"So... What does being an Alpha mean?" I asked Thisalee the next day as we were seated on the stairs outside the partly destroyed house.
We hadn't really talked about what happened last night. Mainly because I couldn't figure out how to turn back to human. I still had no idea how I did it.
"Some wolves – and humans – possess strong spirits. Alpha spirits. They are natural leaders and strong warriors, blessed by gods themselves," she explained quietly without looking at me. She was still acting timid around me, which hurt like hell.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you yesterday," I muttered, taking her hand in mine. At least she didn't pull it away. At least she allowed me to sit right next to her.
"I get it. You were overwhelmed and scared and nearly died... It was too much to take in at once... I should've waited before telling you," she murmured.
"My love," I whispered, hoping to see her emerald eyes. I waited for a moment, but she didn't move. "My baby girl..."
Finally, she nudged her head a little towards me, and let out a silent breath, her posture relaxing a little.
"I was wrong. I did you wrong by not listening to you. I was way out of line and I hurt you. You should be mad at me. I deserve your anger," I spoke to her, and she looked at me.
"You've nearly died twice now. No matter what you said to me last night, I can't be angry at you," she said softly. "I'm just happy you're still alive, and that my idiocy didn't get you killed."
"You didn't know what he could do," I said reassuringly, but before neither of us could continue, Ryder stepped out, stretching his body, looking tired as hell.
"So, an Alpha?" he said, peering down at me. I got the feeling he wasn't entirely happy with the information.
"Is it... bad?" I asked cautiously.
"Only if you have a Beta spirit," Thisalee chuckled, winking at Ryder. "It gets on their nerves..."
"It's not getting on my nerves," Ryder said and snorted at her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't ask for it," I said and stood up to face Ryder. "I don't want it."
"Well you're stuck with it now," he said grumpily.
"Ryder is too used to being the highest ranking around here," Thisalee explained.
"I'm not!"
"You can still be. I don't mind," I tried to say, but he growled at me.
"Everybody can feel your spirit now," he said with a scoff and walked down the steps. "But I'm not going to be your Beta, that's for sure."
"So... there's more of you?" I asked. "I mean, more of... us?"
"Not that many," Thisalee said. "Only a couple of families. I think there's like twenty of us around here."
"And how does it work? How do you... work? Like wolves?"
Thisalee laughed and stood up to give me a hug. "There's so much to tell you. And so many things to show you."
"Like what?" I asked, looking around the yard, but all I could see was the forest.
"We live close by like normal humans, but this is where we come every time we need some privacy," Thisalee told me. "Most of our kind lives in big groups – packs, as we like to call them – but we chose to live with humans."
"And he is the highest rank?" I asked, pointing at Ryder, who discreetly moved behind a big spruce to relieve himself.
"Yes."
"So he's your leader?"
She laughed, shaking her head. "We don't have a leader. We mostly just pretend to be humans."
"Why? Why would you want to act like us? I mean them? Being a human is boring!"
Her smile faded a little. "We just want to live in peace. We came here to escape humans who hunt our kind and to get away from the constant battles over territories. Human life may be boring, but at least it's safe."
I instantly regretted my words. "Of course," I mumbled in shame. "I'm sorry... There's still so much to learn."
"And you will learn," she said, and her smile was back. "Now I can tell you everything you want to know about me. About us. If... If you'll let me."
"Absolutely! I feel like a dick after what I said last night, and–"
She pressed her finger to my lips. "Forget last night. Nothing good happened last night."
I had to agree with her on that.
She got up on her toes and pressed a light kiss on my lips. I smiled at her when she pulled away.
"You know, I knew right away you had an Alpha spirit," she told me. "You nearly made Graham piss his pants when you interrupted our fight before you dared to ask me on a date. I can't believe he didn't figure it out. He wouldn't have dared to attack you if he knew about your spirit."
"Pretty Boy wasn't so tough after all..." I grunted, feeling angry just at hearing his name. "I hated how obsessed he was with you."
"He considered me as his mate," she said quietly. "No matter how many times I told him I didn't consider him as mine. He should've let that bond go a long time ago. I believe it was the reason he turned crazy."
"Bond?" I repeated.
"We create a bond with our chosen mate – our soulmates," she said, suddenly looking timid again.
I stared at her in the eyes for a short moment, and when I focused enough, I could feel the anticipation, excitement, and nervousness she was feeling. Just like I had felt her pain last night.
"Are you my chosen mate?" I asked.
"Am I?" she asked quietly.
I knew the answer right away. "Yes."
Her smile returned brighter than ever, and before I even knew it, her lips were back on mine, and she wasn't pulling away. We would've stayed like that for a long, long time, if it wasn't for Ryder, who cleared his throat.
"Pretty Boy is still out there. I doubt he'll try to attack you directly, but he might try attacking Thisalee," he told me in a serious tone, and my happy little bubble was gone.
"He'd have to be crazy to try anything," Thisalee snorted, but then sighed. "But I guess he is crazy."
"I've already informed the others, so they know to keep an eye out for him," Ryder said. "I don't know what else we can do about him."
"We'll just have to be careful," Thisalee said.
"I will kill him if he comes close to you ever again," I said, trying not to sound too hostile, but I couldn't hide the hate from my voice.
She smiled at me. "My mate is an Alpha," she breathed out. "Darcy was so jealous..."
"So Darcy and Aurora are werewolves too?" I asked, and she nodded. Then I turned to look at Ryder. "And you too? How long?"
"Always. We're born werewolves," he said. "Thise, Aurora, Darcy... We're all born werewolves."
"Will our kids be werewolves too?" I asked Thisalee, then realized what I was saying, and blushed hard. "I... I mean... If we have babies..."
"Yes, they will be werewolves too," she smiled at me. "If we have babies."
"Let's just get past college first," I suggested with a chuckle.
"Deal." She nodded.
I watched her closely, enjoying the wide smile on her lips and the sparkles in her eyes. My chosen mate... My beautiful Thisalee. Of course she was my chosen one. I'd felt it the second our eyes met. To think I used to be such a coward I didn't have the guts to talk to her... I was so goddamn happy I found my balls in the end, or I would've missed out on the best thing in my entire life.
And now I was a werewolf... I had the feeling it would take quite some time to let that one sink in, but at that moment, I felt calm. Thisalee made me feel calm just by standing right next to me.
"To be honest, I think I prefer a peaceful life after all," I said and smirked. "I believe I've gotten my fair share of action already."
"Same," she said, chuckling. "No more action and danger, please."
"Deal," I said, and kissed her again.
A peaceful life with my beautiful girl...
"I love you, Thisalee."
"I love you too, Rayleigh."
...that was the dream.