The Silver Guardian B. 01

A huge thank you to my editor Tex Beethoven for another amazing job and collaboration, thank you Tex you rock!!

Book 1

Chapter 16

Dante and Lily had set their alarm for 7:30am, but when it went off it felt much sooner than either of them thought it should. Both Lily and Dante had gotten their wishes, Dante was up at his usual early hour and Lily got to wake up in his arms, though she wished it could have happened later in the morning. They both dressed casually; for Dante that meant a pair of boots, cargo pants and a black t-shirt with his hair in a ponytail. Lily dressed in a pair of cream flats and tight jeans with a red v-neck t-shirt.

They headed down to breakfast and beat some of the normal crew to the table. By 8am everyone had arrived, and breakfast was wheeled out. Big plates of pancakes and eggs and sausage all piled high, would keep Dante and Lily going all morning, even though their metabolisms were higher than those of normal humans. Lycans tended to gobble down food like... well,

wolves

... but nobody had ever seen a chubby one.

They chatted comfortably between themselves, and with the others at the main table. Soon breakfast was wrapping up and Dante gave Lily a scorching kiss, and scented her deeply before he had to take off. Lily nuzzled his neck, capturing his scent so she could smell him all morning. Lily went off with her Mother, and Dante headed for the Library in the Manor House on the main floor.

The Library was one of the larger suites in the wing going off to the left when you entered the Manor House. There Dante met the Pack Archivist. His name was Nick Smith, and like Abigail and most other Heads, he was a Senior Wolf. Two Pack Elders were waiting as well: Elder Bruce and Elder Maeve.

Everyone introduced themselves and laid out how things would start, and how they would progress over the coming weeks. First, they would cover what being a lycan meant and everything that went along with it. Then they would cover Pack law and how the Pack operated on a daily basis in the compound, as well as those living throughout their territory. Then they would explain Pack structure throughout the USA, then an explanation of Pack structure throughout the world and how they governed. Next would be Pack History, and they would finish up with lycan history.

Dante understood he would need to assimilate a lot of knowledge very quickly during each session. He had brought his laptop to make notes as they went. He made a mental note to buy a tablet, as he was pretty sure he would begin needing it for this and for his other Alpha Heir duties.

They jumped right in, and the Elders and Nick began filling his head with knowledge, covering lots of ground very quickly. The first thing he learned was that barring death by violence, lycans tended to live much longer than humans. Lycans often lived more than 350 years and weren't considered Elders until they reached 150 years of age. Due to their inherent magic as well as their extreme healing abilities and robust body chemistry, lycans aged more slowly and retained their strength and skills throughout nearly all of their long lives. One facet of the classic legends was true: silver was deadly to them and would burn them even from just a touch, which was why the only precious metals they used for jewelry were platinum or gold.

Dante learned that lycans' wolves weren't separate from them, just like their human selves weren't separate. A self was a self, and everyone had only one: there was no 'other' lurking anywhere in a lycan's consciousness. Some topics were a little easier to discuss by referring to their wolves as if they were something different or another side, but they really weren't.

Dante learned something interesting about some of the changes occurring when a lycan first shifted. Along with it beginning a person's adult development and changing their bodies and enhancing their senses and everything else, somewhat like a human's puberty but far more involved, shifting made their muscles and bones much denser, thus making a lycan much heavier than a human of similar shape and size. When Dante scoffed at this idea, they took him to a scale and demonstrated that he was now around 325lbs instead of the 300lbs he'd been for years! They told him he would now notice a change in his buoyancy in water, or lack thereof.

Lastly, in wolf form, he could communicate using the bond with any other wolf he could physically see, but since Dante was a born Alpha (Dante hadn't known that) and clearly had Alpha blood running through his veins, and in addition was now Alpha Heir as well, once he learned how to use it he would have access to what was referred to as 'Alpha Magic', that he got both from his blood and from his Pack. Through this magic he could aid in healing any wolf of his Pack, most particularly his mate and offspring: his descendants for several generations. As an Alpha he could also communicate with any wolf in his own Pack in either human or wolf form and that was limited only by distance. They would have to run some tests to determine Dante's range, but everyone was expecting that to be unusually long, based on everything else Dante had exhibited so far as a lycan. At need, he could pull on his Pack bonds and magic for short periods of time to boost his strength and physical abilities to defend and protect the Pack as necessary.

There was one topic that greatly interested Dante, even more than the other knowledge he'd been absorbing like a sponge so far. This was information about lycan mating and pregnancy. Lily and all other female lycans could only be gotten pregnant by their mates, and only during their heat cycles, which occurred every six or seven months or so. Pregnancies typically lasted for 6 months, and while litters of two or even three pups weren't unheard of, single births were far more common, especially for those of Alpha bloodlines such as Dante and Lily.

Once they had lectured, discussed and answered Dante's questions about all of that, half of their session for today had passed.

They spent the remaining hour on Pack law and how the Pack was coordinated on a day-to-day basis. Many of the Pack laws modeled the normal human laws he'd been familiar with his whole life: theft, vandalism, assault, rape and murder were all not tolerated. An Alpha Pair generally dealt with minor transgressions themselves, including passing judgement and sentencing. For more serious crimes a Pack held a tribunal with the Pack Elders serving as the jury. Jury verdicts carried much weight but were not binding, and the final decision and sentencing was again left to the Alpha Pair.

Crimes, especially ones requiring any planning, were extremely rare among lycans. Within a Pack the bond everyone had with their Alpha Pair made communication very clear and unambiguous, and telling deliberate falsehoods through a bond was impossible. Therefore, the possibility of someone planning and executing a crime without being detected by their Alpha Pair was almost zero, which made the idea of committing one rather unattractive to say the least. On the other hand, since lycan emotions tended to be more volatile than human ones, crimes of anger or passion weren't unheard of. But even so as has already been said, among lycans crimes were extremely rare.

Which meant that, unlike the backlogs that often built up in human courts, within the lycan community all criminal investigations and sentences could be, and were, carried out immediately. And again because of the bond verdicts were never erroneous, no appeals were ever necessary.

Rape and murder had zero tolerance and incurred an immediate death sentence. In blatant and obvious situations, especially when there were several witnesses, the death sentence was usually carried out then and there without any tribunal and often without even the involvement of any higher authority such as Betas or Alphas.

The females and children of the Pack were cherished and protected above all others, and whenever there was a threat, the Pack always protected them and secured their safety first.

Challenges could be made between one wolf and another to work out any grievances, with the winner being determined through martial victory once both sides had formally agreed to the challenge and a Senior Wolf was in observance. Any contested matters were settled immediately after the challenge was completed.

If you wanted to advance in the Pack and move into a higher position, you underwent testing, with set expectations to be met. Pass and you were promoted, fail and you had to wait at least 6 months to try again. The exception to that method of advancement was that if a specific qualification became apparent such as proving yourself through a significant deed, the Alpha Pair could elevate you to a higher position on the spot.

The only position you could challenge for via martial confrontation was that of Alpha. Since throughout history the O'Connor Pack had been led by an O'Connor, members of that family had obviously withstood all challenges since the American Pack had been established 200 years ago. During this time the dominant member of an Alpha Pair had not always been the male. Alphas of either sex had served as the spear point, and the valor of some Madame Alphas had become legendary. An aspiring wolf could challenge whichever Alpha of a Pair who was the most dominant and was leading the Pack. If that Alpha lost the contest, they and their mate were out of power. Among other Packs Alpha challenges were often to the death, but that wasn't required. It was up to the victor of the challenge to show mercy or condemn the loser to death. However to date, all successful O'Connor challenges had been pro forma, with an aging Alpha willingly stepping aside in favor of a designated family member whose accomplishments and battle skills were impressive enough that nobody challenged his or her right to assume the leadership. Already everyone assumed that when the time came, Dante would assume leadership of the O'Connor pack and would do so with his Father-in-law's blessings, both by right of his mate's birth rank and also because he was the biggest badass anyone had ever seen.

The first floor of the Manor House was open to all Pack members, which included the kitchen and library, conference and meeting rooms, the dining hall, the main living room and socializing area and several other rooms. Certain areas of the second level were also open to the Pack but only by appointment or upon request, such as Alpha Odin's and Madame Alpha Victoria's offices. Most other Heads of the Pack such as Financial Head, Archivist, Head of House and a few other officers also maintained offices on the second floor and of course needed to be accessible to other wolves for various reasons.

A noticeable portion of the second floor was dedicated to Lily and Dante's suite as their private living area, which was not open to anyone without invitation. There were several other living areas on the second floor, with some in use and others not, inhabited by staff who both lived and worked in the Manor House. The third floor was dedicated to the private residence of the Alpha Pair, and just like Lily and Dante's suite was off limits to everyone without invitation.

The day-to-day operations to keep the Pack running were extensive. Huge amounts of food and supplies were ordered on a biweekly basis, and the Head of House and Head of Kitchen shouldered those responsibilities under the oversight of Madame Alpha Victoria, who inspected and approved all requisitions. A surprisingly large amount of crops were grown in and around the compound by multiple families to help supply the Pack, and who also retained a reasonable portion of their produce for their own families. This was an example of how members of the Pack took care of the Pack itself, and the Pack in turn took care of its individuals and families. The same was true of Pack members' businesses, which is what kept a large stream of income coming into the Pack, contributing to the huge fortune that was required not only to run the Pack, but also to protect it and take care of other Pack needs. But with the Pack both supporting and taking care of its individuals and families and also purchasing goods and services from them, the complex system contributed to everyone's individual wealth as well.

There was also schooling for the children of course. Many children were home schooled, especially if they lived in the compound (there was no way a school bus would be allowed in the compound, but it would raise eyebrows if a school district had reason to make the request and was denied), but there were some Pack children not living in the compound who attended public and private schools through their territory in Montana. Each child graduated with a GED or high school diploma and was subsidized to continue their education in any field and any college they wished to attend. Their families took care of most of their expenses, but the Pack helped out when there was need, and every Pack member got a stipend for their rank and duties within the Pack.

Lastly there was an impressive health clinic in the compound that could handle just about any emergency that came up and was free to all Pack members. There were a couple of doctors as well as a handful of nurses on staff, all of whom were Pack members and lived in the community and compound. Unless it was impractical, such as for food services or livestock care duties, members of the Pack worked 5 days a week and took Saturdays and Sundays off as their weekends.

The Pack celebrated a Full Moon ceremony each lunar month, and attendance by all Pack members, no matter how far away from the Pack compound they lived, was mandatory except for reasons of serious illness or injury, which for lycans were very uncommon. The Alpha Pair and Alpha Heir Pair led the ceremony and the Pack hunt and run each time. (This ceremonial leadership of course would include Michael O'Connor once he completed his advanced schooling and returned home, plus his mate, whenever he discovered her.)

By the time they had finished covering all that, their session for the day was up. Dante was greatly relieved, because his head was swimming from the wealth of detail his mentors had provided, although he felt he'd managed to absorb almost all of it. They planned to meet back at the Library again tomorrow after breakfast, to start covering Pack history, Pack governing structure here and around the world, and eventually lycan history, which went back dozens and dozens of centuries.

Dante hustled upstairs to their suite to change into clothing for his physical training, evaluation and exercises, which were next. He had finished in the bathroom and was walking into the bedroom to change when he saw Lily naked and facing away from him, also changing for physical training and exercises.

He walked up behind her and squeezed her ass, leaning into her, scenting her neck and kissing her hungrily. "I missed you this morning baby, and I wish we had time for me to show you how much! I love the visual treat though," Dante growled to her.

Lily had turned her head and nuzzled Dante as he was scenting her, and kissed him back when he'd finished his brief olfactory banquet. "I missed you too stud, this morning was busy for me, as I'm sure it was for you as well. Let's get going so we aren't late to the training hall, though. Later we can make some time for you to show me, with as much vigor as you want, just how bad you've missed me, my mate," she said lyrically as she winked at him.

So they both just dressed. Tight black yoga pants with a red sports bra and a black tank over it and running shoes for Lily, with her hair braided and tied up out of the way. A heavy-duty pair of tan cargo pants with a tight black Underarmor shirt served for Dante, plus his Spartans and boots, as well as several magazines of ammunition in belt packs.

They left the suite and headed for the training hall, enjoying having a few minutes to touch base and hold hands as they walked over.

***

After breakfast when Dante had headed off to the Library, Lily got up and followed her Mother up to her office. Madame Alpha Victoria sat down behind her desk, while Lily sat in front of it.

Victoria started right in, "First thing that happens every morning is my assistant Lisa shows up and briefs me on any Pack-related issues or Manor House issues that have come up and that I haven't already been made aware of. She also points out any appointments or tasks I may have that are out of the ordinary. After that I touch base with each of the Pack Heads.

"These include Abigail the Head of Kitchen, for anything kitchen or food related, as well as special requests or other things she needs me to be aware of.

"I also speak to our Finance Head David, for Pack finance updates and to see how the Pack funds are growing and what decisions if any need to be made, and whether there are any other financial issues to be handled.

"I also meet with our Head of House Mary, who partners with Abigail on supplies and food needing to be ordered for the Manor House. She manages the care and maintenance of the house, including the cleaning, updates, repairs, living accommodations and other related issues. Again, any updates or tasks or special instructions are passed both ways each day, so we stay on top of everything.

"I touch base with our Head Doctor and Head Nurse at the clinic, Marc and Maria respectively. Anything and everything related to their operation on a day-to-day basis is handled and discussed with them.

"Lastly, I meet with our Head of Education Sophie, about curriculum and education-related matters.

"Once I have all of that done I put together everything and meet with our Head of Procurement Saul, for ordering supplies and logistics for anything else the Pack and Manor House need. Each Head has some level of cooperation and collaboration with the others, but I oversee it all and manage and run everything.

"In the afternoons I handle Pack business and matters like ceremonies, celebrations, disputes, and all sorts of other things; many of which you already know something about. You'll shadow me for as much as we can get through this morning, and then you'll head to your weapons and combat and fitness training. This morning we'll have only two hours together since you're meeting with your designer after lunch, but most days we'll have the three hours we originally discussed.

"After you're done with your designer, you can meet back with me and we'll handle Pack business as a team: Madame Alpha and Madame Alpha Heir. As mentioned last week, it may be just us, or we may consult with your Father and your mate as well." Victoria let Lily absorb everything and paused to see if she had any questions.

A short time later Lisa, Victoria's Assistant came in. Victoria and Lily greeted her, then Lily went silent as she paid attention to what was being discussed. This morning there would be a few normal small situations to deal with, but otherwise it was shaping up to be a typical day.

They soon left Victoria's office and started making the rounds. Lily learned a lot very quickly as she paid attention to what each Head dealt with and handled on a daily basis, as well as absorbing what her Mother did and in most cases understanding why she did what she did. As they walked between offices she requested clarifications on the decisions her Mother had made that she had questions about.

It was an immersion and while it was overwhelming now, she knew that soon enough she would be able to handle it without issue, especially once she began to gain an affinity with the nature and style of her Mother's wisdom, plus a growing comprehension of the way she thought about the various issues. There were no big issues to handle today, so they were able to make it through the complete rounds by the time Lily had to proceed to her and Dante's suite and change for training. She loved that they were able to time it so they could meet and get ready together and head over to the Training Hall hand in hand.