Six months later......
It has been a long journey to where I am now. I cannot believe in the short time I have been at Bloodstone pack I have come this far. I can now run three miles in four minutes and six seconds, lift 280 pounds and squat the same amount. My muscles have toned out because of the physical training. Most importantly, I have learned all four elements. It took a lot of patience and practice but Cassandra and I have mastered them.
Everything is great. I might have fallen into a routine but I am OK with that. Every weekend I go out on a "girl's night" as they all call it. We have dinner and talk way too much and laugh about everything. Most of the night is mate free but as werewolves, our mates don't like to be away from us for too long. No, I have not found my mate, but I am not giving up on it just yet.
Alpha James has asked me to meet him in his office today to talk about something privately. I am a little nervous about what this could be. I made sure to do all the chores around the house when I am assigned and haven't complained about anything. I do not like to get into everyone else's business, so I am unsure what it could be. I think about everything it possibly could be while walking to his office.
Knock Knock
"Come in," Alpha James says. I open the door to see him along with Luna Teresa sitting at his desk.
"Hello Alpha and Luna," I say. Not sure what else to say to them. My heart was racing inside my chest and my palms are sweating as I look at my Alpha and Luna. Seeing the sadness in their eyes only makes this worse.
"Hailey, we need to let you know about the latest news going around the packs. Moonlight pack, your old pack, is searching for you. Their Beta, your father, is going around all the local packs looking for you. We are on this list. He will be here in three days, Hailey," Alpha James says to me.
"No.....No No NO! I will NOT go back there. You can't make me go back there. Please Alpha James d," I say before Luna Teresa stops me by holding up her hand.
"Hailey, please sit down. We would never send you back to that awful place called a pack, ever. We talked about this yesterday and we decided to get you out of here before your father shows up here. James has a cousin in Wisconsin that will take you into his pack. He is the Alpha and we explained everything to him. He agrees that you need to stay away from them and he will continue your training as well," she says while taking my hands into hers. "We don't want to lose you Hailey, but we don't want to risk your father finding you here. You will ALWAYS be welcome here. No matter what you are a part of this family now and we always protect our own. OK?"
"OK," I whisper to her. I wipe a lone tear from my cheek before looking at them both again. "When do I leave? Which pack am I going too?" I ask.
"You leave in the morning. Thomas and Malcolm will be taking you up there. You have the rest of today to pack everything and I and Shelia will help you, if that is alright with you?" Teresa asks me with a sad smile. I nod.
"Silvermoon pack," Alpha James states. Teresa and I just stare at him not sure what he is talking about.
"The pack that you will be going. Alpha Derrick is my cousin and he will be expecting in two days, with that said, you need to get to packing because he does not like to be waiting for too long. He can be an asshole at times," Alpha James says.
"James! You do not need to say things like that to her. Are you trying to make her terrified of Derrick before she even gets there, huh?" she yells at Alpha James.
"No, I.." Alpha James started to say.
"Then don't say anything else. You will only make this worse than it already is," she says to Alpha James. Teresa turns to me and asks, "Are you ready to start packing?"
"As ready as I will ever be, I guess," I state dryly. I don't want to sound unappreciated because I am grateful of everything they have done for me but I don't want to run away again. I know I have too because this could start a war between packs and we don't need that right now. Why does this has to happen to me? Hopefully my old pack will leave me alone after this. Hopefully.
Walking out of that office was difficult but not as difficult as walking into my room to pack all my things. I wanted to cry but I knew I needed to be strong and that this is a good thing. I did not want to go back to my old pack and going to Silvermoon pack in Wisconsin is the best choice for me, and the farthest place to be from my old pack. It seems unreal that they waited six months to come find me. Why wait that long to look for me? I mean, wouldn't you go look for someone immediately after they left and not six months later. I will never know because I will never ask them.
"I know this is difficult Hailey, but it is for the best," Teresa tells me. I turn to her and give her a hug. She has been like a mother to me since I have arrived here and I will miss her dearly. She taught me so much, mostly how to love. She has shown me what it means to be compassionate and caring without expecting anything in return. She listens and gives her best opinion on what to do in that situation. I have seen and heard her talk to young she-wolves about mates and how important they are to us. She sees everyone in this pack as her own children, even if she has three pups with the Alpha.
"I know Teresa. I will miss everyone here, and I don't know when I will see you all again, that is what makes this sad," I tell her.
"You will see us again soon. You are going to James' cousin pack, it's not like we need a reason to visit there or you to visit here. You are always welcomed here and if it gets too bad you can always call. Remember that, OK?" she tells me in a motherly way.
"I will," I say as I give her a kiss on the cheek.
"OK enough sappy talk right now. We need to get packing missy," Shelia yells from the closet. Teresa and I chuckle at this. She always has a way of making a terrible situation into a happy memory.
We spend about three hours packing everything into boxes that the guys brought up and suitcases that were given to me from other pack members. Everyone was sad to see me go but everyone understood what was going on. Alpha James called a meeting with all pack members while Teresa, Shelia, and myself were packing. He explained everything and told all members to say nothing to Moonlight pack when they arrive. He said, "You have never seen her before," and made it an order to everyone, but it didn't have to be an order because they all knew what had happened at my old pack. They all felt sorry for me and angry but I told them I wanted to move on from the past and work on my future. That made everyone respect me and we never talked about it again after that day.
Dinner was in my honor. They asked what I wanted to have for dinner. I of course love chicken parmesan with spaghetti noodles, so that is what we had. It was the best food I have ever eaten. Alpha James even made a good-bye toast to me.
"Hailey, you arrived on our territory six months ago by accident. You were running away from a terrible situation that no wolf should ever be in. We offered you a place to stay for a while, and I am honored you agreed to stay. You have become a family member in your time with us. You proved you are worthy and strong enough to be a warrior and you never gave up on your hardest days. You helped around the pack, even when you had the day off, and you were a shoulder to cry when a wolf needed one. You will always be welcome here because you are a Bloodstone family member. We will protect you when needed and love you till our last days. We pray the Moon Goddess blesses you on this journey and gives you the strength to overcome this minor setback. May you blossom into the wonderful she-wolf you were born to be Hailey." The entire dining hall broke out into howls. To a wolf, a howl is an honor to have. When we howl for each other it shows respect and honor for him or her we are howling for. With everyone howling for me, I cried. I couldn't hold it in any longer. To see everyone here respects me and honors me as one of their own means more than I could ever tell them. I howl with everyone to show I hear them and I am one with them.
Tomorrow will a long day, but I know in my heart this is what I need to do. Cassandra agrees, or at least I believe she does. She has been anxious ever since Alpha James mentioned Silvermoon pack.
"Are you alright Cassandra? Should we not be going to Silvermoon?" I ask Cassandra.
"Yes, I am fine. I just feel something is going to happen soon. Something important, but I do not know what it is," she tells me.
"OK," I respond back, not sure what she means by that, but I guess time will tell.
As dinner comes to an end and pups needing to be put to bed, we all share are good-bye and good nights. Thomas says we are leaving at 5 AM and everyone will still be in bed, so the hard part comes tonight. Some say "see you later" instead, because "good-bye's mean forever and I am not saying forever to you" and I agree. I will see everyone again, one day. Not sure when that one day will be, but it will happen.
I didn't think I would be able to sleep tonight but I did. It wasn't a peaceful dreaming sleep; it was more like a nap. I knew I would sleep in the car but I did not want the guys to do all the driving tomorrow. My alarm went off sooner than I wanted it to. It was 4:30 AM and time to get dressed to head to my new adventure. We packed everything in the car yesterday afternoon before dinner. It didn't take long being we had 25 wolves helping carry boxes. It makes me sad thinking I will miss my home, yes this is my home.
Walking down the stairs one last time, Alpha James, Teresa, Pat, Shelia, Thomas, Monica, and Malcolm were all waiting in the kitchen for me to come down. Shelia made me a small breakfast before we had to leave. Sausage and egg sandwich with chocolate milk, my favorite. Shelia was teary eyed as she wrapped one arm around my shoulders while walking to the front door. As we were all standing on the front porch, Thomas and Malcolm said good-bye to everyone and got into the SUV to give me a moment with everyone. I started to tear up as I looked at Shelia.
"I'm going to miss you Shelia," I tell her as we hug. She is crying into my shoulder as Pat hugs me from the side and says he will see me later. I nod at him and he grabs Shelia by the shoulders to pull her away. She puts her face into his chest to cry. Now it is Teresa and Alpha James turn. Teresa hugs me tight and says, "You will shine bright on a rainy day Hailey. You are strong and brave, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If you need anything and I mean anything, you call. I love you my dear child and be safe." She kisses my forehead before releasing me.
"I love you too, Teresa."
"Hailey, please be safe and I will call Derrick when Moonlight leaves. We all love you and we will miss you," Alpha James says while he hugs me. I nod my head on his chest because I am afraid my voice will crack if I talk. After a long moment he releases me and guides me to the SUV. Opening the door for me, I give everyone one last look and smile before getting into the back seat. After buckling my seat belt and waving and turn to Thomas, who is in the driver seat.
"Let'sgo," I say. Thomas and Malcolm both nod and we start driving away. I look outthe side window for the longest time. Looking at the forest we are leavingbehind, wondering if I will make new memories in the Silvermoon pack or willthey only be nice to me because I am a visitor. Only time will tell.