I got more information from Jules and Bra while on the train ride home—actually, mostly from Jules.
Jules' pack was situated right in the middle of several vampire covens. How many of them were there?
Well, only one major one; another three covens were branched from the first.
The dangerous ones were the newer, smaller ones. Those were the ones who liked to capture wolves for sport.
The bright spot to this was the dearth of rogue wolves in his packland.
They were often quickly hunted down by the vampires.
Old and respectable covens were usually quiet, as long as you didn't trespass on private property or do something stupid to disrespect them in town.
It was the new bloods that were scary and dangerous. Oh, and the rogue vampires.
Vampires had rogues too?
Now that was news to me. Did that make the rogues good guys?
Apparently not. The rogues were just insane vampires. Ah, good to know.
I honestly could not imagine living in Jules' pack, in a narrow strip smack at the epicenter of an old vein of vampire territory.
I kept wanting to ask, "Why doesn't your pack just move somewhere else?"
But I swallowed the question each time, because I was quite aware that I already looked like a dumb pup.
"Welcome to the world, baby." Jules had gently laughed off my initial abject horror.
I had always taken the freedom of our packlands and the security of our purely wolf-controlled Gate City for granted.
I mean, we had rogue attacks; we had the warlock lands on one border, and the Gray Packlands with its murky mix of constantly warring minor packs, Ventali's Coven, and a hidden rogue wolf village. Admittedly, that did sound bad on paper, but compared to Jules' pack, it was like living in Disneyland.
So here are the "real world" facts about vampire fight cages:
Fight cages varied from coven to coven in quantity, size, audience capacity, and publicity.
Fight cages were ranked.
Top fight cages sat hundreds of spectators, had VIP booths, and some were even streamed on special servers.
It's one of the top spectator sports in the Vampire realm.
Humans liked it too.
Humans were the main consumers of fight cage tickets and merchandising, and vampire-owned bars often televised the fights. It drew a lot of humans to their establishments.
Top dogs enjoyed larger cages, better nutrition, and medical care, but were otherwise kept like animals.
Fight dogs gained awards marked by an assortment of black, disc-shaped tattoos—permanent badges sponsored by patrons to mark special achievements or capabilities.
As Jules had put it, "These were the best at fighting and f***ing, ah… sorry."
Bra punched him in the arm and scolded, "You need to explain it in PG terms."
But the most interesting information I got was that you could obtain fight listings, battle summaries, bet figures, and centerfold posters from any vampire town in the form of magazines.
"It's in the Rated Adult section of the bookstores or newspaper stands," Jules informed me.
"I heard the posters are hot," Bra waggled his brows. "I've got to go—here's my stop."
After Bra left, Jules got a bit more serious and asked me, "Why are you asking? It can't be that it's your career consideration."
I laughed at that. "Someone from a nearby pack got caught by rogues and sold to a fight cage nearby."
Jules frowned. "Sorry to hear that."
Then, as an afterthought, he added, "He is probably dead by now. I mean, if he was weak enough to be captured by rogues, I don't think he would survive…"
I nodded. I was starting to feel worn out by everyone telling me he was dead. And, to be honest, I was starting to think they were right.
"So don't do anything I wouldn't, okay, Sam?" Jules looked a bit worried. "I know we just met and all, but you're the kind of girl who has a bright future ahead of you. So don't, like, go throw it away for a dead guy, okay?"
I nodded again.
I was kind of surprised by Jules' words, but I had no fight right now.
Maybe it was the Wolfbane still in my system, maybe the long day at school, or maybe it was just hearing one too many times that the Lorents' son was dead by now.
Whatever it was, I didn't have the slightest intention of charging into a vampire coven.
I was feeling that lousy.
You know those kidnapping stories about how a brave young wolf fought and escaped their rogue captors even after being poisoned by Wolfbane or beaten to a pulp? I had always imagined that was the natural response, and that I would be that kind of heroic wolf if I were in the same situation.
But now that I had tried going to school, just with a trace amount, I realized I was not at all that kind of heroic wolf.
Far from it.
Why did I think I could hold any hope for the Lorents? Or be the Alpha, or even the Luna?
I sighed deeply.
It was like playing one of those epic role-playing games and feeling like you were epic-hero material, only to find out you'd spent your whole life in the tutorial town.
"Your stop's here, Sam," Jules told me. He gave me a gentle push toward the door.
"Oh yeah. Thanks," I said with a wave and left.
I couldn't even alight from the train without help. And, to make matters worse, I hadn't done my homework again.
I was feeling really down in the dumps. It was like a heavy, deep nothingness in my gut. It was so bad, I don't think it could just be because of Wolfbane.
Even as my feet walked out of the station gates and route-pathed to the bus, I wondered if there was a name for this feeling.
Who was I to so arrogantly tell the Lorents I could hold their hope for them? I couldn't even find any hope for myself.
Oh. Was this how hopelessness felt?
"How was school?" Mum asked when I got home.
"It was okay," I mumbled under my breath. I wanted to excuse myself to my room to start on homework, but Mum spoke first. "The Lorents dropped by earlier today."
I nodded.
It was a good thing I was at school.
Their son was probably dead.
I was foolish to have argued otherwise.
"They've gifted you with some new clothes," Mum said. "They said they wanted to reward your bravery and replace the ones the rogues ruined."
I was dumb to run after those rogues, not brave. Dad and the other men would've gotten everyone back safely.
I was just the tutorial-town noob who thought I was the hero.
Face it—the NPCs here had been running this tutorial all their lives. Why did I think I could do better?
"Such a kind gesture," my NPC Mum continued her one-sided NPC monologue. "Take some time to write a thank-you note, okay? I've put the new clothes in your room."
Ta-da. I was really living in a computer game. I even got one of those tutorial quests.
Accept quest?
"Yeah, okay," I said, without quite feeling the genuine gratefulness.
"Oh yes, and Sam?" Mum called out from behind me as I mounted the stairs. "Your Dad wants to see you in his office, so go over first. You can look at the new clothes later."
"Okay, Mum," I answered, and escaped into my room.
I felt like I'd hit rock bottom at this point. I didn't want the new clothes. I didn't want to meet Dad in his office. I couldn't do this anymore, but it's not like I could tell anyone that their future Alpha, or possibly Luna, was only a noob in a tutorial town.
Most of the adults I knew didn't even play computer games.
I locked myself in the shower and cried under the hot jets. Then I applied the bottled happiness and inhaled the flower-and-grass scent.
Washing away the stench of failure… lalala…
I thought about my dreams, and Ben and Jonah's dreams, and Luna Edith's tears because she lost her son, and my Mum's tears because I was covered in blood…
This wasn't a computer game. This was my life.
In the end, I decided to blame the rogues. It was all their fault.
I also blamed the vampires and their stupid fight cages. What kind of sick sport was that?
So what if they were vampires? Did that give them the right to be psychopaths?
But there were also vampires who drank packet, lab-produced blood, like Maria.
And there were wolves, like the idiot rogues, who supplied the vampire fight cages with new dogs.
In real life, it wasn't like Jules' pack could destroy their surrounding covens the way the Black Forest Pack did. They were just one pack.
The Black Forest were more than twelve major and minor packs joined (by forceful subjugation) for the sole purpose of vampire eradication.
To this day, historians often question if the thirty-year war was worth it. They lost more wolves in battle than they saved from the covens.
But what if you were the wolf in the fight cage or slave trade? Who would save them if not us?
It's not like they could save themselves.
I was just as hopeless.
I was just me.
I didn't have a wolf warrior army or thirty years of warring experience.
While the Black Forest Pack eradicated the vamp covens nearest to them and, to this day, kept their land vamp-free, I survived school with Maria, the vampire princess, in my class.
I thought of Jules' pack, living in "truce," sandwiched between several vampire covens.
For the safety and survival of their pack, their Alpha had agreed to turn a blind eye to vampire activities, as long as the vampires did not practice those same activities on his pack members. It was a necessary real-world compromise.
Nothing a dumb noob from a tutorial-town would ever understand. (No, Jules didn't say that, but he didn't have to.)
All through history, wolves, vampires, warlocks, and humans had lived on this continent together—one war after another. It didn't look like it would ever end.
Why must everything be so hard? Why did everything have to be a battle?
{There is no victory without a fight, no triumph without a battle.}
Oh.
And with those words, I stepped out of the shower, suddenly feeling much braver.
Maybe the hot shower washed out the Wolfbane or the failure, because I was magically okay.
I knew I was just a dumb pup, but I hadn't even started fighting yet.
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
I didn't have to do the impossible, I just needed to do something.
I could possibly save one wolf - if he were alive.
I could open the doors to the next door cage while I was there too.
Who knows? Maybe one day vamps would stop using fight cages as their entertainment.
Not that I was holding my breath. That would be like saying one day all vamps will diet on lab-produced blood.
Maria claimed it was the most hygienic and nutritious type of blood. It was just too expensive for common vampires. Whatever—vamp nutritional issues weren't any of my business.
I was going to free the fight dogs… and any wolf held in captivity out there.
I wasn't going to stay a noob in a tutorial town forever.
I was going to be the Alpha. This tutorial town was under my protection, and we were all going to run toward our happily ever after, just like a Disney cartoon.
Not just my wolves, but the wolves I was going to rescue.
Yes. Me.
Somewhere out there were wolves who would probably live in cages for the rest of their lives unless someone freed them.
And I was going to be that someone.
Even if I couldn't save them all, I was going to save them.
I wasn't going to give up without trying.
I am the Alpha—hear me roar! I mean, howl. Haha.