Seeking to Belong: Wolftale Series~Book 1

by M. Ekman

  Ruth laughed, “Yeah, well someone’s got to. Now hurry up before he comes out of his office and realizes I’m gone. I don’t want him going berserk on anyone.”

  Each girl took a box and began filling them with the piles on Ruth’s bed. Ruth was forbidden from carrying anything so she stayed behind as the other two began lugging her things up the stairs and back into her old room across from Tyler’s. It turned out to be better in the long run since Doctor Michael mindlinked Ruth to see if he could come and check on her wounds.

  He said nothing about Violet and Cassie going out of the room with Ruth’s belongings as he examined her. “Well, you look to be doing remarkably well. Your healing is right on track.”

  “Right on track! What are you talking about?” Ruth shot out so quickly she nearly stumbled over her words.

  Doctor Michael put a chubby finger to the side of his nose, and with a wink replied, “Any other alpha female would be healing at the same rate.”

  “I—I’m not. We haven’t even—” Ruth stuttered as her face turned red.

  Doctor Michael let out a great belly laugh, which only caused Ruth’s face to heat up more, “A mate bond is between wolves. Your human half is just along for the ride. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t marked or had a bonding ceremony yet, because you’re wolves have chosen each other.”

  Ruth took on a thoughtful expression, “Is that why I have been drawn to him since I got here? My pull toward Tyler feels even stronger than the one between Nathan and me ever did. It’s like Nathan was a crush but Tyler is…”

  “Forever,” Doctor Michael finished for her. “There is a lot of theories out there, but based off of my experience this is what I believe: the Great Luna gave us mate bonds and pulls and everything else so that we could rise above the darker side of our nature. She saw all of those horrible things in humankind and wanted a better way for her children. It is nearly impossible to cheat on your mate, lie to them, or hurt them. They are what we fight for and they keep us grounded.”

  Ruth shook her head, “I know all of that but none of that is applicable in this situation. Tyler isn’t my mate—at least, not in the traditional sense.”

  The doctor continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted, “In the case of you and Nathan, you both had all of the signs but you’re wolves didn’t have a chance to become close. If your wolves had claimed each other, you would feel similar to how you feel now with Tyler.”

  Doctor Michael sat down on the bed next to Ruth causing it to dip. With a soft voice he added, “However, now your wolf has chosen. You reached out to Alpha when you were hurt and he couldn’t help but provide what you needed even if he didn’t know he was doing it. It cannot be changed, though this happening without a mate bond forming is rare. I’ve only ever seen it between dominant pups under 18 who sense their mate early.”

  Ruth’s eyes began to shine as a smile grew on her face, “Are you saying that even without the bond Tyler and I are true mates? That we can supersede and even break his curse?”

  Instead of answering Doctor Michael gave the she-wolf a pat on the leg and, with another wink, stood and strolled out of the room.

  By the time Violet and Cassie had made it back to the room for the last couple boxes, Ruth was nearly bouncing with joy. “What has you in such a chipper mood?” Violet asked.

  “Probably happy she didn’t have to lug this junk herself,” Cassie quipped.

  Ruth ignored both girls’ words and instead forcibly pulled them into a tight group hug. “You ladies are the best and I am so glad that I got rejected by Nathan.”

  Cassie chuckled, “From the little I saw of him the day his father came to retrieve you, he didn’t seem like the most sane of wolves.”

  Violet made a pfft sound, “No, duh. He rejected Ruth after all.”

  Ruth squeezed both girls’ shoulders one more time before releasing them and skipping out of her old bedroom. “Hurry up or Tyler will catch us.”

  Cassie let out a snort, “Isn’t she supposed to be injured?”

  Violet let out a dreamy sigh as she bent to grab a box, “True love overpowers any ailment.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” Cassie replied with an eye-roll.

  Ruth mindlinked both girls, so she wouldn’t have to shout down the hall, “I can hear you, you know. Maybe instead of gossiping, you should be helping.”

  Cassie laughed out loud, “I think love makes her bossy.”

  Violet giggled and both girls caught up to Ruth at the stairs, which were much harder for her to manage on her still sore leg. The bouncing around might have been a little too much so soon, despite her fast paced healing. After finally making it up the stairs and into Ruth’s old room, all three began the arduous task of putting everything away that they’d just packed.

  After a few minutes of working in silence, Violet chimed in, “I know this sounds awful, but I’m glad you got injured. It definitely knocked sense into the both of you.”

  Cassie swatted at Violet since she was the closest, but the she-wolf easily dodged the attack, “Well, it’s true.”

  Instead of being offended Ruth just smiled, “I think you are right, Vi. If it wasn’t for the extent of my injuries it’s possible that I wouldn’t have figured out everything on my own.”

  “Figured what out?” Cassie asked as she popped her head out of the closet she’d walked into.

  Ruth sat on her bed, “That my wolf instincts are more accurate than my human ones. From now on I’m going to trust those impulses instead of letting my head keep getting in the way.”

  Violet chuckled but didn’t object to her friend’s assessment while Cassie took on a thoughtful expression before returning to work. Quickly the three worked until all the boxes were emptied.

  “Thank goodness you didn’t want to swap out the furniture, Ruth.” Cassie said with mock exasperation.

  Violet rolled her eyes as she pulled on Cassie’s arm, “Come on cranky pants. Let’s go grab dinner for us hard working girls to share. Ruth, while we’re gone you rest that leg.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Ruth replied with a salute as she hopped into her bed.

  Violet gave her a crooked grin before hauling Cassie out of the room. Ruth lay back on her bed staring, up at the white ceiling. As the minutes ticked by without her friends return an idea popped into to her mind.

  Closing her eyes, Ruth concentrated on the pack bond within her mind. She formed a mental image of it as a prism shimmering in all different colors, but shaped like a spiders web with different threads going off in different directions. The thickest thread was Tyler’s as he was the alpha. Ruth made her way along this thread, inspecting it to see how and if it changed.

  Other than being bigger than all of the other pack member links, Tyler’s thread seemed whole and healthy. When Ruth had made her way to its end she saw a silver door with no handle; Tyler’s mind-block, preventing anyone from speaking to him.

  Ruth took a deep breath and shifted her subconscious self into her wolf form. She put a tentative paw up to the door and gave a push. The door opened with an ominous creak, and Ruth had to hold in a yip of glee. She knew that a wolf could never fully block their mate, which meant that Tyler couldn’t keep her out no matter how hard he tried.

  After she wiggled through the barely open doorway it creaked shut behind her with a thud. The happy feeling she’d woken up with that morning engulfed her once again, conveying that Tyler was aware of her presence. And for some reason he was not upset that she was there.

  Shaking her head, Ruth began padding her way towards Tyler’s web-like pack bond that mirrored hers. Everything looked healthy and strong, but as she followed her connection to the alpha, she noticed something was off. Her thread connected to all the others and became a part of the web, but there was a segment of her cord that wound off in a separate direction.

  Ruth couldn’t see where the strand went due to an odd darkness that clouded the area. As she walked towards the gloom Ruth noticed that her thread was
losing some of its vibrancy and was decreasing in size. Finally, the strand ended at what looked to have once been a beautiful fountain; though it was now dried up and sported a huge crack down the center.

  ‘Odd,’ Ruth thought before she suddenly felt herself ripped out of Tyler’s mind and thrown back into her own.

  “Ruth!” someone shouted.

  Groaning, she threw a hand over her eyes that were now sensitive to the light in her room. “Violet, I’m fine. Calm down.”

  The she-wolf was standing over Ruth and shaking her shoulders. “You weren’t moving and were hardly breathing,” Violet responded as she released her friend.

  “Sorry,” Ruth murmured, “I was just testing something out.”

  “Testing something—are you out of your mind?” Violet screeched causing Ruth to wince.

  As the pain behind her eyes started to recede, Ruth slowly sat up as a small smile formed on her lips, “I was, but the view was worth it.”

  Cassie made a tsking sound before she set the two trays she’d been holding on the bed, “That could have been very dangerous.”

  Ruth ignored the comment, suddenly feeling like she hadn’t eaten in a week, and pounced on one of the heaping plates of shepherd’s pie the girls had brought.

  Violet glared with her hands on her hips, “Well, that’s gratitude for you.”

  Looking up and winking, Ruth mindlinked, “Thank you, my little slave laborers.”

  Violet rolled her eyes but grabbed her plate anyway. Cassie stared at Ruth for a thoughtful second before grabbing hers as well. The room fell silent while everyone devoured the aromatic plate of potatoes, meat, and vegetables. Violet was the first to finish, because even though she might dress like a princess she could out eat nearly all pack members.

  “So, Ruth, are you ready for tonight?” she asked.

  Ruth nodded, finishing off her last spoonful before talking, “Yeah, but it all hinges on what Tyler does.”

  Cassie cut in, “We caught Doctor Michael on his way to see Alpha. Apparently, our pack leader wanted an update on your condition. We made sure that the good doc knew exactly what to say and what not to.”

  “Hm, that’s good,” Ruth responded distractedly.

  Violet put her arm around her best friend, “You sure you don’t need any help.”

  “Nah,” Ruth replied, “it wouldn’t be as effective anyways, but thanks.”

  “Okay, well we’ll get out of your hair then if you don’t need anything else,” Violet said with a smile, though her eyes looked concerned.

  “You know that frowning leads to wrinkles, Violet,” Cassie teased, “this is our future alpha female you’re talking to. She’s got it in the bag.”

  Ruth flushed slightly in embarrassment over the title, but didn’t contradict. “Does the whole pack know what’s going on?”

  “Yes and no.” Violet shrugged.

  “Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to update everyone. They obviously don’t need to know everything, but I don’t want rumors to start to spread. People can come up with worse stories than the truth, ya know?”

  “Violet and I will think of something to tell the pack,” Cassie spoke up.

  Violet chucked before giving Ruth a vice-like hug, “Good luck.”

  She didn’t need luck. Tyler wasn’t going to stand a chance

  CHAPTER 27

  Ruth was startled out of the book she picked up to while away the hours when Tyler burst out of his office. She wondered what could have made her alpha so upset, but didn’t have time to dwell on it as she went to press her ear to her door. Tyler was muttering to himself, but she couldn’t make out the words. It sounded like he turned the knob and thrust the entryway to his room open before pausing and stomping his way towards her room.

  He stopped there for a moment before cursing to himself. With a final huff, he left her closed door and banged his own shut with a resounding thud. Ruth had known that Tyler would catch on to the fact that she hadn’t gone back to her room in the unmated female wing, but was surprised at how fast he’d done it. However, Tyler’s discovery didn’t hinder her plans for that evening one bit, so Ruth shrugged it off. She secretly loved how easily her mate could find her. It not only showed how deep their bond was, but it also told Ruth that he cared for her, no matter his attitude.

  Trying not to get too excited at finally being able to jump into action after her long night of waiting, Ruth counted to 100 as slowly as she could before moving away from her door. She crept over to her bed and grabbed a small duffle bag she’d left there. The sneaking wasn’t entirely necessary, yet, but she’d rather be safe than sorry.

  After Ruth gave herself a once over to make sure her outfit of form fitting dark yoga pants and shirt would be sufficient camouflage, she glided into the hallway. Ruth held her breath as she listened at Tyler’s door, but didn’t hear him moving around. As she pressed her hand to the wall she closed her eyes so she could look into her mind again. When Ruth made her way across Tyler’s thread she found that his mind was no longer barred. That could only mean that their alpha was asleep, as unconsciousness tended to remove mind blocks.

  Ruth opened her eyes and reached for the round silver doorknob, slowly turning it. The bolt clicked out of its place, causing her to freeze at the sound that seemed like the boom of a cannon. After a few breathless moments of hearing nothing from the other side of the door, she relaxed her tense muscles. Ruth quickly popped inside to look around the huge bedroom before her; thank the Luna that wolves had excellent night vision.

  To the left there were two massive closets that were nestled on either side of Tyler’s massive bathroom. The walls and floors were plain, with no decorative adornment or carpets. Ruth would have to watch out for creaking floorboards. In the center of the room was the familiar king sized, four-poster bed which was currently being occupied by a restless Alpha Tyler.

  The sight of Tyler tossing and turning in obvious distress nearly broke Ruth’s heart. He looked exhausted even in sleep as he muttered nonsense. Gingerly making her way across the room, Ruth stopped at the edge of the bed and crouched down to quietly and quickly change from girl to wolf. Looking up to check that Tyler was still asleep, Ruth crawled into his gargantuan bed.

  There was no comforter to be found, and the sheets were in a bundled-up knot at the bottom of the bed. As slowly as she could, and without shifting the bed too much, Ruth rubbed her fur all over the mattress leaving her hairs, and scent, everywhere. You didn’t have to be in your wolf form to leave your scent, but it was always stronger that way. It had something to do with your natural odor being more concentrated in your fur, or something like that.

  Once Ruth was pleased with her work, she crept towards a pillow that lay beside Tyler but froze when he abruptly stopped his movements. The entire time she’d been spreading her odor on the opposite side of the bed, Tyler continued to fidget and mutter. Now that he was still, Ruth was afraid she’d woken the fitfully sleeping man. After a moment without any further reaction from Tyler, Ruth began to relax. She was stopped short as an arm swept out, knocking her off of her feet before wrapping around her back to pull Ruth close.

  Suddenly, Ruth felt herself being cradled against his warm chest, though he still didn’t say anything. At his continued silence, she almost opened her mouth to explain herself, but something stopped her. Pulling her head back slightly from its tucked position under Tyler’s chin, Ruth looked up to see Tyler’s eyes closed, face relaxed. He seemed to be in a deeper, more peaceful sleep then he had when she had first broken into his room.

  Whatever Tyler had been stressing over in his sleep had been immediately dispelled by Ruth’s presence. This was a type of comfort that only mates, or their scents, could provide. Normally Ruth would be ecstatic over yet another sign of their connection, but she had a mission to complete. Tyler clasping her against his body definitely added a complication into her plan, though not necessarily a bad one.

  Ruth snuggled into him for a moment before raising
her head to lick Tyler gently on his face. A wolf's spit also had a high concentration of their fragrance in it, so Ruth justified her sudden desire to lick Tyler from head to toe as simple furtherance of her plan. After this, everyone and their sister would know that Tyler was most assuredly spoken for.

  Once Tyler was covered in ‘eaux de Ruth’, as slowly as she could, she changed into her human form. It was difficult to control the rate at which one shifted, but not entirely impossible—painful, but not impossible. Tyler had no reaction to either Ruth’s licks, or her shift in physicality, except to start snoring.

  Carefully, Ruth reached behind her and grabbed the pillow she had been moving towards earlier. She rubbed her face into the pillow before squeezing it between her body and Tyler’s. Then she slowly reached behind her back to grasp his fingers with her own. On reflex Tyler griped Ruth’s hands back so she was able to pull both of his arms in front of her and around the pillow.

  Once out of his arms, Ruth released a pent up breath and rolled onto her back. Before she got up, she happened to glance back to see Tyler adoringly snuggled up to the Ruth-scented pillow. With an unbidden smile, she grabbed the knotted sheets at the end of his bed and began working to get them untangled. Ruth didn’t bother looking for a comforter since most wolves’ temperatures ran so high they couldn’t stand them anyways.

  Ruth slipped off the bed after the sheets were straightened out, and placed them on the ground. She shifted back into her wolf to roll on top of the sheets for a few minutes before becoming human once again, and carefully placing the covers gently over Tyler.

  Smile still in place, Ruth made her way to the first walk-in closet and quietly began pulling all of Tyler’s clothes off of hangers. Next she tossed socks and shorts out of their drawers, making a huge pile on the floor. Ruth morphed into her wolf again and rolled repeatedly in the small hill she had created.

  Leaving behind the mess she made, Ruth trotted back to the bedroom. She made her way around the room rubbing her fur onto everything within reach. She even went so far as to go into the bathroom and rub her wolf snout all over the towels. With her mission finally completed, Ruth changed into her womanly self and crept towards the door. There would be plenty of time to congratulate herself on a job well done after she got out of there. However, as her fingers grazed the doorknob she was struck by Tyler’s sudden silence. She was too scared to look behind her to see why the alpha had stopped his deep snoring.