Chapter 60 060
Chapter 60
Thalia's POV
Iris showed us to a small cabin at the edge of the settlement.
"Guest quarters," she explained, opening the door. "It's basic but you'll have privacy. Meals are communal in the main hall, three times a day. We expect guests to help with daily tasks while you're here. Nothing too demanding, just contributing like everyone else."
The cabin had two beds, a small table, and a wood stove. Simple but clean. After three days on the trail, it looked like luxury.
"Get settled," Iris continued. "Rest if you need to. Dinner is at sunset in the main hall. I'll introduce you to everyone then."
After she left, my mother and I collapsed onto the beds. The mattresses were thin but felt amazing compared to sleeping on the ground.
"We actually found it," my mother murmured, staring at the ceiling. "I didn't really believe it would be here."
"Neither did I," I admitted. "I kept thinking it would turn out to be a trap or a lie or just nothing at all."
"What do you think so far?"
I considered the question. "It seems real. The people look healthy and settled. The buildings are solid. But I don't know if it's right for us yet. We need to see how it actually works here."
"Fair enough," my mother agreed. She was quiet for a moment. "Thank you for letting me come with you. For not just leaving me behind in Greystone."
"You're my mother," I responded simply. "And you gave up everything to stand with me. Of course I wanted you here."
We rested for a few hours. When the sun started getting lower in the sky, we cleaned up as best we could and headed to the main hall.
The building was larger than the others, with long tables set up inside. People were already gathering, talking and laughing as they helped set out food. The atmosphere felt relaxed and friendly, nothing like the rigid hierarchy of pack meals I remembered.
Iris spotted us and waved us over. "Everyone, this is Thalia and her mother. They're staying with us as guests for the week. Make them feel welcome."
People called out greetings. A few came over to introduce themselves. There was Marcus, a man in his fifties who'd been here since the beginning. A young woman named Lily who'd left her pack two years ago. An older couple, David and Anne, who'd come together after their pack dissolved.
Everyone had a story. Everyone had left a pack for different reasons. Some had been exiled like me. Others had just walked away when they couldn't take it anymore. A few had lost their packs to war or disease and chose not to join new ones.
The meal was simple but good. Roasted vegetables, fresh bread, some kind of stew. People passed dishes around and served themselves. No formal seating arrangements or protocol. Just people eating together.
A man about my age sat down across from us. He had dark hair and a friendly smile.
"I'm Connor," he introduced himself. "Been here about six months now."
"What made you leave your pack?" I asked, then immediately felt awkward. "Sorry, that's probably too personal."
"It's fine," Connor assured me. "Everyone asks eventually. My Alpha wanted me to mate with someone I didn't love. Political arrangement to strengthen ties with another pack. I said no. He gave me a choice, follow his orders or leave. So I left."
"And you like it here?" my mother questioned.
"Most days, yeah," Connor answered honestly. "It's different from pack life. Less structure, less security in some ways. But also less pressure. Less feeling like you're just a piece in someone else's game. I can make my own choices here."
After dinner, Iris stood up and got everyone's attention.
"Before we finish up, I want to explain how things work for our guests," she announced, looking at my mother and me. "Tomorrow you'll start joining our daily routines. We rotate tasks weekly. This week Connor and Lily are on hunting duty. Marcus and David handle maintenance and repairs. Anne and a few others manage the gardens and food prep. We'll assign you to different groups so you can see how everything functions."
"Sounds good," I agreed.
"One more thing," Iris continued. "We have a council meeting in three days. All full members attend. Guests are welcome to observe if they want. It's a good way to see how we make decisions as a community."
The evening ended with people gradually drifting away to their own cabins. My mother and I walked back to ours in comfortable silence.
"What do you think?" I asked once we were inside with the door closed.
"I think it's different from what I expected," my mother admitted. "Not in a bad way. Just different. Everyone seems content but not fake about it. Like they're actually choosing to be here rather than just accepting it."
"That's what I noticed too," I agreed. "It feels real. Not perfect, but real."
The next morning we were woken by someone knocking on the door. It was Lily, the young woman from dinner.
"Morning," she greeted us cheerfully. "Iris sent me to collect you. Thalia, you're with me and Connor today. We're going hunting. And," she looked at my mother, "sorry, I didn't catch your name last night."
"Elena," my mother supplied. I realized I'd been so used to just calling her mother that I'd forgotten she had an actual name.
"Elena, you're with Anne in the gardens," Lily continued. "She'll show you what needs doing."
We split up after a quick breakfast. I followed Lily and Connor into the forest, carrying a bow that Lily had lent me.
"You know how to use that?" Connor asked.
"Barely," I admitted. "I'm better with snares and tracking than actually shooting things."
"That's fine," Lily assured me. "Connor can shoot. You and I will track."
We spent the morning moving through the forest. Lily was good at this, spotting signs I would have missed. We found deer tracks and followed them for over an hour before Connor got a clear shot. He took down a doe cleanly.
"Nice shot," Lily complimented him.
We field-dressed the deer and hauled it back to the settlement. It was hard physical work but satisfying in a way desk work at Miller's store hadn't been. There was something immediate and tangible about hunting for food that your community would eat.
Back at the settlement, my mother was covered in dirt but smiling. "Anne taught me about winter crops," she explained. "Things we can grow even when it gets cold. I didn't know half of what she showed me."
Over the next few days we fell into the rhythm of Haven life. I rotated between hunting, maintenance work, and helping with food preparation. My mother did the same, learning from different people each day. Everyone was patient with us, answering questions and explaining how things worked.
On the third night, the council meeting happened.
The entire community gathered in the main hall. Iris sat at the head of one table but didn't seem to be in charge exactly. More like a facilitator.
"First item," Iris began, consulting a list. "The south wall of the storage building needs replacing. Marcus says it'll take at least two weeks of work. Do we have volunteers?"
Five people raised their hands immediately. They discussed schedules and who would work which days. No arguments, no orders. Just people coordinating.
"Next item," Iris continued. "We need to send someone to the nearest town for winter supplies. Fabric, medicine, things we can't make or grow ourselves. Who's willing to go?"
Connor volunteered. "I'll go next week. I'm due for a trip anyway."
"Take someone with you," Iris suggested. "Safer to travel in pairs."
Lily agreed to go with him.
They went through several more items. A dispute between two members about shared tools that got resolved with calm discussion. A proposal to build another cabin for future members that everyone voted on and approved. Plans for winter preparations.
It was all so normal. So reasonable. No Alpha dictating decisions. No power plays or politics. Just people working together to solve problems.
After the meeting, Connor found me outside. "What did you think?"
"It's different from pack councils," I observed. "More democratic."
"That's the point," Connor explained. "No one person has absolute authority. We make decisions together. Sometimes it's slower and messier than just having an Alpha tell everyone what to do. But it means everyone has a voice. Everyone's invested in making things work."
"Does it ever not work?" I asked. "Do people ever disagree so strongly that things fall apart?"
Connor was quiet for a moment. "It's happened. We've had people leave because they couldn't handle the lack of structure. And we've had conflicts that got pretty heated. But mostly people here genuinely want this to work, so they put in the effort to compromise and communicate."
That night my mother and I talked late into the evening.
"I like it here," she confessed. "More than I expected to. These people feel like a real community, not just wolves forced together by pack bonds."
"I like it too," I agreed. "But I keep waiting for something to go wrong. For some hidden problem to appear."
"Maybe there isn't one," my mother suggested. "Maybe it really is what it seems. A place where wolves who don't fit traditional packs can build something different."
I wanted to believe that. Wanted to believe we'd actually found somewhere safe.
But I'd been disappointed too many times to fully trust it yet.
We had four more days before the community would vote on whether we could stay permanently.
Four days to decide if Haven could really be home.
And four days to hope that nothing from our past would follow us here and ruin it.