The Summers pack had taken in more than a fair share of strays and lost souls over the years, and not just in August’s time as Alpha. His father had started the tradition long ago, making sure that his pack was a place where everyone felt welcome. The pack was a place where those without family could find one, or at least the closest thing to it. There were many pack-members, those who had been present to help raise August and his siblings, who were not born in the pack, but had come to them for different reasons and in various conditions. It was a tradition that he hoped would never end, no matter how many generations of Summers lead the pack or even if it passed over to new hands. That was why August found Sam’s integration so important. He firmly believed, beyond any shadow of doubt, that they were the best people equipped to mend the damage that had been done by the wolves he had lived with before.
In instances past, August had been a more active and influential participant in helping new members find their footing. He wasn’t the best at counseling those in severe distress, but he did what he could, where he could. But Sam’s case was different. Whatever had been done to him -- and August had a pretty good idea of what it was, even without what he had heard through his siblings -- he felt that Sam was put off by the presence of an Alpha. His power and standing caused the other wolf to fall back on old behavior, even if he didn’t mean to -- so August kept his distance. He was thankful for Jo, immeasurably so. If he could have chosen someone to make a connection with Sam, it would have been her, and he was happy that she was proving to be someone that Sam could trust. That was why when Jo told him that something was wrong, August didn’t ignore the suspicions.
Unfortunately, he was not able to address the matter as quickly as he would have liked to. The spell, or whatever it was that had affected the town, wiped clean all his worry for Sam, along with many other things. August was much more concerned with the former, even despite the calm he felt for the first time in his life since he met Venus. When he missed dinner, alarm bells rang in August’s head, reminding him that he needed to have a talk with Sam. When he missed breakfast, August knew that he needed to assess the situation before it got any worse.
With a plate of food in his hand, August ascended the stairs to Sam’s room. He wasn’t sure what the other wolf would like, so the plate was a little more full than he supposed Sam would have made for himself. Either way, it was about the gesture, which was to show that he cared and he wanted to make sure that the wolf didn’t go hungry. When he reached the door, August rapped lightly against the door before announcing himself. He waited for Sam to give him permission before wrapping his hand around the knob and opened the door. “I thought if you didn’t feel like coming to breakfast, I’d bring breakfast to you.” There was always a fear hanging in the back of his mind when he was around Sam that the other wolf would do things because he thought August expected him. He hoped this would not be one such instance, and that if Sam didn’t want to eat, he wouldn’t.