I wondered into the kitchen, being pushed by my hunger and craving for massive loads of food. I was roaming the fridge, smiling a little to find a container with left over roast, sauce and veges. I was leaning against the counter, eating straight from the container with a fork, not bothering to heat it up, it was good enough as it was. Sandra walked into the kitchen "someone is hungry" she said in a hushed tone, unsure if being funny was allowed around the soon-to-be Alpha. I rose an eyebrow "Yeah, why?" she smiled "well, you ate twice as much as you normally do, Alpha" both my eyebrows rose, I had not noticed, but thinking about it I remembered getting seconds and thirds on each meal, going into the kitchen at night time even "surely it's all the training" Sandra added, her warm smile not leaving her face.
She was pretty, but not outstanding so. Her blond her came over her shoulders and she wore it up in a ponytail most of the time. I knew she had been searching for her mate on some short trips over the last year, hoping to find him in other packs, but had always come back to us. Fate was cruel like that sometimes, letting some wait and having others discover it is their childhood crush. "Sandra" I suddenly said, making her look up from some preparation for dinner. "You are looking for your mate, correct?" I asked, cautious about asking her personal questions. She looked taken aback for a moment before nodding "Yes Alpha" she replied.
"Do you ever feel..." I stopped, unsure of how to put it in words "down?" she offered "depressed, lonely, desperate" her eyes showed me just how true those words were "yes Alpha, I do" very carefully she fully turned to me "but – if I may say this Alpha – your pack needs you at the moment, your team needs you in training and the rest needs you to be strong. We have rival packs next to us, putting us in danger every day, an unsettling amount of stray wolves walk along our borders scaring our children away from playing on the streets. The pack is changing and not for the better, we can't afford to have you lose your heart and mind to your mate when she is not here" her eyes were sad, she knew how much finding a mate meant "fate is weird and mates are meant to be, so she will turn up one day" she smiled a little "until then it might be best to put your sorrow into action". I looked at her stunned. It was entirely out of place for her to talk to me like this and I knew, she would have never dared to say this to my father. I was the soon-to-be Alpha though, not the Alpha just yet and she must have felt confident enough to speak her mind. It hurt hearing her speak to me and I was angry at her for belittling me. Who did she think she was? "No, you may not" I answered and stormed out the kitchen, leaving the empty container on the counter and walking out of the main entrance.
My feet made a loud scrunching noise as I walked over the gravel on our driveway and stormed into town. I had been born here in the territory, raised among most of our members. I remembered playing with the kids and running around as young wolves, experiencing our strength in play fights. It changed when my dad became Alpha though and it was clear I was the Alphas' son. Alphas were not selected like the humans did with their leaders, Alphas were born and only changed if challenged and fought. Our pack had great respect for my father as he challenged the old Alpha and won. I knew he was a good Alpha, he was considerate and kind but still strict enough to uphold peace and order in our pack. He was probably a better Alpha than he had been a father, but I didn't blame him, life had not been easy for him. He was not born an Alpha, not like me.
He didn't talk about the past much, he actually never did, not freely. He sometimes mentioned a thing or two, but never got into detail. I knew he was in some sort of war when I was little. Mum used to tell me about how brave dad was and we would pray together for him to come back safe. When he did, the pack had changed. Our Alpha had lost his Luna to a sickness and was slowly losing his mind, not coping well with the loss of his mate. He turned against members of the pack, spread fear and used violence to ensure his position. Our neighbour packs turned against us and our little community became more distant from anyone who could intervene and help. My dad challenged the Alpha after he laid hand on my mother, not treating her as he should have. Dad won, not intending to become Alpha, but taking the title to ensure peace in his pack. It was then that some men came and helped rebuilt the community, train warriors, enforce borders and control rival packs around us. Thinking about it now I thought to have seen this Daniel among the men. I would ask my father about that later.
My wondering mind had lead my feet to walk into the centre, right in the middle stood a large oak, spending shade in summer for people to gather and talk in the mild breeze. I looked at the tree to see fresh scratches on its bark. I walked closer and brushed my finger over a particularly deep one "the full moon" a voice behind me said. I turned to see a woman stand there, having a full basket with vegetables and fruit leaning on her hip, helping her support the weight. "The howling in the forest was scaring the young and they scratched at the tree with nerves" she continued and I nodded, stunned by her sudden appearance, I was still somewhat lost in thought. She crocked her head to the side "what are you walking around town in that late afternoon soon-to-be Alpha?" she asked, sending me a warm smile, showing she had no intention to harm me with her question. "Just..." I haltered, not knowing what to say. Why was I in town? Why had I walked here? "Would you mind helping me with this?" she interrupted my thoughts as she struggled to keep the basket on her hip. Too stunned to reply, I stepped forward and took the basket from her, she smiled "come on, you are welcome to join for dinner" she said and I followed her to a house not far from the square we were standing on.
Her house was small, the entry area was not large enough to hold the both of us, only some shoes, a few coats on a hanger and two hats on a shelf. She took her shoes off and took the basket from me to set it down on a counter in the kitchen. I took my shoes off too, suddenly aware of my smelly appearance from training. I blushed slightly realizing I was still wearing my clothes from running this morning. "Don't be shy, come on in" she said and waved me inside her home. The kitchen was just a few steps away from the door, a small table and four chairs separated the kitchen from a small living area with a sofa and a fireplace. It wasn't lit since it was still summer and too warm for that. "Did you let your father know you are staying over? I don't want him to worry" she said as she lit the gas stove to heat up two frying pans. "He won't notice" I replied without thinking about it. This woman seemed familiar somehow, easy to talk to and sort of trustworthy.
"That doesn't sound like John" she replied without stopping her work in the kitchen, putting items away while getting some sort of meal started. I was surprised to hear her address her Alpha with his first name and stared at her "Oh dear" she said as she saw my face "you didn't forget your aunty Beth?" she put her hands on her hips and scowled at me for a moment until a sizzling sound from the stove demanded her attention. "Beth" I whispered and then it came back to me "Beth" I exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a child. Of course, how could I forget her with her "cherry candy" I said out loud as it struck me. "You better be remembering that candy, took me hours to make them and you ate them in minutes" she laughed and placed a lit on one of the pans. "How could I forget?" I wondered "Well, I was gone for some time you know" she smiled over her shoulder "and then you were all caught up in Alpha business I guess, just like John" she had finished and set the empty basket aside "I understand you know" she said and reached into a high shelf, grabbing a small jar with small pink drops. She grinned as she set it on the counter in front of me "though I'm quite tired of eating those before they go to waste". My eyes lit up with childish joy, I hadn't experienced such immature feeling for a long time, but didn't care enough to do anything about it. I opened the jar and grabbed two at the same time "nah-nah" she said "not too many before dinner" she announced, but had a happy twinkle in her eyes. It felt weird being treated like a child by her, but didn't really bother me too much.
Beth was the sister of my father, I hung out with her a lot when it was just my mum and I. She used to help mum with the house and I used to interrupt them having those boring adult talks. Beth had always had some baking on hand and her delicious cherry candy, sneaking it to me when mum was not watching. "Where have you been?" I asked her, curious as to why I couldn't remember. "When your father came back from war he had a ... request for me" she said, thinking about the right choice of words as it seemed, she watched me carefully "I was gone up until a year ago" she continued, "but I came back to find everything changed, you and John living in the Pack house, running things. I didn't want to intrude, so I decided to make myself at home and see when my Marvin would walk back into my life" she smiled at him kindly before turning her attention to the stove. "What was dads' request?" I asked, this whole journey of her had a foul smell to it. "Oh you know, just some job he couldn't do himself" she waved off "what sort of job?" I continued asking, not liking her slippery behaviour one bit. She didn't turn around to me even though her hands rested on the counter next to the stove. "Let's not dwell in the past" she said as she turned to me "I've heard rumours about you finding your mate" she exclaimed and looked me straight in the eyes. My system was on alert instantly as Rumulus clawed at my inside again Stop wasting time! GO find her! He screamed. "Nah-nah, don't stress so much" Beth exclaimed seeing me tense "sit down first, have some juice" she said and filled too glasses with some light red liquid. She gave me one and came over to sit down with me "Tell me everything".
"And I can't find a single hint of her smell ever since" I exclaimed, letting my head sink to meet the table. She patted my head, her kind fingers brushing through my hair, soothing me "You know" she began and I rose my head a little "fate is some weird bugger" she winked at me and got up while continuing to speak "but mates are destined by some higher power than any of us can grasp, it will not have been the last time you smell or see her" "but I've never seen.." she silenced me and stared at me for interrupting, I lowered my head, for once not feeling pride or dominance, she had always been like this with me and I couldn't help but be the child again. "she was here for a reason, maybe she felt it too, maybe not. But be assured she'll come back" she had finished serving and walked back over with two plates. They were steaming and as she sat it down it was full with rice in a colourful mix of vegetables and small squares of bacon in some sauce. "Enjoy" she smiled and sat down herself. I dug in, starving.
She chuckled at my behaviour, but kept glancing at me as I finished three plates "Someone has not eaten for a while" she mumbled as she cleared away the dirty dishes "I have actually, more than normal" I admitted. "It's the training you know" I added "that bitch trains us so hard" offering Sandras' explanation. "Language" she said in a judging voice "It's true... she's a total..." "Don't you dare" she said and pointed a fork at me before washing it in the sink "What?!" I demanded "don't be a rude complaining brat" she said, not minding her insulting the soon-to-be Alpha "the town was delighted at her arrival and all the men report great things from her to their wives who then tell me" she pointed at herself "so don't voice such an opinion around here, you're not gaining friends" she warned.
"I don't care about friends" I mumbled and crossed my arms over my chest "she's being bossy, harsh and all business-like" I complained "bossy and harsh" she said and scratched her chin with a foamy hand, leaving traces of foam on her skin "reminds me of someone" she winked. "I am nothing like her" I exclaimed, hurt. "she thinks she's better than us in EVERYTHING" I continued "she is for what I've heard" Beth shrugged, not finding it hard to believe "doesn't mean she has to demand such strong respect from us" I answered, angry at her for not picking my side.
"She doesn't deserve it, she's only second-in-command coz of her dad" I continued. "Is that so?" Beth asked and turned, glancing at me with her grey eyes "Of course" I almost yelled "So why are you soon-to-be Alpha?" Beth asked and a cheeky twinkle entered her eyes "That's different" I mumbled, huffing annoyed "is it?" she asked, not caring to turn around this time. "I've proven myself plenty of times!" I said, my voice booming with hurt pride. "Fill me in" she said, her voice soft and seriously interested "Don't mock me" I said, still hurt "I'm not, Marvin, I was gone for so long, fill me in please" she turned slightly to let me see her earnest eyes. "Well I..." I began, wanting to show her just how much I deserved to be in the position I was "I attend all meetings of importance, I run my team very well and have kept the borders safe" "up until she came" Beth seemed amused. "That does not count, it was an unfair fight!" I exclaimed, taken aback by how cheeky she seemed "why is that?" she asked "did she use any mean weapons?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she dried her hands "no...", "did she have help from outside?", "no", "did she bribe some of your team mates?", "no, but..." "but what Marvin?" she asked, her voice suddenly not as kind. She glared at me, her hands on her hips. "But she trained all her life... we had no chance" I mumbled, avoiding her glare.
"So you say she trained "too much"" she started "that does not sound like having inherited her status" she looked at me with the intense stare that could make me admit I had been lying about how many sweets I had eaten when I was younger. "I'm not in the mood for a lecture" I mumbled, being down from talking about this and my mate "well too bad" she said and I looked up in shock, the Beth I knew was not as fierce and strong, not when it came to some stranger "you've got to suck up that pride of yours and see what needs to be seen" she said, pointing at me with an accusing finger "and what's that?" I asked, annoyed but also a tiny bit intrigued. "First and second in command McGrotment are heroes! They have lead the werewolf elite squats into victory, training their soldiers to perfection, taking care of their squats and most of all being great leaders. They go in first and come out last, treating their teams with the respect and dignity you seem to lack!" she ended with an insult, furious all of a sudden. Before getting overwhelmed by my instinct to protect my status and be mad, I asked: "Why is it you have such a high opinion of them?".
My Aunt looked at me, her own anger washing away from her face "you see" she started and looked directly at me, this time without a challenge in her eyes "They saved your father more than once when he was in the army, fighting for what was right" "They?" I asked, raising my eyebrows "Tae is not that old" I stated, Beth nodded "she was young, very young" she said and due to my stare to continue she sighed "she'll kill me when she finds out I talked, so make sure to not let anyone know". I nodded, watching her as she got the jug again and refilled our glasses, wanting me to sit down again. "She can't know" Beth said again, I nodded, urging her to go on. I was excited to finally find out something about Tae, the woman who I knew almost nothing about. "The first in command, back then he was only the leader of one squat and was known as Officer McGrotment, he and John were in battle when they found her, crying" "She was crying?" I asked, doubting for that stern beast to be able to express emotions in such a way "she was a baby you see, a new born to be exact" Beth said, making me forget my thoughts and listen to her.
"Her mother had been torn to death by an angry wolf it seemed, but under her body was a small baby, born only hours before, still all squished and soggy. They had heard her cry and gotten to see what it was, just as they found her and wanted to make their way back to their camp, they were ambushed. Bombs seemed to be dropping from the sky, hitting their camp, hitting their front lines, causing horror and destruction. John never really talked about it, only once when I visited him in the hospital right after. It was then that the small girl had saved their lives for the first time. Your dad and the first in Command were scared the child was a trap, maybe some sort of enemy trick, but they didn't want to leave the baby behind, not after what happened and not at all. So they took her. But your mother, she was unhappy with my brother being gone and you being just a toddler, John feared to ask her to take her in, so his friend decided to train that baby to be the perfect soldier. And boy did he train her, every time I ran into them on my travel she seemed stronger, smarter, way ahead of her age, training hard to please her rescuer.
You see, she knew who she was from the start, the first in command was not someone to love blindly and make her at home. She trained hard to earn his trust, to earn his pride, to earn standing by his side proudly. That woman you see today has been sculptured by hard work, more war and fight than you could ever imagen and other unthinkable tragedies. She has never been given any title for her "birth-right". She never had it easy, being a girl and now a woman, it never gets easy, she is being mistreated wherever she goes, having to proof herself again and again, over and over, never allowing a single mistake. The stern, strong woman you see has been moulded with sweat and blood. She didn't have a loving mother to sing her to sleep, she didn't eat candy before dinner or played with her friends, she never had friends. How would she?! The first in command took her with him on all his trips, never allowing her to settle.
I would love to see with my own eyes what she looks like now, being a girl she was stunning" Beth paused a moment to dwell in memories, her eyes seemed far away. "I remember seeing her when Daniel came to aid your brother with the pack. They stayed where I was living on their way. The first in command had a meeting and I saw them through my window as they sat around a table discussing. That girl was outside, training to fight with such stern motivation. For hours she would train and train, exhaust herself and still train. Once the first in command came outside he joined her, correcting her with his gruff tone, making her sore body push harder while he trained as well. I remember how she looked up in my window as they were finished. Her hair was all over the place, long down to her waist, rich in a chocolate brown colour. Her piercing eyes looked at me, pinned me to my place. There was no child looking at me, her eyes were old, shining like golden honey in the sunset. I smiled at her then, she just stared at me and I couldn't help it, what a fascinating child. Her lips only twitched, those full dark lips so misplaced in her tiny face." Beth ended, still staring off into the air.
I tried to imagen her as a child, see her through my Auntys' eyes. "Well, I don't really know what she looks like, she covers most her face" I interrupted her thoughts and made her look at me "really? How odd" she said, taking the new information in. We sat in the almost dark, until Beth looked out the window "Uh, what happened to the time" she said and stood up "you better hurry back to the pack house, they might be worried and from what I've heard the boys must get up quite early" she ushered me to the door where my shoes were "we can chat some other time" she added with a kind voice. I turned to see her smile rather sad "please do come by some time soon, will you?" she pleaded and I couldn't help but nod. Talking to her had taken my mind off things, had helped me relax a little and had given me new information which I had yet to process.