The following day, Gabe and Alexander were supposed to meet. As tough as Gabe was trying to be, I could tell he was nervous. I put my hand on his arm as we walked toward the dining hall to have breakfast, “He won’t do anything to you, Gabe. You’re important to me.” He shivered, “I doubt that would stop him if he really wanted to hurt me.” As Maggie pushed the dining hall doors open, I rolled my eyes at him. No one looked our way as they sat and ate breakfast. “How many people are in your pack?” He whispered as we walked to the large table set up that Maggie and I always ate at. “If you think it is a lot, then you’ll be shocked to know that this isn’t even all our pack. Our pack is the largest pack in the region.” He shuddered but kept his mouth shut as he sat beside me.“This is Gabe. Everyone this Gabe.&rdquo
Eventually, we returned to the pack house, where Adam was waiting for us outside. I felt bad as I realized we probably were late coming back, meaning my class would be running into dinner tonight most likely. But instead, what Adam said shocked me. “We have a test today.” He waved me forward, “Gabe must stay here.” “A what?” I stuttered, glancing over at Gabe as we entered the hallway leading through the bottom floor of the house. “There is an Alpha here from a neighboring pack who is willing to help track down those who were responsible for attacking you. He’s the next biggest pack to ours, and is very respected throughout the other packs. He’s very wise, and he has direct links to the Council.” He explained, pausing a few feet away from the stairs that led to Maggie’s room. “Maggie asked to see Gabe, so I figured we could drop him off with her before joining Alexander in his office.” I turned to Gabe, who shrugged and bounced up the stairs, “Catch ya later,” He winked at me and left
After the meeting with Weston, Alexander restricted my time alone. At first, he tried to hide it, but then it became more apparent as time went on that he wanted someone with me at all times. He didn’t want me going to see James either, figuring maybe that there were humans who were spying for whoever it was that was planning their attack on me. But, being afraid of things we didn’t know about would be the downfall of both of us. I somehow managed to convince him that we couldn’t remain in hiding for the entirety of our lives and that we needed to show that we were not afraid of them. So, Alexander accompanied me to see James. I stood outside in the hall, fiddling with the string of my hoodie for a moment. Alexander was a few feet away, speaking with Adam on the phone, preparing for the upcoming Alpha ceremony. I took a deep breath and entered the room, the sound of James breathing less ragged than it was the last time I had seen him. His superficial wounds had healed, but his inte
I sat down at the wooden table, watching as he moved to the window, scanning the woods. Something of a habit I had found between both Alexander and James was they were always watching their surroundings. “There’s a legend that there’s a ghost wolf in this part of the forest.” He began to say, pulling the chair out with his free hand, “It’s a story that we tell the younger kids at bonfires so that they stay near the packhouse, but there is some truth to the story. There have been sightings for years of a wolf that patrols the woods, one minute you see him, and the next he’s gone. Poof! Like a ghost.” He raised his eyebrows as he said ‘poof!’, before shaking his head, “It’s said that he’s searching for any with a ‘dark heart’. Cursed and can no longer return to his human form until he finds the one th
“What do you mean?” I asked, making James lean into his chair. “Something changed in Alexander that night… For the worst. Something in him broke; it was like his sanity was gone. After he shifted and gained his real strength, no one could stop Alexander.” James sighed, his voice dropping low.“Being alpha and being a part of the Hunters was too much, and despite what he wanted, he had a duty to his pack. So, he tried to leave. The King didn’t like that very much but allowed him to leave, under one condition. Complete his last mission, and he would be free of the Guardsmen to be an alpha. Little did Alexander know what that mission would be…” James took a deep breath, “When you’re given a mission, you aren’t told who or what you would be killing. Alexander didn’t care; he only desired to be free of the King&r
Two more days came and went without a word from anyone. Not even James came back around, so I was left alone for an unknown amount of time. I had gone through the cabinets and freezer, discovering that I could very well be up here on my own for at least another month before I ran out of supplies. That’s not what worried me though, it was the fact that no one had come back here to check on me, to make sure that I hadn’t been kidnapped or worse. Maybe there was some truth to what James had said and maybe everyone was too afraid of coming near here. But, in my small journeys around the cabin in my boredom, I hadn’t smelled anyone, no wolf from our pack or the neighboring one had been near this place in ages, or in fact, ever. The only one I smelled was James and myself. I didn’t know if that scared me or made me feel some sort of comfort, but at least I knew I wouldn’t be having any visitors soon, outside of maybe James or Alexander coming back to take me home. I wondered what was s
For a while, there was no reply. I began to think maybe my most recent dream had come true, and Alexander was gone. The white wolf watched me with weary eyes as I paced the cave. “I have to go back! Alexander could be dead!” Alexander is a smart man. He’s most likely too busy or around people that he cannot reply to you. I sighed, flopping onto the straw bed I had woken up on, “You’re not helping. Whatever your damn name is.” I grumbled, running a hand through my tangled hair. Graham. “Well, Graham, you’re not helping.” I rolled my eyes, holding my head in my hands. So it’s true. You two are mates. I didn’t reply for a moment to Graham. Then I glared at him in suspicion, “How do you know? I thought you were some folktale.” Graham shifted to move closer to me, lying a few feet from me. Alexander used to come up here a lot before you came around. He calls me his therapist. I call him mine. “So, it’s true. That you can’t shift back into a human? Or did you never have a hu
I laid there for a while, feeling this chest rise and fall. I contemplated going back to sleep, but I couldn’t. “Why were you so angry with Graham?” I whispered, knowing that there was a chance Alexander was not asleep. “Graham is my dark secret. He’s not supposed to reveal himself to anyone. Not only could het get me into trouble, but he could die.” Alexander rumbled behind me. So he wasn’t asleep; he was pretending. “Why? Why can’t he be here with us?” “I was supposed to kill him. But I couldn’t. So, my solution was to put him somewhere and use him for the benefit of the pack. The southern part of our territory is too far away for us to patrol daily, since our pack is the largest on the east coast. Between that and the fact the pack below us doesn’t patrol that far anyway, I struck a deal with the Alpha and said tha