[--Oct. 1999--]

A few months after Kaiden's first birthday, his grandfather announced that he'd be stepping down as alpha to the pack. It was big news, considering how many young adult males were now directly vying for Jobe's position.

Riley, for instance, had become nearly insufferable, even though Dakota had moved in with Slade and wasn't living at home anymore.

"Dakota, come get something to eat," Byron, the pack's current beta, called as he waved him over from beside the line of grills he was manning.

Dakota made his way over with his nephew toddling after him. Unfortunately, Kaid was still very uncoordinated--constantly tripping over his own paws.

"Hey, have you seen Slade?" Dakota asked after he grabbed two hotdog buns and held them open. As Byron pulled some sizzling dogs off the grates, Dakota squinted, scanning all the faces gathered around. He'd never actually seen the pack gathered together in its entirety before today.

"Think I saw him an' Laird not too long ago," Byron said, then pointed with his tongs towards one of the tables. "All the condiments and fixings are over there."

Dakota nodded. "Thanks, Byron." He held the food a little closer to his chest and looked over his shoulder. "Come on, Kaid. Stay outta the way. I have yours right here."

Out in the field, the young males had already shifted and were busy wrestling and chasing each other. It wasn't anything official, but they were all still clearly testing each other.

Riley was asserting his dominance over the group--snapping, growling, and chasing after any of the others that didn't instantly submit to him. Slade was also easy to spot. He was huge compared to the other wolves, and despite this, was clearly at the bottom. His tail was tucked and anytime one of the others lunged for, him he instantly rolled over to avoid any conflict.

Travis was watching it all unfold from the edge of the field. Like an athlete reading his opponents' plays. He hadn't shifted yet. Instead, he was holding back until the actual ceremony.

After getting Kaid settled with his hotdog, Dakota wandered towards the field. It was there that he finally spotted his brothers. He hadn't actually expected to see Slade shifted already, but as he watched, his brow creased and a frown appeared on his freckled face.

"Maybe he's just saving his energy," he mumbled to his nephew, who had already eaten nearly half of his hotdog. Dakota didn't really believe that. As much as he hated it, Slade never stood up to anyone... ever.

Dakota couldn't just stand by and watch when some of the wolves started being particularly rough with the big wolf. "Kaid, stay here!" He said, handing off his food, and in a single breath, he had traded his sneakers for paws that were carrying him towards the commotion.

Travis noticed a significant change as well. It was customary for the omega and other low ranks to catch the brunt of a lot of dominance displays, but generally, once they'd submitted and backed down, that was the end of it. Riley, however, had started going for Slade even after his brother had submitted and shown no signs of challenging the others. Travis's expression twisted into concern.

There was nothing for Riley to gain by punishing a submissive wolf for being submissive, and worse, being that Riley was the most dominant wolf in the bunch at that moment, the others were starting to follow his lead. Soon, the entire group had turned on Slade just as Dakota had rushed in to help.

Riley had set the attack into motion, but now it was a total onslaught against Slade, who was quickly outnumbered by the overly charged group of young males that joined in. They'd cornered and circled Dakota and Slade, pouncing and biting at them, and when they fended off one, another just came in behind them.

That was when Travis broke onto the field. The big white wolf muscled his way into the circle and went right for the wolf who had started it all--Riley. Stunned by the sudden power struggle, the others back off of Slade and Dakota, their attention pulled in the direction of Riley and Travis.

This time, there was no posturing. Travis and Riley were in a full-on fight.

They lunged, bit, then broke apart and collided again. Travis had a few advantages over Riley. One, he was bigger, and two, he hadn't been wasting his energy for the past half hour. So when Riley began to tire, Travis got the better of him, bowling him over to the ground and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. He pinned Riley in the grass with a deep, menacing growl, and if Riley made the slightest move to free himself, Travis thrashed him from side to side until he submitted again.

When Riley finally stayed still, the white wolf released him and then turned his attention to the rest of the males. One by one, he sized them up, preparing to back them off Slade and Dakota. However, after his display with Riley, none of them seemed really in the mood to contest him, and soon they'd dispersed completely.

Once they were gone, Travis trotted over to the omega, nosing him a few times and checking to make sure he and Dakota were alright. Once he decided they looked fine, he followed after Riley and the others to keep them from getting into more trouble.

Dakota was in awe of what Travis had done. He stayed standing there watching him and the group for several minutes before turning back to Slade and nuzzling him, wagging his tail.

Slade felt fine, more or less. He was getting used to being Omega and the backlash that came with it at times. Now that the worst of these types of gatherings was over, he was content to just lounge with his little brother and watch the others.

An interesting dynamic had started to crop in the group now that Travis was involved. While things had settled into a more relaxed atmosphere, for the most part, there was a clear divide between Travis and Riley. The two were opposing forces on the field like water and oil. There was always a clear line between the space Travis controlled and where Riley was in the field. They both had distinctly different ways of displaying their dominance over the others.

While Riley continued his aggressive, pushy behavior with the other males, Travis was a bit more laid back--more quiet and secure in his own confidence. Travis never used more force than what was necessary to assert his position, and once he felt he had a wolf's respect, he backed off.

Even as the others were drawn to him, Travis was always acutely aware of where Riley was. If he got too close, the white wolf stared him down. When Riley tried to rest, Travis quickly advanced on him, pressuring him back onto his feet until Riley's only option was to move further and further away from the group if he wanted to sit down at all. But Travis never actually attacked Riley again, leaving plenty of space between them and always allowing him space to retreat.

By the time that Jobe officially initiated the ranking process, things had already been decided among the male ranks. Travis was the favorite, and when he faced Byron, Jobe backed him.

"Hey, Travis," Dakota said, jogging to catch up to their new alpha once Kaid was in Slade's hands everyone had started to disperse for the evening.

"Hey," Travis said, slowing his pace to allow Dakota to catch up to him.

The moment Travis looked at him, Dakota averted his gaze. "Congratulations," he said, genuinely relieved that Riley hadn't managed to muscle his way to the top.

"Thanks."

This close, Dakota could clearly see that Travis was sporting a multitude of fresh scratches and marks across his face. "Also, thank you... for earlier, with Slade and the others." Dakota had actually gotten a pretty good busted lip out of the scuffle himself, and could already feel a few bruises forming. But ultimately, he was no worse for wear... thanks to Travis.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, the lower ranks are important."

"Yeah, but people say a lotta stuff..." Dakota said. "Actually doing something is different."

"Good point," Travis said.

Having the new alpha agree with him put a smile on the young teen's face.