Sharkbait

“Amy Miller.” I jumped to my feet and cheered with the rest of my class, the whole auditorium letting out a tremendous ovation. Amy kept her left hand on the handle on top of her seeing-eye dog, Makani, as she slowly ascended the stairs to the stage. She walked to where the Principal of the ‘Zoo School’ waited for her with big smiles. “Congratulations, Miss Miller,” he said as he shook her hand. Amy thanked him and took her high school diploma. The Principal gently turned her to face the crowd for photos. Finally, she turned and walked off the other end of the stage.

I looked up into the stands where my Pack sat with a large contingent from the Three Sisters Pack. After Amy was able to continue her studies, they worked out a deal with our school to let her finish the two classes she needed to graduate while she recovered in Oregon. For her classmates, it was the first time they had seen her since February.

I sat in my chair after that, holding my diploma. I won the award for Best Environmental Project with my shark tagging. As my adviser presented the award, he said it “set a standard that no student will ever exceed.” I guess that having the head of the World Wildlife Federation, and noted shark conservationist Ocean Ramsey, show up at your project presentation guaranteed me an ‘A.’ Our project had now raised over four million dollars for tagging and tracking operations, and over seven thousand tags were active, with hundreds coming online every week. I could pull out my phone, pick an area of coastline, and see dozens of tagged positions and tracks of individual sharks. The school even ‘adopted’ five sharks, and displayed their track updates on monitors in the hallway.

When we tossed our mortarboards in the air, I went to hug Amy. It took a while, as all of my classmates wanted to hug me too, and Amy had a line. Finally, we moved outside for more photos and congratulations from family and friends.

Amy and I traveled separately to our homes, putting on our Bodyglove suits under Bodyglove sundresses and meeting for our graduation party at Alpha Leo’s country estate. The place was overflowing, the home and pool area filled with guests.

Mom had us bringing a lot of food, so I used the big bowl of potato salad as a prop to help me get through the crowds. Once one of the ladies in the kitchen took it from me, it was endless hugs and well wishes on the way to the pool deck. Almost everyone from Miesville and Stillwater Packs was here, mixing with representatives from all the local Packs and Three Sisters. Allied Packs had also arrived in force, bringing unmated wolves near my age along. Any Alpha or Beta son who hadn’t been at the Summit came to meet me, just in case. Functions like this built relationships and alliances between Packs.

In other words, this was a blowout. At least five hundred guests filled Leo’s land.

A whole row of grills and smokers lined the area around the outdoor kitchen, putting out tons of meat to go with the other food. Since the graduation ceremony was at two in the afternoon, they were going full out to get everyone fed.

Amy and I were good hostesses, spending our time talking and thanking all the guests for coming. No males caught my wolf’s interest, but we did get two matings out of the night. The gift tables were overflowing, meaning we would have a LOT of thank-you cards to write over the next week.

It wasn’t until well after dinner that the Alphas, Lunas, and Council members took over the Man Cave in the basement. The remaining adults gathered in the house, allowing Amy and I to pull off our dresses and join the party in the pool. Amy was still legally blind but had been making steady improvement; she could make out shapes better now. The metal plate in her head was gone now, and she’d been able to shift for a few weeks. Unfortunately, the vision loss affected her wolf in the same way, making it impossible for her to run on her own. The fuzzy vision wasn’t correctible with lenses as it was in the image processing area of her brain and not the eye. We were encouraged that it was getting better every month. Amy spent most of her time in and around the hot tub with Kai, while I played volleyball and talked with my friends.

Makani and Noelani were having a great time, and many a young man made plans to meet them after they came of age in October. They were beauties inside and out, and Kai was thrilled to include them in their trips. He and Amy had been on two more modeling shoots since signing their contract, and we made three joint appearances at Bodyglove events. Mercedes hadn’t signed them, but she gave them lots of free clothes as they often appeared in the background at public events.

It was just after ten when Leo called for me to join the group downstairs. Kai and Amy were already getting up, with Alpha Steven calling them. I dried off and pulled my dress back on before going inside, taking the indicated seat in front of the aquarium. Mom and Brent came to sit next to me, while Susan took the spot on the other side of Amy from Kai. “I’ve dreaded this day’s arrival for months,” Alpha Leo said. “Children grow up and leave the den, going to find their way in this world. For Amy, it is to join her mate as he undergoes SEAL training and his service to our country. With Vicki, it is her dream to join her friend as she studies marine biology. Both young ladies have been valued members of our Pack, and though we celebrate with them, we will miss them as they go. Vicki, it’s time.”

I stood up, walking over to where Leo and Adrienne stood with Alpha Steven and Luna Carolyn. “I love you,” I said as I walked into my Unka’s and Aunt’s arms. It had to be done because I needed to be able to communicate mentally with the others. Composing myself, I stepped back. “I, Vicki Lawrence, renounce my membership in the Miesville Pack and request to be released, Alpha Leo.”

“I release you from our Pack,” Leo said. I felt the Pack bonds break; if I didn’t know it was coming, it would have brought me to my knees. I felt so alone; only my family bonds remained.

I turned to Alpha Steven. “I, Vicki Lawrence, offer my allegiance and loyalty to the Three Sisters Pack and Alpha Steven,” I said.

“It is with great pride that I accept Vicki Lawrence into the Three Sisters Pack,” Steven said. He put his hands on my head, and I felt the new Pack bonds snap into place. There were far fewer new bonds due to the limited numbers here, but my wolf reveled in having a Pack again.

“Welcome, Vicki,” Carolyn sent into my mind as my new Alpha pair embraced me.

“I get my bestie link back!” I just smiled at Amy’s voice in my head. We did the Pack transfer tonight because tomorrow morning, we would be leaving for San Diego. Amy and Kai were going with his parents to the fully-furnished house we were renting on Coronado Island, getting things set up before he had to report to SEAL training on Monday morning. If he made it through the training regimen, he would be spending at least a year at the Amphibious Base a few miles to the north.

Our rental was hideously expensive, over eight thousand dollars a month. Kai would get an officer’s housing allowance, but that wouldn’t cover much of it. Kai’s parents and his Alphas were covering costs for the twins to live with us for their senior year in high school. The twins were staying with me as my security, and as Amy’s seeing-eye dog. The rental condominium had a boat slip, and I’d been looking into buying or renting a boat we could use as a dive platform. I was hoping to catch on with a research team, as Catalina Island and the Great White Shark nursery ground were a few hours away. Who knows, maybe during Hell Week, we’d do a drive-by of the beach and remind Kai of why he had to persevere. It would be like An Officer and a Gentlemen, but without the mooning part. A stunt like that could threaten our modeling careers, after all!

The twins were coming with me so we could have some girl time. We’d be driving my Ford Excelsior SUV to my appearances in Kansas City, Dallas, and Las Vegas for Bodyglove’s line of swimwear. I had all my clothing and gear, while another Pack member was moving things from Three Sisters down for them. We planned to have a great time swimming, diving, and surfing at the beach while Kai suffered in his training.

All these thoughts went through my head as I Leo motioned for us to sit down again. “I want you to remain vigilant for threats and stay safe out there in California,” Leo said. “There are no Packs south of Los Angeles, but the Big Sur and Sequoia Pack Alphas are here. I thank them for their offers of refuge and assistance should it become necessary.”

“I thank you as well, and we look forward to getting to know you and your Packs over the next year,” I said to the Alphas and their Lunas. We talked during today’s party, and I had invited them and their Betas down to visit once we got settled. As the Mantled Alpha Heir, I was the most dominant wolf and the leader of our group.

Adrienne continued for her mate. “Colleen Underwood has turned all the information she has on potential threats to you over to Alpha Steven and his security men.” As a celebrity and model, I had attracted the attention of some stalkers, creeps, and crazies. “We don’t think Timothy and Traci will go after you, but they are kill-on-sight if they show up. Leo told them in no uncertain terms to stay away from California and Minnesota.”

“Do you think they will come after me,” I asked. “Nutless and Skank have enough problems of their own.”

“They have little to lose, and they still blame you for their misfortune,” Leo said.

I snorted; it wasn’t MY fault Timothy had rejected me, or that his father had me abducted to get his Alpha heir. I wasn’t the one who challenged his mother for the Alpha title, and I wasn’t the one who tore her throat out in the ring. Timothy and his pregnant mate Traci got kicked out of the Pack as the new Alpha’s first order of business. No other Pack was willing to take them in. Not only was he a convicted rapist, but he was still a mantled Alpha blood who could challenge the leadership later. The pair were now rogues, destined to live on the fringe of werewolf society. If they showed up, they’d be lucky if they ended up in pieces and dumped over the boat as chum. “We will be careful, and I doubt we’ll have any shortage of visitors from our old Packs once the weather gets cold again.” San Diego had beautiful weather year-round; if not for the crime, taxes, and cost of living, it would be the perfect place to live.

I couldn’t wait to start my new life.