As Tad Decker watched Austin leave the cafeteria, he turned to Amy and said, "That was Austin? For some reason, I thought a pack leader would be older."
"They are, and Austin is," confirmed Amy Howler. "That's Austin's son. We usually call him AJ, short for Austin Junior; which technically he is. Austin Perry, Junior. But AJ doesn't like the AJ moniker and only uses it around his father until he finds another handle he does like."
"So who's..."
"Austin Senior is the Alpha male wolf, which makes his wife the Alpha female of our pack. Senior is pretty laid back, and prefers everyone just call him Austin. AJ is the Beta male by default, since no one else wanted the position, which is why he goes by Austin Perry around here and AJ at pack gatherings and anything else involving his family. There is no Beta female, unless either Austin Senior says otherwise or AJ gets married."
"I see," replied Tad, while looking at Amy again. "But today's Thursday. I remember my dad telling me once that since they're usually all night events, pack meetings were always on a Friday or Saturday night."
"I know today's your first day of school, but no one told you about the Teachers In Service Day tomorrow?" asked Amy.
"What's that?"
"Every once in a while, we have the day off but the teachers still have to come to school. They attend an educational seminar or two, catch up on grading or whatever else they have to do afterwards, and then get to go home early."
"Which means a wolf pack meeting tonight."
"Right. You better call your mom and let her know about the change in plans," suggested Amy.
"I can't," said Tad. "Mom's got my cellphone right now because she was going to have hers and mine switched over to Moon Lake numbers and service today."
"Okay. Well, I'll have my mom walk over to your house and tell her about the pack meeting tonight. Hopefully we can have dinner a little on the early side and then go on to the meeting," said Amy, as she pushed the proper automatic dial button on her cellphone.
After a quick conversation with Mrs. Howler, Amy hung up her phone and said, "Mom said she saw your mom drive off earlier and hasn't come back yet."
"Probably out running those errands," surmised Tad.
"Anyway, as soon as she gets home, my mom's going to walk over to your house, introduce herself, and give your mom the news."
"Good. Listen, I was wondering. Is there anything I should know about a pack meeting before hand?"
"Well, usually everyone brings something with them that either will hold whatever clothes they are wearing before they assume their wolf fursonas, or has a change of clothes for the next day because they showed up for the meeting already in their werewolf form. Depends upon your mood and whether or not it's already dark before you set out."
"Why?" asked Tad.
"During the day, weres aren't allowed to change in public unless it's a life threatening emergency or you're already at an authorized event. Being furry going either to or from such a gathering isn't allowed. We don't want outsiders to know about us," explained Amy.
"I get you," said Tad, understanding the situation.
"Basically, in private at any time, or after dark anywhere is allowed, which is why Moon Lake has so much open land. Although some common sense has to be applied as well. You wouldn't want to be a were grocery shopping or at the movies at night. That would look just plain silly."
"Then I guess you've never heard Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon. It was my dad's favorite song."
"No, but I'd like to listen to it sometime." With you, Amy thought.
"Anything else I should know about this pack meeting?" asked Tad, as the school bell rang signaling the end of Senior class lunch.
"They always start out serious, but depending upon what's on the agenda, they don't always end that way. We can talk about this some more after school on our way home," said Amy, as she got up with her empty tray to head to her next class.
But if AJ's planning an orgy for tonight, Tad Decker's mine! she vowed, taking care of her trash before leaving the cafeteria.
MEANWHILE....