Chapter 38

Chapter 38
Jarold and Toby helped Kathrine down the rest of the stairs then made their way out to the patio at the back of the pack house. The wolves that had not been in the house immediately knelt as the Alphas and Luna passed them. Jarold and Toby knew how uncomfortable, physically, Kathrine was and so their priority was to get her settled into a seat at the head table before doing anything else.
The wolves seemed to understand that Kathrine would not want to stand very long in her advanced pregnancy and did nothing to impede their progress. Within a few minutes, Kathrine was comfortably settled in a seat before taking their own.
Unlike most pack gatherings, the run that would take place would take place after the pack ate. It wasn't a hunting run that would be taking place. This run, the first of their leadership, would be a bonding experience for the wolves and their new Alphas. The only damper on the run would be that Kathrine would not be able to join them. But it was traditional that the first pack run would take place immediately after the power transfer. Waiting would damage the bond they needed to forge with the other wolves.
Toby gestured for the serving wolves to serve Kathrine and them their food to start the feast. The rest of the pack would fill their plates buffet style but the Alpha family was always served first. Kathrine let out a sigh of happiness as a plate of pasta and garlic bread was placed in front of her.
"Smart to have something simple made for the first meal." She said to them once the serving wolves walked off.
"It was the only thing we could think of to feed the entire pack without hunting on such short notice." Jarold said with a shrug.
"I wish they'd hurry. I'm starving!" Kathrine whined quietly.
"Its moving quickly, all things considered." Toby observed, laying a comforting hand on Kathrine's arm.
Kathrine seen that he was right. Their family had already gotten their plates and taken their seats at the head table and most of the other wolves had already found seats at the tables set up on the deck and the lawn. One thing that annoyed Kathrine about their pack was the automatic hierarchy that formed. Lower ranking wolves always took their seats further away from the head table and wolves with ranking positions always took their seats closer. Kathrine wanted to banish that so badly, but she also understood that without the hierarchy, there would be chaos constantly.
"I'm going to petition for us to get fed last from now on. My food is half cold." Kathrine grumbled as the last of the wolves took their seats. "If we're going to be head of the family and wait for everyone else to get their food ours should at least still be hot, right?"
"We'll take it into consideration." Toby said in a mock serious voice as Jarold quickly took a drink of water to hide his amused smile. The more her pregnancy advanced, the less patient she seemed to be for food of any kind. She was almost always starving and barely allowed them enough time to cook her food properly before wanting to devour it.
Once the last serving wolf had their plates and taken their seat it was like a leash had been removed from the entire pack and all conversation seemed to be flipped to silent as they all dug into their meal.
"Would you like more?" Jarold asked Kathrine as he noticed she had finished her plate, though didn't quite seem sated.
"Yes, please." Kathrine gave him a pleading look then grinned as he stood and took her plate from her to get her more.
"No, enjoy your food. I've got it." Jarold gestured for a serving wolf to stay seated as he moved over to the serving station.
Within moments he had returned and placed another helping of pasta in front of Kathrine as Toby refilled her water. They did this, not only because it was what they always did for her, but also to set a standard with the pack. They were not too proud to serve their mate and though they'd allow the pack to serve them as tradition demanded but they did not intend to abuse the privilege. It was just the tip of the mountain as far as changes they intended to implement in the pack. It was also a message to their father; there was no royalty in a pack. There were leaders, yes, but those leaders were still capable of taking care of themselves too.
The wolves all finished eating at different times. Toby and Jarold stayed with Kathrine until the plates were all cleared off and wolves started folding up tables in preparation for the pack run. Normally, there wouldn't be any kind of speech involved with a pack run, but it definitely wasn't normal circumstances they were dealing with in the moment. They waited for the pack to all clear down from the deck and turn to face them so that they could be seen by all. The only wolves that remained on the deck was them and their parents.
Kathrine stood between Jarold and Toby as they had wordlessly commanded by each grabbing a hand and refusing to let her step back and to the side as it was traditional for the Luna to do when the Alpha addressed the pack formally. Set an example to the pack indeed, she thought to herself as she submitted to their wordless insistence and stood calmly between them.
They waited patiently as the pack all settled down to hear what they had to say. The pack had an air of finally getting around to business and it didn't take long before silence fell all around. Kathrine would have to get used to being the focus of so many wolves' attention.
"First of all, we wanted to thank all of you for coming on such short notice. We know that you all felt a shift in the power last night." Jarold called out to the wolves and heard a general murmur of agreement go through the crowd.
"We want to assure you that our father stepped down willingly after a rather unplanned conversation about the leadership of the pack in light of our mating bond." Toby said.
All eyes in the crowd turned to Jackson.