Chapter 1

"This summer, when you boys go to the Blackwood Academy, you'll get to –"

"I'm sorry grandfather," Roman said. He wouldn't usually interrupt an elder in the pack but something was wrong. "Do you smell something burning?" Roman asked.

His grandfather sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything at all."

That didn't mean much. His grandfather was nearly ninety years old, and even enhanced senses started to fade. But Roman was certain – he smelled smoke. There had been forest fires in Alaska before, but they weren"t too common in this area. His pack had been living in the area near the Steese National Conservation area, northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, for hundreds of years.

Roman got up from the spot where he'd been sitting on the ground with his family.

His grandfather had resumed talking about the Blackwood Academy. For his entire life, Roman had heard the male members of his family talk about Blackwood Academy. His father and his pack mates would sit around the campfire, drinking ale and talking about their days at Blackwood. Every year they got together for a reunion. No one else was ever invited, only the class from that year.

Roman couldn't stand the long wait. He'd started begging to go early when he was fourteen, arguing that he was the oldest child and the future Alpha, so of course he'd need to go. But his father was adamant – the academy was only for eighteen-year-olds. But Roman was close. He would be turning eighteen the next week, so he'd finally get his turn.

But none of that mattered right then. The acrid smell of burning wood grew stronger. Something was very wrong. "Grandfather!" he yelled. "The woods are on fire. I know it."

"We never get forest fires up here," his mother said.

Maybe not. But that didn't mean someone didn't set it deliberately. Or a human could have left the campfire burning for too long, or they could have carelessly flicked a cigarette, or shot a firework into their pristine woods.

There was a legend of another pack who had deliberately started a fire to get revenge on another pack. He didn't think they had any enemies. But his father didn't always share pack business with him.

His mother stood up, circling the area where his grandfather still sat. Now his grandfather finally began to sniff the air and so did his grandmother, who had just come out of her hut to join them.

"That"s definitely a fire," Roman's mother said. "I smell Black Spruce wood burning. The scent is quite clear." She took one of the younger pups by the hand. "I'm going to find your father."

His family was far too casual about this. Roman went to the nearest birch tree and climbed to the top. He only needed about two seconds to see that they were in a lot of fucking trouble. For a second, he froze. Miles away, orange flames consumed the trees covering the mountainside.

Then he remembered. They had a plan in case they ever needed to evacuate. His father had made them practice dozens of times. The plan was one that they all knew – every shifter who was physically able was supposed to check on other shifters – Roman's father had assigned each of them five or six shifters that they were responsible for, so that no shifter was abandoned by accident.

There was no time to waste. Roman scaled back down as fast as he could.

"Father!" he yelled. They all needed their Alpha. In the meantime, Roman would do what he could. He raced to his grandmother. "The fire is bad. We have to move to the west. Get the rest of the pups and get to Hemlock Lake."

His grandmother's face went white, but she nodded and started gathering children. Quickly, Roman grabbed the five people he was responsible for. Two of them were an elderly couple, two were shifters who'd been injured and couldn't run quickly, and one was his younger brother, who tended to hide in times of crisis.

He got them all evacuated safely, and then he went back to their home. He ran through the pack land, yelling to anyone he found to gather the people they were assigned to help evacuate, then get the hell away. "Cross the lake if you can," he yelled. "Go!"

Finally, his father came running back into the clearing. "Roman. Good thinking climbing the tree and getting everyone moving," he yelled.

"What else can I do?" Roman yelled back.

"Find your sisters. They're out fishing. Then start counting when you get to the clearing by the lake. Roman, I need you to make sure everyone's out." His father paused long enough to grab his shoulders. "But do not run into the fire."

"Got it." Roman was only seventeen now, but his father was the Alpha of the pack and one day he would take over. "What are you going to be doing?"

"Checking the edges for stragglers. You work on our family members and anyone else assigned to you."

Roman didn't bother to mention that he'd already gathered everyone he was supposed to rescue. He just got to work. He found his sisters fishing in a deep stream, and he got them over to Hemlock Lake. Everyone from their pack was huddled together on the shore. Some were crying, some were blank-faced. The smell of smoke clung to all of them.

Some were starting to cross, but others were frozen. Roman pulled out a few of the canoes they kept hidden. "Come on. Start crossing. Swim if you can. Get in the canoe if you can't."

Where was his father? He still wasn"t anywhere to be found. "I have to go," Roman said. He shook his cousin's shoulder. "Help everyone get across the lake."

Roman took off running.

"Roman!" his mother shouted from behind him, but he ignored her. He had to find his father. He couldn"t feel his father through their bond, but he ran harder. He got back to the place where their pack had once lived. A solid wall of flames kept him from going further.

He couldn't see his father. Or hear him. He couldn't feel him either. There was a blank space in their bond.

And then it hit him.

His father was gone. He had been consumed by the fire.

Roman's youngest cousin, just a toddler, came stumbling out of the fire. He was crying and saying "Papa," over and over. "Papa, Papa, Papa," he wailed.

Roman's uncle came staggering out of the fire. He collapsed. "Your father…" he said. "He saved us."

Roman gathered him into his arms. His uncle would survive. Wolves could survive some burns. Far more than humans could, but they couldn"t survive everything.

"Is he –?" Roman asked.

His uncle nodded. "Yes. He didn't make it. I'm sorry." He coughed. "I tried to drag him out, but he kept going back."

Then Roman's mother was running toward them. She lifted his baby cousin into her arms and dropped to her knees.

"He"s gone," Roman said.

His mother nodded tearfully. "I could feel it." A few more wolves came staggering out of the woods toward them. They all had the same story. The Alpha had saved them. He'd sacrificed himself to save them.

Roman half-carried his uncle, while shepherding his mother and his cousin to the lake. Thankfully most of the pack had made it to the other side. They were still on pack land. They'd just have to start over.

Once they'd all made it across the water, Roman stood in front of the pack. "He saved all of them. Our Alpha was a hero," he said.

But now they were without an Alpha and Roman was due to go to Blackwood Academy in just a month. The academy no longer seemed important. Roman had to put his pack first.

His uncle waited two weeks and then he patted him on the back. "You need to go."

"How can I?" Roman asked.

"I was your father's second in command, and I can be yours for a month, until you have time to pick a new one. Go. I know it seems wrong, but you need to go. It's important."

Roman went.

At first, it felt very wrong being there. It felt like he was abandoning his duty to his pack. But after the first day, he was able to compartmentalize his grief and only think about it at certain times of the day. It was always with him. It always would be.

But he was able to function, and then he began to enjoy himself. Not only were his own pack members there but he met other ones too. He met all kinds of bear shifters and a few fox shifters too. The one that he shared a sleeping space with was named Sutton.

In those four weeks, they learned how to be shifters. They learned how to take care of a pack. Not everyone would be an Alpha, not even close, but in a pack, everyone did their part.

The way his father had talked about it made shifter Academy sound more like a fun, human summer camp than a grueling set of tasks. Sometimes it was a combination of both. There was actually one night when they got to roast marshmallows and melt chocolate and make s"mores. But most of the time they were tasked with completing obstacle courses, learning extreme hunting, or practicing survival skills. At the end of the first week, one of the leaders pulled Roman aside.

"You"re doing great, son, and I know that you"ve already proved yourself in the real world. We all know how you got most of the pack evacuated and went back for your father."

"I couldn"t get to him in time though. I didn"t know how far he was in the flames," Roman said.

"It"s not your fault. I know your pack told you that, right?"

"Yes, they"ve told me," Roman said.

"And do you believe it?"

"Most of the time, sir."

He had struggled with feeling like if he had done more, then his father would still be alive.

"Your father did what an Alpha was supposed to do. He gave everyone their jobs ahead of time and he made sure they happened. He trained you to behave the same way and that is what his job was. He did his job, and he can rest easy now."

Oddly enough, that made Roman feel better. His father had done his job. He"d saved the most vulnerable members of their pack.

The leader slapped him on the back. "That"s why we have this shifter academy. It"s not just Alphas that have to help their packs, it"s any of us who can. We have to use our strength in our skills. More than once we"ve escaped vampires or witches or even humans based on what we learn here. We learn problem solving. We"ve been able to catch fish when the lakes were low, we've been able to hunt when there were no deer, we've learned to find water in a drought, and we've perfected giving first aid when needed."

"I understand, sir."

Roman agreed with the premise.

A few years ago, his pack had been lying around, lazing in the sun after a long hard hunt. They'd caught quite a few elk and some caribou, and everyone had feasted. His father was a traditional pack leader, but he was also a chivalrous man. He insisted that the elderly eat first and then the children, and then the rest of them. One of Roman's cousins had complained. "We"re the ones who hunted. Why don"t we get the first pick of the meat?"

Roman's father had grabbed him by the collar and shook him just a little bit. "Because if you"re still hungry you can go out and hunt for more. They can"t. A good Alpha and a good male always provides for his family."

"And so does a good female," his mother added.

Roman"s father nodded. "Yes, those of us who are young and able-bodied enough for hunting do what we can. When the pack is well fed everyone benefits."

His cousin looked properly ashamed. But Roman"s father didn"t hold it against him. He just gave him a chance to make up for it on the next hunt, and his cousin did, bringing down quite a few rabbits that were favored by the older members, because their teeth were not quite as sharp.

They didn"t speak in private again that week, but that conversation stayed with Roman. And it made him a believer in what the academy was doing.

After that day, the tasks got harder. They had to take groups on hunting expeditions. They had to hold their breath underwater. They had to learn the best way to kick in a wooden door, how to pick a lock, and how to hotwire a car. And they had to learn how to rescue people from a fire.

The leaders offered for Roman to skip that part. But he went ahead and did it. There was no guarantee he wouldn"t face another fire one day, so the more practice the better.

He made it through the exercise just as well as anyone did. He didn't have a flashback, and he didn't freeze. But that night he threw up for five solid minutes. He knew he wasn"t sick. He was just nerves. The flames never touched him. He'd passed the test.

As soon as he was done vomiting, a couple of other guys from his class picked him up and dragged him toward the lake. They weren"t supposed to be away from their sleeping area, but the guys didn"t care. When he"d envisioned sneaking out at night with friends from the academy, he had not envisioned this. One of the guys handed him some leaves. "That"s meant to make you feel better." He held his hand out. "My name is Jameson."

Sutton, the guy he'd met on day one, was there too. "Why don't we all go for a swim? That"ll help wash away the ash."

Another guy helped him stand up straight. Roman's own cousin, Derek, helped him walk.

In total, there were ten of them there, just to help him. From that night forward, they became his brothers. They weren"t related by blood, but their bond was stronger than blood. The bond they shared made them family.

Once they dried off, they made their way back to camp. The leader was waiting for them with his arms crossed.

"Sir, I can explain," Roman said. "They wanted to help me."

"I know exactly what they wanted to do, and I commend them for it. All of you have tomorrow off."

They spent the entire day lying on the rocks and drinking some ale Derek had bought from a human camper on his way to the academy.

"Let"s toast." They clinked their bottles together. "To the Blackwood Academy brothers."

"We'll be loyal to each other until our last days."

"And we'll get together every year for the rest of our lives." They tapped their bottles together again and drank. They fell asleep, warm and content.