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The camp was quiet at this point of the day. Whenever I need to focus on school work or just want to get away from people, I would always come to the camp for some reason. Hector told me it was because my wolf likes it here being in nature. This might be a modern camp but it still has plenty of nature to enjoy. From hiking trails to the lake and rivers, this place would make any wolf happy.

"So Chester," Elliot spoke up, "what kind of place in my cabin?"

I was taken back by the question, "huh? Oh it's a good place. Neat tidy. It's small but it should be good enough for all your things."

"I mean, does it have electricity and stuff?"

"Oh that? It has electricity, yes Most camps nowadays have electricity in all their cabins. Wi-fi too before you ask me."

"Oh that's cool. What about things like air conditioning and stuff?"

"Yes the place had conditioning and everything, but you wouldn't be staying long enough to worry about it."

Elliot looked hurt by my response, "What do you mean Chester? I thought I would be living here long term, that was why I was moving in."

I had to do a mental backstep, "sorry sorry, ignore that last part. We usually get a lot of questions like that from kids and stuff so it just slipped out." In my mind I was still cursing myself for my blunder but I continued, "it shouldn't be too bad temp wise for now but it is there when summer hits."

"Cool cool," Elliot looks back behind him, "So uh, should we help him, he's falling behind?"

I turn back around me, seeing Hector is a bit behind us, "how are you holding up Hector?"

"I'm fine," he said.

"You sure? I can take a bag if you want."

"I'm fine really, you two just do your thing and I'll be close behind ya."

I try to get a good grasp on Hector's body language. Hector didn't seem to be struggling, by my eyes, so why is he that far apart from us? It was like he was going slow on purpose or something.

A lightbulb goes off in my head. So that's it. I turn to Elliot, "let's hurry over to the cabin. I can help you get connected to the wifi when we get there."

Elliot had a confused look on his face, "but Hector--"

"Is fine, he knows where the cabin is anyway." I grab Elliot's arm and quicken our pace. Elliot didn't fight me as I kind of dragged him away.

Behind us Hector yelled out, "have fun you two."

###

I tried to get Chester to let go of my arm, "Hey, hey, you don't need to drag me. Shouldn't we help Hector?"

"No need to worry," he said, "he knows where your cabin is."

"Well can you let me go then, I can walk by myself."

"Oh sorry," Chester lets go of my arm.

I rub my now free arm, "you really didn't need to drag me away."

"Sorry, just thought it would be faster."

"Why? It's not like the cabin is going to get up and walk away."

"Y-yeah," he turned away, slightly embarrassed. Chester goes kind of silent.

I just sigh at him. Chester might be a nice guy, but he is so odd at times.

Chester snaps his fingers, "oh your neighbours."

Yep, completely odd. "Huh?"

"Well you would have neighbors while you are staying here so you should meet them. They should be at their cabin at this time of the day."

"Wait, I have neighbors while I am here?"

Chester nodded, "yeah, these guys are in a similar position as you. These guys live at the camp as workers. It might be for the best if you meet them when you get the chance."

"Okay." I kind of lean away from Chester. I really wasn't expected to have neighbors again. Even when I was living at the apartment, I kept my distance from my neighbors. I was always worried about people knowing that I was a werewolf. Like, there is a reason I haven't heard about them being real until I became one. I don't know how i would feel about having neighbours again. Wait, if they live here too, wouldn't they be werewolves as well? I mean if I think about it, everyone I should see here is a werewolf. I mean, why would a group of werewolves allow humans to join them?

Chester stops and points, "oh there is one." I follow the finger and see a man crouching on the ground, next to a flowerbed. He was wearing camo pants and thick heavy boots. His upper body exposed his tan, well built back and arms. "Albert."

Albert looked over his shoulder towards us, waved, then turned his attention back to the flowerbed. Not a social person is he.

"Albert, there is someone I want you to meet." Chester pulls me by the arm again. This is going to be a thing all day isn't it?

As we approached, it suddenly dawned on me how big Albert is. Even with him crouching I could tell he was a tall person if he stood up straight. He was also very well built as well. Like he exercises regularly or something. His hair was very short, kind of like a military cut. In his other hand was some sort of grocery bag you would find at a store.

He didn't acknowledge us until we were basically over him, "Hey Chester, you need something? I am busy at the moment."

"Nothing serious, just thought I would introduce you to someone." Chester gestures towards me, "Albert, this is Elliot, he is moving in today."

When Albert looked me over with an annoyed look on his face, "so you're Elliot then?"

I nodded without saying a word.

He snorts, "he better be able to keep up with the work here. He looks like he hasn't done anything physical since school."

"W-well my last job was physically demanding, I think."

Albert's eyes widened in surprise,"Oh you had a job? What was it?"

"Retail at a store."

He sighs, "well beggars can't be choosers, I suppose. At least you have some experience."

I tilted my head, "do you usually deal with people with no experience?"

Alberts nods, "too often. Some rise up to the challenge but most of the time, they come up short and I am the one that gets yelled at. Honestly I wish the Alpha would stop doing that."

"The Alpha? You mean Mrs. Lewis?" When I said the Alpha's name, both Albert and Chester had a disapproving look on their faces, "what?"

Chester spoke up first, " um Elliot, what you did was kind of rude."

"What did I do?"

"In werewolf packs, you don't reference the Alpha by name but by their title, especially when it involves werewolves affairs. Doing otherwise is considered being rude and disrespectful."

"Oh shit," I started to panic, "I didn't mean to do that on purpose I swear. I honestly didn't know please forgive me I didn't know and--"

Chester grabbed my shoulders, "Elliot, take some deep breaths, you are not in trouble. Just breath."

I try to take some breaths to calm my nerves. I can't believe I did that. I'm so fucking stupid. How can i do something so stupid on my first day?

I felt another hand rub my back, "you okay there Elliot?" Albert said as he rubs my back, his face much softer now then before.

"I, I mean, I'm fine." I try to steer the conversation back to before my panic attack, "so why would the Alpha hire people with no experience?"

"Community." Albert turned his attention back to Chester, "I am guessing that Elliot here hasn't been around many werewolves."

"Not really," Chester answered, "he was a stray without a pack for a long time, so he doesn't know anything about werewolves and pack life."

"I see." Albert turned his attention back towards me, "In werewolves pack there is a sense of community. Members of the pack help each other in any way possible. The Alpha does it by hiring members of the pack who just started working to work around the camp, kind of like a work program that can be used on resumes. So it really benefits everyone."

"I see, that makes sense." I looked around us, "But then why is this place empty then? Shouldn't there be workers or something "

"Mornings and early afternoons are really slow, mainly it is devoted to upkeep and such. Once people start coming in, the rest of the workers come in and take over for us who have been doing work all day."

"So you are saying you are just the morning shift guys and the rest are afternoon shifts."

"That sums it up basically. Plus the morning shifts are just me and a few others. Once the afternoon shift starts, I'll bring them around to meet you." Alberts walks away, "anyway, I need to get back to weeding. Still got some places I need to cover." he picks up the bag he was using and walks around the cabin. He turns back one last time, "be sure to give back those cleaning supplies later okay."

"Okay," Chester said as Albert turned the corner.

I was puzzled, "cleaning supplies?"

"Yeah, I cleaned the cabin you're moving into. Need some dusting and such since it was not used for a while."

"I see. Where is the cabin anyway?"

"Right there," Chester points to a small building just a few feet away. The cabin doesn't look that impressive from the outside. It just looked like some of the other cabins we passed on the way here.

"That's it? Kind of small."

"Well it's your own private place in the camp. No one was using it so it is free for you to stay in. come on, i'll show you the inside." he walks up to the cabin and goes in.

As I entered in as well, he wasn't kidding about the place being small. He called it a cabin but it looks more like those houses in Animal Crossing. Really just one small room. There were only two pieces of furniture in here, a desk cluttered with things on one wall and a wardrobe closet. Leaning on the wall was a sweeper mop, the rag very dirty and black. The room was filled with a sterile smell, probably from the cleaning stuff Chester was using.

"What do you think, Elliot?"

"It's small."

"Yeah, i mean it is usually for single occupants so there isn't much space, but it should be enough for all your stuff. Since you wouldn't have a closet, I got you a wardrobe for your clothes."

I look over the wardrobe. It was a decent size for all my clothes. When I opened it up, I saw that on the bottom that there were some drawers. That would probably help with stuff I can't hang. I turned my eyes onto the desk, "And that?"

"That was in another cabin, since no one was using it, I thought you would get more use out of it then the dust."

"I see," I walked over and picked up the shower shoes on the table. It was still attached to the things you buy with them.

"Those are shower shoes," Chester spoke, "they are used for communal showers in case you didn't know."

"I know what shower shoes are. I used them back at the dorm each time I showered." When I moved out of the dorms I had to get rid of mine. I probably would have had to get new ones anyway at some point, so this saves me time and money.

Chester had a puzzled look on his face, "Dorm? Why were you in a dorm?"

"For college."

Chester had a satisfied look on his face, "oh you went to college. That's nice. What was your major?"

"I really didn't have a major or anything, it was just my first year and such. My parents told me to just focus on the classes needed to graduate first then decide on a major later. I had to drop out when I learned I was a werewolf."

"I see. I didn't really start until I had an idea what I wanted to be."

Now it was my turn to be shocked, "you're in college?"

"Yeah, did I not mention it before?"

I shook my head, "No, I don't think so. I didn't even know there was a college in the area. What kind of college is it?"

"It's a small community college. Not big enough for things like dorms and stadiums. I like it though and plenty of werewolves are enrolled as well."

"Werewolves go to college around here?"

"Yeah, we are people, Elliot, and people want higher education."

"But don't being a werewolf causes problems for the school?"

He laughs, "that excuse wouldn't go far at that college, or any school around here. I know a few people who tried that excuse and it didn't work for any of them."

"Why not? If they can't control themselves it's a reasonable excuse."

"Yeah when you first start transforming, but the guys i were talking about were doing that well into highschool. Not only did it piss off their parents, but some of the Betas also had to get involved."

"Why did a Beta get involved?"

"Oh its a stupid reason. One werewolf student gave it as an excuse for not doing homework on the night of a full moon, then other people started to say it as well. By the time the Pack heard about it, it became something of a meme to not do school work 'because of last night's moon'. I think people still use it back at high school to this day."

I chuckle, "that's one way to leave your mark on your school. Back to the college stuff, what are you there for?"

"I'm going there to be a therapist. I may have to transfer to a different college for my hours, but i am committed to becoming one."

"Hours?"

"Yeah, to become a therapist, I need to do some hours for a clinic. I can't get that at my current school so I am taking whatever classes I need here before going to a college with that program."

"I see." I honestly didn't know much about being a therapist, but I should be supportive of his goals. "Good luck with your classes then." I put down the shower shoes and picked up a sheet of paper. On it was a wifi name and a password. I hold the paper to Chester, "is this for the camp?"

"Yep, it connects you to the wifi most of the pack uses while they are here. As long as you are on campgrounds you should be connected to the internet."

"I see." I put the paper aside and pull out my laptop. MIght as well connect to the wifi as soon as possible.

As I turned on the laptop, Chester spoke up, "have you thought of going back?"

I log into my account, "back where?"

"To college I mean. I know you said you had to drop out before, but it's not impossible to get a college education again. It's just a community college, but it's still a great school."

I stop what I am doing. "Going back to college?"

Chester just nods.

I haven't really thought about it. Once I learned I was a werewolf, I withdrew from the college as soon as possible for everyone's safety. I was a monster. A thing that can kill anything that gets too close to me. I didn't have time for classes or stuff when I was worrying about the next time that thing will come out of me. I thought my normal days were over.

Then I met Chester and other werewolves. They weren't monsters i have seen in movies, they were just regular people living boring lives. Going to school. Having a family. Holding down a job. All things I thought were impossible for me to get now. If I had found another pack sooner, would they have given me the life I had now? Would they give the same kindness that Chester is showing me? Would the year I spent hiding and cut off from people ended sooner?

I couldn't really tell.

###

After I asked my question, Elliot went silent, staring at the login on his screen. It's possible I just overwhelmed him with my question. Maybe i shouldn't have asked him so suddenly.

"Chesetr," a voice outside yelled, "Chester you in there?"

"Yeah," I responded.

"Can you open the door for me, my hands are full at the moment?"

"Oh sure," I walked around Elliot and opened the door to the cabin.

Hector walks in with the box and some bags, "whew, finally made it. My arms were getting tired." He walks over to an open space and not so gently puts the box down. Hector shakes his arms around, "I swear my arms were about to fall asleep on me."

"Well you were taking your time with getting here."

Hector took a glance at Elliot, "he okay?"

"I think i just asked him a loaded question."

"What did you ask?"

"If he wanted to go back to college."

"Huh? When did Hector get here?" The sound of Elliot's voice spoked us a bit.

We both turned to face him, "Just now actually," Hector answered.

"Oh great." Elliot walked over to the box and removed the air mattress and motor, "so Chester where is the outlet?"

"Right there," I pointed.

"Great," Elliot plugged in the motor and rolled out the mattress.

"You know, we have some spare mattresses around here you can use."

"You don't need to do that. You guys are doing so much for me anyway."

"It's no problem really. It's just what werewolves packs do. We help one another." I quickly glace at Hector. Yeah. werewolves really do help each other.