Chapter 3

Cole’s POV

“We also have a zero-tolerance policy for fighting, stealing, unauthorized dr*g use, and alcohol abuse. Only prescription dr*gs that we are notified of this week before your physical or those disclosed in your prospect application will be tolerated. If you test positive for any dr*g that you have not disclosed to us or dr*gs that are purely recreational in nature, you will be sent home and a report filed with the council.

Stealing and fighting that is not directly witnessed by a credible source will be penalized until an investigation is completed. If the investigation shows that you stole something, you will be sent home, and a report will be filed. Fighting is the same as assault. The only difference is that if we don’t know who started it, all parties will face the same penalty until we learn who started it. The aggressor in the fight will be sent home, and a report will be filed.

For those of you who are twenty-one or older, limited alcohol consumption is allowed on Friday and Saturday nights. However, we will not tolerate anyone getting shitfaced drunk. This is the only intolerance for which we have a three-strikes rule. Your first offense will earn you a full lap around the original fifty-mile perimeter of our territory; the second offense is a week of house arrest; and your third offense will get you sent home and reported to the council. We expect you to know your limit or not drink at all. Underaged drinking will get you sent home on the first offense, and don’t try to lie. It takes less than ten minutes to verify your age.

Both blood and urine will be collected during next week’s physical. We will be testing everything. Dr*gs, sexually transmitted infections, and nutritional deficiency levels, just to name a few. It is important to keep in mind that random urinalysis for dr*gs is permitted, so do not think that you’re going to stop using just long enough to get through the initial dr*g screen, then you can start again.

We are already a large pack compared to most of those bringing prospects in, so our standards have been set high for prospects to be invited to a second run. Only thirty wolves from all three runs will get invited back, and our expectations are even higher during that run for you to get offered a position here.

If you have not disclosed to the council any prescription medication that you are on, or if you have recently been placed on long-term medication, you need to request a private meeting with my father. Bring all medications you are taking so he can record the type, dosage, and prescribing doctor. Also, be prepared to discuss why you are on medication. It is important that you disclose this information so that we can maintain you on the medication you have already been prescribed.

All of you are warrior prospects; training while you are here is your job. You will be tested mentally and physically, so we can place you in groups appropriate to your skill level. You will have physical training for eight hours a day in various disciplines Monday through Thursday, and on Friday, you will have a mix of four hours of physical training and four hours in the classroom. Training happens outdoors no matter the weather, so dress in layers appropriately. Saturday and Sunday are your days off, so we will allow light drinking on Friday and Saturday nights, as there must be no alcohol in your system when you report to training on Monday.

Dominic and I will be giving you your room assignment before you leave the bus to collect your belongings. There are twenty rooms per floor, ten on the east side and ten on the west, so four of you will be randomly assigned rooms on the second floor. No one will be bunking together. Each room is an efficiency apartment complete with a full bath, a small apartment-sized refrigerator, and a medium-sized microwave. First-floor apartments have a stacked washer and dryer, while the second and third-floor ones have a large laundry room located on the southern end of the building. When using the communal laundry room, you are expected to know what items are yours. Taking someone else’s clothing is stealing and will not be tolerated. Forcing your way into another wolf’s room also will not be tolerated.

Each floor has two closets that you can get everyday supplies from. There are two sets of stairs. One is on the east side of the building, the other is on the west. Both are on the north end. The closet containing basic cleaning supplies and a variety of laundry detergents and conditioners is in front of the eastern stairs. The closet on the western side contains personal hygiene products, as well as bottled water and shelf-stable food and snacks that you can take back to your room. The closets are stocked every Saturday. Once again, please be adults and do not hoard items from the closets. There will be a total of sixty wolves living in this building by Wednesday.

Second and third-floor recreational areas have a television. The second floor has an Xbox hooked up, and the third floor has a PS4. Failure to share the game systems will result in the games being taken away. We took them away during the last run we had, so I don’t think that it will happen. The air hockey and foosball tables are on the second floor, and a full-size pool table is on the third.

You are all adults, and we expect you to act that way. We do understand that disagreements happen, especially when multiple packs are housed together. However, fist fighting is assault and will not be tolerated. If fist-fighting is the only way you feel a disagreement can be settled, then you are to report it. Your best contacts are going to be me, Dominic, Lucas, Patrick, or Parker. You can take the matter straight to Alpha Black if you feel the need; he has an open-door policy. You will not be penalized for anything you bring to us. If, by the time you file the report, you still want to fight, we will arrange a sparring match for the next day. A controlled one-on-one spar, without shifting, until one party submits with no major injuries. The council mandates that no spar is to exceed one hour and is to be done with full protective gear being used. If you cannot adhere to this standard and take the issue into your own hands, it will earn you a one-way ticket out of our territory.

Sex is allowed, although I don’t smell any she-wolves on this bus, so at least for this first night, I don’t think that’s going to be much of an issue. Sex is always protected, no matter if she claims to be on the pill or not. A variety of condoms will be stocked in the personal hygiene closets in buildings A and B. Building C is reserved for the female warriors, and personal hygiene products are changed accordingly. You will be interviewed about all sexual interactions you’ve had before coming here and notified of any positive tests that come from the STI testing. We will treat any treatable diseases detected during testing.

We know it’s common for males to use this program to find their fated mates. It is also common for relationships outside of fated mates to occur. While relationships are frowned upon by the council during temporary stays at a pack, we have yet to have a group that hasn’t had multiple wolves in relationships by the time they leave. We simply ask that you keep public displays of affection chaste and to a minimum. We do have very young wolves in this pack. Two of those young wolves are my four-year-old sisters. I will not be pleased if one of them were to come across one of you engaging in a make-out session, hard foreplay, or actual sex.

All sexual activity shall be performed in your room; penalties will be given to those who don’t comply. You are expected to remain focused on your training. If you are in a relationship that affects your focus, please let us know so we can better accommodate you. We want to see the best side of you.

Do not present us with false claims of theft, rape, or assault, as all accusations are thoroughly investigated, and if we find a false claim was made with malice, you will be sent home. Bullying is not tolerated and will be promptly penalized.

Cigarette smoking is not permitted indoors. If you are a smoker, please approach Dominic or me about a third-floor room. These are the only rooms set up with a butt can outside on the balcony. Improper disposal of your butts will revoke your smoking privilege.

Monday through Friday, you are expected to be up, showered, and dressed appropriately for training outside of the dining hall by seven, which is when Alpha Black will start morning announcements. Training will start promptly at eight; penalties will be given to those who are more than five minutes late and those who abuse the five-minute allowance. We will stop training at eleven thirty to give you time to make it to the dining hall for lunch at twelve. Training resumes at one and will end at five thirty. Dinner is at six.”