Chapter 2: Family Dinner
John's POV
The Monday following his exams he makes his way to the recruitment office on campus. While he is not going to hand in the paperwork today, he wishes to pick it up so he can get a start on it. Upon getting there he spends a few minutes speaking with the recruiter about the positions that he could official sign up for. When the recruiter hears the fact he has completed his Bachelors in Medicine and only has his residency to complete before he will be a full doctor, he grabs a second set of papers for him to fill out. These papers were for more advanced credentials, in this case his medical school information. Applications of this type could apply directly to officer school and skip through the enlisted ranks.
Bidding the recruiter farewell he heads to his apartment to start getting his things packed, not that it will take long, he has a tendency to keep everything as efficient as it needs to be. By supper time, he has packed all of his things into the boxes that had been dropped off for him to do so in. As soon as he notifies Briar his things are ready, they would be picked up and taken back to the Watson pack family home for him. Once he has decided where to live, they would be removed to there.
If all goes according to plan, it will be stored at the pack home for several years while he does his time in the service.
Sighing, he stretches before settling in at the table with all of the paperwork to fill out. He will have to take the aptitude tests as well, but that can be done after his degree is finalized. Most of the paperwork is simple, name, age, birthday, NI number, primary address at the time of application, claim to shifter status, marriage status, education, and anything else that they feel is important . The second part is a bit more complicated because it includes his training and skills, his degree, and goals. Once he has it as complete as he can, he sets it aside and stretches again.
In three days time he will receive his official grades and scores. He can finish the paperwork then. The day after was the official graduation. That night he was due at the pack family home for a family dinner that was supposed to include his parents, sister, granddame, uncle, aunt and her bondmate, and all of the cousins. In total there would probably be twenty to thirty people. It was going to be a long night, he thinks.
While he is close to his uncle that is not going to stop the problems that erupt when he finally tells the head of his pack and family that he is going into the military to be a field surgeon.
He wants to find out what is happened to the shifters on the frontlines. They are faster and stronger, they should not be dying of simple things that any iota can heal within moments, and that human doctors can repair within hours. So why are they? His ability to shield was going to be very useful for this since it would allow him to gather the information without being seen, heard, or smelled.
So how to spend his last few days, he wonders, as he changes gears from considering the future to considering now. Friends, pack-mates, and family he rarely sees would be good. If things go according to plan it would be a while before he would be able to do so again. With that decided he makes a couple of calls and emails before eating dinner. Of the people he got in touch with several of them had plans already, but the rest were more than willing to make plans for the next few days with him or invite him to join their plans instead.
That night after dinner, he cleans up and dresses for a night on the town, before going to join the guys from his rugby team for drinks and dancing. By the time he gets home, most folks have been asleep for hours. Smiling, he prepares himself for bed and thinks, this might not be a bad few days.
The next few days go in a flash for him while he spends all of his time hanging out with friends, visiting favorite places, and just getting little things accomplished. On Thursday he stops and gets his official grades from the records hall as soon as they are available before returning home to finish the paperwork for the application process. Upon finishing it, he debates about turning it in now or waiting until Monday to do so. Monday, he decides, would be better, this can be his last weekend of pure freedom, or as free as he is sure to get when he tells his family. Sighing, he decides to tell them after dinner. No reason to ruin the mood right before the meal.
The next morning comes early to him as he gets up and works through the exercises he had originally started as a way to build himself up in order to match some of the physically stronger humans and shifters on his rugby team. He might be an elite but he refused to use that as an excuse to not actually take care of himself. When he is done with his morning exercises, he heads to the shower to clean up before having a small breakfast. He will not be eating a lot for the most part today because tonight is a family dinner and the Old Gods know that if he does not eat then there will be hell to pay.
The time between when he finishes his preparation and when it is time for the graduation ceremony goes smoothly with him checking to make sure all of his things are packed. Last night was his last in this apartment. The moving team will have everything gone before the graduation ceremony is complete.
About half an hour before he was due at the ceremony, he does one last check of himself, making sure that he looks orderly before heading to where he is supposed to be. Despite the fact he is the youngest graduating in his group, he is also the one with the top ten in his class, number three or four. Afterwards, his family collects him up with a big round of praise and congratulations as they head to the families vehicles, he will ride with his parents and sister.
Harry is excited for him. He is the youngest person to ever finish university in their family. She had not even managed to get the most basic classes done because she was forever arguing with the teachers. Instead, she had dropped out and started working for their uncle doing paperwork for the family's real-estate business. It was not work she was happy with but it is work that allows her to pay for her own home and the never ending collection of lovers that she took.
His father, a golden wolf named Jason who is a rather short man when compared to most the pack, inquires if he wishes to open his own clinic to which he replies eventually, after he has had formal practice working in his field for a bit. Apparently this is the right answer, because he nods once, and returns his attention to driving. His mother, a brown wolf named Vianne originally from France, babbles away at him as they are riding in the car. Thankfully, he is well used to her babbling and ignores most of it, paying only the barest amount of attention as she talks about how proud she is of her doctor son.
When they get to the house, he excuses himself and vanishes to the kitchen where he finds his Aunt Sandra busy cooking away. She had come to his graduation but she had probably left just as soon as he was done in order to get back to her kitchen.
"Aunt," he murmurs in greeting as he hugs her carefully.
"John," she replies, hugging him back with one arm as she stirs with the other. "I was proud to see you complete your degree. You are the first in our family to use your gifts in the human world as well."
"Can I help any?" he inquires, blushing lightly at her praise.
She nods, and sets him to work on the dessert. He gets to chop up the apples for the pies she wishes to make. As they work the two of them share an easy conversation, he enjoys cooking nearly as much as he enjoys healing, had he not become a doctor he would have become a cook. Perhaps it is something he will look into later in his life instead. Several hours pass as the two cooks and eventually she sends him to ring the dinner bell to let everyone know that food is done. It had been installed when she had started cooking mass meals for the pack, as a way to summon everyone for food, the family could have kept servants but that did not sit well with any of the current members so they took care of themselves instead, with some of the lesser pack members coming over twice a week to clean and being well paid for their efforts.
As is custom, each family member stops by the kitchen to grab a plate or tray to put on the dining table, this way everyone can eat at the same time without one or two people making a bunch of trips to deliver the food to the dining area. After everyone is seated a prayer is said to the Earth Lord in thanks before they begin to eat.
For the first part of the meal everything goes smoothly, he is seated roughly halfway down the table near his cousins and sisters of a similar age. They are discussing how their respective education is going. Most of them are in secondary school, collage, or university. His aunts, mother, and grandmother are all seated close together chatting about how things have been since the last time they had seen each other almost a month prior, while his father and uncles are busy talking about work.
Somewhere along the way he hears his Uncle Eric remark, "You should take him to a Seer, Jason. As one of my heirs it is important that we find out what type of girl he is to be bonded with. It is very important that she is well able to take over the alpha-second slot if he ends up being it."
His father nods as he takes another bite of food, saying nothing.
"I am still not certain why you allowed him to train as a human doctor would, we are shifters, his training as an iota should be more than enough for anything he would need do. Besides, he should not be too reliant on healing, realistically healing may save lives but there is no reason to weaken one's self by not understanding pain too." His uncle comments snidely.
Most the time he gets along well with his uncle, however one thing they have always differed on is the fact he feels the need to help people, while the only people his uncle helps is the pack, and even then there seems to always be a price attached in some form.
"I think he spent too much time with mother," his father responds before taking another bite of his food. "She has funny ideas about healing too."
His grandmother's eyes narrow at her sons but she says nothing to them, continuing instead to speak with her daughter and bond daughter-in-laws instead.
"Still, find his bondmate and get him to breeding. From my understanding he enjoys the company of females so that will not be a problem." His uncle just about orders, "then we will see about this doctor concept, perhaps we can find another shifter for him to work under until he has had practice. Then he can open a clinic that is for our kind, not the humans if he insists on this path."
Losing his patience he looks over to his uncle, catching his eye and stating, "Actually, uncle, don't bother with either, I plan to enter the army next week to become a field surgeon in Afghanistan. They are not calling for them yet, but they will be, and soon. This war is new and already we have lost friends and family, pack-mate to it. I plan to stop that or try my damnest anyways."
"I forbid it." his father and uncle both snap before looking at each other in shock.
His uncle is the one who continues, "You cannot, as one of the heirs until you produce offspring I will not allow it."
He smiles tightly, answering, "Forbid away, I am still doing it. It's our duty to the pack to try and stop the needless deaths of our pack members, or have you forgotten that lesson that you drilled into my head? Even if I have to give up my family, I will be doing this."
Silence reigns at the table, most of the cousins are staring at him is complete shock. Nobody talks back to Eric like that except for his daughter, and everyone knows what kind of problems that can cause.
"Excuse me?" his uncle demands.
"I said, I am going into the armed forces as a field surgeon and even if you forbid me I am still going. It is our duty to our pack." He replies, repeating himself quietly but firmly.
"Eric, John, why don't you retire to the study to speak of this after dinner?" his Aunt Sandra suggests as she starts to put all of the empty dinner dishes on the cart kept in the dining area for just that purpose. Some of the other younger members of the family join her, but there is still silence as everyone watches the staring contest.
Like him, his uncle is an elite wolf. However his uncle also has the alpha's gift, the ability to use his voice to make people obey, he does not. However, he is very good at overriding orders given in the alpha's voice, making it pointless to use it on him. The two of them continue their battle of wills as his aunt and some of the cousins bring out the pie and set it out.
Finally cousin Emma, Uncle Eric's daughter and primary heir snaps, "As the only other elite in this family I judge that you will discuss it like civilized wolves when we are done. Now stop being rude to the rest of the family!" her temper is sharp, inherited from her mother who was also an elite prior to dying during child birth.
The two of us nod, going back to eating but silence remains through the rest of the meal. As soon as the two of them are done, they both push away from the table and head towards the office without another word.
He is sure that there is going to be more arguing so he is surprised when his uncle sighs and remarks, "You are set on this course?"
He nods once sharply, watching his uncle closely.
"Fine. Then you will not be an enlisted soldier, you will go straight to officers school and become an officer instead. I do not like this. But as you pointed out, you are doing your duty by the pack, and I have to respect that. After all, you cannot be an alpha if you do not understand duty." His uncle continues before pausing to rub his neck. "Make sure that you are accepted into officers training. I will not have one of my heirs being a lowly enlisted soldier. Use the money from the pack to pay for it."
He nods again but realizes the conversation, if that's what you want to call, it is done.
Shaking his head, he partially bows before withdrawing. He is not surprised to find his grandmother waiting for him outside the office. You are sure? She queries, her mind voice full of worry.
"I am," he replies.
Then go with the Shadow Mistresses blessings.She responds, pressing her palm against his cheek before heading up to her room.
Everyone else wants to talk about it, some try to talk him out of it, others are thrilled for him but it is his grandmother's actions that cause him to think the most.