Hierarchy

Nick came with us to the bathroom. While Jeremy cleaned my bloodied nose, Nick told him about the broken radio, making it sound as if the incident was another reason for my scrap with Stephen. Jeremy said little, but I could tell by his expression that he considered defending Nick a more acceptable excuse than defending him. So here was the answer to my earlier question. Fighting to help a weaker party was an acceptable use of force.

Afterward, as further proof that my actions hadn’t been too objectionable, Jeremy left me alone with Nick. He told us that lunch would be ready soon and we should wash up and head for the dining room.

“Man, it’s about time we get to eat,” Nick said, swiping his hands under the running water then wiping them on his jeans. “We were supposed to hours ago, but then Poppa said we had to wait for you guys to get here and you’ve been here for what, an hour already and we still haven’t had lunch.”

I finished drying my hands and we headed into the hall.

“Do you get to eat at the grown-ups’ table?” Nick continued. “I bet you do, because that’s where you eat after your first Change and you’ve had lots of Changes, so I think you get to eat with the grown-ups.”

I shook my head. “Jeremy said I eat at the kids’ table.”

“Whoa, bummer. So how do they know when you’re ready to join the grown-ups’ table? Do you think they’ll pick an age? Like sixteen? That’s kinda young, but Poppa had his first Change when he was sixteen, so I hope I do, too. Maybe they’ll let you join the grown-up table when I do. Then if I Changed at sixteen, you’d be fifteen—”

“Hey, Nicky?” Stephen said, walking up behind us. “Does that mouth of yours come with an off button?”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Nick glanced at me. “Do you think I talk too much?”

I shook my head. Nick flipped his middle finger at Stephen, who shouldered past us, knocking Nick against the wall.

“Asshole,” Nick muttered. “I can’t wait until he’s at the grownup table, away from us. When we sit down, you sit with me, away from him. If you’re beside him, he’ll swipe your food.”

“No one swipes my food.”

Nick grinned. “Hey, maybe we should sit next to him, then. See what happens. You almost took him downstairs. Just a few more minutes and I’m sure—”

A laugh sounded behind us. Before we could turn, Antonio scooped us up, each under one arm.

“What’s this I hear? Poor Clayton’s only been here an hour. You’ve already led him into one fight and now you’re tempting him into another? Shame on you, Nicky.”

Antonio’s laugh belied his words and he twisted us around in midair, then thumped us down on our feet.

“When did you get back?” Nick asked.

“Just this very minute.”

“And you’re done working now? You don’t have to go back to the plant after lunch?”

“I fixed the problem and I’m home until Monday.” Antonio glanced down at me. “So where’s Jeremy, scrap? Don’t tell me you left him at home.”

“I’m right here,” Jeremy said, stepping through the next door. “Just waiting for Clayton so I can introduce him to the others.”

“Is everyone here now?” Antonio asked.

“Everyone except Peter.”

Antonio winced, then caught Jeremy’s look of concern and thumped him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s just busy with school. Once he graduates, he’ll start coming to Meets again. Now let’s get some lunch before we all starve.”

Everyone except Dominic was already in the dining room, milling about, talking, as they waited to uncover the cold food platters. Jeremy introduced me to the adult members of the Pack.

Although it almost certainly wasn’t intentional, Jeremy performed the introductions in order of rank. First came the remaining two members of the Alpha’s family: eldest son Gregory and his son Jorge.

Jorge was a quiet, solemn young man who took after his grandfather and uncle Antonio in appearance only. Jorge stayed close to his father, always hovering, ready to get whatever Gregory needed. At the time, I mistook this closeness for a lack of self-confidence, the boy preferring to stay under his father’s protective shadow. I’d eventually realize the situation was reversed. It was Gregory who needed his son nearby.

On the drive to the Meet, Jeremy had explained that Gregory had been brain-damaged in a fight with a mutt six years earlier—the fight that had led to his eldest son’s death when that son had gone seeking revenge. When Jeremy introduced me to Gregory that day, I saw nothing wrong with him…just a slightly unfocused look in his eyes, as if he wasn’t quite paying attention.

That’s how I remember Gregory best, a vague man who never seemed to be fully present. Though I’ve never been clear on the full extent of his injuries, I believe they affected random areas of short-and long-term memory. He could debate politics, discuss global economics, predict stock market trends, and yet, if Jorge wasn’t there to help him, he’d forget where to find the bathroom.

The next Pack members Jeremy introduced me to were Wally and Raymond Santos—the Santos boys’ uncle and father—two red-haired men who barely let him finish the introduction before Raymond cut in.

“Where’s Malcolm?” he asked.

“In Tampa,” Jeremy said. “He’s been chasing a mutt who showed up at Stonehaven last year.”

“In other words, he’s doing your job,” Wally said. “If a mutt shows up on your territory, you’re supposed to take care of it.”

“Jeremy does—” Antonio began, but Jeremy silenced him with a look.

Wally continued, not noticing the interruption. “Malcolm has enough to do, hunting mutts for Dominic. He doesn’t need to clean up after you, too, Jeremy.”

I looked from Jeremy to Antonio, waiting for one of them to correct Wally, to tell him the real reason Malcolm wasn’t at the Meet, that he’d been banished by Jeremy. From the look on Antonio’s face, he was biting his tongue. Another warning look from Jeremy, and he stomped off, muttering about stubborn sons-of-bitches.

“Tell Malcolm if he needs any help with that mutt, he can give us a shout,” Wally said. “Anything we can do for him, we will. He knows that.”

“I’m sure he does,” Jeremy murmured.

Jeremy steered me over to Joey’s father, Dennis Stillwell, a small man who greeted me with a warm smile. Then Ross Werner, who was at least Dominic’s age. Ross clapped me on the back, proclaimed me a “good-looking young man” and commended Jeremy for doing “a fine job” with me. Finally Jeremy introduced me to Cliff Ward, a young man no older than Jeremy, with an insincere smile and eyes that always darted on contact.

Cliff also asked after Malcolm, proving that Jeremy’s father had a higher standing here than I’d anticipated. Yet I hadn’t heard Dominic or any of the other Sorrentinos ask after him. It was Jeremy they’d wanted to see. That had to count for something.

“Where’s Poppa?” Nick asked the moment Jeremy finished the introductions.

“He had to take a call from the office,” Jeremy said.

“Working?” Nick fell into a chair with a groan. “Everyone’s always working. When I grow up, I’m never going to work.”

“No?” Antonio said. “Then I guess your poppa and I will have to work harder, so you won’t have to. Come on and take Clayton to the kids’ table. Poppa will be down any moment.”

“He’d better,” Nick said. “I’m starving. I hate these rules. Why do we have to wait for him before we eat?”

“Because he’s the Alpha,” Antonio said. “If you want to eat first, then you need to become Alpha.”

“And do all that extra work?” Nick said. “No way.”

Dominic walked in then, and the chatter died down as everyone swung into their places at the table and started uncovering the food. Nick led me to the children’s table, which was in the corner. Nick watched to see where Stephen sat, then picked seats for us on the opposite side of the table.

“See how far away we are from the grown-ups?” Nick whispered. “They do that so we can’t hear what they’re talking about.”

“I can,” I said.

He hesitated, taking a moment to figure this out, then grinned. “That’s right. You’ve got the superhearing already. Cool.”

As we settled in, I looked at the main table. As I expected, it was arranged by Pack hierarchy, with Dominic at the top, his sons on either side of him, then radiating down the table to Ross Werner and Cliff Ward at the end. Jeremy sat beside Antonio. I must have looked pretty satisfied with this arrangement because Stephen followed my gaze and sneered.

“You think that means he’s something special?” Stephen said, voice lowered to a whisper. “Jeremy only gets to sit there because he’s Antonio’s best friend. It’s bullshit. Look who sits at the old man’s right hand. Gregory. A fucking retard.”

Ross and Cliff, sitting at the end of the adult table and therefore closest to us, both turned and I knew they’d overheard. Ross glowered and shook a finger at Stephen, but when the older man turned away, Cliff shot Stephen a grin.

“Now, boys,” Dominic boomed from the head of the table. “I think we may have a problem down there.”

“S-sir, I—I didn’t—” Stephen began.

Dominic continued. “Ross put out the food, but I don’t think he knows how much Clayton eats. From what Tonio tells me, those dishes on your table are just barely enough to feed Clayton alone.” He looked at me. “Is that right, boy? Can you eat that much?”

I looked at the uncovered plates and nodded.

Dominic threw back his head and laughed. “You think so, do you? Well, then, maybe we should do something about that. We don’t want you boys scrapping over the food. Grab your chair and come on up here, Clayton. You can eat with me today. We’ll see which of us eats more.”

From the other boys, I caught a wave of disgruntled looks, ranging from Joey’s mild envy to Stephen’s outright fury.

“Lucky,” Nick mouthed and shot me a grin.

I searched his expression for any trace of envy, but saw none. He was simply happy for me. Had the situation been reversed, I knew I couldn’t have been so unselfish. I took my chair, carried it to Dominic’s side and asked him a question.

He laughed. “You don’t want to sit up here alone with the old men? I don’t blame you.” He craned his neck to see the children’s table. “Nicky?”

“Yes, Poppa?”

“Bring your chair on up here. You’re keeping Clayton company.”

Nick’s smile lit up his face. He grabbed his chair and scrambled to the head of the table.

Dominic out-ate me by a half-sandwich and a banana.

“He would have beaten you,” Antonio said. “But he knows a good Pack member always lets the Alpha win. He’s a smart boy.”

“So I hear,” Dominic said. “Tonio tells me you’re reading already.” He looked out across the table. “Can you believe that? Less than a year ago, this boy was living in the swamp. He couldn’t talk. He couldn’t control his Changes. He could barely even walk upright. And now he’s going to school. School! Can you believe it?”

I waited to see whether Jeremy would correct Dominic. He didn’t. I decided Dominic’s statement was close enough to the truth to be an acceptable facsimile. I had been in school…for a while. And I’d be returning to school…eventually. In the meantime, Jeremy was giving me daily lessons so, technically, I was still being schooled.

Dominic continued. “When Jeremy told me he brought this boy home, most of you know how I felt. I was against it. I thought the boy would be dangerous. I thought he’d have to be locked up in a cage and if he ever escaped, he’d put us all at risk of exposure. I thought we should—” He glanced at me and stopped short. “Well, you know what I thought should be done. But I trusted Jeremy. I told him he had one year to show me that the boy could be controlled.” Dominic laughed. “Controlled? Look at him. This boy could walk around New York City and he’d be no more an exposure risk than you or me. I have a lot of faith in Jeremy, but I’m still amazed by the job he’s done.”

Jeremy murmured a thank-you as the rest of the Pack pitched in with congratulations of varying degrees of sincerity.

Dominic continued. “Jeremy, I know there’s still two months to go on that year’s probation, but I’ve made my decision. The boy is yours, and he’s a member of the Pack.”

“Thank you,” Jeremy said.

From Jeremy’s other side, Raymond Santos cleared his throat. “Shouldn’t we…give the kid some kind of test. I agree Jeremy appears to have done a good job—”

“Appears?” Dominic said, skewering Raymond with a glare. “Clayton, come up here. Jorge? Grab me today’s paper.”

Dominic pushed back his chair and lifted me onto his lap. The boys at the children’s table took advantage of the break to pull their chairs close enough to hear. When Jorge brought in the newspaper, Dominic laid it in front of us.

“Can you read the headlines, Clayton?”

I nodded.

“Well, you go ahead and read me what you can, then.”

I selected the first article, a piece on the Vietnam War. I stumbled over a few of the place names, but managed to get through the whole article. When I finished, the room was silent.

Dominic looked at Raymond. “How about you ask Daniel to read the same piece?”

From the end of the table, Cliff said, “Hey, Jeremy? Think while you’re teaching him to read you can teach him to speak? Kid sounds like a goddamned hillbilly.”

A few chuckles greeted this. This was the first time anyone had mentioned my accent—I talked so little that it usually wasn’t apparent. I suppose it makes sense that when I regained my language skills, I’d speak as I always had. Jeremy had certainly never commented on it.

“He sounds just fine,” Dominic said, patting me on the back. “Nothing wrong with being different. As for the reading, I’ll be the first to say school smarts aren’t everything. No one in my family ever went past high school and we do just fine. My point is that the boy can learn, and learn quickly. I have no concerns about Clayton’s future with this Pack.”

“Nor do I,” said Antonio.

Gregory and Jorge added their agreement, quieter but equally firm. Dennis Stillwell and Ross Werner chimed in with their support. The Santos brothers and Cliff Ward said nothing. That was fine; they were permitted to disagree. Only the Alpha’s decision mattered.

“Now,” Dominic continued. “Speaking of the Pack and the future, I’ve been considering something for a while, and seeing how well Jeremy has done with Clayton has only confirmed my feelings on the matter. As you know, when Jorge came of age, I allowed Jeremy to mentor him, guide him through his early Changes. That was Jeremy’s idea and, although I’ll admit I didn’t see the need for it, Jorge thought he’d like to try it. The transition from a boy to a full werewolf is never easy, but Jeremy made it smoother. Jorge learned control much faster and his Changes come easier.”

Jorge nodded. “I remember what Peter went through, and I had a far easier time of it.”

“Everyone’s transition is different,” Wally said. “Peter’s was tough. Mine wasn’t. There are a million factors. You can’t take one example—”

“Of course you can’t,” Dominic said. “And that’s why I’m thoroughly testing this theory of Jeremy’s by having him try the same with the other boys as they come of age.”

“What?” Stephen squawked, but his father shushed him.

“Furthermore,” Dominic said, “last year Jeremy asked for permission to tutor the adolescent boys, so they’re better prepared for their first Change. I’m granting him permission to do so, starting today. After lunch, Joey, Andrew and Stephen will go with Jeremy for a few hours. They’ll do the same at each Meet until they reach their first Change.”

“Cool,” Joey said.

Stephen and Andrew shot Joey looks that said he’d pay for his enthusiasm later.

Raymond cleared his throat.

“Yes, Ray,” Dominic said, his voice heavy with warning.

“I, uh, don’t entirely disagree with the idea of someone prepping my boys for their first Change. But Jeremy…?”

“And what is wrong with Jeremy?” Dominic asked, infusing the words with a near-growl.

Raymond glanced at Wally for support.

“Jeremy’s very young,” Wally said. “Not only to be taking on a position of this responsibility but, don’t forget, he only went through his own Change a few years ago—”

“Which is exactly why he’s the right person for the job. He still remembers what it was like. I’ve made my decision. End of discussion.”

Dominic picked me up off his lap and plunked me on the floor. “You’ve done well, Clayton. Now go play with Nicky and Daniel. Jeremy, take the rest of the boys into the living room. Antonio, you can help Jeremy if you like. Everyone else, amuse yourselves until dinner. I’ll be in my office.”

Before anyone could say another word, Dominic walked out. Antonio murmured something to Jeremy, then rounded up the three older boys and shepherded them from the room. Jeremy followed.

“What do you want to do?” Nick asked me.

“Can we go outside?” I asked.

“Sure. Let’s go.”

As we headed for the door, I glanced over my shoulder to see Daniel trailing along behind us.

“Don’t worry,” Nick whispered. “We’ll ditch him as soon as we’re out of the house.”

And with that we left.