Beasts of The North

Chapter Nine

Kai's Point of View (after Giselle leaves):

"Goddess, James, do you have to go so slow?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it Alpha. You wanna get home to the mate, but don't run me into the ground, alright?"

I couldn't stop myself as I snorted at his gentle joke, but he was absolutely right. I was pushing us to move quickly. The need to return to my mate was immense and almost overwhelming. I'm sure the strain from the speed we were traveling could be felt. There was just something within me that was screaming. I couldn't quiet it down and it was pushing me to return home immediately. I knew this wasn't a plausible option, so the only thing that I could do was push myself and James to move quickly. The fate of the pack was resting on my shoulders, and the well being of my mate as well.

My mate. My beautiful Giselle. I missed her very much and had spent such little time with her. I hadn't taken time to write to her yet because I was moving so quickly, but I think tonight I will. She was so fierce and fiery. It was so different from everything that I was used to. I had expected something completely different. Honestly, I was expecting someone more like my mother. She was always so soft spoken and kind. She was what was considered a model Luna, of course I'm sure Giselle would be making changes to that. I wish I had more memories of her, but the only one that stuck out in my mind was the last time I saw her.

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I ran down the stairs when she called, excited and carefree. It was dinner time and Mom's meals never disappointed, not that there were many meals that an Alpha's growing son would turn their nose at. As I reached the bottom of the stairs I tripped over one of my many toys, one of the very toys Mom had told me to clean up just a short while ago. She had warned me that I could hurt myself, but I was decidedly more focused on what activity I was enjoying at the time. As my foot slid my small body was instantly thrown over the last few steps, small steps to a full grown adult, but to me it was like the dangerous ledge of a cliff. I don't remember my thoughts as I soared through the air, but noticed as the floor was creeping ever closer. Time was moving slowly and quickly all at once when suddenly all movement stopped. I looked around, perplexed at my abrupt stop, and met the worried hazel eyes of my gorgeous mother. Her short dark brown hair bounced at her chin as she settled me back upon the ground safely. Her wide frame held me tight, ensuring my well being and safety. Her arms were always plump and soft, they always gave the best hugs. Of course, my child eyes didn't see her as such, this was only how I saw her in my memory. All I saw at the time was the quick shift from worried gaze to angry glare as her eyes caught the toy that had been the cause of my fall. The very toy that she had directly instructed me to put away hours ago as, "it was dangerous to keep toys on the stairs."

"I think nearly breaking your neck is more than enough of a scare when it comes to picking your toys up off of the stairs, right Kai?" I eagerly nodded my head because while the fall didn't scare me, it was the look in her eyes during and after my fall that would ensure all toys were off the stairs forever. It was at that moment that my Dad walked in the door. He was brooding and silent, clearly tired and sweaty from training. His black hair was already streaked with gray, as his position certainly produced a large level of stress. The laugh lines surrounding his dark brown eyes were still clearly visible, however, and the training certainly showed on him as his build was quite large. This was the beginning of Alpha Lowell's descent into madness and Dad had good instincts. He began to train the warriors the moment he denied the land. When I look back on the memory now, I can see how worn down he was when he got home that day, but back then I took no notice. I ran and jumped into his arms and he made no move to deny me, but rather laughed loudly as he swung me around the room. Mom followed closely behind me and joined in on our hug. I snuggled further into their embrace and completely tuned out whatever conversation they had above me and then we had dinner together. It was uneventful and just like every other dinner, but I would trade almost anything for a chance to have that last dinner all over again.

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I found out later that they were discussing how Dad and I would be taking a trip to visit a neighboring Alpha, but we never even made it there. We got halfway to whatever territory we were supposed to be visiting before Dad felt the pain of his loss. It was heartbreaking to watch his very soul shatter before my eyes like that. I would develop this bond with Giselle, I knew this. I only wondered if we would be as happy together as my parents were. I could only hope so, and I could only hope that our children would have a life as carefree and blissful as my own childhood. Of course, Giselle may not want any children. I'd been thinking of this possibility since she's just so different from other females. I think I'd be just fine with that. As much as I desired children, I don't think I would have any problems keeping Giselle all to myself for the rest of my life.

A rustle in the trees startled me from my thoughts of a happier past and a bright future. James and I stopped in our tracks instantly and looked around. We were deep in the northern forests, a gentle coating of snow dusted all the life around us. The trees were packed densely together, but we were careful in our travels to always stay in more open areas. It was much harder to defend ourselves when we were pushed up against trees and brush. We were unable to see anything and strangely the smell that was permeating the air was one we weren't familiar with, but still smelled of predator. We exchanged pointed glances at one another, both on high alert. I motioned for him to stand down and moved forward a few steps to try and peer around some of the trees in my path. I turned around to investigate further in the other direction but was stopped dead in my tracks by the sight of the biggest bear I had ever seen.

This beast was truly massive in size. His brown fur already slightly doused in the blood of something that he had already overpowered that day. It was clear this male was heading to his place of hibernation and we had interrupted this grumpy male's stroll through the woods. The bear terrified me. There wasn't much in this world that could, but the full unrelenting force of a pissed off grizzly bear was terrifying for a wolf, even a werewolf. The bear itself wasn't even the thing that scared me the most, though. No, what scared me the most was that this big, hulking beast was angry. He was infuriated and ready to decimate anything in his path, and he was standing just a few paces behind an oblivious James.

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The above photo is Kai's Mom, enjoy!