Chapter 2 Gabriel

You might not be able to tell by looking at me, but I am definitely not one of those macho guys. Don’t be confused.  I am a man, and I do have a healthy amount of testosterone in my system.  It’s just that, my lot in life put a lot of things in perspective for me at a young age.  A traumatic loss, and subsequent circumstances really took a toll on my upbringing.  I don’t have much family left, and I’m ready to find my mate.  

I have always known that she is out there, somewhere.  An outsider looking into my world would call the concept antiquated or compare it the notion of an arranged marriage.  I’m from a completely different world, one where supernatural things exist, and anything is possible.  I just can’t deny that there is a pull, some sort of drive working to bring us together.  I walk to the sliding glass door that opens to a view of the woods. 

Wondering if it is her, I step out on my patio, looking out into the trees as the rain begins to fall, playing a gentile melody on the metal awning above me.  I breathe in hoping to catch a scent.  There, something subtle, and sweet, I couldn’t quite identify it, but I was drawn to it.  Then a flash, a view, a peek of something familiar. 

Not many people know this, but for as long as I can remember I have had visions.  Little snapshots of people and places that I have never known.  This time, there was something that I recognized.  A stone placed to mark the section of road, a memorial for a tragedy, the one that changed my life forever.  I step off the porch and make my way to the woods.  As soon as I’m under the cover of the trees, I shift. 

My wolf is quite a sight to see.  He shakes out his thick golden fur.  I see our surroundings through his jade eyes and feel the cool damp soil under his paws.  His name is Theo, and he has been my best friend and protector since the beginning.  Unfortunate circumstances dictate that we should be careful to not let him roam around during the day, but Theo’s instincts are much sharper than mine and I feel her presence justifies my actions. 

“Alpha Bob is gonna kill youuuu!” sing song in a mind link.  My little cousin Sarah, who I assume watched me disappear into the woods, warns me. 

“Don’t taunt me little one” I reply.  She always teases me when I shift, because My uncle Robert, her dad “Alpha Bob” and I don’t see eye to eye on some things.  I haven’t always been pleasant, and when I was young, I caused a lot of problems.  Now, I am just trying to make the best of a shitty situation. 

As I make my way to the country road, the place where I lost my mom, and eventually my dad, I can feel the pull.  I rush out onto the road because I know she is coming; this is where she will be.  The car screeching to a halt, tires skipping on the wet pavement stopping just inches from me. 

I see her through windshield, eyes wide.  Curiosity about the creature standing in front of her she opens the car door “Lady, are you crazy?  Get back in the car!”, I say to myself.  She pauses with a puzzled look on her face.  Her long auburn hair starting to dampen in the rain.  Did she hear me?  She couldn’t have.  There is something familiar about her.  I’ve seen her before, younger, as a child in one of my visions. 

I sniff the air, thinking that this can’t be real.  No, it’s her.  Now that I am closer, her smell is intoxicating, roses and honey.  She’s tall, her long legs slowly begin to inch forward, and she cautiously starts to raise her hand as if to reach out and touch me.  What IS she?  She doesn’t have a wolf, I know that for sure.  Theo would be able to tell.  There is something about her, she is a supernatural being, but not like me.  All I know in this moment, she’s mine. 

“Gabriel, what in the hell are you doing?”, Alpha Bob’s mind link interrupts.  “Get your ass back here!”

As much as I hate it, as much as I want to stay with her, I should go.  Not only because my alpha has given me an order, but what can I really hope to accomplish right now?  She may only be familiar with the human world and would probably freak out if the big bad wolf suddenly turns into a naked man right in front of her.  Then where would we be? 

With one last glance into those baby blues, I turn, run back into the woods, and make my way back home.  I feel certain that she will come back to me, and I to her, always.  Regardless, she is here now, I know her scent, and if I have to, I will track her to the ends of the earth.  For now, I’ll go.