by Bella Colt
I watch as her facial features change from confusion to understanding and then possibly excitement. As I see realization dawn in her eyes, her enthusiasm wanes.
“Is that why we’re drawn to each other?” She asks, looking hurt.
“Honestly, yes and no. That is why I feel the need to seek you out and claim you, but those are my instincts guiding me to my perfect match. The one person on this earth that exists for me, the person that completes my missing pieces! No other man is going be able to please you like I can, in or out of the bedroom. Thinking of you with another man makes me sick to my stomach as well as violently jealous.” I say, staring intensely into her blue eyes.
Before she can think to interrupt me, I continue.
“There is still more I need to get out. When a wolf finds his mate; he finally realizes how his life should be. But until his mate accepts him and he claims her, he can never be truly happy. His sole driving force, at that point, is to do whatever is necessary to win his mates affection. In fact, mates separated for an extended period have been driven to suicide or worse. They risk losing themselves to their wolf soul, if we lose ourselves completely, we go rogue. That means we regress to a feral state, killing anything and everything that’s around. Rogue wolves are very dangerous.” I sigh, giving her a moment to take it all in.
I’m amazed that she is taking all of this so well, she even looks like she might have recognized what I was talking about when I mentioned the signs of true mates.
“So, what does it all mean, why are you telling me all of this?” She asks like there’s absolutely nothing abnormal with anything that I’ve told her up to this point.
Apparently, she has not picked up on the hints that she is my true mate.
“I’m telling you this for a couple of reasons. The most important is because Amara, you are my mate. Meeting you was most definitely my fate!” I say, with a frustrated growl.
She sits there, and I can tell she’s forming questions in her mind. She looks up at me, and before she can say anything, I interrupt.
“Ask anything, Princess, I believe I covered the most important parts, but there is probably one last thing that I should mention. I’m the next Alpha to my pack.” I say.
Chapter 17: Amara
“Alpha, what’s that?” I ask, being completely thrown off by him saying that I’m his mate.
“In a werewolf community, we have a hierarchy. An Alpha is the leader of a pack. Everyone has a job and a purpose that they need to fulfill to ensure the safety and livelihood of the entire pack. Any werewolf would protect another pack member with his or her life, in an instant, no questions asked. But it’s the Alpha’s job to protect the entire pack against the big threats and make decisions daily. To keep things running smoothly. You know?” He answers with a sigh.
“What exactly does that mean?” I say, still not seeing the significance to me.
“Well if you accept me as your mate and I claim you, that will make you the packs Alpha female. This is the exact same role as me but without dealing with the enforcing and physical demands of the pack leader. You will help make pack decisions and hold meetings. That sort of thing.” He says while looking at the ground.
I find myself reeling about everything he has said since seeing him in wolf form. I remember Declan saying there were a couple of reasons he was telling me all this. Since I am human, I wonder what it means to be his mate.
“Declan, I’m human, what happens if I do accept you?” I ask, voicing my thoughts as I look into his green eyes.
“That’s where you have it wrong, babe!” He says while a smug smile appears on his face.
It is one of those, I know something you don’t, kind of smiles.
“What. . . what is that supposed to mean?” I ask, cocking my left eyebrow getting frustrated and annoyed. What is he playing at?
“Amara don’t get pissed. Calm down, and I’ll explain!” He says.
Big mistake!
“Calm down!? You have got to be kidding me! I was perfectly calm until you told me to calm down! Don’t tell me what to do and answer my damn questions without the bullshit!” I insistently tell him while I stand up off the ground.
He looks at me completely shocked with his mouth agape. His eyes wide before his expression changes to a hard-emotionless mask.
“Fine, I was trying to be gentle about telling you this since it’s obvious you don’t know, but you’re a werewolf too. Well, at least half anyway.” He says in a low menacing tone while standing up and towering over me.
“WH -what?” Is all I could manage to stutter out.
“Yeah Princess, you are not human. In fact, as far as I can tell, you’re not a human at all. You are half werewolf and half something else. I have no idea what, or how, since it’s forbidden for werewolves to mate with any other species. Humans are the only exception to this law, and it’s been that way for hundreds of years. In fact, now that I really think about it, you could be in danger if anybody pays too much attention to your scent!” He says, his tone going marginally softer.
I look down at the ground. This is crazy, I don’t understand any of this right now. I mean, I do appreciate the basics. He is a werewolf, I’m his mate, and apparently not human! What the hell? This is all too overwhelming. Things seemed so much simpler before when I was just focused on getting out of the system, and away from Derrick and Bob.
Now, I’m a half werewolf and something else? I can’t think or process anymore as my head starts spinning. I begin to breathe in and out deeply; over and over again. I feel like I’m hyperventilating. I remember something about people putting their head down between their legs and taking deep breaths in this kind of situation. I swing my head down and hunch over, but that just makes the dizziness worse, and all I can see is black spots. When I try to stand back up, I lose my balance and land on my butt on the grass. Declan is instantly kneeling down and checking on me.
“Are you okay?” He asks, locking his eyes with mine.
I nod my head in response, and I realize he’s right; I do that a lot. Oh well, it’s easier than forming complete sentences at the moment.
“How am I a werewolf? Wouldn’t I have known this somehow, experienced differences?” I ask skeptically.
“Werewolves can hide their scent and don’t really experience wolf senses until they shift. Typically, male wolves shift for the first time when they are in their mid-teens unless they shift early as a form of defense, which is a more common occurrence in male pups. In fact, there isn’t a male pup over the age of fourteen in our pack that hasn’t shifted. Female wolves tend to shift for the first time around their 18th birthday. Other than that, we are as fragile as humans until our first shift. This is why we live in such a tight community. We refer to the community as The Den, by the way.” He explains.
I’m struggling to understand all this new information as he continues.
“Look, our pack doctor can discreetly draw some blood, and we could know the results in a few days. Then we can know what else you are.” He offers while waiting for a verbal response.
“That sounds okay, but what am I supposed to do until then? I can’t go back home. Bob probably called the cops after the café incident. If he didn’t do it already when he saw what was left of Derrick!!” I say.
“YOU’RE NOT GOING BACK THERE!” He says harshly before immediately looking ashamed.
“I’m sorry, Wolf took over there, but I do agree that returning isn’t an option. I don’t think you are there by choice. So, when do you turn eighteen?” He asks.
“March 5th, why?” I reply.
“I will deal with your foster situation. As for school, you’ve only missed a few days so after I get everything sorted you can go back to the same school or go online. Whatever you’d prefer.” He tells me.
He seems almost excited.
“Are you serious? How are you going to take care of it?” I demand to know, wondering how werewolves “deal” with things.
“Don’t worry,
I swear it will be legal and through the system.” He says while holding his right hand over his heart like I did earlier.
I smirk at his playfulness.
“I’m sure you will... Is there anything else we need to talk about out while we’re here? I’m getting tired.” I reply through an exhausted yawn.
“We can go.” He says, offering me his hand to help me up off the ground.
Once our hands make contact, I immediately feel an electrifying jolt. I swear they are starting to concentrate at the apex of my thighs, more every single time we touch. The sensation is very distracting. We make our way back through the trees, walking silently hand-in-hand. We reach the car in what feels like minutes. I find myself wondering why the journey always seems quicker when going home. Wait, did I really just consider Declan’s house my home? Weird, I think, as I climb into the passenger seat and buckle up. Declan gets in and starts the car before he expertly turns us around on the narrow dirt road and starts driving back the way we came.
“There is one more thing I’d like to ask you, and it’s going to seem weird. I need you to stay in my room unless I’m with you, or possibly my sister Brianna. Just until we have the results from the blood test and then we can go from there. I don’t want you uncomfortable or to feel like you’re a prisoner, but you mean too much to me for me to risk losing you. I feel like I can’t even trust those in my pack, and they are extremely loyal.” He says and then waits.
I make no movement. I don’t really know how I feel about this.
“Why?” I ask.
“I know this is hard to understand, but because you are a half-breed, the first half-breed ever that I know of, it puts you in danger! Also, because you’re unmarked, unmated males will think you are fair game.” He explains.
“You’re right, I don’t understand it, but I feel like I can trust you. So, I’ll agree to it, but you can’t just leave me in your room alone all day.” I say, trying to sound like I have some control over my life.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He says while eyeing me from legs to face, lingering for a moment at my chest.
It seems like he can see straight through the tight red t-shirt that I’ve been wearing for a few days now. I smile at seeing his smug grin when his face finally meets mine. Breaking our eye contact, I lean my head against the cold glass of the window, thinking about all the latest information floating around in my head. I subconsciously note the sensation of being watched as my eyes drift close.
Chapter 18
It was pure luck when I decided to eat at Pooter’s Pie Café today. I consider this as the familiar tingle at the base of my neck alerts me to their presence. I discreetly watch them as they walk past me sitting at the bar. I take a deep breath and intuitively know that I’ve found her. It’s been seventeen years since I’ve smelled that thing’s nasty mixed scent. What a night, I think as I remember back to that cold dark evening long ago.
I was outside the house, in the shadows, freezing my ass off and waiting for her to turn off the light and finally head to bed. It was almost eleven o’clock. She always laid down at eleven, no matter what. I could set my watch by Natalie’s daily rituals. I had been watching her for two weeks, and her habitual nature had made it easy for me to predict her behavior. Sure enough, two minutes later, she turned off the light and headed up the stairs to the second floor.
I inhaled the surrounding scents deeply to make sure no one was around before crawling out from behind the bush. I remember my muscles cramping in protest at my sudden movements as I crawled on my hands and knees on the frozen ground, not wanting to risk being detected on my way to the window. The dumb broad gave me easy access when she opened the window earlier in the day for some fresh air. I made sure to break the lock before she closed it. It was risky getting that close in the daylight, but it was totally worth it. I was able to slide the window open easily and stealthily step inside. Immediately, I felt a tingle at the base of my neck.
It’s close...
I stepped against the wall for cover and to avoid casting any shadows, while I smelled the scents in the house to check the body count. I only saw two people throughout the day, but only amateurs don’t double check. I crept away from the wall and started to make my way slowly up the stairs. As I placed my foot on the top step, it let out a loud, exaggerated creak from my weight. Rapidly the door at the end of the hall flew open, and I saw Natalie in the doorway.
She must have sensed me.
Quickly she raised her hand with a flick in my direction. The next thing I knew, I was flying backward, landing halfway down the stairs before I rolled all the way to the bottom. I heard a door slam upstairs as I tried to right myself as quickly as I could. Ignoring the pain, from what I later confirmed were broken ribs, I phased and promptly ran up the stairs three at a time. I could hear mumbling and crying coming from the room halfway down the hall on the right. I snarled as I jumped into the door, using all my weight to break through the wood.
“I won’t let you touch her!” Natalie screamed at me as soon as I was through the door while she stood there with her arms spread in front of a crib.
I saw her move her hand towards me again and felt the wind pushing me back. I extended my claws and dug them into the floor for traction and slowly pushed against the unseen force; making my way towards her. I felt the wind pick up, but it’s increased strength only slowed me down marginally. I was a foot away from her when her concentration broke, allowing me to jump on her and force her to the ground. Natalie tried to shove me off of her, but she was a small woman and didn’t have much fight left in her. Her fate is inevitable. Once I sequestered her arms down with my front paws and was settled on top of her chest. I clamped down on her throat and started yanking my head from side to side. I wasn’t trying to kill her yet, I just enjoyed hearing her cries of pain.
“Please! No!” She whimpers as I reveled in her cries for mercy.
Shockingly, I grew bored quicker than I would’ve thought. So, I ripped out her throat and relinquished the remains to the floor mercilessly. I watched her, as she gurgled out her last few attempts for air, as her life force left her body and her eyes glossed over. I licked the blood off my snout and started padding towards the crib when I saw an odd glow from underneath it. I stuck my head underneath the bed skirt to investigate. It was a cell phone, and I could hear the operator still trying to make contact. Cursing internally, my hearing picked up sirens that were damn close. I realized I must leave now if I want to get away. I stuck my snout through the bars of the crib, ignoring the wailing infant, and inhale as long and deep as I could; committing her smell to memory.
A loud commotion brings me out of my thoughts. Looking around the diner, I see a drunk potbellied man grabbing and shaking the girl. As I watch the events unravel, I realize this drunk obviously knows her, and I wonder if I can manipulate him into helping me. By the looks of him, it won’t take much to persuade him to betray the bitch. However, he would have to be conscious for that to work. I wait, as I watch the man that’s still standing throw some money down on a table on his way out the door and I rush to do the same, so I can follow them.
I stay a reasonable distance behind them on the drive to their destination. By the time I parked, my prey had already left their car. I’m forced to wait until they come back. Two hours later, I watch them come through the trees holding hands. I continue watching them until they drive away. Setting my binoculars down on the ground, I start removing any traces that I had been here. With that done, I pick up my supplies and make the steep climb to my car. I had to park it further away from where they had parked so it wouldn’t be noticed when they came out of the forest. Once I’m inside my car, I pull out my spare cell phone and call the boss.
“This better be good news!” Is the greeting I receive after three rings.
“Sir, I apologize if I’m disturbing you, I’m just calling to give you an update,” I explain with a shaky voice.
“Well go on then!” He demands impatiently.
“Are you sure it’s her? Do you have her?” He asks, with glee in his voice.
“Yes, I’m sure. No, I don’t have her, yet. There’s a small problem, I think she could be mated to a future Alpha. I’m going to have to watch and plan first before I can capture the abomination. He will make it more difficult!” I growl, hoping to get approval.
“Do what you must to get her, but I want her alive when she’s brought to me. Do you understand?” He snarls back.
