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Walter calmly entered the dark living room with a glass of water in one hand, planning to pick up the Queen Consolidated paperwork he had left behind on the coffee table and start working on it. He knew that whenever he woke up at two am, it was almost impossible to get back to sleep. He might as well be productive. Flicking the light switch, he barely startled at the sight of the large grey wolf settled on his haunches, facing away from him as he gazed outside to the gardens beyond the window.
Carefully placing the glass of water down on a coaster next to the paperwork, he straightened and commented dryly, having caught sight of the room’s throw rug, “Looks like somebody’s been shedding fur again.” The grey wolf did not make any move to show he had acknowledged the human’s presence, so Walter continued, “It was probably Thea.”
When Oliver didn’t respond once again, Walter cautiously made his way to the predator’s side, standing a suitable distance away to make sure the wolf didn’t feel like his space was being threatened. Finally, he gained a reply, a rumbling noise erupting from the grey wolf’s chest as his ears twitched.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Walter questioned. The wolf snorted. “Me neither. Although for a different reason than you, I suspect, Oliver.” With another rumble, his step-son tore his gaze away from the gardens to turn burning cobalt eyes on the human. “It couldn't have been easy to return from five years away from civilisation and suddenly take over as the Alpha of a particularly big, extremely social wolf pack.”
The wolf simply shifted on his haunches and turned back to the gardens, the only show of emotion being his ears flickering backwards slightly to show his discomfort at Walter’s statement.
Discovering that the Queen family were werewolves and could fully shift into wolves had been an incredibly shocking, yet not recent, development. Walter had, in fact, known about nature of the Queen, Merlyn and Lance families for years.
He had found out back when Robert was the Starling City Alpha wolf. Robert had been forced to entrust his pack’s safety to Walter when a group of hunters had arrived in town. It had taken the Brit quite a while to process, after he had accidentally intruded on a fight between Robert, Malcolm and Quentin in their wolf forms against half a dozen or so hunters in the Queen Mansion, with Moira and Oliver as the Betas protecting the rest of the pack. The only reason he hadn’t been torn apart by the wolves was that Robert had vouched for him. He supposed that saving Laurel and Sara by smashing a vase onto one of the hunter’s heads had helped too.
Stunned and alarmed at the discovery, despite Robert’s pleading, Walter had taken unexpected leave at Queen Consolidated, leaving the company’s CEO in charge of his duties as Chief Financial Officer.
Three weeks later, Robert had headed off to the Chinese subsidiaries on a CFO duty, and the Queen’s Gambit sank in the North China Sea, dragging the Starling City Alpha, his Beta son and the Omega wolf Sara down with it. The pack had been thrown into discord.
Moira and Quentin were constantly challenging each other for the title of Alpha, and with the dynamics constantly changing, there was no sense of security and safety. Malcolm abruptly leaving the pack and becoming a lone wolf only a month after the Gambit’s sinking hadn’t helped. Walter, new to the secret and not even a member of the pack, had taken it upon himself to step in and become the pack’s mediator and adopt some of the Alpha’s duties - one of which was keeping an eye on every single wolf in Starling City. Of which there were many. Felicity Smoak, a young, somewhat timid Omega wolf, who had never had a pack before and was working in the IT department, had helped him in devising a system to keep files on all the Starling wolves.
Within a year, everything had settled slightly. A democracy of sorts had been set up within the pack, which very rarely worked the way it was meant to, as wolves naturally wanted a single leader to follow. But things had at least calmed down. For the next four years, with Moira and Quentin heading the hierarchy, and Walter maintaining the peace and safety as the only human in the group, they survived and fought onwards, defending their territory and managing to remain secret.
Then Oliver had returned. Gone was the playful, cheeky, juvenile Beta wolf of before, replaced with a powerful, strong, experienced Alpha. Oliver’s first night back still haunted Walter’s thoughts at particularly dark times, in which stark differences could be spotted in the wolf. The Brit could still vividly recall the deadly snarl the huge, shifted grey wolf had attacked him with when he had shaken him awake from a nightmare. If Moira hadn’t been there, ready to transform and force Oliver backwards with a growl, Walter had no doubt that Oliver would have mauled him. Before the island, as a Beta, Oliver had kept his wolf instincts under control. Now it seemed as if his wild feral instincts were constantly below the surface.
Two days after arriving back in civilisation, a pack meeting had been held. Oliver had challenged both Moira and Quentin to the Alpha title the moment they had turned up. Walter, watching off from the side, had recognised the rest of the pack’s confusion, disbelief and shock at Oliver’s sudden demand to be leader. He had never, according to Tommy and Thea, shown the compulsion before. But seeing the young wolf towering over the other wolves present, his blue eyes icy cold and stern, muscles rippling underneath battle-scarred skin and marred streaky grey fur, Walter could see an Alpha. Moira, obviously seeing the same thing as her human husband, had backed down immediately, falling into a submissive pose and whining to show there was no need for a fight. Quentin, however, was not one to give up leadership as easily.
The fight had been ferocious, yet short. The pack observed in stunned amazement and fear as Oliver quickly gained the upper hand of the fight using strength and skill they didn’t know he possessed, beating Quentin to the ground within a few minutes. He used brute force and intelligent moves that led to Quentin having to surrender or risk having his throat slit by razor sharp claws. Oliver became the Starling City Alpha. Within days, he had the entire pack and the rest of the city’s wolf population under control and under his leadership. Walter had watched every single one of Oliver’s decisions and moves in sheer fascination, not understanding how Oliver had taken to his new Alpha-ship so swiftly. That astonishment quickly transformed into respect though, as the wolf not only managed his workload and responsibilities, but excelled in them.
Oliver startled him back into the present by growling lowly, rising to his paws and turning away from the human, motioning for Walter to follow. The human swallowed and deftly followed the Alpha as he moved gracefully, silently, through the house and then outside onto the patio.
In the few seconds that it took for Walter to close the back doors, Oliver had shifted back into his human form, observing the human with a stony gaze. He was naked, as the wolves always were when they shifted back, but his clothes from the day before were folded neatly on top of the patio table. The Brit averted his gaze respectfully, feeling slightly nauseous at the sight of the wolf’s scars and burns. Oliver re-dressed quickly. Unlike Walter, he didn’t seem tired at all, which spoke volumes. Oliver had hardly slept since he had come back from the island, mostly due to insomnia. His hypervigilance refused to let him, the human reckoned.
"We need to talk," the grey wolf said seriously.
“What is it?” Walter asked solemnly.
“The rest of the pack don’t know this,” the Alpha said, “But there was a hunter in town last week.” A tendril of fear lashed through Walter at the thought of his family and friends in danger once again. Obviously sensing his chemo-signals, Oliver shook his head. “He’s gone. The Vigilante killed him two nights ago.”
It was an unspoken agreement between all the members of the pack that they would not discuss the fact that Oliver was the Vigilante.
Oliver had never specifically told them directly that he was the emerald archer, taking down the criminal elite and the hunters of the city, and Walter knew there had to be a reason for that. Everybody (excluding Quentin) was content with just not bringing the Vigilante up in conversation and never forcing Oliver to actually admit it was him. No incriminating evidence was ever found, and nobody could connect Oliver to the Vigilante - it was just something everybody in the pack knew, but never talked about. Plausible deniability.
“Then I suppose,” Walter replied carefully, “That we should be thanking the Vigilante.”
Oliver fixed his cobalt eyes on the human and a shudder ran down the Brit's spine.
“Yes,” the Alpha responded. “But a higher number of hunters continue to pass through Starling City, threatening our pack, territory and those living in it. It’s in our interest, in my opinion as this city’s Alpha, that we reinforce the pack’s ranks.”
Walter blinked in surprise, translating, “You want to accept more wolves into the pack.”
“Not just wolves.” Oliver didn’t break his gaze. “It’s come to my attention recently that you were never properly initiated.”
“There’s an initiation?”
Oliver nodded. “A complex process in which you’re able to acquire your ranking within the hierarchy. Usually by a form of fighting tournament.” Walter shot him an unimpressed look. “You wouldn’t have to fight, of course. You’ve already consolidated your ranking as a valued consultant and human trustee. An honorary member, so to speak.” He turned away, clasping his hands behind him. “No, this initiation would be more for the benefits of Felicity and Diggle.”
A slow smile crept its way onto Walter’s face. “You want to make Ms Smoak and Mr Diggle a part of your pack.” It was well-known to everybody in the pack that their Alpha had a soft spot concerning his bodyguard and IT girl. Diggle, a stocky, military wolf, had slowly gained Oliver’s trust and respect, and Felicity, a small silver she-wolf with a tendency to babble, which was adorable, had wormed her way into Oliver’s heart.
It was apparently the wrong thing to say; in response, Oliver stiffened and went on the defensive. “Their loyalty has proved to me that they deserve their places within the pack.”
“I’m not disagreeing, Oliver,” Walter reassured him. “In fact, I think it’s an excellent idea. When will this take place?”
“I was thinking at the next full moon,” Oliver answered. “We’re all heading up to the Gem Cities’ National Park, and there’s some high ground there along with a flat clearing that would be ideal.” He tilted his head sideways. “I’ll announce it at breakfast.”
Without waiting for a reply from the human, Oliver slipped down the patio steps, disappearing from Walter’s vision for a moment behind a bush before he reappeared back in his majestic wolf form, loping off into the trees and vanishing into the darkness like a shadow, a true monster of the night.
Walter sighed before heading back inside, the cold air biting at his heels. Picking up his glass of water and paperwork, he headed into the study, a smirk on his face. The Queens did have a knack for dramatic exits.
“You want to hold Dominance Trials?”
Walter winced. They were holding a pack meeting at breakfast, when Oliver had decided to announce his intention to initiate Felicity, Diggle and Walter properly into the pack and hold a tournament to determine the rankings of the wolves in the hierarchy. Most of the pack members were taking the idea well, as it also allowed them to rise in the ranks in they so wished, but Moira was very firmly opposing the idea.
“Oliver, we haven’t held Dominance Trials in over ten years!” the she-wolf bristled. “They’re barbaric and dangerous! This is an outrageous idea, I simply can’t let you do this.”
The Alpha’s eyes flashed, a spark flaring as he growled, “Is that a Challenge, Mom?”
Moira looked appalled. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then don’t try to tell me how I should run my pack,” Oliver snarled, rising to his feet with his fists curled up tightly. Something feral and powerful flashed in his eyes as he towered over them, his shadow seeming to grow in size as a growl, deep and primal, erupted from the grey wolf’s throat. At the show of Alpha dominance, Thea, Tommy, Laurel and Quentin had their eyes lowered and shoulders hunched. Moira shrank back in her seat slightly at her son’s tone. “At the next full moon, we will be holding Dominance Trials. That is my Word.”
“And the Alpha’s Word is Law,” the rest of the pack mumbled.
Oliver finally relaxed a little. “Thank you.”
Walter gave him a supportive smile as the Alpha glanced over to him briefly to gauge his reaction to what had just passed. Often Oliver was wary about how Walter would view his forceful shows of Alpha dominance. Newcomers to the pack would probably see the grey wolf’s treatment of his wolves as bullying or pack abuse, not understanding that it was the only way that Oliver was able to keep the entire pack under control, since sometimes the wolves had conflicting views. Walter had worked out quickly though since Oliver’s return that his shows of force were not awful, unnecessary and abusive; discipline had all but been lost in the years where Moira and Quentin had tried to run a democracy, and Oliver was attempting to bring it back to ensure peace was kept and less fights broke out.
“So how’s it going to work?” Tommy questioned curiously, munching on a slice of bacon. “It’s a tournament of sorts, right?”
“Yeah, is there a points system?” Thea piped up interestedly.
Oliver shrugged. “We haven’t worked it out yet. I was thinking that we could run it as a round-robin.”
Tommy looked confused. “A what?”
“It’s where each competitor plays in turn against each other,” Quentin told him. “So everybody plays against everybody.”
“Each fight is ten minutes long,” Oliver continued. “You win when the other wolf concedes, or can’t continue fighting. You lose if you refuse a fight, concede or are pulled out. A win is five points, a loss one point. If when those ten minutes is up, it’s a draw, both wolves get three points. We add up points at the end and from those results, we determine the Betas and Omegas, then split duties accordingly.”
“That seems fair,” Laurel nodded. “But who’s going to keep score?”
Oliver turned to the only human in the group and smiled. “Walter will.”
Moira looked aghastly at her husband. “You can’t honestly be supporting this.”
“Oliver is the Alpha,” he replied easily, keeping his eyes focused on his step-son so that the wolf could sense he was telling the truth. “And he knows what’s best for his pack. I will fully support all his decisions.”
The white she-wolf gave a frustrated growl and stalked out of the room. Quentin rose and muttered to Oliver that he would talk to her, hurrying out after her. Oliver lazily blinked at where the two older wolves had disappeared through the doorway before turning back to Laurel, Tommy and Thea.
“I’m giving you guys an opportunity here,” he told them lowly. “I know you’re all stronger than both Mom and Mr Lance. If you take your chances, you could rise quite easily in the ranks.”
“I’m just worried about fighting Diggle,” Tommy said.
“Yeah, Ollie, have you seen that wolf’s arms?” Thea whispered. “I’m not even sure if you’d be able to beat him.”
“I’ll beat him,” Oliver told her with a soft smile. “And Thea, you’re fast.” He turned to Tommy. “You’re sneaky.” Then he looked at Laurel. “And you’re quick-witted. Don’t start kicking yourselves yet. I’m pretty certain you’ll all be able to give Dig a good fight.”
“Who’s giving me a good fight?” Diggle strode through the lobby into the dining room, knocking on the door frame before stepping inside. His nose instantly flared at the smell of so many meats on the table, but the russet wolf maintained his professionalism as he greeted them all individually.
“Thea, Tommy and Laurel,” Walter relayed. “Good morning, Mr Diggle.”
“Mr Steele,” Diggle inclined his head. “And why will I be fighting them?”
“I’m initiating you into the pack,” Oliver informed him.
Diggle went completely still at this new information, not making any sounds for a few seconds. Then, after a minute, he inhaled sharply and looked the Alpha directly in the eyes, asking, “Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent sure,” Oliver said. “And sit down and eat some bacon, your nose is twitching, it’s annoying.”
Diggle slowly took a seat next to Tommy, bumping the Beta with his shoulder to say hello before he reached out to grab some bacon and a couple of sausages to make himself a sandwich. “So this initiation - I presume you’re initiating Felicity too?”
“And Walter, since he hasn’t been properly initiated yet,” Oliver nodded. “Before we do that, though, we’re going to hold Dominance Trials. You game?”
“Hell yeah, I’m game,” Diggle’s eyes shone as he smirked. “Any chance I get to show you up, I’ll take it.”
“You can try,” Oliver responded impassively.
“I’ll try and succeed,” Diggle retorted.
Oliver just shook his head, amused. “I need to tell Felicity, can you take me to Queen Consolidated? After you’ve finished your breakfast, of course,” he added, entertained at the fact that the wolf had piled three sausages and four rashers of bacon in between two thin slices of bread.
Diggle nodded, grabbing a serviette to wrap up his sandwich to take out with him. “Mr Steele, I could drive you as well if you’d like.”
“Thank you for the offer, Mr Diggle, but I’m working from home today.” Walter rose and stretched his arms out. “Have a nice day, children.”
“Bye, Walter!” they all chimed in sync.
He chuckled. His pack was adorable.
“Here.” Oliver briefly let go of the steering wheel with one hand to reach inside his pocket and pull out a piece of paper, which he handed to Walter, who was sitting shotgun. After handing it over, the Alpha turned to to concentrating on the road, driving a large four by four through the woods down the long driveway that lead towards the private gates of the Gem Cities’ National Park.
It was nearing four in the afternoon, meaning it was only three hours until the full moon rose high enough to trigger the wolves to shift. Walter hated to wonder what it would be like driving a car with four wolves in the car with him. Whilst Oliver and Walter were sitting up front, Thea, Felicity and Diggle were holed up in the back. Quentin was driving the other SUV just behind them, with Moira, Tommy and Laurel. Luckily, their journey was only going to last another ten minutes or so.
Walter glanced down at the piece of paper, squinting as he tried to work out what Oliver’s scribbles meant. The young wolf’s writing had been tolerable before, but since he had got back from the island, his writing was atrocious, not that Walter could blame him.
Alpha Male - Oliver
Alpha Female - Moira
Beta No1 - Quentin
Beta No2 - Tommy (note: this was due to Gambit sinking only, formally an Omega)
Omega No1 - Thea
Omega No2 - Laurel
Unranked - Felicity
Unranked - Diggle
Human Trustee - Walter
“This is the current hierarchy?” Walter questioned.
“Ooh, let me see!” Thea wiggled forwards from the backseat to try and get a glimpse. When Walter pulled it away from her, she pouted. “Aw.”
“Later, Thea,” he told his step-daughter gently. “So we start the Trials as soon as everybody has shifted?”
“Yes, that makes the most sense. And then the initiation early tomorrow morning at sunrise, after we’ve all turned back.”
The Brit shifted nervously in his seat. “This initiation, I don’t have to do anything do I?”
“Oh god, please don’t tell me I have to give a speech,” Felicity piped up, in a panicked tone, from next to Diggle. “Because I am honestly awful at public speaking, I will make a complete fool of myself.”
“No speeches,” Oliver chuckled, an easy smile breaking out over his face as he glanced in the mirror to grin back at the she-wolf. “But there is an Oath. You know, I’m surprised you’re not more worried about the fighting.”
Felicity’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, excuse me, mister?”
“Felicity, your wolf form isn’t exactly… and don’t be offended by this… big.”
“Just because I’m small, doesn’t mean I’m not good at fighting,” Felicity whined.
Walter couldn't help but think back briefly to when he’d first found out that the blonde was a wolf, and judging by the Alpha's grin, he was too.
Oliver reassured her with a grin, “I know you’re an excellent fighter. I think you’re going to give everybody a real challenge.”
She preened under his praise, sitting up a little straighter. “Thank you,” she responded, blue eyes gleaming. “I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. Especially about going up against you and Dig.”
“You can opt out if you want to,” Diggle said. “It’s counted as an automatic loss, but still means you’ll escape a mauling.”
“No way,” Felicity teased, elbowing him in the side. “You’re a great big lumbering giant. You’re slow. You won’t be able to maul me.”
“Oh, you’re so going down for that.” Diggle immediately turned in his seat to start tickling Felicity’s sides, making the she-wolf yelp and squeal, squirming and almost hitting Thea in the face, who was laughing.
“Settle down, you two,” Oliver ordered, although there was amusement in his tone. “You’ll have plenty of time for tickling to death during the Trials.”
“Yes,” Diggle replied. “Because instead of actually fighting, I’m definitely going to tickle my opponents into submission.”
“That’s accurate,” Oliver answered, staring straight ahead over the steering wheel.
“How’d you mean?”
“Your hits and kicks feel like tickles,” the Alpha immediately returned, smirking.
Walter laughed. Felicity and Thea tried to smother their giggles with their sleeves, but it didn’t work very well, and Diggle ended up shooting them entertained yet annoyed glances, snorting himself. It was a pretty good joke, especially for Oliver’s usual standards. The Alpha wolf always acted particularly serious and stiff, so when he opened up and began teasing members of his pack and family, it meant they were in for a good day.
They arrived at the private entrance to the National Park and Oliver put the parking brake on, clambering out of the car to unlock the gates. The Queens had their own key due to the fact that they essentially paid for the park to exist. This was the only National Park within a reasonable distance of Starling City and since they asked for it to be closed down for private use monthly, it was only fair that they donate to cover all the costs of keeping it running and open.
Pitching the tents took far less time than Walter expected. He supposed it was because the pack did this very often. Everybody lent a hand, even his wife and stepdaughter to the Brit’s surprise, so they had the entire camp set up hours ahead of high moon. There were a couple of four man tents pitched, with a small fire crackling at the edge of the clearing near Walter’s tent, far away enough that the flames wouldn’t startle the wolves when they were shifted. Food and water had been laid out around the area to encourage the pack to stay together and not drift off into the parkland to hunt.
They’d also set up bear-deterrents - not that they’d be needed, in actuality. According to Diggle and Oliver, bears despised wolves so preferred staying away from areas that were scent-marked by them. Since the pack were such frequent visitors to this location, the National Park remained scent-marked by the wolves all year around, so the bears tended to maintain a distance.
As Walter settled down on top of a picnic blanket to help Laurel and Quentin brew some coffee and tea, the Alpha wolf wandered over, shouldering his backpack. “I’m heading out to do some hunting,” he said, a wild glint in his cerulean eyes as they swept over the group. “Diggle and Felicity are coming with me. Quentin, you’re in charge. Have the rest of the pack prepare the clearing for the Dominance Trials. There are high power electric lamps in the trunks of the SUVs.”
“Yes, Alpha,” the detective answered in a grumble, poking a stick into the flames.
“Walter?” the wolf’s eyes skipped over to the human. “Don’t let them do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“I’ll make sure they behave, Oliver,” he reassured his stepson, smiling.
Quentin began barking orders at the rest of the pack members as Oliver traipsed away, Diggle and Felicity tagging at his side. All of the wolves were too busy scurrying around grabbing equipment and obeying their temporary leader’s commands to notice their Alpha withdrawing an impressive looking dark green recurve bow from a duffel bag hidden behind a rock. As Oliver clipped on an equally green quiver full of arrows, his gaze met Walter’s, and they locked in an intense stare-off for a moment.
The Brit knew that Oliver would refuse to back down, so instead, he lowered his eyes submissively and bowed his head in a sharp nod. The Alpha wolf relaxed, giving a short nod back before vanishing through the trees with his two friends.
If that wasn’t final confirmation for Walter that Oliver was the Hood, he didn’t know what was.
Night fell, the sun sinking below the horizon and staining the cloudless sky with intense shades of purple, tangerine and salmon. As the moon slowly rose higher and higher, the rest of the pack grew antsy as they Alpha did not reappear. Oliver did finally return, a roe buck draped over his right shoulder whilst Diggle and Felicity were both carrying rabbits in each hand. There wouldn’t be enough time for the wolves to go hunting due to the Trials, but they all still needed to eat. Raw meat wasn’t exactly to Walter’s taste, however, so he’d brought along some ham and mustard sandwiches Raisa freshly made for him. And crumpets for breakfast. Because what kind of Brit was he if he didn't have crumpets for breakfast?
Dumping the bodies of the animals onto the food piles, and quickly hiding his quiver and bow, Oliver marched towards them. He seemed to be vibrating with pent up energy, a low growl erupting from his throat as his eyes glowed wolfishly.
“It’s time,” he announced. And he gave his permission as the Alpha for the pack to let loose.
Everybody stripped off to save their clothes from being torn up, dropping them onto the picnic blankets while Walter turned away to give them all their privacy. Oliver transformed first, slipping into his large, powerful wolf form seamlessly and shaking out his dense dark grey fur. He stretched carefully, his muscles rippling under his skin as he raked his claws into the earth. Walter watched in fascination, seated cross legged near the fire, several feet away from where the rest of the pack was situated.
The Alpha wolf’s ears pricked and he let out a low whine as Thea followed into her sleek red wolf form, tail wagging furiously in her joy. The Brit saw out of the corner of his eye the black wolf that was Quentin, the darkish brown Laurel and lighter grey Tommy nipping at each other’s hind legs to greet each other with yips and growls.
He startled when Moira appeared beside him in her whitish-grey form. The older she-wolf wasn’t as afraid of the fire as the younger wolves, having been exposed to it often due to Robert not having any tolerance for animal fears. The only reason Oliver and Thea were still scared was that Thea had been underage and therefore Robert hadn’t thought her old enough to be put through fire exposure therapy, and Oliver, despite his father forcing him to become used to flames, had had bad experiences with second-degree burns on his island.
Moira tucked her tail beneath her elegantly as she settled on her haunches. Walter held himself completely still as the she-wolf leaned over and affectionately licked him on the cheek, rough tongue scraping his skin and whiskers tickling.
Snuffling, his wife nudged her head into his hands, gazing intently at him with wise, grey eyes. “Hello, dear,” Walter greeted her quietly, stroking over her ears.
A rumbling growl echoing from across the other side of the camp caused both the Brit and the white she-wolf to jump. The Alpha was summoning all the other wolves to follow him, flicking his ears and sweeping his blue eyes across the group scrutinisingly. The giant dark grey wolf dwarfed his smaller shifted partners who were pressed into either side of him, Diggle in his medium sized russet form and Felicity in her slim silver she-wolf form. Tommy and Thea were already playing up, the sleek red she-wolf snapping playfully at the lighter grey wolf’s hind quarters, both of them bouncing around each other. Both Quentin and Laurel, sensing Oliver’s growing agitation and annoyance, put a stop to their misbehaviour quickly, growing sharply and nipping at their tails.
Moira rose hastily and darted across the clearing to her son’s side, licking at his muzzle apologetically. Huffing, Oliver bumped her with his muzzle on her shoulder, flicking his tail. It was at moments like this that Walter wished he could understand what the wolves were saying, as he could clearly tell they were having a conversation.
Oliver launched into a trot, heading down to the area which they had cleared out in preparation for the Dominance Trials. The pack trailed behind him, the wolves brushing up against each other with quiet yelps and growls to greet each other. Starting to his feet, Walter quickly grabbed his notebook and pen from the fold out table he’d set up, following after the canines from quite a distance. He was slightly wary about one of the wolves perhaps turning on him, despite the fact it had never happened before, and was very unlikely to happen.
Glancing over at the human and giving him a nod, the Alpha gave the signal to Walter for him to begin, resting on his haunches in the centre of the circle.
“Alright, let’s set explain the system and set some ground rules,” Walter announced, reading from the list that he and Oliver had composed. “The Trials are run as a round robin - as in, all wolves will fight all other wolves.
“There is a point system. A win is five points, a draw is three, and a loss, one point. Each fight, in order for it to be fair, is only ten minutes long. A wolf wins when the other wolf concedes, or can’t continue fighting. The wolf loses if they concede or are pulled out. If when those ten minutes are up, there is no clear winner, I will determine who I think was the dominant fighter, or whether or not it was a draw. A wolf is allowed to refuse to fight against another wolf, but will automatically lose.
“There will be no unnecessary maiming or mauling. There will be no backhanded tricks or unfair play. After an offensive blow which deals a degree of damage to the other wolf, the attacker must give them a five second recovery period. I can, and will, end the fight at any point if I believe that it is not going well, or doesn’t need to be continued. Is that clear?”
All the wolves either nodded or huffed in agreement, slinking around the clearing to form a ring, establishing the boundary for the Trials’ fights.
“Alright. Let’s start. First fight: Felicity versus Tommy.”
The smaller grey wolf bounded forwards, tail wagging excitedly. Felicity followed Tommy forwards, but only after the silver she-wolf was nudged encouragingly in the side by both Diggle and their Alpha. Oliver licked her shoulder with a short, rumbling growl. There were echoing snarls and yelps of support from the rest of the pack, but it seemed most of the wolves, apart from Diggle and Oliver, were in support of the young Merlyn, rather than the new female pack initiate.
Walter suspected, however, that this fight was going to bend towards Felicity’s favour. There was no doubt in his mind that the Alpha had trained Felicity is some of his more advanced battle moves in preparation for these Trials, as to help her gain an adequate pack ranking. Tommy would have been sensible to be wary.
Their fight lasted around six minutes. The grey wolf lumbered and charged about like a great beast, snarling and growling as he threw his weight around and into Felicity, trying to bowl her over. The silver she-wolf, however, was a lithe, quick little thing, darting in and out of Tommy’s way, watching him calculatingly. She struck at precisely the correct times, hitting Tommy when he was unbalanced and stumbling. It was because of her sharp intelligence and confident, clever offensive decisions that Felicity easily won her first battle; she managed to pin the grey wolf underneath her and Tommy yowled to signal he was conceding, slinking away from the silver she-wolf with his belly to the ground and ears flat.
Whilst Tommy left the ring annoyed and whimpering, Felicity practically bounced towards Oliver and Diggle, who were both delighted. They circled around her, yipping and nipping at her in congratulations, whilst she accepted the praise with her ears pricked forwards and tail thumping at their sides happily.
The Trials continued, with more battles commencing. Felicity and Diggle, to everybody’s shock, were winning all of their fights, their training with the Alpha shining through; they’d been forged into strong and worthy opponents. Diggle won against Felicity in their battle, although it was very nearly a tie, the larger russet wolf managing to overpower the she-wolf in the last thirty seconds. Even Thea and Laurel were doing quite well, although Tommy was lagging, being unused to fighting in wolf form.
Walter didn’t have to stop any of the fights because of unnecessary violence, fortunately, although he did call a few of them to an early end because of the clear dominance of one of the wolves. Often than not, this happened when Diggle was one of the participants, as he clearly was a very skilled fighter, and knowledgeable in how to control the battlefield. Several wolves refused to fight others; both Moira and Thea refused to fight each other, as well as Laurel and Quentin, which was understandable, as parents shouldn’t have to battle their children, and vice versa. Walter decided that since both participants of the fights were declining, he would have to give them three points each, as if the result had been a draw. He couldn’t unfairly give five points to one wolf, and a singular point to the other, if they were both unwilling.
It was not surprising to Walter that most of the pack refused to even step into the ring against Oliver. After they’d witnessed the young wolf’s battle for the title of Alpha against Quentin, none of them wanted to go up against such a powerful warrior. One by one, members of the pack refused to fight the Alpha, until only Felicity, Diggle and Quentin were left. The large grey wolf continued to stretch out despite being unchallenged so far, his muscles bunching and rippling underneath his worn, scarred pelt. By the time that Oliver’s first fight came up, against Diggle, they were already three-quarters of the way through the Trials.
Oliver shook himself as he calmly entered the ring, ears flicking agitatedly. The pack remained absolutely silent as the smaller russet wolf jumped into the fighting circle in front of the Alpha, springing up and down on his paws in a nervous notion, growling. As Walter started the timer and called out for the fight to begin, to everybody’s astonishment, Oliver just collapsed onto his haunches and sat down comfortably, looking almost… bored.
Diggle startled, eyeing the Alpha hesitantly, but when Oliver didn’t move at all, simply staring at his opponent with a blank expression, the russet wolf snarled and hurtled forwards. With his teeth and claws bared, Diggle flew through the air with a fierce snarl towards the Alpha.
The fight was over in seconds. It all happened too fast for Walter’s eyes to properly catch, but from what he was able to comprehend, Oliver had slipped underneath Diggle whilst he was mid-air, pouncing, and raked his claws over the russet wolf’s stomach, drawing blood and winding him. Diggle slumped over with a yelp of pain, curling around his stomach, and then Oliver gracefully jumped on top of him, licking his fangs almost lazily.
“Oliver wins!” Walter announced loudly, before lowering his voice so he could mutter under his breath, “Not that it’s any surprise.”
There were rumbles of chuckles from the wolves who overheard. Diggle limped out of the ring, looking disappointed, but not too much. Oliver caught up to him and helped support him until they reached the outskirts, bumping his muzzle into Diggle’s in apology for the wound he caused. Not seeming very bothered by the result of the fight that he knew he would lose, Diggle licked the Alpha’s shoulder in respect before heading over to Felicity, who began fussing over him in worry. Luckily, that was Diggle’s last fight, so he wouldn’t have to battle anybody else whilst injured.
There were a couple more fights and then arrived the battle that Walter was most excited to watch. Oliver vs Felicity. As Laurel pranced away after beating Thea, he revealed the wolves of the next battle, and the pack started rumbling and chattering in anticipation. Oliver and Felicity had a very unique relationship, with the Alpha being very fond of the silver she-wolf, and the she-wolf being very compassionate and kind to Oliver in return. Both of them were very close, and extremely good friends - and would most likely be more than friends in the future.
Moira told him once that they acted like she and Robert did when they were mates. So seeing how they both reacted to having to fight one another was going to be fascinating.
Turned out, the battle wasn’t as thrilling and dramatic as the pack thought it would be. Oliver and Felicity barely ended up actually fighting at all. It was all nipping and playful shoving and nudging, tails wagging furiously as they happily bowled each other over. The Alpha released the wolf equivalent of a chuckle as the silver she-wolf rolled underneath him and swept his paws out from underneath her, which resulted in him falling on top of her. It was the most bizarre battle that Walter had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Thea and Tommy both snickered when Oliver performed a move where he slunk under Felicity’s chest and stood up whilst under her belly, causing her to slide down his back with a surprised yelp, landing on her face.
“Ten minutes!” Walter shouted. “End fight! That’s a draw!”
Neither Oliver or Felicity seemed at all distressed by the outcome, just continuing to playfully nudge and snap at each other as they exited the ring, pressing their sides together as Oliver plonked his head down on top of hers. Walter rolled his eyes. Those two were not subtle at all. Although Quentin and Laurel were glaring at them both with disdain, nobody else cared that they hadn’t taken the fight seriously. Oliver was clearly already going to win the Trials with so many fight refusals in his pocket, so one draw wasn’t going to affect the end results.
Walter kept a careful eye on the three wolves that were Oliver, Felicity and Diggle as the next fight between Moira and Quentin began, switching between cheering on his wife to watching the trio interact. They were certainly an interesting bunch, and knowing they were the team behind the Vigilante just intrigued Walter even more.
Thea running and gently shoving him in the side snapped the Brit back to the fight, where the two wolves were circling each other, snarling, just as the timer went off. Both of the older wolves stormed out of the ring angrily, furious at the conclusion of the battle. The red she-wolf snickered beside Walter, amused at the two elders of the pack acting like children and throwing tantrums at the fight not going their way.
After a rather slow fight between Tommy and Laurel, they came to the last battle; Oliver vs Quentin. This was one of the fights that the pack were most worried by, as they knew that Quentin had a very short temper when it came to the Alpha, and was still sore over losing the Alpha position to Oliver.
It was rather clear that Oliver, being stronger, quicker and highly skilled, was going to win, and Quentin wasn’t really any competition for him. Yet, the older wolf seemed raring to fight him, coarse black fur bristling and his lips drawn back into a ferocious snarl at the Alpha as he stepped forwards into the ring.
Oliver huffed, lowering his head in exasperation. He licked both Felicity and Diggle on their shoulders before trotting into the circle elegantly, radiating power and confidence. He nodded towards Walter to start the timer, and when the Brit did, worrying his lip with his teeth, the grey wolf settled down on his haunches once again, exactly as he did with Diggle.
Quentin, however, was not about to fall for the same trick. The black wolf slunk towards the Alpha, growling loudly, until he was close enough to swipe angrily at him with his paws, claws outstretched. Forced to stand and back away to avoid getting his belly slashed open, the grey wolf flashed around to behind Quentin and sank his teeth shallowly into the older wolf’s left hind leg.
Walter winced. That had to have hurt. Judging by Quentin’s yowl of pain, it definitely did. The Brit watched on, shifting anxiously on his feet as Oliver stalked away, tongue licking at his blood stained fangs carefully. The Alpha’s blue eyes were piercing, gazing upon Quentin as if he was some piece of prey that he had cornered. It concerned Walter to think that Oliver might be drawing this fight out, batting Quentin around for the fun of it.
But it wasn’t his place, in this instance, to intercede. The fight had barely started, and there had been no foul play as of yet, although Walter wouldn’t put it past Quentin to attempt a dirty move in order to gain the upper hand on Oliver.
Furious at being bitten, Quentin lunged around and snapped repeatedly at the grey wolf, grazing the Alpha’s muzzle and shoulder lightly, but not enough to really hurt Oliver. Looming above the black wolf, Oliver finally seemed to have had enough of this fight, simply swinging his body around to slam himself into Quentin’s side, bowling him over with a yelp.
Pinning the black wolf to the ground with snarl, Oliver gently latched his jaws around Quentin’s neck, putting barely any pressure on his flesh. It was a move that Walter recognised from documentaries, and having seen the Alpha perform it before with a misbehaving Tommy. It was to assert dominance over the wolf.
Quentin whimpered to announce his surrender, and Oliver finally rose to his paws, snorting. As Oliver headed over to them in triumph, Felicity and Diggle whined joyfully, whilst the Alpha’s mother and sister purred, their version of congratulations. Tommy came zipping over from the other side of the clearing, tail wagging as he yapped in admiration of Oliver’s keen fighting skills, butting the larger grey wolf’s side with his head. Walter decided that it wouldn’t be inappropriate for him to applaud quietly, as he too was impressed by how Oliver had handled the battle.
The shared moment of delight and merriment did not last long, however, as Quentin struggled to his paws with an outraged snarl, barrelling towards Oliver with all the grace of an angry, charging bull. Walter shouted out in alarm, and the other wolves, catching sight of the furious, attacking wolf, all hollered a warning.
Dread swept through Walter’s body as he saw Oliver freeze, going completely still as he heard the black wolf rush up behind him. A feral spark appeared in the Alpha’s blue eyes, the same savage look that Walter had seen before, when the young wolf had first arrived back from the island, half-wild and aggressive.
The Brit already knew this was going to end in disaster, and he was helpless to stop it. As were the other wolves - Moira and Diggle were keeping them all back and away from the chaos, obviously knowing how when a PTSD episode hit the Alpha, all sense of rationality vanished from Oliver’s mind.
Felicity was yowling, fighting Diggle to get to Oliver, and Laurel was scratching at the older white wolf, trying to get past her to defend her father. But if either of them attempted to approach Oliver whilst he was in this condition, they would most likely be torn apart.
Walter could only watch in absolute horror as the massive Alpha whipped around and viciously attacked the older wolf, fangs and claws tearing into Quentin’s thick black pelt. Rivulets of blood poured down Quentin’s sides as he desperately attempted to back up and away from the now feral grey wolf. His sides stained dark crimson, and faced with hostile, bloodthirsty predator, the black wolf tried to make a run for it, whimpering in fear.
“OLIVER!” Walter shouted urgently, absolutely terrified as the Alpha wolf lunged at Quentin, snapping his jaws around his leg, and yanked him down underneath him.
The Brit couldn’t stay back any longer; he knew that with Oliver in the state he was, there was a high probability of him being harmed, but he couldn’t watch his step-son kill one of his pack.
As the feral grey wolf bared his fangs ferociously, about to bury them into Quentin’s exposed throat, Walter screamed out, “OLIVER, STOP!”
The Alpha went still, ears flicking backwards as he slowly raised his head, staring at Walter with those gleaming, wild cobalt eyes. The Brit swallowed, stumbling back a fair distance. He very much did not fancy becoming a very large dog’s chew toy.
Luckily, the Brit was able to distract Oliver for long enough that Diggle, Felicity and Tommy were able to bound forwards and slam themselves into him, forcing Oliver off of Quentin and away from the black wolf. Moira, Thea and Laurel rushed over to help Quentin to his paws, whining worriedly. The detective’s black pelt was caked with blood and he was shaking, scared to death by - well, just barely escaping it.
Walter was not concerned about Quentin, however - he knew that his wife, daughter and the detective’s daughter would be looking after Quentin. He was more anxious about Oliver, who was now tearing back and forth across the clearing, furiously pacing and snarling at anybody who came near him. Felicity and Diggle had somehow snapped him out of his feral mindset, and were now trying to calm him down, to no avail. Blood
This was a disaster. The pack were in disarray, and their Alpha was in no state to establish order of any kind. Quentin, who usually took charge if Oliver couldn’t, was hurt, and looked as if he was about to pass out any second. Somebody needed to step up. If none of the wolves were going to do it - then Walter would.
Straightening his back, Walter puts as much strength and authority into his voice as possible as he commands loudly, “Moira, Laurel, help Quentin back to the tents. Thea, Tommy, run ahead and grab the first aid kit.” As the wolves jumped into action, the Brit turned to where the larger grey wolf was panting, trembling. “Oliver.” His step-son’s gaze snapped to him, and there was still a feral glint in the Alpha’s eyes that unsettled Walter greatly. “Go and take a run through the woods, alright? Work off the energy. Hunt. Calm yourself down.” Snorting, the grey wolf loped away into the trees, disappearing from sight. Turning to Diggle and Felicity, Walter added, “Follow him. Make sure he doesn’t hurt himself or do anything else equally stupid.”
The silver she-wolf shot off into the trees after Oliver, whilst the russet wolf followed more carefully, aiming a reassuring glance towards Walter. The Brit watched them go, his heart aching and concern swamping his body. He desperately hoped that the Alpha wolf was going to be alright. PTSD episodes were not nice, and Oliver always struggled emotionally and socially after them. Hopefully, Felicity and Diggle would be able to help him now.
Sighing, Walter headed over to where Moira and Laurel were now forcing Quentin to lie down on one of the picnic blankets. By the time the Brit reached their position, the detective had shifted back into human form and was swearing quite colourfully. Laurel returned with her father’s clothes in her jaws to preserve his modesty, but due to his numerous wounds, Quentin could only cover his body down to his knees and up to his waist. Blood flowed sluggishly from a rather deep bite in Quentin’s left leg, and other scratches and tears littered over the detective’s body bled, leaking thick dark crimson over the picnic blanket.
“Stop cursing,” Walter snapped, accepting the first aid kit from Tommy and Thea as they dragged it over together. “You brought this on yourself, Quentin. Attacking Oliver from behind might be the daftest thing you’ve ever done.”
“Kid had it coming,” Quentin snarled, wincing as the Brit began dabbing at his wounds with saline wipes. “Arrogant, pretentious little shit that he is.”
Moira growled ferociously, ears flattening to her skull as her white fur bristled. Even Thea bared her teeth, angry at the badmouthing of her brother. Quentin glowered at them both, undeterred.
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Walter said grimly. He didn’t even feel bad when he made the detective flinch by pressing some mild antiseptic soaked gauze into the leg wound. “Oliver could have torn you apart. He would have torn you apart in that feral state. When he comes back, you need to apologise.”
“Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?” the wolf growled.
Walter was shoved back away from the detective with a humph as Thea jumped forwards and leapt on top of Quentin, pinning him down by the shoulders and snarling angrily at him. The Brit blinked, unimpressed. Sure, it was great to have a teenage wolf step-daughter protecting his honour, but this was one instance where he didn’t need Thea to defend him. The detective didn’t scare him.
“I’m currently the acting pack leader,” Walter said firmly. “Oliver is in no place to perform his Alpha duties currently and you are injuries. As per Oliver’s orders, if both of you two are unavailable to step up for the pack, leadership falls to me.” Grunting, Quentin glanced away, but he seemed resigned. “Thea, go with Tommy and Laurel and patrol the edge of the woods,” the Brit ordered tiredly. “Your mother and I will take care of Mr Lance.”
The red wolf sniffed in disdain but clambered off Quentin, motioning for the smaller grey wolf and brown she-wolf to accompany her. Watching the trio of wolves leave, Walter only turned back towards Quentin and his wife once the dark four-legged figures vanished into the bushes. Moira was whispering harshly to the detective with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring down at him, while Quentin looked suitably chastised. Judging by the glance that his wife shot at him, Walter wouldn’t need to have the stern conversation with the black wolf he’d begun planning in his head.
After patching up all of the male wolf’s wounds, Walter retired to take a short nap in his tent, while all the wolves headed off into the forest for their usual pack sprint around the National Park. They also went to try and find Oliver, Felicity and Diggle.
Howling from his family and friends echoed over the massive park, ringing in the Brit’s ears as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Wet snuffling over his face triggered the initial waking process. Walter groaned as he was dragged out of his slumber, feeling physically exhausted. He groggily wiped at his gritty eyes with one hand and used his other arm to weakly push away the furry mass sniffing at him. It was not unusual for Walter to be woken up in the mornings by a shift-happy Thea by the red wolf enthusiastically licking him, so he wasn’t at all alarmed.
It was only when the large furry mass growled deeply at Walter that he startled and jerked, accidentally hitting his head against the ground with a yelp. The beast was distinctly not white or red, causing Walter to realise in a flash that this wasn’t Moira nor Thea on top of him. Some strange canine was sitting on top of him, gazing down at him. It was still slightly dark outside so the Brit scrambled to grab for his camping lantern in the corner, flicking it on.
The wolf recoiled away, snarling. His eyes glowed as they reflected the light, and the wolf backed his way out of the tent, shaking his head angrily and his fur bristling. It was only once Walter was able to aim the camping lantern towards the wolf that thick, streaky, dark grey fur caught his eye, and he recognised the animal. It was Oliver. He was cowering away from the light, ears pressed against his skull and lips drawn back in a growl, but it was definitely him.
“Sorry,” Walter muttered a quiet apology, stuffing the lantern underneath one of his blankets to dim the light. It was also at this time he checked his cell phone, and internally whined at the time. “I’m guessing you’re not just waking me up at 4 am for a laugh, are you?”
If a wolf could roll its eyes, Oliver definitely did. Jerking his head, the beast stepped back and away from the tent further, motioning for Walter to follow him. So there was a reason why the Alpha had woken him up so early, but he couldn’t properly convey it in his canine form. It was only once Walter was yanking on his jacket and shoes that he remembered Oliver had said the initiation into the pack would occur early this morning.
He suddenly felt very nervous as he trailed behind the massive grey wolf through the darkness. All of the camp lanterns had been switched off, and the fire had burnt out sometime during the night, so it was pitch black. Walter stumbled after half tripping over some sort of branch on the ground he couldn’t see, and his hands latched into Oliver’s fur so he could regain his balance. The wolf growled lowly, but let the Brit hold onto his pelt so the wolf could guide him, as the Alpha had fully functioning night vision.
A hand landing on Walter’s shoulder caused him to jump. “It’s just me, dear,” his wife reassured him. “I apologise for startling you.”
“Although it was pretty funny how you leapt two feet into the air,” Thea’s amused voice wafted towards him out of the darkness.
“Thea, he’s a human, he hasn’t got night vision,” Felicity reminded her gently, which caused Walter to jolt in surprise again, as her voice came from barely a metre behind him. “He doesn’t know where any of us are and he can’t see anything. Sorry, Mr Steele. Dig, can you turn on a lantern?”
Light instantly exploded into existence in front of them, and Walter blinked rapidly to adjust his eyes, relieved. All the wolves were in human form and were thankfully dressed, flinching and recoiling away from the lantern with bared teeth and snarls. The full moon was still high enough that it was affecting the wolves, causing their eyes to reflect the light and gleam in the pitch black. Oliver was back in human form and was yanking on pants and a t-shirt when Walter caught sight of him. He seemed to be keeping a fair distance away from the group, as if he was wary of approaching any of the other members of his pack. The Brit wondered whether or not Oliver was ever fully aware of what he was doing when he slipped into his feral mindset. Either way, if he was, or if he wasn’t, it made sense for the Alpha to be hesitant to get close to his family and friends after a feral episode, in case he was triggered again.
“Felicity, Diggle, Walter,” Oliver said, his tone serious, as he finished dressing and strode forwards. “Step forwards. The rest of you, fall back into pack formation. After the initiation, Walter will reveal the results of the Dominance Trials and we’ll establish a new pack order.”
“Yes, Alpha,” the members of the pack chorused.
Walter found himself being urged to walk forwards by Diggle and Felicity pressing into either side of him while the pack backed away and slipped into some sort of positioning, watching on. His blue eyes sweeping over the three of them, Oliver tapped their shoulders in canon, signalling them to fall to one knee. Walter gulped anxiously, his heart fluttering in his chest as he knelt down, the cold from the ground leaching through his pant leg and into his knee, making his leg go numb.
The Brit froze when Oliver revealed a small pocket knife, approaching them solemnly. “Felicity Smoak, John Diggle,” he started. “Do you, as wolves, residents of Starling City, submit to me, Oliver Queen, the Alpha of Starling City?”
“We do,” both of them said at the same time, staring up at him.
“And do you, as wolves under my watch and care, swear fealty to me and promise to serve and protect the Alpha pack of Starling City, for as long as you may live?”
“We do.”
“And do you accept your places in the hierarchy of this pack, wherever those places may be, to obey and listen to the Alpha’s Word as Law, for as long as you may live?”
“We do.”
Oliver nodded in satisfaction, and placed his hand out for both Felicity and Diggle to extend and rest their dominant hands upon. He made a shallow cut with the pocket knife on both of their hands, and then a gash on his own. He grasped each of their hands to mingle their blood, before announcing triumphantly, “I, Oliver Queen, Alpha of Starling City, formally accept these two wolves, Felicity Smoak and John Diggle, into the Starling City pack. May the silver wolf and russet wolf always run with us during the hunt, fight for us during the battle, and protect us ‘til the end of wolf-kind. That is my Word.”
“And the Alpha’s Word is Law,” the entire pack rumbled behind them.
“You two may go and join the pack. Stand in as unranked until the new rankings are announced,” Oliver ordered.
Felicity and Diggle stood quickly, thanking the Alpha graciously. Felicity quickly pressed a kiss to Oliver’s cheek and Diggle shook the wolf’s hand before the pair disappeared behind Walter. Now, the Brit was ridden with apprehension and slight fear. He was definitely sweating, and was most likely sending out scared chemosignals the wolves could sense.
Oliver turned to him now, and Walter actually found himself relaxing, as the grey wolf’s eyes were soft. The Brit could tell the Alpha was attempting to soothe his nerves by not fixing such a steely, cold look upon him as he did the two wolves. “Walter Steele,” he began once again, “Do you, as a human being and member of the Queen family, submit to me, Oliver Queen, the Alpha of Starling City?”
Walter swallowed and managed to keep the wobble out of his voice as he croaked out, “I do.”
“And do you, as a human under my watch and care, as a human trustee of this pack, swear fealty to me and promise to serve and protect the Alpha pack of Starling City, keeping our existence secret, for as long as you may live?
His tone was much stronger this time as he agreed, “I do.”
“And do you accept obeying and listening to the Alpha’s Word as Law, for as long as you may live?”
“I do.”
Oliver smiled. “I, Oliver Queen, Alpha of Starling City, formally accept this human, Walter Steele, into the Starling City pack as a human trustee. May the man always protect our secret existence in this city and protect wolf-kind.” He reached his hand out, and Walter shook it, dazed. “Welcome to the pack, Walter.” He glanced over the human’s shoulder, raising his voice to announce, “That is my Word.”
“And the Alpha’s Word is Law.”
The last word was barely completed when Thea crashed into his back with a delighted squeal, hugging him from behind fiercely. Walter saw Oliver rushing up to Felicity and Diggle to embrace them out of the corner of his eye before his wife swept up to him. Moira pressed a pleased kiss to his lips before joining their daughter in hugging him. Both of them were expressing their pride in him, which resulted in a warm, fluffy feeling blossoming in his chest.
“You’re finally one of us!” Thea cried out, beaming happily.
“Wasn’t I one of you anyway?” Walter laughed, quirking an eyebrow.
“You’re officially one of us,” Moira corrected, smiling.
“And I’m honoured to be,” the Brit said honestly.
A series of playful yips sounded behind the three of them, and when Walter glanced around with a curious frown. He laughed when he saw that both Oliver and Felicity were shoving each other like they did before when they were ‘fighting’, although they remained in human form.
Moira murmured quietly, “I think our son is enamoured with Ms Smoak,” when the grey wolf and silver she-wolf began nuzzling at each other, Diggle observing them with raised eyebrows and his arms folded across his chest. The bodyguard was acting as if this flirty behaviour was something he had to put with watching daily, which Walter reckoned he did, since he spent most nights with them both at their Hood operation base.
“I think my brother has finally found his mate,” Thea whispered, nudging them both with a massive grin.
“You said the same thing when Laurel was initiated into the pack,” Moira reminded her.
“Er, yeah, like ten years ago,” Thea scoffed. “And I only said that because I was eight years old and didn’t understand anything about that arranged mating thing Dad and Quentin set up.”
Walter almost choked on his alarm. “I”m sorry, arranged mating!?”
“I’ll explain later,” Moira hastily replied, looking embarrassed. “Oh! And I forgot to mention - Quentin apologised to Oliver. I don’t think he would have done that if you hadn’t told him to, and I could tell Oliver really appreciated it. So thank you.”
A pleased grin spread across the Brit’s face, just as the Alpha called over to him, “Walter, do you have the results of the Trials? We should announce the new hierarchy.”
Walter nodded, planting one last kiss on both of his girls’ foreheads and then walking up beside Oliver, pulling his notebook out of his pants’ pocket. He’d already done a count up of all the points at the end of the Trials, so that made this much easier, as he only had to quickly work out who slotted where in the Beta and Omega hierarchy. Oliver gazed over his shoulder, making little huffing noises as he read down the list that the Brit quickly wrote out on the next page.
“Alright, so,” Walter began, eyes flashing up to check that everybody was listening. Everybody had gathered around in a tight semi-circle, looking worried and excited and nervous all at the same time. “It’ll be no surprise to anybody that Oliver will remain the Alpha male, and therefore the leader of the pack. Slightly below him, your new Alpha female is…” He glanced down at the list. “Felicity!”
An expression of shock and delight swept over the blonde’s face. Chuckling, the grey wolf picked her up and twirled the silver she-wolf around in the air in excitement. Once Felicity had both of her feet firmly planted on the ground again, she pressed a kiss to Oliver’s cheek, which caused both of them to blush adorably. She turned to the rest of the pack to bow her head in respect to all of them, releasing a happy chuff, and the other wolves lowered their bodies into semi-bows in order to show their submittance to Felicity as the new Alpha female.
“It’s always the Alpha male and Alpha female that have all the babies,” Walter heard Thea whisper into Tommy’s ear.
Tommy snickered and whispered back, “Felicity’ll be pregnant within the year.”
Both Moira and Quentin whipped around to them and snorted disapprovingly. Once both the two wolves muttered their apologies, Walter resumed his announcement: “The top Beta, who shall be your duty overseer, and essentially act as human resources for the pack by directly conveying messages from and to your Alpha… will be Diggle. His Betas in command will be Moira, Quentin and Thea. Which leaves the Omegas as Laurel and Tommy.”
There were inaudible murmurs and snarls from the wolves as they glanced around at each other, shuffling around to offer congratulations and to also fall into their new ranks. It was no surprise to Walter that Oliver, Felicity and Diggle were already huddled together, talking in hushed tones. He had no doubt that their positions, as Alpha, and his two second in commands, were perfectly suited to them. Due to their working together in vigilantism, they had a good, enforced camaraderie set up.
“Thank you, Walter,” Oliver said, walking over to pat him on the shoulder. “Alright, everybody, start packing up. It’s time for us to get home.”
“Unless…?” Felicity started to say.
“Hmm?” The grey wolf raised an eyebrow at her.
“One short last run through the forest in wolf form?” she suggested. “We don’t get to do this often.”
“Is this your first command as Alpha female?” Oliver questioned, a smile playing at his lips.
The silver wolf blinked. “Wait, I can give commands?”
“To the rest of the pack, yes.”
“And to you?”
“You can give recommendations to me.”
“So I can’t order you around?” The disappointment in her voice was adorable, triggering Walter to smile amusedly.
“No, you can’t.”
“But I order you around a lot already.”
“Um, I don’t think you do.”
“Yes, she does,” Diggle muttered from next to Felicity, who winked at him.
Oliver narrowed his eyes and gave a half-hearted growl at them both, and his partners both rolled their eyes, grinning widely. The grey wolf appraised the other wolves in his pack curiously. They were all staring at him hopefully, bouncing on the balls of their feet and licking their lips. Walter hid his smile under his hand as Thea and Tommy aimed their best puppy dog eyes at their Alpha. They did look particularly adorable.
“Alright,” Oliver gave in. “One final pack run. But we can’t take more than half an hour. Some of us have work and things to do, and Felicity and Diggle have to prepare for their first pack member duty tonight.”
“Which is what, exactly?” Diggle asked, raising an eyebrow.
Thea piped up to explain, “You have to run a patrol around territory in wolf form from sunset until sunrise. It’s a rite of passage when you join the pack or come of age.”
“Well, that sounds easy enough,” Felicity murmured, nudging the russet wolf in the side. “Doesn’t sound much different from how we spend our evenings anyway.”
“You say that now, but wait until you have civilians and police officers shooting at you because you look like a bloodthirsty predator stalking the streets for prey,” Quentin shook his head.
The silver she-wolf appeared so alarmed that she released a soft whimper. Walter took a rapid step back when he heard Oliver’s soothing rumble from beside him, moving out of the way as quickly as possible so he wasn’t in the Alpha’s path towards Felicity. It was obviously the right move, as Oliver swept her up into a comforting embrace at the same time that Diggle wrapped his arms around them both, so the three wolves were locked in a hug.
“I’ll be with you the whole time,” Oliver reassured her. “I won’t be able to patrol with you and Dig, but I’ll remain near you and keep a close eye on the surroundings. You’re not getting shot on my watch, I promise.”
“I don’t want to get shot again,” Felicity mumbled into the grey wolf’s chest.
A fierce protective instinct rushed over the Brit at that statement, and he shared an anxious look with his wife. Neither of them had heard about the young she-wolf being shot before, and frankly, it was disturbing to know.
“You won’t,” Oliver replied, and he met Walter’s concerned gaze over the blonde’s shoulder. His blue eyes were stormy and ferocious, and he seemed to clutch Felicity to his chest even tighter. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Tommy interrupted the precious moment by letting out a low, insistent whine. It caused the Alpha to glare at him, but the smaller grey wolf didn’t seem to care. “So can we go for our last run now? Please?”
“Go on,” Oliver sighed, his tone sounding exasperated. “Dig, as top Beta, you can lead them. Felicity and I will bring up the rear to make sure there are no stragglers that try and draw the run out.”
It was disturbing how gleeful Tommy was as he whipped his clothes off and dashed off into the trees with a whoop of happiness. Thea ran after him, fighting with Laurel, as they both chose the less revealing option of stripping in the bushes. The Brit smiled as he watched the rest of the pack trail after them, blowing a kiss to his wife as Moira waved with a grin before she disappeared into the woods.
A hand appearing in Walter’s vision drew his attention back to Oliver. The Alpha was warily holding his hand out as if offering a handshake, his blue eyes skittering over the Brit’s face, scrutinising him carefully. Walter slowly took the hand and shook it, making sure he kept his expression open and friendly.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us over the last few days, Walter,” the grey wolf said, the genuine appreciation in his voice making the Brit smile.
“It’s nothing,” he dismissed.
Felicity shook her head, leaning into Oliver’s side. “No, it’s something.”
“Definitely,” Oliver agreed. “I know it must be weird to be the only human surrounded by an eight-strong pack of werewolves during a full moon.”
“I’m used to it by now,” Walter admitted. “I’ve been doing this monthly trip with the pack on and off for the last four years, since I found out.”
Oliver nodded, appearing a little surprised by this. Walter didn’t feel offended at all; Moira and Quentin had expressed shock when the Brit had offered all those years ago to accompany them on this four weekly trip. Apparently, a human hanging around a werewolf pack was unheard of. He wasn’t even that bothered when the grey wolf asked hesitantly, “Four years, not five?”
“It… took me a while to process the idea of werewolves existing. Being thrown into the supernatural, especially in the manner that I was… it was not easy to deal with. I had to take some time away from everybody, and after… well…”
“The Gambit went down,” the Alpha supplied for him. “I get it. Just… thank you so much for supporting the pack while I wasn’t there to lead them. For supporting my mom and Thea in particular. I can’t imagine it was a relaxed and safe time for any of you. From what I understand and I’ve been told, you kept the pack from falling apart when it was most vulnerable, Walter. We wouldn’t be the powerful force of nature that we are today without you.”
A sharp howl of impatience startled all three of them. Thea was standing in her red wolf form at the edges of the tree line, wagging her tail as she bounced restlessly on her paws. Tommy and Diggle, in their respective small grey and russet wolf forms, could be seen just behind her, with Moira, Quentin and Laurel too far into the bush to be spotted.
“I think your sister is irritated we’re taking so long,” Felicity said, smiling.
“I swear, being promoted to a Beta from an Omega is already going to her head,” Oliver sighed. Raising his voice, he called out, “Dig, you can take them ahead. Felicity and I will catch up!”
The russet wolf jerked his head upwards and barked out in response. Nipping at Thea and Tommy, Diggle led them away until they vanished completely. Felicity gave Oliver a quick kiss on his cheek and hugged Walter before skipping off into the vegetation to strip and shift. Walter pretended he didn’t see Oliver watch her go with a wistful, intense look in his eyes, but he couldn’t hide his amused smirk. The grey wolf was truly infatuated with the silver she-wolf.
“You should probably follow them before Thea decides you need a good tug on your tail,” Walter recommended.
“I’ll tug on her tail if she even gets within a foot of mine,” the Alpha muttered. “I’ll make sure we bring breakfast back for later.”
The Brit grimaced. “Yes… I think I’ll stick with the crumpets I packed.”
“Don’t fancy rare chipmunk and rabbit?”
“How one of you hasn’t caught some sort of disease from all the raw wild animals you scarf down in wolf form, I’ll never know.”
“Werewolf immune systems,” was Oliver’s explanation, thrown back at the Brit with a grin as he followed his Alpha female towards the border of the forest. “Means we don’t have to get rabies shots.”
Walter tried to imagine his wife running around the mansion erratically in wolf form with a foaming mouth and decided that werewolf immune system were incredible, and he was very thankful for them. By the time he turned his attention back to the Alpha, Oliver was already shifted into his huge grey wolf form and was running next to the silver she-wolf. They both bounded out of sight, leaving the Brit alone in their campsite.
He swept his gaze over the clearing, sighing in exasperation. The entire area was a mess, with the ground torn up by the wolves’ claws, and ripped up rabbit and small deer carcasses littered around.
“Messy pups,” Walter commented, making himself laugh.
He thought he heard a rumbling chuckle from the trees, but figured it was all in his imagination and began slowly packing up the tents and camping equipment. As he finished off taking out the poles of his own tent, he raised his head to the sky as beautiful wolf song echoed through the air. The harmonies of the howls were stunning, and the sound sent shivers down his spine.
Placing down the poles, Walter cupped his hands to his mouth and howled along with his family.
He was a member of the Starling City Wolf Pack now. He had every right to join in with a pack howl as his wife and step-children did.
The Brit could not think of any other place he would rather be than in a huge forest with his entire family and new pack after a full moon.
(Except, perhaps, his bed. It was a rather cold early morning after all.)
(And the strong, rank scent of blood from the dead animals attacked by the wolves didn’t make things better.)
(At least he had his crumpets?)