Opposites Attract

Chapter Sixteen

Tarkik finally noticed me and his expression changed from anger to relief. Not seeming to care of what his pack thought, he ran to me and wrapped his body around mine. I relaxed in his embrace. He pulled back and looked me up and down. "What did they do to you?" He asked me, obviously confused by my change in size.

No one seemed to notice our embrace, but Rock noticed him ask me a question. "That is a werewolf, Alpha." He told Tarkik.

A growl erupted from behind me and I turned to see a grey and white wolf glaring at me. From the power coming off of him, I could tell this was Tarkik's beta because I already met his gamma. "Why is there a werewolf still alive?"

Rock stepped to my side. "Meaning no disrespect Beta, without this werewolf and her packmate who was killed, Range, Fog, and I would never have been able to escape. She was able to get the keys that got us out of our cages and she led us out of the building. And her packmate sacrificed herself to give us more time to get out of their territory. I owe my life to her." I wanted to thank Rock for what he said.

Even their beta was surprised, he looked at Rock then to me then back to Rock. He didn't seem like he knew how to respond. I felt Tarkik's pride for me. "Well then I suppose she could be let free to her territory," he said and looked at his alpha.

Tarkik looked at me and didn't seem to know how to respond. When will he introduce me to his pack? This could be a good opportunity. "Actually, Beta we need to talk," Tarkik said slowly as if he's still trying to figure out what to do.

Tarkik's beta looked at him suspiciously. "About her?" He nodded to me.

Tarkik nodded. "A little more privately." Rock understood and walked back to the other wolves. "Follow me, please." Tarkik walked deeper into his territory and farther away from any other wolf.

After stopping, the grey wolf still seemed confused by what was happening. "What's going on Alpha? And why is she here with us?" He looked at me in disgust, it's obvious how much he despises werewolves.

"Beta, please treat her with more respect," Tarkik said to his beta, who stood there even more confused. "I know you will not take this well, but please try to understand. Will you do that for me?"

"Of course, Alpha. However, I do not understand-"

"Ram," that silenced him. Is that his name? "This werewolf is my mate."

At first Ram did not say a thing, he just stood there, blinking and looking between his Alpha and I. "You must be joking." Tarkik gave me a hard look, showing no humor. "But she is a werewolf! No wolf has ever been mated to a werewolf!"

"I know that, but I also know there is a first time for everything," Tarkik replied calmly.

"How long... how long have you been keeping this a secret?" Ram asked, hurt for Tarkik's betrayal.

"Since the night I first howled for her. I have only been able to talk to her once before this." I guess he didn't count the time by the river. "Gamma caught us the one time we were able to talk and I ordered her to not tell anyone. Ram, I know that it was not the right choice, but we both needed time. I know you would not have accepted her right away and she wanted to figure out a way to tell her own pack."

His beta sat down in defeat. "I am not mad Alpha, only disappointed. I think I understand why you kept her a secret, but it was not the right decision. You are right that I will not accept her right away. I can try Alpha, but she is a werewolf... how do we even talk to her?"

Tarkik looked at me with wide eyes. "My name is Sunna," I introduced myself. Tarkik looked at me, slightly confused. "I believe I am able to speak your tongue through the mate bond."

Ram looked astonished by my ability to speak wolf. He took a deep breath. "I am Ram and the beta of this pack as you probably learned." I smiled and looked at Tarkik. "I am going to check up on the wolves who escaped with Honey," Ram said quickly and left us alone. Honey must be his mate.

Tarkik turned to me with a questioning expression. "What is the sudden change in name?" He asked me.

"This is going to sound confusing, but remember how I told you I have two halves." He nodded. "Well during my time in a cage, I thought a lot about my life and my two halves were able to settle differences and truly accept each other. So my soul was put back together as a whole instead of two halves. My wolf half was named Siqiniq and my human half was named Skylar. I decided to take the meaning from each of the names to form my present name."

He smirked at me. "I am glad you are here because now I have my other half."

I grinned and licked his ear. "I'm glad to be here with you too."

When we emerged from the dense forest. The wolves had started to head further into the territory. I notice Blade looking around. She spotted us and trotted over. "Wow, you grew a bit," she remarked.

I nodded. "They injected me with something. It forced me to shift and made me larger. I am not sure how or what they did, but they have done this to other werewolves and I am the only one still alive." Tarkik and Blade looked at me in worry and concern.

"It is alright, Sunna, we will figure this out." Tarkik reassured me. Despite Blade's confused look at my new name, she did not say anything about it.

Blade looked between us. "So is it time?" She asked us hesitantly.

Tarkik and I looked at each other. "You are an amazing Alpha and this pack needs you. Besides in my pack, you can't be in both forms. At least I would be able to be in the same form as everyone else. We need to stay in this pack," I told him truthfully. Even though I would definitely miss my pack and family, this is the right choice for both of us.

Tarkik nodded in understanding. "Are you sure?" I nodded. He inhaled deeply. "Then are you ready to become a part of this pack?"

I hesitated. I wanted to see my pack and family and let them know I'm ok and safe. But this is my life now, I can see them later. Plus they could try to keep me from Tarkik if they don't believe me and I won't let that happen. "Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, trying to sound confident.

Tarkik smiled, "then we need to head to base camp. Follow me, Sunna."

"Wait," they looked at me, "can we stop by the river? I would like to wash off." They nodded and we set off south, following the border until we reached Snake River. I jumped down into the ice cold water and shook out my coat to rid my fur of the dirt and blood stuck and dried in it. When I emerged from the river, I felt a lot more fresh and clean and I noticed that my fur seemed to glow without the dirt and blood in it.

Tarkik admired me for a moment before he turned and started to run southeast and I followed him closely. It felt a lot easier to run at such high speeds with my larger and stronger body. It still took a good amount of time before we reached base camp. It was quite large with lots of dens and tons of wolves moving around. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement, I needed to prove to all of these wolves that I could be a good alpha. "Wow," I breathed.

"Do not worry, Sunna. You will be an amazing leader," Tarkik whispered in my ear. "It is almost dusk, we will make the announcement at the pack meal."

My heartbeat started to speed up. What if they don't accept me? What if they hate me? Doubt spread throughout my mind. Tarkik licked my ear. He could feel my nervousness.

We walked towards an area where a rock sunken into the ground and only the top could be seen. Lots of prey was set on top of the rock for the pack meal. I noticed all of the wolves looking at me with mixed emotions, making me want to hide behind Tarkik. Instead, I stood tall and tried my best to show my confidence. Tarkik smirked in pride and confidence for me.

Tarkik, Blade, and I stood in front of the rock. Ram and Honey came up and stood beside us. Ram most likely has already told Honey all about me. Tarkik gave a commanding howl to his pack and lots and lots of wolves started to circle around the rock.

"As many of you have already noticed, I have brought an outsider in front of you all." Tarkik spoke with authority once everyone was settled and seated, he got straight to the point. "This werewolf... is my mate."