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"Look Chester, all I am saying it that Hellina is up to something." Hector said ever since we left the Alpha.

"And I keep telling you, I don't care." I said again, "So what if the Alpha is planning something? Do you really want to see Elliot handed over to the Hunters?"

"No but," Hector pinched the bridge of his nose, something he did when he was frustrated. "Look you don't know Hellina like I do, Chester. She is opportunistic, I have lost count how many times she did something that only benefited her in the long run. I would put my money down the second she saw Elliot she started to plot something.

"But she is the Alpha, surely she is thinking of the Pack."

"Chester, do you know what the purpose of this Pack is?"

"What does that have to do anything?"

"Just answer the question."

I thought for a moment and answered what first came to my head, "To provide a safe place for werewolves to be free and to teach them how to control themselves."

"That is the function of a Pack, but not its Purpose. A Purpose is sort of a guideline or goal a Pack is doing when a new Alpha is put in charge of a Pack. The Purpose of this Pack before Hellina took over was to keep recorded history of werewolves. That's why I know about the Maulings ritual. When El took over, she went a different route from her father. When she took over, she decided the Pack's Purpose was going to be medical research of werewolves."

"And this is important because?"

"It is something to keep in mind Chester. Think about how much she does when getting people to join our pack. She is not some noble altruistic person who could be a saint, she is manipulative. Every generous offer she gives she decided was worth it if she gets the results she wants."

I heard enough of it, "Hector what the hell is wrong with you?" I yelled at him, "At first you were ecstatic about a new wolf joining the Pack. especially when you learned he was an adult. Now you are thinking the Alpha has some sort of plans or scheme for him, you are just dragging your feet."

"No, Chester, I am being cautious."

"Cautious? You're basically being a conspiracy theorist, thinking the Alpha has some dastardly plan to use Elliot."

I hear a door open behind me, "Can you two be quiet?" Doc yelled, "What got you so worked up you two are yelling at each other?"

"Oscar," Hector grabbed onto Doc's shoulders, "Be honest with me. What is Hellina planning to do with Elliot?"

"Just ignore him Doc," I said, "How's Elliot?"

Doc removed Hector's hands off of him, "Elliot changed back into a human. He did wake up as a wolf, but I think the tranquilizers hadn't worn off yet. He's awake now, just groggy."

"Don't ignore me Oscar." Hector said, "What is Hellina--"

The door opened again. We all looked as Elliot stumbled out of the room and leaned on the wall for support.

###

I was laying on the floor, my head was a mess. Everything just seemed foggy and me. There was a guy there. I think I saw him at that meeting. What was his name? I tried to get up, my arms felt unsteady. The man in front of me stood up and turned away. _Does he want me to follow him?_I got on my legs, which seemed more unsteady. I just moved forward until I couldn't go forward then moved in another direction and collided with someone.

"Whoa, Elliot," the guy I collided with said, "I didn't think you would be so forward. Not that I mind."

"Hector lower him down on the ground, I don't think the drug is out of his system yet."

I felt my body get lower and my head laid on something. I turned onto my back and faced the ceiling. Three guys were staring at me. What were their names again?

One of the bends down, my eyes fixed on him, "Elliot, you alright?"

Slowly the fog in my head cleared. " Yeah," I muttered, "what--"

"Stay still for a minute," the guy said. I just remembered his name is Oscar, "You were tranqed a while ago, so everything might not be out of your systems yet."

I looked at the other two. The one standing was Chester and directly above me was... "What's your name again?"

The man patted my chest, "It's Hector." While he looked cheerful, he sounded odd. Like his voice didn't match with his face. "Elliot, what the last thing you remember?"

I tried to recall what happened, "We were talking then...then. I can't recall."

Oscar looked at the others. "Not surprised since it was an involuntary change."

"Involuntary change?" I asked.

"You basically change without meaning to," Hector answered, "Think of it like an ill-timed boner."

Chester shoot Hector a dirty look. "There are better comparisons than that."

"Well, I like using it."

Is it really okay to be on this pervert's lap?

I tried to get up of the pervert's lap, "Whoa, slow down Elliot." Oscar said, "You might want to wait a bit more till you move. You're still under the effect of the tranquilizers."

"The one I used on you is much more powerful than the ones earlier." Hecter rubbed me. "It is going to take a bit longer to sleep off.

"Huh? Earlier?" What was he talking about? I searched my clearing mind. He must be referencing while I attacked him. "I feel fine."

"You sure?" Chester asked.

"Yeah, just help me up." I stretched my hand out towards Chester.

"If you say so," Chester pulled me off the ground. My feet were wobbly, but I didn't fall this time.

Hector got off the floor, "Well then, Chester, why not take him to the cafeteria and get something to eat?"

"Huh, didn't you just give a few sausages a while ago?" I asked.

"That was hours ago, Elliot and there is no way that would fill up a werewolf's belly," he said with a hearty laugh, "Besides, me and Oscar here have some business with the Alpha. We'll join you in a bit."

Chester seemed to get upset. "Hector would you stop--"

"Just let him be," Oscar interrupted, "He won't calm down otherwise. Might as well play along with his fantasy."

The look on Hector face was hard to describe. It was like he was trying to hold something back while saving face. "Look, Chester, you might want to take Elliot to the cafeteria like now. What might happen is not something Elliot wants to hear."

"Sure," Chester said, and he pushed me away from Hector and Oscar.

How old did they think I was?

We found ourselves outside, Chester leading me to the cafeteria. The sun was above us, raining spring rays our way. As we walked a question form in my mind, "So what do werewolves eat?"

"What do you mean? We eat food."

"Well, what should I expect from the cafeteria?"

Chester just shrugged. "Beats me, Kamile in charge of feeding us. She likes to not tell anyone but the Alpha what's on the menu."

"Kamile?"

"Kamile is another Beta of the pack."

"Another?"

"Yeah," Chester stopped in his tracks, "Oh right, you don't understand. Um, okay, so a Beta is a position in a Pack. Think of them like," he closed his eyes for a second, "A supervisor. We maintain the daily going on for a pack."

"Okay, but you said another as in more than one."

"Yeah, larger packs need more Betas. Because of our size, we need ten Betas to run everything smoothly."

"Is that a lot?"

"Yeah, by werewolves standards."

I looked around the campgrounds. "So where are these members? This place is pretty empty."

"At work, maybe school for the younger ones."

"Werewolf schools?" If that is a thing?

"No, regular school, and regular jobs too. We are people, Elliot, not some wild animals."

"Oh, I mean, I didn't mean," I started fumbling over my words. New topic. New topic. "Wait, if everyone is gone, who is serving lunch?"

"Kamile's catering group is doing it. Camp Loupabri is used throughout the entire year, which requires daily maintenance, and that requires people to be fed. Besides the people who work here, you would also run into people here for Handlers' training or people trying to control the wolf."

"Handlers? Controlling the Wolf?"

"Oh right, you wouldn't get it. A Handler is someone trained by the pack to handle werewolves. Handlers are sort of like the men in black for werewolves. There are a lot of situations where having a human associated with a pack help."

"So a Handler is a human who is a part of a pack?"

"Not really accurate. Handlers are people who are involved in pack business. Other werewolves are also Handlers. How to explain this," Chester put a finger to his temple, "here is a situation. say a werewolf gets put into an animal shelter. A Handler is the person we would call to get them out."

I was more distracted by something else, "Why would a werewolf be in an animal shelter?"

"It happens much more than you think." Chester turned away, a smile on his face like he was remembering a funny joke. "I was being serious about taming the wolf. We have afternoon classes for pack members having issues while transformed. Once you join the Pack, you would be put in those classes."

"So, you do have werewolf school."

A chuckle escaped Chester, "Yeah I guess we do."

We approached a building with the words Cafeteria on it. Glad it's easy to find. The inside was what you expected from a cafeteria, those table and seat hybrids all over the place. Off to one side, I saw where we were supposed to get our food. Some of those tables had people sitting down on them, some messing with their phones or talking with the people around them. "Come on," Chester said, "Let's get something before they start cleaning up."

"Okay." I followed Chester as he showed me where we get the plates.

A guy was standing behind the counter. "Hey Chester," he said with a bored look on his face, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Yeah, I had to stay behind for reasons."

"I see. Well, help yourself to whatever scraps that is left, much less to clean up." The guy noticed me then turned back the Chester, "So what would you two have?"

Looking over what was left was hard since I have no idea what I was looking at. All I could tell apart from the other stuff was the few remaining burgers at the end and some tater tots. Chester, on the other hand, pointed at everything and put it on his plate. He also got a salad from somewhere; I wasn't looking at him. He paid for his meal and mine and we sat down at a table. "Are you sure that's going to fill you up Elliot?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well, it's small."

"So?"

"Well, you need to eat more. That amount would be fine as a human, but a werewolf needs more food. Hold on, I'll get you some chips. Go get yourself something to drink. The dispenser is over there." I went to the drink dispenser and filled a cup with water. When I got back Chester had four bags of chips.

Chester tried to talk to me while we ate. I was just zoning him out and focusing on my food. I couldn't recall the last time I ate cooked real food, not the crap from fast food place or a gas station. I felt so happy, it took all my willpower not to inhale my food all at once. But that moment didn't last.

Before I knew it, images of Lowen's half eaten body filled my mind. Before I could do anything, I felt my food coming back up from my stomach. I shot up from my chair and dashed to the trash can. In moment my stomach emptied itself of all the food I just eaten. Not again.

"Elliot, Elliot," I felt Chester put his hand on my back, "Elliot, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said. My throat burned. My eyes watered.Damn it. I hit the side of the trash can.

"I'll get your water, hold on."

I lowered myself to the floor. Other people who were eating looked at me. I guess I was louder than I thought.

"Here," Chester handed me my water. After handing me my water he crouched down. "What happened?"

"It happens from time to time. Don't worry about it." I took a sip of it, trying to get that image out of my mind.

"Chester!" a man yelled as he entered the cafeteria. It was Hector. He saw us and rushed over.

"Hector what is it?"

"Ches, I need to talk to you." Without waiting for a reply, Hector grabbed Chester and pulled him away from me.

What is this about?

###

I broke free from Hector's grip as he pulled me outside. "Hector what the hell is wrong with you?"

Hector faced me, "Look, I know what I am about to say seems crazy, but I need you to keep calm."

"Hector, Elliot just threw up for no reason, and you dragged me away. I am pissed here!"

"Look, Ches, I just finished talking with the Alpha and I was right. She plans to use Elliot for something."

"Wow, amazing, your conspiracy theory was true. Are you now more willing to help Elliot now that you know?"

"Chester, you don't understand. What she told me is big."

"So? You literally said that she had plans and wouldn't stop talking about it. What is so important that you need to drag me away from Elliot?"

"She is planning to use Elliot for a new drug that can possibly reverse the werewolf process."

I mind sort of went blank, "What?"

"What?" A voice said. Behind us was Elliot, wide eyed and shocked.