Quote from Adriana on June 7, 2023, 9:40 pm

We first meet Bob's pack in Many Decisions: Secrets, when Chapman is summoned to the mountain to find Mercy and her son. Brief mention is made in The Way of the Trusted, before we formally meet them in Transitions. We follow part of their group in Into the Woods, and most recently in Captains.

Inside, four werewolves sat in various arrangements around the living room. Mercer, a taller, later middle aged man with black hair, green eyes and a lean build, looked quietly to Clay - a man of roughly the same age, but was instead dark complected with a bald head and stronger, shorter build. He blinked his tawny eyes in response to the look. Tara leaned back and stared towards the door with her brown eyes-she was of a light olive complexion, tall and slender, with dark long hair in frizzy curls. Reggie sat nearest to Mercer, he was both tall and broad in stature, with dark hair, brown eyes that hosted a red sheen, and a warm brown complexion.

There was a trepidation about the room, hardly on account of Uno's presence. Clay's voice, deep and thick, came first, breaking the silence.

"One of the loners," he observed.

Mercer nodded. Tara leaned forward and extended her long fingers, putting out a cigarette in the ashtray before clasping her hands together.  "He's got his granddaughter up in those mountains." she said, her voice soft and quiet.

"Not to mention the welp in the belly of Pinerich." Clay added.

"What happened to that group? The "Red Lions", right?" Tara asked, eyes turning on Mercer.

"Internal conflict... " Mercer responded.

"They picked a terrible place for a camp, with those flowers up there in the mountains. I still can't believe we found that woman and her son." Tara changed the subject as quickly as she introduced the last one. The rest of the group was used to her way of conversation by now and went with it easily.

"Is it such a bad idea..?" Clay asked with a raised eyebrow. The room became silent as they pondered the idea.

Reggie fiddled with his fingers and shifted anxiously. He hadn't said anything as of yet. The others noticed his silence, but knew the reason for it, and there was nothing that could be said at the time to put him at ease.

Whether or not Bob called himself an alpha, these were his betas. Although he referred to them as Captains, and himself as a Chief (now officially retired from the actual position). Each of the Captains had no less than four subordinates below them, none of which were present for this meeting.

More History on Chapman and Family

Robert (Bob) Chapman has been in Middlecrest his entire life.

His formal pack presently consists of 30 werewolf members with titles which would be his betas, gammas and deltas.

By his nature - eager to help, genuine, generous, and highly involved with all aspects of his city and the people in it - his network is innumerable. His wife has come from a long line of nurses working in or around Middlecrest, and his daughter was heavily involved in law and politics. Chapman doesn't let a need go unaddressed so long as he's aware of it.

Chapman has outsourced most of his pack members from various places in order to keep diversity within his ranks.

It's assumed that Chapman's pack is able to operate in such a close proximity to the Svalnaglas for the same reason that they don't remove hunter factions - the primary function of the Shepherd's is to provide an additional barrier between mankind and werewolves. Chapman effectively keeps loners and rogue's out of the cities, as well as take down organizations that threaten the natural structure of werewolf packs.

(Most notably, Chapman urged Silas to use his rank  in the Leonum Rubrum to topple it-the conversation of which is here in Silk Threads).

Chapman's pack consists of four Beta's and their subordinates. Chapman will have officially retired and turn his title over to Clay Smith at the start of the new year, 1998.

 

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Meet the Betas

Clay Smith: Clay (33) is being passed the torch as Alpha, or Chief of Police, in place of Bob. Clay has light tan eyes, a stark contrast to his dark skin. He's bald and built sturdy, not as tall as Mercer or Tara. When he speaks, he commands the attention of a room; he's confident and uncompromising, and while he doesn't immediately posses Bob's charisma, he'll be a more than suitable leader.

Clay is in his early thirties. When he's not working, he winds down at a local bar or club, but never loses his senses. Clay eventually wants a wife and large family, but unlike Mercer, refuses to dabble in the dating pool of human women, and says (very seriously) when asked, that if the "perfect" werewolf woman drops in his lap, he'd marry her on the spot.

His werewolf form is sleek and powerful, being built similar to a cane corso mastiff, being built large, thick and sleek, with a completely solid black coat. Clay is a first generation werewolf.

Clay's gamma's are:

Miles Carter (m, 26), Michelle Johnson (f, 30), Ken Hamada (m, 32), and Ryan Craig (m, 34).

Brief Backstory: Clay won't give anyone a straight answer as to his upbringing. Chapman may be the only one who knows. As for everyone else, when his origin is inquired of, he gives them a story on the spot, usually with a convincing, deadpan tone. Oftentimes the story is very heart-wrenching and sad. He waits for the buy in and then laughs at their gullibility and goes about his business.

****

Tara Randall: Tara (34) is a frizzy haired woman who acts as Bob's secretary/Captain of  Human Resources. She's in charge of the paperwork for the department and is in the position of (mostly) cleaning up Bob's messes and preparing reports for their head of public relations, Mercer Hayes. Tara has light brown eyes, an olive complexion, and a tall and lithe build comprised of mostly limbs. In werewolf form, Tara has flowing wavy hair and is built much like a borzoi-long snout and long limbs, with long ears.

Tara is pleasant company and never allows for a dull moment, much like Chapman, but also knows how to get her head down and focus on work. In whatever spare time she's afforded, she travels in a teardrop style camper with her partner, reading books and enjoying the sights. Tara is a pure breed.

Tara's gammas are:

Bradley Palmer (m, 33), Tamara Denir (f, 40), Jack Dawson (m, 21), and Brian Walters (m, 39).  

Brief Backstory: Tara lived the 70's RV life as a child, going all over the country with her wannabe musician parents, having little formal education and running barefoot across beaches and fields. She earned her GED officially at the age of twenty three and went to school to become a paralegal, much to the dismay of her free spirit parents. She ended up working for Bob further down the road. Her parents and siblings live in Oregon where she tries to visit them at least twice a year.

****

Mercer Hayes: Mercer (31) is a pretty face that handles the public relations for the sheriff's office, his official title is "Captain of Safety/Communications". He's also heavily involved in the political affairs of Middlecrest. Mercer is fairly complected, with dark hair, green eyes, and a lean build. When on camera or working with people, he's charming and outspoken; among friends, he tends to be more introverted, silent and observant.

He's also a hopeless romantic but has little luck in the dating pool, and is very self conscious about it as he's nearing his mid thirties. It's a tough game out there for werewolves.

Mercer's gamma's are:

Naomi Baker (f, 25), Daunte Kendrick (m, 31), Christian Croft (m, 27) and Miguel Gomez (m, 42).

Brief Backstory: Mercer had a completely uneventful upbringing. His parents were both big business folks, working their 9-5 shifts, often working longer than they needed to and always working towards that next big promotion. Nonetheless, he got good grades in school, had a positive education experience, never acted out, and grew up without any major hitches, except for the sterility in the relationship with his parents. His parents had trouble conceiving, therefore he's an only child. Mercer's parents ended up retiring to the Florida Keys and his relationship with them is limited to a phone call or occasional Holiday visit.

In werewolf form, Mercer is dark and wolfish in appearance, with white paws and a white patch on his chest. Mercer is a pure breed.

****

Reggie Delgado: Reggie was the youngest in the group prior to Val being introduced, being in his late twenties (27). Reggie is Detectives Captain which allows him flexibility in his dealings.

Reggie is probably the most open, moreso than Tara, when you get him talking. However, that openness lends to him wearing his heart on his sleeve, and he's not always a model example of keeping his emotions in check. Reggie especially tends to lock horns with Clay.

Reggie is Hispanic, and built with large shoulders and a strong build. His skin his a warm shade of tan and his brown eyes have a red sheen to them, which is deepened in his secondary form. Reggie's werewolf form is wolfish, with a reddish brown and pelt pattern akin to a coyote.

Reggie's gammas are:

Tao Zheng (m, 32), James Vail (m, 20), Cynthia Coleman (f, 25), and Daniel Moore (m, 27).

Brief Backstory: Reggie comes from a massive, traditional Hispanic family-minus the werewolf genetics, and he visits with them almost every weekend. His father passed away when he was younger due to a heart attack, and his Mother, though proud of him, wishes he would find another career as she only has one son and four daughters.

Reggie was in a serious long term relationship with a human woman that only just recently ended, contributing to his current sour mood.

Reggie is a full blood.

On top of the Beta's and their gamma's, there are ten deltas who assist wherever needed. They largely consist of younger members who are training underneath the more experiences gammas and betas.

Simon Huang (m, 24) - Ben Meyers (m, 29) - Jordan Love (f, 22) -  Julio Juan-Espinoza (m, 22) -  Shawn Emmett (m, 25) - Lisa Garcia (f, 26) - Elliot Hunterson (m, 22) - Neil Mc’Carthy (m, 28) - Melody Holland (f, 20) - Zain Pierre (m, 51)