Thawing of the Ice

Chapter 3 - Alpha Visit

Piling in took some coordination, but Shawn happily took the middle third-row seat, beside Jess and cuddled up with Sampson and Charlie who were sprawled on the pad over the folded down other half. The bags for the trip were strapped down in the rest of the back, leaving perches for the ravens to rest on. Adam and Brook were in the front, with Beth and Tala, in her car seat, in the second row.  Jess, being smaller was in the other third row seat, but was surprised she still had leg room.

Adam shook his head, "Almost need to get a roof carrier for the bags," he said, amused at the tight fit. The two wolfdogs took up a fair amount of room in the back. Today, he was glad Brook didn't have one too! Thankfully their ravens didn't take up all that much room. They were using the wolf-dogs as their rest area. It was a good thing they would let their humans know when they had to slice or the dogs might not be as happy with them.

The trip to Silver Peak had been split in half, knowing nobody would want to spend over ten hours in the car. They spent the night at Kataka Pack, just west of Jasper, being that they couldn't stand more than the five hours drive at one time without getting antsy. The Alpha Dennis and Luna Jacqueline greeted them as they arrived. They had been the northern most pack to be part of the Inter-Pack Treaty, till what was now Silver Peak Pride joined, and that Ice Lake was now under them as a Sub-Pack, the treaty had been changed so they now were automatically part of it.

"Welcome!" Luna Jacque offered, as they stepped out and stretched. A Theta wolf held the driver's door for Brook, as Adam had wanted to take pictures, and she didn't want to have to keep stopping for him to do it, so after the fourth stop, she had hopped out and taken control. Adam had just grinned when she growled at him, and reset his camera to take pictures from the moving vehicle.

Brook nodded, and passed the spare keyless remote to them, so they could deal with filling the vehicle, then cleaning it before putting it away for the night, before taking Tala out of her seat and cuddling her.

Adam and Brook shared a hug, "It's been a long time!" He had only met them in person at the Alpha Gathering when they signed the Inter-Pack Treaty. "It's nice to finally get to see your pack."

"Yes, and it seems you have seasoned well." Dennis replied, leading into the Alpha's house. They maintained a community of small houses, and a hall that the pack gathered when it was cold, instead of one large building. "Your pack is flourishing, I can see." he commented, as a pack's health was counted by the number of pups, leading them into the living room so they could relax. He had been one of the Alphas that had supported them right from the beginning, as they needed some youth to help them survive.

Adam smiled, "Yes. We are pushing the limits for numbers, with the Academy at the pack. We've had to put in controls on the hunting. Once they leave, there will be plenty for all, and room to expand a bit."

Dennis smiled, "And thanks to you, our pup got the education there." Adam had been generous and had taken in several of the younger generation that would be leading next to train, as their Sponsor spots. They were less than a century from stepping down, so the education would be well used. The international contacts it gave was almost worth the tuition alone.

Adam smiled and flopped down on the couch, "Ahhh! Something not moving!" he replied, getting some laughs. When the laughter died down, "I have a business idea for you. With Ice Lake having been brought under our banner through our Second, we will be having regular movement between our pack and Ice Lake. I would like to have a permanent agreement to have visiting rights for the travellers, without needing to do more than let you know we are on the way. It would also give us a refuel location on the way there, too. All our vehicles can make it here. In response, we would be willing to pay for the fuel, and anything else."