you're going!?" she shouted as she tightened her grip on her bag. Toby froze in the middle of the crosswalk, which the driver in the car that was turning right did not expect this, so he slammed on his breaks. Just fast enough to tap his bumper into Toby's calves.

Lilian rolled her eyes and shook her head at his behavior. "You know full well that there will be plenty of food over there!" she scolded him from the station. He walked back to the station slowly, which Sandy smirked at Lilian and with how well he minded her.

Eventually, the streetcar showed up after Sasha's Grandma came back out from the store, but she secretively handed Sasha a bag of jerky to share with Toby. As they boarded the streetcar, Toby's hand was shoved inside the bag. Aoife watched him curiously while Marty focused on the cityscape that passed outside the window.

Zoe sat across from Toby and Sasha, and Percy hovered over helping her tinker with the werewolf.wikia page on his tablet. Lilian was having a nice discussion with Sandy about plans to put their children and Zoe into sharing a home once they go into college. Sandy was hesitant about the idea at first, but when she saw the picture of the place, she grew very excited. Sasha looked up at them curiously before she looked back at Toby curiously noticing that he brought out his tablet. She secretively started to follow him along as he edited out his speech.

"Next Stop: Northwest 14th and Northrup" a different sounding announcing system said over the speaker followed with a beeping noise. Soon the streetcar stopped, and the mass of people got off. There were old brick buildings in the area which was clearly an old industrial zone and waiting on the station platform was Tai and the others.

Sasha stayed close to Toby as they were all crowded up and down the street. She felt some jealous stares coming from the teenage werewolf females. Zoe stood between her and the females, and Lilian stayed at the rear. There was not much of a dispute between Zoe and Percy with the males, but then again, Toby was approached by a teenage boy around the same height as Sasha, which he growled at him with his fist balled up. Zoe side stepped with her arms crossed in an attempt to cut him off. The boy looked at her chest in shock, and by this time Toby slyly dragged Sasha across the street to an old brick building with vines overtaking the entire side. They passed through a galvanized steel door, which it led into a utility room with a trap door already swung open in the floor. There was a ladder that plunged into the darkness, and everyone took turns climbing down the ladder, which Sasha was curious just how larger werewolves like Toby and Bernie managed to navigate the ladder.

Lilian looked at the teenage females with her arms crossed and she looked at the pups devising a perfect distraction for the young shewolves. "How about some of you girls help watch the pups and keep them busy?" she asked though she sounded like she was telling them what they were going to do. The teenage females shot her an ugly look, but Lilian only stared them down flaring her nose. "NOW!" she spoke through her teeth. They flinched then a large portion left to tend to the pups.

Toby was next to go into the hole, which Sasha's question was answered as he gripped the edges of the metal ladder before he used it and gravity to guide him to the basement twenty feet below. Sasha shook her head before she soon followed after him although she climbed down the ladder. She got distracted, and Toby looked up at her oddly. "Oh neat! Hey Toby! Look at that spider...it's huge" She shouted.

Toby raised his eyebrow before he crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. "What are you doing?" He asked as she started blowing on the giant house spider. "Hey, we aren't here to look at spiders! There are other wolves that need to get down here still!" He said. Toby felt something land on his nose that was too heavy to be a dust bunny, and he stared into 8 little eyes peering into his.

"Oops!" She muttered before she looked down at him wearing the spider. She smirked as she continued down the ladder. "Sorry about that!"

Once she reached the bottom, she looked down the wide spooky dimly lit corridor, which it revealed another door with a more luminous light shining through the cracks. "So is this the Underground?"

He shook off the spider before he walked ahead of her. "This is just the vestibule. The true underground is just past this door" He said before she grabbed his sleeve to hold him back for the others to catch up with them.

The others climbed down going around Toby and Sasha; however, Zoe and Percy hung around until the rest of their family members reached the bottom. Bernie left the underground to greet them, which he had to duck under the door frame and turn to the side in order to fit through. He looked towards his daughter awkwardly before he looked at Toby cheerfully. "Ah, there you are. Hiding again?" he said as he slapped him in the back. "Now that you're as big as your father, it's no use hiding from me anymore! I can pick you out of a crowd instantly!" he shouted.

He looked up at Marty and Aoife carefully before he crossed his arms over his expansive chest and exhaled. "SAM senior agents, huh? Well, I hope you have experience with our people" he said.

Aoife clutched onto her husband and smiled timidly. "Well, actually Mr. Cooper...this is a learning experience for us. It's a real privilege to be your guests"

Bernie's eye twitched before he took in a deep breath. "Right...well, I would suggest you stay clear from the young pups. You never know which ones are in their teething phase until they..."

"Oh we know! Toby took a chomp to the leg on the train ride over here" Marty interrupted.

Toby scowled at them as they all erupted into a frenzy of laughter. "Tis not funny! It really hurt!"

Bernie smirked before he turned around and motioned them to come forth. "Let's get going"

Toby sighed as he grabbed onto Sasha's hand, and they followed Bernie down the passage way. There were many spiders, cockroaches, and other arthropods hiding in the crack and crevices of the overlying timber that held up the streets and buildings above. Newly installed LED light strips lined the edges of the floor and ceilings. It seemed to go on and on forever before they moved down a carved out stairway into a pit deep inside the basalt bedrock. Above them was a concrete dome with more LED lighting, which Marty and Aoife both gasped at the scope and size of this facility. "Remarkable! Where are we under now?" he asked.

"Beats me! Last time I checked, we're under Vaughn Street Park. I don't know what it is now" Bernie said as he walked across the platform past all the tables set up. Sasha looked over at the center stage, and there in all its glory were thick chains embedded in the rock with fetters on the end lying haphazardly all over the floor.

Toby and Zoe were more interested in the food than gawk at something as commonplace to them as this. "So who's on snack duty today?" He asked.

Jean looked up from his seat, and he rubbed his forehead. "Shouldn't you be getting your speech ready?"

Sasha stepped up and smiled proudly. "He has...His mom and I made sure of that" she said. Toby looked over at her oddly before he remembered all of her interest in his speech, but he felt tricked that she was only making sure he was on task. She nudged him and gave him a wink. "Right hun?"

Jean chuckled to himself and looked at her amused. "Already got him on a tight leash have you?" he teased them before he glanced back up at him. "If that's the case, then you wouldn't mind if I take a look at it then would you?"

Toby gulped as he reached for his backpack as Sasha started to count the chairs in the chamber. "How many werewolves are going to show up? Can they all fit in here?" She asked.

"Well, not all of us showing up here are werewolves. Some are delegates and leaders from other supernatural groups. From what I understand we have about 2,500 people coming to attend this ceremony. Most of which are young ones between the ages newborn to 18" He said.

Toby handed Jean his tablet before she smiled at him. "I know he has a good speech" she said with confidence.

Jean pulled out his reading glasses before he sat down in his chair. "I'll be the judge of that"

An hour passed and the seats were being filled up with eager looking people. Jean got up to the podium, and he cleared his throat. "I like to say thanks for all of you who were able to make it here on such short notice. Since we are here, let's get this special occasion on its way...As you know we are all here to swear in our new Alpha, Toby could you come up here?" He asked.

The shorter werewolf from earlier ran up to the front and faced everyone. "What the hell is wrong with you all!? He has not earned his keep! Not one bit! His rank doesn't make a lick of sense! He's fought against none of us except for Zoe, and everyone knows that she just went easy on him because she was sleeping with him! If he wasn't Steele's kid, everyone knows Zoe wouldn't fight him just like she wouldn't fight most of us" he shouted.

Zoe's face mutated into a horrendous murderous monstrosity as she balled her fist up with rage. "You mind repeating that last bit! Ya little shit stain!" she muttered under her breath.

Bernie chuckled to himself with his arms crossed. "Don't tell me the number three prospect has gotten under your skin as he?" he asked.

There were little whispers and side conversations about Toby and Zoe before Jean closed his eyes and raised his hand. "Patches here is right about a few things. It wouldn't be fair for the rest of you to not fight and match yourselves up with his strength. I will invite all of you who have some qualms with our ranking system and procedure to step up and challenge Toby and validate the Elder's decision" he said.

Patches' eye twitched as he glanced over at Jean. "Validate!? You are seriously going to let him over Bernie lead us!? I never voted for him! I've seen him in action, and there's nothing special about him!" he protested. Several of the high ranking teen wolves including Zoe stepped up; although, she was only there to push Toby onto the stage.

Jean put his hands together and interlaced them giving a confident smirk as the other elders looked on with equal amusement. "Let me assure you. Every one of us here has a grasp on some basic biology. We can make some pretty safe bets that Toby will win all of your challenges. There is some merit to his strength, and he's not gaming the system he said before he looked towards Lilian. "We have the best medical personnel on standby, so I want you to go all out" he said to them, but he gave Toby a very stern glance promising to make his life a living hell if he chose to pull punches now.

Zoe dug her knuckle into Toby's rib and growled. "Put him down! I can't stand his little man syndrome!" she whispered into his ear with the most hostile tone imaginable.

Bernie stepped up onto the platform as well, and he raised his hand. "I shall be the judge!" he said before he made his way towards Toby. "Look! Jean's reputation is on the line here! Understand? Don't screw around!"

Patches growled as he got into a fighting stance while Zoe and Bernie cleared way for the edge of the stage. Toby stared back at him reluctantly as he stood straight with his arms crossed, which Patches smirked taking in all of the possible moves he could do to take the goliath down. "If you are as strong as they say you are, then you should have taken down Ian single handedly. I'm going to expose you for the fraud you are!" he shouted before he charged at him.

Toby rolled his eyes as Patches feigned a right-handed punch, which he was caught off guard by Toby leaping and swinging his leg around. Patches was already committed to throwing his left-handed punch, so he could only anticipate the pain that would occur once Toby's long limb made contact with his side. Patches felt like he had an out of body experience as his ribs snapped and his spleen and left kidney were jarred so violently that they both ruptured.

The younger wolves that were ready to face him became horrified with how quickly the fight got out of hand as Toby had already had a strong grasp around Patches' throat suffocating him. Bernie reached in grabbing Toby's arm to stop the fight, and Jean looked towards the others. "Is there anyone else who has a problem with Toby's ranking?" he asked.

The younger wolves returned to their seats, and Lilian and Haley came up to attend to Patches' medical needs. She looked towards her son as Haley scanned his victim with a portable high-resolution sonography machine. "Looks like he's going to be pissing out blood for a while" she commented.

Bernie laughed. "I remember those days quite well"

Sasha looked towards her family who seemed absorbed into a good television show. She herself was a little disappointed that the fight ended as fast as it did, but she was grateful that it did not become a bloodbath. "So...this guy is really the third strongest?" she asked.

"Well, technically Patches is only the third highest prospect. It doesn't mean he's the third strongest or out of the whole clan. That would go to Terry I think" he whispered before he looked up at Toby smirking. "He baited Patches into that attack that's for sure. That was a rudimentary blend of Bernie's and my style of fighting. It could have lasted a while longer had Patches not froze like a deer looking into headlights" he said.

Sasha bit her lip feeling those guilty pleasures of her primal urges after seeing her lover's brutal display of dominance. Zoe walked back over equally satisfied with his ruthlessness, but she took more pride in turning him into the monster that he could be. Percy was not at all surprised at the outcome of the fight; although, he kept thinking back on that night when his uncle was slain. He cleared his throat as he looked back up at Zoe. "Was he, holding back at all?" he asked.

Zoe smirked and laughed at him. "Tch, no! He better not have! What's the point in intentionally putting yourself at a disadvantage in a real fight? Who cares if the fight was quick as long as it got results...You see One Punch Man?"

Sasha looked at her strangely before she shook her head before Zoe smirked. "You should watch it with me. It's just as good...no, even better than Deadpool" she suggested.

"Oh...okay? I haven't seen Deadpool either" Sasha said embarrassed. She felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb with how sheltered she was as she was lucky to see some anime. Zoe snickered and nudged her in the arm.

"We'll watch plenty of that stuff once we are in college. You're still going to college right? Or are you going to pop some pups out as soon as you graduate?"

Sasha laughed nervously and her head sank down. "It kind of depends...I mean I'd like to go to college...but..."

"But what? Take it from me...Whatever you learn from college, you can pass down to your pups. Pups are pretty much inevitable. Better have smart wolves than meat heads. Nuff Said" she said before she tapped her on the shoulder gently. "Sssh! Toby's going to give his speech now!"

Toby looked towards the elders who were very pleased with themselves. "So, what now?"

Jean tapped his finger on the table and raised an eyebrow. "Well, you got two options. Give your speech now, or give it later" he said before he handed back the tablet.

"Alright then..." He muttered before he skimmed through his speech. He took a deep breath and his shyness turned to seriousness as he cleared his throat. "I'm pretty sure a lot of you have some idea in what has been is going on in the past couple of months. Peter bolted as did the rest of his faction..." he said before he sighed heavily. "Our veil of secrecy has been shredded and torn apart already. I'm not going to sugarcoat it and tell you everything is alright; however, Sasha has taken the incentive a while ago, and she has been sharing her experiences with us online. I want to thank her grandparents who have helped counter SAD's backwards way of doing things. If it weren't for them, Sasha's vlogs would continue to be taken down, but now we can get some positive press to counteract the media.

Thanks to Bernie, I know a lot about werewolf warfare, and I will continue to consult with him for what comes next just as I will consult Jean after everything is said and done. I think it will be best for us all to prepare for what happens after. We're all in this together, and the actions of one of us makes will still impact us all. I don't want to perpetuate this farther. I don't blame you if you're cynical, but I can give you plenty of proof that coexistence is feasible. Zoe and I have been in a club with humans for quite some time. They were accepting of us straight away...Hell, Sasha's grandparents are human, and they're fine with our relationship. I'm not going to let one group of people change my mind, and neither should it for you all. As your alpha, I will vow to put us to a path to peace, and push for legislation to keep our rights from being stripped from us" He said.

Everyone remained silent and reflected on the road ahead. Toby knew their anxiety, and Bernie stood up giving him a nod before he stepped up with Toby and faced the crowd. "I'm going to make sure the transition of power will go smoothly. As you can see, he's just like his old man!" he said before he leaned over. "Why can't you be more uplifting? Is this a German thing were you have to be so depressing?"

Toby held his arms out shrugging his shoulders. "What the hell am I supposed to say?"

Jean got up and beamed with satisfaction. "I thought it was straight to the point; although, it was mostly extemporaneous. He strayed away from his speech straight away. He summarized it pretty well though" he said before he placed a firm hand onto Toby's shoulder. "Are you ready to move on?" He asked.

Toby nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be" He said nervously as he eyed the fetters and chains.

"Just pretend they are made of paper and use all your weight into it" Bernie advised him Toby gulped preparing himself for the next part of the ceremony.