My face pressed upon the cool glass as I stared out longingly at the trees as we sped down the highway. The trees mocking and inviting me to come and play as more lined up on each side of the interstate and concrete buildings are forgotten. We started winding our way through the mountains and the sky darkens as the trees began to loom over us blocking out the sun.
"Celina... Celina..CELINA!" my uncle voice stirs me from my trance and I look over to see him shaking his head. "Look I know you are tired but I promise this is the last one we have to visit. I don't have to remind you this is the most important one." He kept his eyes on the road but I saw him slump a little in his seat. So I wasn't the only one tired of constantly moving from town to town.
"What time will we get there?" I asked reclaiming my spot on the window as I watch the forest thicken and flashes of sunlight peeping through the trees.
"We have another two hours before we reach town. Why don't you get some sleep." My uncle peered over with the look of concern and worry over my nonresponsive posture.
It wasn't that I was really tired of traveling but just tired of what lies ahead. I felt like a trick pony that was paraded in front of an audience to perform and win them over. Of course if only it was for pure entertainment or money maybe I would be in a better mood. But my life depended on each performance that I gave and at times it became frustrating. In my fantasy, I felt that I shouldn't have to prove myself worthy but just demand that they pledge their loyalty to me. Show over! Sometimes I fantasize that I am a normal wolf that belongs to a normal pack, with no responsibility but to have fun with my friends, find a mate, and have a couple of pups. Just in that order. Only in reality, I was born a royal and nothing was normal about my life. My life was shattered into a million pieces fourteen years ago, when I was only five years old. That is when a happy, sheltered princess was thrown into the harsh realities of death and destruction. The realities that no child should ever have to suffer and survive, death of my parents and the destruction of a happy life.
The stopping of the car jarred me from my sleep as my head dislocated from the window. My uncle had pulled over on the side of the road and by the look on his face he was ready to give one of 'you know the drill' speeches. My uncle was a very thorough man and I secretly call him anal as he like to go over and over what our duties were.
"Ok Celina, now Alpha Halder will not be like the others. He is very cautious and calculating. He will not offer us support unless you prove to him that you are worthy. He has the largest pack in the US, so I can't repeat myself enough when I say how important it is we get his support."
"I know Uncle Thadius, I will do my best." I will be the best trick pony he has ever seen!
"Celina I'm serious. I have known Brant a long time but our friendship will not be enough. Understand."
"I'm sorry Uncle Thadius, I know." Damn my uncle always can tell when I'm being sarcastic.
"Celina it does help that I can hear your thoughts!" my uncle laughed and I scrunched my face forgetting that I didn't put my mind barriers up. Ugh!! Hey I just woke up, I smiled. My uncle was still laughing as we pulled up to the 100-feet tall iron gate.
It wasn't one of those gates that had bars and you see right through onto the property. It was a solid iron gate that was not welcoming, it looked cold and sterile and made out of? Oh my.. it was made out of silver, the one know natural element that was like poison to us wolves. The silver gate was flanked by concrete walls that also looked like it was coated in silver and barbed wire complemented the tops of the massive walls. There was a slight humming sound that I determined came from the barbered wires which meant that if the silver didn't burn you the electrified wires will finish you off. I started to get a little nervous as I glanced at the intimidating walls wondering once we cross that threshold will we ever be able to come back out. My uncle was speaking into the intercom and I watched as the iron gate open faster than I anticipated. It didn't swing open but slid from the left to the right. As it slid open it revealed several armed guards with their weapons pointed toward us. Some of the men walked around the car with the guns trained on the other side of the gate, as if they were expecting people to run in behind the car. Once we were through and the gate was sliding closed, my uncle stopped the car. I looked over to my uncle, my eyes questioning.
"Don't worry Celina, its just precaution, Brant had already told me about the procedure. Just relax." It would've been nice if my uncle had included that in one of the lengthy speeches about the Halders.
The men peered inside of our car and my uncle pop the trunk so that it could be checked. Once we got the 'ok' from the armed guards we traveled another mile up a windy road with only a few trees on either side of the grassy open field. Once we reached the last crest of the hill a enormous mansion was sprawled in front of us. It looked to be about two football fields long, and people milled around in groups. Some were groups of kids playing ball, teenagers and adults conversing with each other. We pulled up into the circular driveway behind one of about six parked cars. I looked around to see people relaxing and having fun, it was nothing that I expected. I think I might like it here at least for a little while. We got out of the car and walked to the entrance where Alpha Halder stood waiting to greet us. I knew he was the Alpha just be the way he stood, alphas had a way about them, proud, domineering, and powerful. He was no exception. He stood about six foot four built like a line backer, thick and wide made of hard muscle. He looked to be around his late thirties just like my Uncle Thadius but I knew that he was much older than that. Wolves don't age as fast as humans and in fact some can control the rate at which they aged, such as alphas, betas, and of course royals. This was due in case it takes an alpha a long time to find his mate and able to produce more alphas. All wolves are destined to have one soulmate and when you find your mate I hear it is pretty amazing. But sometimes it takes wolves a long time to find their mate especially if they don't find them in their pack. That is why you have wolves that leave their pack in search of their mate. If they find their mate and are male then they return to his pack. Which buys into the whole stereotype of women having to give up everything to follow their man. There are exceptions such as if the woman is an alpha or beta, or in my case a royal. Then the male has to go to her pack.
"Thadius, welcome to my home. And you must be Celina, whom I've heard so much about." Alpha Halder voice resounded with a low booming baritone sound. His hand was firm and the eye contact was unwavering almost intimidating. I said almost I met his eye contact not bowing down. Most wolves had to bow down to Alphas and could only hold brief eye contact. But I wasn't most wolves.
Alpha Halder was the first to look away with a slight smile on his face as he introduces his companion. She looked to be about my age with wavy blonde hair and green eyes. She was beautiful, you know like she was one of those Victoria Secret Angel model, perfect in all the right places. Her mid-drift green tank top and barely there black shorts accentuate every curve. Oh no did I just eye bang a girl.
"I'm sorry your name is?" my face turning red because I was so caught up in her looks that I didn't hear name. That felt a little weird, I felt drawn to her somehow. But I shrugged it off.
She flashed me a smile, "Sage, my name is Sage."
After a few awkward seconds of silence she took me on a mini tour of the pack house where I learned that about 100 families lived here and about 400 unmated warriors lived in the back in the guest quarters. The rest of the pack live in the town that was about 10 miles east of the pack house. The house was chaotic but it felt like home, with lots of people walking and talking, kids running through the halls with adults yelling at them to stop running. Sage showed me where I will be sleeping and I hope I would be able to locate my room later on. My room was overlooking the back and I walked over and peered out of the window to only be greeted with much the same hustle and bustle of friends and families. That's when I heard the lovely sound of metal hitting metal.
"Sage are the warriors practicing right now?" I asked eagerly wanting to go watch.
Sage hesitated, but confirmed that they were training. After a few pleading and begging eyes, I followed Sage out the back of the house were they was another wall that separated the living quarters from the training fields.
As we went through the gate my eyes were greeted with the glorious sight of men and women sparring in several different areas. It was like walking onto a battlefield my eyes greedily taking in everything. I'm really going to like it here. I couldn't decide what I would look at first the men sparring with swords, hand to hand combat, speed and agility training, or a form of fighting technique I wasn't familiar with.
I was like a kid in a candy store that is until my eyes slammed into a pair of amber eyes. No they were like liquid gold. And if you thought I was eye banging Sage, I don't know how you would describe how I was looking at goldy. He was massive, at least six foot five, with blondish brown hair that curled at the nape of his neck, long angular nose with square jaw line, and full lips. My eye continue their slow appreciative journey down his bare chest, his bulging pecks, ripling abs, and stopping at the hem of his shorts. Sage clearing her throat jolted me out of ogling goldy and that is when I realized that he was staring back at me.
"Who is that?" I turned away but not before I saw him raise his eyebrow at me.
"That's Trevor, the best warrior of the Halder Pack"
________A/N
Don't forget to vote/comment! Nicci