Jeremiah stepped up onto the gangway and faced the crowd, "Wolf-Folk, I am not harmed, nor am I damaged in any way. I have been shown the path we must trod with our brothers, the Human Folk. To do otherwise will spell the doom for us all. Our world grows weary and for us to survive, we all must work together, Wolf and Human to make a future for us all." They all returned on board and Jeremiah sat up most of the night telling Tosco and Tecito what had happened to him. Luca was curled up in his lap and, when Jeremiah had finally finish his story, Luca opened one eye and said, "Grandpapa, lets return to our home in your land and help our people thrive, for, if they do poorly, then the whole world will follow them into poverty. We must start with ourselves before we can sell it to the Human Folk!" Jeremiah stood and yawned before saying, "If this is what we must do, then let us get started now. Tosco, lets go home."
GETTING STARTED
They reloaded aboard the Queen of the Seas and swung by the fueling docks to refuel the ship before heading for home. All the Wolf Folk on board were in a somber mood, Lord High Alpha Wolf Jeremiah Franklin Tate had shared with them all of his experiences in the cave beneath the Great Rock and each wolf was thinking about how he could help this great Wolf accomplish his task.
Jeremiah had become almost a Holy Figure among them and there was not a wolf aboard that ship that would not gladly lay down his or her own life, should Lord Jeremiah request it.
As soon as the huge liner had been fueled and resupplied, Lord Tosco ordered the Captain to head for Newport News, Virginia. That was the closest port that could accommodate the huge vessel to their home near Charlotte, North Carolina and was their new home port. He ended his instructions with, "and don't spare the horses!"
Wolf Captain Frederik Johannson told his engineers to cram the throttles and keep them there!
They crossed the Indian Ocean and rounded the continent of Africa as they entered the South Atlantic Ocean. The main propulsion system of the ship was groaning as it was being forced to produce more thrust than her designers had ever thought would be needed.
Jeremiah got with the radio operator and contacted Greystone Manor in Charlotte, ordering up sufficient busses and cars to carry the several thousand refugees from the Old World to their new home. He did not feel quite up to using mind couple just yet, not until he had thoroughly processed all that he had learned and experienced.
Builders had been busy for months creating a new village near Cashiers to house the newcomers. It was to be complete with schools, shopping and entertainment, all the things that had been denied them in the old world.
As the days passed, the wolf folk on board the Ocean Liner relaxed and lost that "hunted" look. They no longer jumped at loud noises, nor did they look suspiciously at those not of their immediate family. Over the centuries of their isolation, they had feared association with others, even with their own kind.
Jeremiah could now walk among them and hear the beginnings of laughter from the younglings and simple games were being started by the teens from all different families and clans.
The most frightened wolf folk were those of the young Lord Alpha Tan Poc, he and his folk had literally been snatched from the chopping block in China. That all had survived was nothing short of a miracle as most of them had to be carried on board the ship, more dead than alive and the Wolf Doctors had worked around the clock to save their lives.
The younglings' first furtive steps to join with the others was met with open welcome, the teens already on board drew them into their circles and, almost before the huge ship had cleared the pier in Freemantle, a Teenage Dance had been organized!
The elders looked on as teen male wolves shyly asked the girls to dance. Before the band had completed the first set, all ice was broken and the bulkheads of the ball room were vibrating with teenaged fun!
Just before the night ended, Lord Alpha Tan Poc hobbled up to the stage, he was still recovering from the torture he had experienced, but he was determined it was not going to slow him down.
He stood on the podium and said, "My folk, my fellow wolves, we have been given an opportunity for a new life that our forefathers rejected more than ten thousand years ago. Let us grab onto the ring of life that Lord High Alpha Wolf Jeremiah has given us and take our place in Wolfdom. Let us pledge here and now that we will catch up with our brothers in this New World and contribute our share as we should. I ask you all to go to school or learn a trade and become a foundation for our new community."
He held up a sheaf of papers and continued, "I have here, in my hand, scholarships for any Wolf who passes the entrance examination, to go to any college or university of your choice, for any degree you wish to pursue. These scholarships come with no ties, only that you contribute what you learn to the betterment of all Wolf Kind and Human Kind! I call you to join an ARMY OF KNOWLEDGE and make our world a better place for us all!"
There was utter silence in the Ballroom, then conversations began, rising to a roar of sound as the teen wolves discussed this new and surprising offer. Never in their lives, nor in the legends of their forbearers had such an invitation been made.
Tan Poc made to leave the room, but he was mobbed by teen wolves wanting information about schools they could attend and where in this new land were they located.
It was fortunate indeed that Jeremiah had donated fifty million dollars to the University of North Carolina before they had departed on their search for those who had been left behind, they were going to be deluged by new students whose home address was Wolfton Village, Cashiers, NC!
The new housing was being built around the Clan lines, each of the Old World Clans would have their own blocks of buildings, each with a residence for the Alpha and his family, only shopping, schools and recreation was common to all.
The ship finally docked in New Port News, at the pier that had been purchased for the ship's new home port. As the mooring lines were being made fast, buses and large SUVs were drawing up in front of the gangway.
Each Clan Alpha had been given passes for each of his folk. Knowing their English was poor, the passes were color coded to a large placard placed on the front of each bus.
Each bus was driven by a Warrior Wolf of The Southeastern Clan of Wolves and there were local teen wolves standing by to assist any newcomer who was having problems.
The most seriously hurt of all the new wolf folk was Lord Alpha Tan Poc. As he approached the gangway grimly, thinking how was he going to be able to struggle down to the pier when two huge Wolf Warriors, who had been sent by Lord Tecito of the Mayan Clan of Wolves, leaned down and made a carry chair of their clasped hands.
Tan Poc looked up at these living giants and thanked the Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, that they were friendly!
Tan Poc's folk were used to be pushed and shoved, even trampled in a crowd, they were shocked when young teen Wolflings hugged them and assisted them in climbing into the buses.
Many were in tears as they sat in their seats, being treated as honored guests was the last thing these refugees had expected.
The shock of their new homes in Wolfton would undo almost all of them!
WOLFTON COMES ALIVE
The caravan of buses and SUVs finally arrived in Wolfton and Warrior Prince Jakob, Lord Alpha Wolf of Family GAL, stepped from his bus and first located the Family Housing Sectors. He sent a Warrior Leader with each Family Alpha to locate where their folk were to live.
Little Luca, not yet old enough to make his change, was the sole surviving male member of the Family of the Alpha of Family LEP. Jakob himself walked beside Luca as the youngster proudly led his folk to their new home.
The folk of Gal and Lep had combined to make one decent sized Family Group. As Jakob was watching the young wolf, he could see the child's wolf trying to gain emergence!
He thought to himself, "Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, all that child has been through and now this?"
Jakob heard in his mind from Lord Jeremiah, "Remember, Jakob, that young wolf is the key to our folk's survival, help him and train him that we all might survive!"
Jakob shivered and promised himself that Young Luca was going to get the best raising any young wolf ever had and that he would be the best older brother on the planet!
Jakob then returned and escorted Ton Poc of Family MET and his folk they had rescued from the Chinese. Ton Poc was determined to walk on his own, despite his terrible wounds, so as to not embarrass him, Jakob matched his strides to those of the Lord of Met.
The last to be taken to their new homes was Jakob's own folk, Family GAL. It was universal among all the newcomers, wide eyes and looks of unbelief!
Mothers wandered through the rooms of their new homes, each one of which was larger than their entire home in the old country.
The homes were equipped with all modern appliances and conveniences, none of which did any of the folk know how to use. Just when the Wolf Mothers were about to give up in frustration, teen Wolf Girls arrived in each household to answer their questions and show them how to use all the appliances.
There were a few burned offerings served up for supper that night, but no wolf complained, none of them had ever seen such luxury, let alone lived in it!
Jakob's own residence was huge, he was a young Teen Wolf, thrust into leadership by the murder of his father and mother. He feared rattling around in the large residence, like a bean in a gourd, until he discovered he had servants!
He was sitting at the table, staring at the supper he had been served. He said out loud, "I Wonder if I could have Young Luca join me for supper."
A voice beside him made him jump, it was the Major Domo of his residence, "Of course you may, My Lord, you have only to ask and it shall be our command to obey."
About that time, a young server led Little Luca in and held his chair while the child climbed up into it. The two were friends, a friendship that would last past their own lifetimes as their two families merged into one.
The Folk of both Family Lep and Family Gal were few in number and they planned to petition Lord High Alpha Jeremiah Franklin Tate for permission to merge the two Families.
Their Petition would be granted and the two youngsters agreed to joint leadership of the new Family they named "SONS OF JEREMIAH". They would be known for all time as the Family SONS, Jakob would become the Lord Alpha and Luca the Prince Alpha, they made a powerful presence and would become a principal support for Lord Jeremiah as he began making the changes needed for their survival.
In a week or so, everyone had become accustomed to their new homes and the schools were opened so that children, who heretofore, had never had the opportunity for learning, could begin the ascent into literacy.
All the classes were crowded, every youngling wolf was determined he or she was going to get one of those scholarships! The poor instructors were going at a dead run to keep up with the frantic demands of their students!
There were lights on far into each night in the students' bedrooms, where they were frantically studying to catch up on all they had missed.
Prince Tosco was a bit worried that the children were not taking time to socialize with their peers in the area. Almost all of nearby Cashiers was Wolf Folk and many of the tiny communities in the area were either Wolf Folk or Cherokee, some were both.
Tosco asked Chief Running Deer of the Cherokee Nation if they would hold a dance and a mixer for the new students from Wolfton.
Running Deer was more than agreeable and he consulted with the elderly Chief Wild Ox. Between the two of them, they created an entire weekend of games, tournaments and activities for the Wolf youngsters of Wolfton.
The Cherokee youngsters boarded buses from Magee Valley and rode to Wolfton to set up the holiday program, When the Wolf Folk awaked on Saturday Morning, the entire village was decorated like a carnival!
Small children peered over the counters to see what was going on and were soon tossing rings to win a baseball or throwing darts at balloons to win a doll.
The little Wolf girls had never seen dolls before and the Cherokee youth attendant of the game was having trouble seeing through his tears as he awarded a doll to every Wolf girl who came up to his stand!
That evening, the Cherokee Youth Lodge put on a demonstration of dances and songs of their people and the Wolf Teens soon joined them in dancing around the ceremonial fire built in the square. The Indian Dances were similar to their own and the Wolf Teens joined right in. They would later learn that both the Wolf Dances and the Cherokee Dances both had the same origin.
Before the night was over, many friendships had been cemented and, in their wolf contemporaries, the Cherokee youths discovered many of the origins of tales and traditions their own folk had brought with them more than ten thousand years earlier, including the dances they had just completed!!
It took a long time for the wolf elders to relax and not keep watch for invaders out to kill, or imprison them all. Again, it was the young of the Cherokee and their own youngsters who showed them what it was like to live in a free country. That it meant free from hate, free from murder, free from prisons and free from torture!
The Wolf children advanced through the school system rapidly, the use of mind to mind contact helped as did the assistance of tutors from The Cherokee Youth Lodge.
It was not all work and study, young Cherokee men, not quite ready for the Ceremony of Manhood, took the Wolf Teen boys out into the woods and they ran together, gaining strength and woods lore.
Luca was just barely of the age to be allowed to run with the Cherokee youths and they came up, over a hill and were confronted with a small, frame house with a low fence around it.
The Cherokee youths all bowed low to the house and they walked backwards away from it, never turning their backs on the small building.
Luca asked what the ceremony was for and Jumping Squirrel replied, "That is the birthplace of the founder of our Youth Lodge, Jeremiah Franklin Tate who is HIGH ALPHA LORD OF THE WOLVES!"
The entire group of Wolf Youths dropped to their knees and each privately thanked the Great Lord Jeremiah for their salvation.
The Cherokee youths knew of the connection Jeremiah had to these young Wolf folk and they stood back respectfully as the Wolf Younglings paid their respect to their savior.
When they returned to Wolfton, the Cherokee youths had a gift for those who had run with them; it was a hand-stitched emblem of a Wolf's Head in a circle of bright yellow thread.
Jumping Squirrel explained as the badges were handed out, "The Wolf Head symbolizes our friends, the Wolf Folk, who supported us and helped us start our Lodge. The bright circle around it symbolizes the Lordship of Wolf Lord Jeremiah Tate, the dark background tells us of the hard times and nightmares we suffered before the Wolf Lord came among us. Walk proud and wear the Wolf Badge with pride and honor. It is the aim of all the members of our lodge to serve the Wolf Lord and to help his folk as he helped us. Welcome brothers and sisters, the Cherokee Valley Youth Lodge invites you to become part of us as we are part of you."
Not just a few tears were shed when the youngsters returned home and told of their day with the Cherokee youths.
SMALL STEPS TO A NEW LIFE
Jeremiah arranged with his Uncle Gerald Tate, the Provost of the University, to hold special entrance examinations for the Wolf Folk living at Wolfton.
By now, rumors were flying around among the humans living nearby. The thought of wolves living as humans and within human communities was not quite as terrifying to the Humans as it once had been.
The day of the examinations arrived and Central Hall of Wolfton was occupied by wolf teens struggling to do their best to be admitted to the University. They had studied, crammed and read every source they could lay their hands on in preparing for the examination. They were bound by their honor not to cheat in any manner, not even mind talk, so there would be no question about their score, it was solely their own work.
The officials from the University had brought their computer readers and, as fast as there were students who finished their exams, they were fed into the computer and scored.
Of three hundred and fifty-six examinations, there was only ONE failure and that was because the applicant was too young to take the test, otherwise, he would have scored in the top five applicants taking the test.
That applicant was Little Luka! He had sneaked into the testing room and grabbed a test. Uncle Jerry told Jeremiah, "Good Grief, if the child was not so small, I would have changed his age and taken him anyway! Lord of Wolves, Above Us All, that youngling is better than brilliant!"
The Cherokee Youth Lodge held a party for all the test takers, and yes, Little Luka was invited!
Some of the Wolf youths had spotted the carved wood statue out in front of the Lodge and asked about it. When they were told of the story of Peter Tate and how he had saved the boys who had been hurt during their manhood trials and just who Peter Tate was, the mood turned somber.
A couple of the older Wolf Teens decided they were going to look Lord Peter Tate up and become his friends. They did!
In fact, a short while later, there was a student society begun, THE PETER TATE SOCIETY OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE and it was a point of honor among the Wolf Folk that they become members of the organization, whose works included caring for underprivileged children of both races, and seeing to it they got a chance at higher education.
To be a member of that society, a student must attain a grade point average greater than 4.0 in all his or her classes and maintain that average throughout his or her academic career.
By the time the first group of students had graduated, the Society had twenty million dollars available to help those students who had no other means to go to college or university.
That none of the recipients were Wolf folk did not matter.
Three years later, Prince Luka of Family LEP finally made it into the University of North Carolina as a Freshman student! Although he was still underage, Gerald Tate, Jeremiah's Uncle and University Provost bent the rules to allow the young Wolf to enter. He feared the youngster would go someplace else, where he was not known, and enter another university.
His friend and confidant, Peter Tate, just shook his head and felt sorry for any instructor who tried to keep ahead of "Little" Luka! Not only was the young wolf pure genius, he had grown a head taller than all his compatriots and could outrun any of them on a track or cross country! While everyone called him "Little Luca", there was nothing little about the seven-foot-tall youth!
There were more than a few coeds who cried in their pillows each night when they discovered that Luca Lep was of the Wolf-Folk! They did not learn until later that he was the Lord Alpha Wolf of that Family!
It was not long before the refugees started using the skills they had learned in the "old" country and the stores in Charlotte began selling high-fashion gowns, shawls, men's shirts and hats. They were the height of fashion and made so skillfully that they would outlast anything else available.
Several of the Wolf Folk who had experience making fine furniture in the "old country", helped the Cherokee Youth in their furniture and, suddenly, orders started coming in so fast, they were forced to work a second shift!
Their new furniture designs were popular and in great demand. Several competitors tried duplicating the furniture being produced by the Cherokee and the Refugee Wolf youths, but none came even close!
By the time the next summer rolled around, there were numerous young wolf girls getting married and, not just a few of them were pregnant, almost immediately. The old mothers of the Wolf Folk were cackling among themselves that there were going to be babies to play with real soon!
It had been many years since there had been wolf babies among them and the old mothers were dragging out patterns for baby clothes that had not been used in more than a generation!
THERE IS A DARK SIDE
There is a dark side to every large city, where the criminals and those who steal from others to support themselves live. The sudden influx of students at the University, all coming from a town none of them had ever heard of, caught their interest.
That they could dig nothing up, interested them even more. They tried snatching one of the students off the streets, but all they found the next day was the mangled remains and disconnected body parts of the thugs they had sent, along with the kidnappers.
The bodies of the kidnappers were never identified. There were no parts of sufficient size to tell who they had been!
One of them spotted Luka doing his morning runs on the sidewalks and streets near his dorm at the University. They threw a net over him and dumped him in a small truck before driving off.
The deed was seen by two Wolf Folk seniors and they mind-called and the entire set of dorms where the Wolf kind were staying were suddenly disgorging angry Wolf students and human students alike. The close association with the Wolf students was opening mental abilities among the humans that had laid dormant for thousands upon thousands of years and they, also, heard and responded to the frantic call of the Wolves!
In less time than the telling, there was a posse of angry Wolf and Human teens, all in their early stages of steaming anger, hot on the kidnappers' trail.
They followed the kidnappers to a dingy warehouse down in the commercial district. Luka told them he was not hurt and to just hang loose for a while to see what was going to happen.
The thugs' "head man" was none other than the very same student that Lord Jeremiah had problems with when he was a student in the same University many years earlier!
The man was a member of a religious sect and had determined that the strange folks living at Wolfton were evil and anti-Christian.
Luka's friends and clan members, who had trailed them to the warehouse were not taking any chances with their young Wolf Lord's life, they crashed into the warehouse, taking the thugs by surprise.
A few minutes later, all that remained was a pile of human parts and blood seeping down towards the drains. Not a single member of the group of thugs who had kidnapped Luca survived!
It was several days before the information filtered up to Jeremiah and he was furious. Not only that the thugs had gone undetected for so long, but that his own folk had not reported the incident to him!
After he had created a new orifice in the Chief of Security at the University, who was a Wolf Warrior, he set into the Wolf Folk students.
Halfway through his rant, he stopped and hugged Luka, saying, "Oh Luka, I would have died if anything had happened to you, you are like a son to me and I just couldn't take it if you had been injured!"
Luka replied quietly, "Papa, you must learn to trust us, we are the young Warriors who will bring us all into full communion with the Human Kind."
He spread out his hands towards the young wolves who were enduring the "chewing out" and said, "Lord Jeremiah, Prince and Lord of our kind, we are your Paladins, we stand with thee in guardianship, wherever you shall go, so also shall we. To you we owe our allegiance, to you we swear our fealty, our loyalty and our love."
So it was that the Wolf Order of the Paladins was begun. Lord Alpha Wolf Luka would serve as the leader of THE WOLF PALADINS for the next two thousand years and would be the "spearhead" for the integration of Human Kind and Wolf Kind into one civilization.
TBC
The struggle for survival is over for the Wolf Folk, but a new struggle is on the horizon, a struggle for the survival of all folk on the Planet Earth. Resources are failing and climate change is rendering large parts of their planet uninhabitable. Old and worn-out soil is failing and the planet's food supply cannot feed everyone. Only the combined efforts of all Human Kind and Wolf Kind will allow them to remain on the planet of their birth.