Chapter 197 - Mollitia Sit Virtus

The next morning Christian woke up before the sun crossed the horizon. He had an early flight to catch, and therefore without much ado he left. He made sure to send his Father a text as to why he had vanished. He decided to go for the truth knowing well enough that his father won't bother telling Caleb about it. In fact he asked Mr. Wrisberg to keep the entire thing a secret.

The flight to Alaska was quite long, and therefore it was quite late by the time he actually reached the pack house which itself was a long way from the airport. Upon reaching the boundary he was welcomed by the pack beta himself. 

"You must be Christian Wrisberg, from the Crescentile pack" he extended his hand. "I am Riley Buchanan. Welcome to the Ice Fountain". Christian nodded and shook the hand of the blonde guy before he entered the pack.

The pack house was not that close to the border of the pack, but it was not so far that it would be tiresome to walk. On his way in, he noticed all the things that were happening inside the premises. This pack seemed smaller than theirs. 

He could see why this pack was called Ice Fountain. The entire area was covered with god knows how many layers of ice. This place was too cold thus explaining two layers of sweaters on the residents. Still, it was less than his four layered one. There was no fountain in sight, so he had no idea what was with that. 

Outside the head office there was a huge ice sculpture with a giant wolf. The wolf was shown mid-howl while the byline read "mollitia sit virtus".Christian didn't realise, but something about this drew him in a trance. "Mollitia sit virtus, Resilience is strength." Riley spoke who stood next to Christian drawing the later's attention. "This is kind of our motto here."

"I see" Christian nodded. "This is amazing" looking back at the sculpture he commented. 

Once he reached the office he was greeted by the pack Alpha, who was slightly older than him. "Welcome to the Ice Fountain. I hope the journey wasn't trouble".

"Not at all, it was quite the ride" Christian gave the other a subtle nod. "If you don't mind me asking, why is your pack named Ice Fountain? I have heard quite the names all around the world, but a name like this is… unique"

"I suppose it is," The Alpha chucked. "My name is Miller Fountain." He declared. Christian's eyes widened in realization. "This pack was founded by my great grandfather. So, we are quite new in that sense". He explained

"I see". Christian nodded. "That would explain why I haven't heard of it much," he mumbled.

"We have heard of crescentile though, and I must say… you have quite interesting history"

"Well, it's a bit long… that's all" Christian shrugged.

"I guess" Miller took a deep breath. "So, would you like to see the wolf now or later?"

"How about now?" Christian asked.

"Sounds perfect," Miller Smiled. He led them to their small holding cell which was quite questionable to be fair. How did this hold back such a voracious wolf? Christian wondered. "Careful with the walls, they are loaded with wolfsbane." Miller warned. That hit Christian with realisation as he understood their tactic.

"Is this wolf susceptible to wolfsbane?" Christian asked.

"I think so. A little amount doesn't do the trick though, I think we need a lot" Miller wondered. As far as Christian could recall, Ashton was susceptible to Wolfsbane and therefore he felt his hope flickering away.

Once they reached the dark hub of their tiny prison, they stared at the biggermost cell there. The wolf was almost camouflaged with the black walls making it harder to spot.

"Is he… asleep"? Christian asked.

"It appears so," Miller nodded. "Perhaps now is not the best time. This wolf is unstable. Even if it's imprisoned here, I would prefer not to bother him unnecessarily." Christian nodded at him before agreeing to exit this place.

They headed off to the guest house where Christian was allotted one of the best rooms available to them. It was neatly arranged with a thermostat keeping the area warm making it easier for him to tolerate this cold weather. 

Upon asking about the wolf, Christian realised that the wolf mostly stays active in the night. They agreed to give the interactions some try after supper. At night however, due to some urgent business the Alpha had to cancel the plan for taking him there. However, Christian thought that this might be the perfect opportunity for him to go and see things for himself. If he was left alone with the wolf, he might actually get to talk to him.

Making sure no one catches him he slips into the dungeon which was directly connected to their tiny prison. One of the best things about having a tiny pack is that almost everyone is required for the duties, leaving rarely anyone to fend off.

He snuck back into the dungeon and noticed the wolf munching on something. Someone must have provided him with food. Christian thought. He stood there for a while observing the wolf as it ravished the food in front of him as if it was starving. 

Christian wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to try the name Ashton, but that would be a bit awkward if it wasn't him. Taking a quick look around him he cleared his throat earning the wolf's attention. It stopped in his pace and turned his head slightly to see Christian in its peripheral vision. 

That momentary brief response was all he got before it got back into its own food. The vulgar wolf the pack members described seemed to be contrasting to the current 'mind my own business' hungry wolf. 

"Ashton" finally Christian dared to use that name. The wolf's only response was to ignore him. So Christian called again, "Ashton, is that really you?" Still no response. 

It was clear that no matter how many times he had to repeat this, he was not going to receive any response. So he decided to try another way. "You don't want to respond, fine. Let's see how you respond to Caleb who is also on his way". Christian felt like an idiot, for mentioning Caleb. He found himself desperately wishing that this wolf was Ashton. And when that wolf paused again for a moment, Christian found a flicker of hope that this after all might be Ashton. 

"Who is there"? Suddenly Christian heard another voice at the main gate.