POV - Kyas
Papa had shifted into his "Alpha Mode", the attitude he used when dealing with pack matters as a whole. Detatched. The attitude gave him some emotional distance, and I can see how that protected him now. His eyes though, promised a reckoning later.
He held his hands out to us. "Up you get, boys." He said, pulling us to our feet.
He motioned Elena and Brandon back up to the stage. "Let's give another round of applause for our new pack mates!" He told the crowd, and started with his own clapping.
I felt awkward, being looked at, being seen, so I shifted my stance toward the other three and also clapped for them.
Papa held his hands up. "Alright! Everyone strip! We have a pack run to get to, to seal the bond."
Mama came up between me and Elias. She put a hand on our shoulders. She was in "Luna Mode" too.
"I didn't get the chance to tell either of you when it happened, like Elena and Brandon's parents told them, so I'll tell you both now." She said. "Pack communication works like talking to your wolf, except you'll feel a pressure touch you. You can acknowledge that pressure to see who it is trying to talk to you. Then, it's like a door, you can choose to let that person in or block them out. To talk to others, it's also like your wolf. Reach out to the person by thinking about them, that's called the push. Distance matters. The farther you are from them, the harder the push. Eventually there's a point thats too far to contact."
"Be careful." She warned. "As children of alphas, you are also alpha wolves. You can open pack-wide contact, so until you get a firm grip on that, be careful what you say in links. Practice with me."
I felt a tentative touch, like she said. I focused on it. 'Hello Kyas.' She said. 'Say it back.'
I thought toward the sound of her voice. 'Hello Mama.'
'Good! Now reach out to Papa.' She said back.
I thought about him, and thought about mentally touching him, like I did with Chaos. I could tell he had me blocked out, and when he let me in. 'Hello, Papa.'
'Hello Kyas. When we get done with this run, you have some explaining to do.' He sent back using his "Alpha mode" tone.
'Yes, Alpha.' I acknowledged, with the same tone.
"Good," Mama said out loud. "Now comes the fun part, for us, but you might not find it so much that. As pack members, you can be commanded by your Alpha and Luna. Your Beta, Delta, and Gamma too, unless you officially out rank them. Alpha decides your rank, but you must earn it if you want it. If we command you to be quiet, you won't be able to disobey. If we command you to spill your guts, we can make you tell any secret. Also, you can't block us out. If we have something to say, and you don't want to hear it, we can say it anyway."
I looked at her in surprise. That's a lot of power.
"It sounds really controlling, and I'll be honest, sometimes it is exactly that, but you willingly submit to that when you accept us as your Alpha and Luna during the induction ceremony. It can not be revoked unless you leave the pack, or both of us reject you. And you can't leave without permission from the Alpha alone. The purpose is to be able to send warnings quickly, and coordinate pack members for defense. You may hear that during the run, because this is also a practical patrol." She explained.
"One last thing." She said. "Your wolf is a fully functional member of this pack. We can speak to them directly, even if you're asleep, and if ever needed, command him to stop you from taking stupid actions. We can turn them against you if you make us. We NEVER utilize any of these methods of control without good reason though. So don't make us. Ok?"
Absolute honesty then, absolute obedience. Noted. I thought about the other pack members. None of them seemed to find this oppressive, they loved being in the pack. "Ok, Luna." I said, as with all of the people and dogs at Cedar River, acknowledging her dominance over me by using her title.
I felt another push from her, but I could not answer it. Chaos did, but I still heard her.
'Hello Chaos.' She said to him. I could feel his surprise. He had never been addressed directly in that way before, as more than a dog, more than a pet. With respect.
'Hello Luna.' I heard him say.
Then a different voice came from her.
'Hello Chaos, I am Rogue, Ruby's wolf. I am about to give you a command.' She told him.
'Okay, Luna.' He said, a little nervous.
'Chaos,' the word came with complete authority, making Chaos bow, and making me look at my feet. I already knew that neither of us could fight something that strong. 'Raise Kyas' right hand and keep it there.'
I felt him take over, and watched my own hand rise. Beside me, I saw it happen to all three of the others. We were getting a lesson in power.
"Now, Kyas, try to put it down." She said. I did, I tried, but my hand did not obey. I already knew it wouldn't work, but I didn't want her to luna command Me to try it. I don't need to be convinced to submit. I'm not stupid.
'You may release him.' Luna Rogue told Chaos. 'Now you both know how a command feels.'
I nodded. Understood. "So, Chaos outranks me?"
"Only when commanded, but your wolf should always be respected in all ways. His opinions should matter and always be considered, even if they're a little beastial in nature, like mate marking. In most shifters, the human has the ability to hold the wolf back if his appearance is inappropriate or could break shifter laws, but know that he can override you in matters of life and death. He's a very powerful part of you, so staying in harmony with him is always a good idea."
I think I did gain a whole new attitude toward Chaos then. I've always understood him well, but adding power to the mix raised my level of deference from now on.
'Chaos,' I said, 'These are a lot more restrictions...'
'No,' he said. 'This is an understanding of power and how Pack works. It lets us know our place, what is expected of us, and keeps us secure within its structure. None of it touches what the binding does to us.'
'Fair point.' I conceded.
All of this lesson only took a few minutes time. Papa checked in with Mama. "All good?"
She nodded.
"Good." He said then. Suddenly a massive wave of thick, oppressive, raw power hit me. Chaos went all the way down and belly up beyond the misty barrier, and I was forced to look down away from him, baring my neck, surrendering to his right to take my very life if he chose. It was massively stronger than Luna's power that we had felt. This was raw Alpha power.
"New packmates, STRIP. We're going on a run tonight." He commanded.