My new pack’s territory was nestled in the Shawnee National Forest, the pack lands are breathtaking according to my cousin Amber. Rolling hills, bluffs, beautiful streams, and thick forest. After over eight hours of driving, I finally arrived at my new pack’s territory. The entrance was gated and the wolves at the gate were dressed as security officers, so if any humans stopped by it wouldn’t raise any suspicions. I checked in at the gate letting them know who I was and my business in the pack territory. Both the wolves stationed at the gate were undoubtably attractive, they each stood at least six foot three and you could clearly see their muscles pulling against their uniforms. I gave one of them my information and he disappeared into the small guard shack next to the gate. The other stood just outside the door almost like a statue never taking his eyes off me. A few minutes later the guard who took my information reemerged from the small shack and walked back up to my window.
“This all checks out, Renee, and welcome to the pack” he beamed at me with a stunning smile “My name is Blake, and that’s Klaus” Klaus gave me a small smile and wave”
“Thank you, I’m happy to be here.” I responded almost blushing under their intense yet friendly stares.
“You are going to take your first left after the gate, Amber lives at the end of the lane.”
“Ok, thank you Blake” I said with a smile before I rolled my window up and Klaus pressed the button needed to open the large gates in front of me.
Amber lived in a cute white and blue farmhouse on a small gravel road on the edge of the pack territory.
As I pulled into the drive, I could see Amber on the sidewalk bouncing with joy. Her blonde wavy locks of hair bouncing up and down against her shoulders. Her round face had a huge smile plastered on it that reached her eyes. She was wearing overalls with a dark blue top underneath. She made it work, although I was convinced, she could pull off any look. She was taller than your average girl coming in at six feet barefooted.
Although I was also taller than your average girl coming in at five foot and eight inches. To be honest it was nice to be around another taller girl, it was nice to not feel like I was towering over.
I quickly got out of the car and ran up to give her a hug. As she wrapped her arms around me, I felt the most relaxed I had in months. I let out a breath that I didn’t even realize I had been holding.
"What took you so long?" She said as she clenched me tighter.
"I know right, I'm so happy to finally be here!" I didn’t know if the feeling would last but, in this moment, I really was happy to be here. Amber always had a way of making me feel more comfortable in my own skin, and I didn’t realize how much I had missed her until now. Maybe this could be my home.
"I made us some chicken pot pie, let's go in and eat." She said pulling me towards the door of the house.
"But... my stuff." I replied pulling against her towards the car.
She tugged me strongly in the other direction. "I have some boys coming over from the pack to bring all that in for you! It is time for you to sit back and relax!"
I could tell from the look on her face there would be no arguing and followed her into the house. The smell of fresh pot pie entered my nose. It smelled so amazing I had been living off microwave dinners and gas station food for way too long. I always felt weird cooking meals for just myself at home, and while they had meals at the packhouse I would usually try to avoid going so I wouldn’t have to endure an evening of being around Luna Kristi and Alpha Joey, so I would usually just have a microwaveable meal or something basic like pasta.
"Go ahead and sit down, I will get you a plate." Amber said pointing to a chair at the table.
I peered around her kitchen it was nice cozy. The cabinets were light green with farm animals stenciled on them in yellow and her linoleum looked fresh out of a magazine from the 70's. Her kitchen table and chairs were the best, instead of uncomfortable wooden chairs she had mixed-matched rolling computer chairs.
I sunk into the plushiest looking chair, and shortly after Amber placed a heaping plate of pot pie in front of me and a tall glass of sweet tea.
"So how was your trip girl?" She asked sitting in the chair next to me.
Before I could answer there was a knock on the door and Amber hurried off to open it, shouting over her shoulder for me to go ahead and eat up.
As if on que my stomach rumbled ready for some warm delicious food.
When Amber appeared again it was with two teenage boys at her side. I tried to quickly swallow the heaping bite of pot pie I had just shoveled into my mouth.
"Renee, this is Bobby and Chris they are going to unload your car for you. They just need the keys." Amber said.
"Oh ok, thank you! It is very nice to meet you." I said while digging my keys out from the pocket of my jeans.
"Wow! I am happy to move anything for you" Chris said as a wide boyish smile spread across his face. He looked me over before meeting my eyes and then he winked at me, I couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping my lips and I could feel a slight blush spread across my cheeks.
"You don't have a chance! Just get her stuff unloaded and then you can eat." Amber said in a joking voice. Before smacking him in the back of the head.
Bobby let out in a roaring laughter at the comical scene that had just unfolded.
"Owwww, why do you have to be so mean!" Chris whined. Then he and Bobby headed back out the door to start lugging my stuff in. When I finished scarfing down my last few bites of pot pie a mere few minutes later, I stood up and headed towards the door to go help.
"Where in the hell do you think you are going?" Amber shouted at me.
I stopped in my tracks and turned my head to face her "umm I going to help them get my stuff."
"The hell you are, the only thing you are doing is getting a nice hot shower and putting on comfy clothes." Amber responded.
My controlling side wanted to insist on helping, but to be honest I was very tired from my trip and a shower did sound amazing. "Fine, but only because I want to, I responded and gave her a devilish grin.
"The bathroom is all ready for you and I already laid out some of my pjs for you, so go on" Amber rolled her eyes and pointed down the hall to the bathroom door.
As I stepped into the shower it felt like it washed away a lot more emotional baggage than it did dirt. My mind felt lighter than it had in a very long time. Which was odd because there was still so much unpacking to do and people to meet. Which let me tell you right now, I am not much of a people person. So that alone is enough to make me sick to my stomach. For some reason at this moment though it all washed away.
When I finished my shower, I put on the pjs Amber had left for me, they were two pieces a shirt and shorts that were covered in a celestial print of tiny stars and moons. I headed out of the bathroom for the living room. Amber was sitting on the couch and motioned for me to sit next to her. I went over to the couch and sunk into the spot next to her.
“The boys are already done bringing your stuff in, they finished while you were in the shower.”
“Thank you for having them help, it was nice to not worry about hauling everything in after my drive.”
“I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t have that much with you; you are still planning on staying long term, right?”
I could clearly see the worry etched a crossed her face even though she was trying to hide it. “Yes, I’m still planning on this being my home, I just put most of my things into storage for the time being until I could get more settled at least.”
“OK good, from what you have said about your old pack, I would hate to see you return to it.” She pulled me into a side hug, and I could see her smiling from the corner of my eye. Amber was happy that I was here, and I felt the same. I guess I didn’t realize how lonely I felt in my old pack, it was nice to feel loved and cared for.
We chatted for hours and caught each other up on our lives. My eye lids felt so heavy, the last thing I remembered was Amber talking about the new grocery store in town, and the next thing I knew it was morning.
I awoke to the smell of bacon and coffee I had one leg hanging off the couch and my body was partially covered by a purple fuzzy throw blanket that Amber undoubtably covered me with after I fell asleep. I sat up on the couch yawning and rubbing my eyes, when my eyes started to focus, I could see Amber in the kitchen making breakfast. "Good morning lazy bones!" She called from the kitchen. "What's so good about it?" I shouted back to her in a joking yet serious voice. "Oh, that's right I forgot you are not a morning person." She answered I got off the couch and headed into the kitchen. “No, but food does make it better” "There is coffee in the pot on the counter." Amber instructed "Do you know where I left my phone?” I questioned while looking around the kitchen “I think I want to start looking for a job." "Yeah, it's by the coffee pot" she answered over her shoulder while she was standing in front of the stove frying a large pan of bacon. “Why do you want a job?” “I think
I quickly stepped out on the sidewalk trying to identify the smell. My body felt on edge and I just wanted to be surrounded by that smell. I gazed down the street and that's when I saw him. My breath caught in my throat, he had dark brown hair, a stocky build probably no taller than six foot and arms built to throw a girl against a wall. He was too far away to see anymore. I felt drawn to him.My body was reacting in ways that were foreign to me even at this distance I was becoming wet and I felt little pangs in my lower abdomen. I quickly turned away and headed the other direction. It was dangerous for an unmated females to be so aroused in public, I needed to calm down and quick. My face had to be flush as my whole body felt like it was burning deep within. I chanced a small glance over my shoulder and could tell his face was now pointed in my direction. I urged my feet to move faster although it wasn't easy my whole body felt like jelly. I couldn't lose myself here. I rounded the
When we got to the door Amber opened it and waved me in. I stepped into the foyer that had a light-colored wooden floor. With cream-colored walls decorated with various pieces of artwork. I could already hear the roar of many people happily chatting away somewhere nearby, I could also smell various foods aromas floating in the air. Amber led me down the hall to a room with double door entry. Before I could ask her to give me a minute Amber popped the doors open, the sight inside almost took my breath away. It was a large banquet hall lit by hundreds of candles and the tables were adorned with shining gold tablecloths, in the middle of each table was a large flower arrangement primarily made up of white lilies, and there they were my new pack, my new family. Once we stepped through the door, the roar of conversation almost came to a halt and several faces turned to our direction most were friendly and welcoming although I did catch a couple sneers. Its hard to even describe how nervo
I answered the phone, and it was Shirley the lady who owned the craft store. "I'm sorry to bother you dear but my daughter needs me to babysit unexpectedly, do you think you could come in and cover the store?" She asked"Uh yeah I can do that, just let me get changed and I will head that way.""Oh, thank you so much!" she exclaimed clearly happy that I was available."No problem" I replied, even though I had been up all night, it's not like I could sleep anyways. I hung up the phone and told Amber I would be starting work today. "I don't know how you do it? Aren't you exhausted!" She exclaimed "Oh, it's ok, I can sleep when I'm dead" I replied with a smile and nudged her in the shoulder.When we got home, I got a quick shower since I smelled like the woods and sweat. I got dressed and headed to town. Shirley gave me a quick walk through and left. As I sat at counter waiting for someone to come into the store, I realized unfortunately there wasn't much to occupy my mind. It quickly
When it got close to closing time, Shirley came in to lock up the store. She asked me how my first day went and thanked me again for covering the store, so she could babysit. I told her it was no problem and everything went good. Once she finished locking up I went straight home, not sleeping the previous night was definitely catching up to me and I was starving which didn’t help matters. Luckily Amber had some dinner waiting for me and I didn’t waste anytime in eating it. It was some kind of spaghetti bolognaise, it tasted amazing as far as I could tell, but I was shoveling it into my mouth and swallowing as fast as I could. "I see Alpha Ethan found you." Amber said while I still had a mouth full of pasta. “hmm” was about all I was able to get out with my mouth packed full of spaghetti noodles, I raised my eyebrow at her question.She pointed at my neck. "how lucky it was he found it.""What?" I said confused having swallowed the large bite of food "how did you know it was him?"
The next morning came, and I was filled with energy, lunch at the Alpha's house possibly followed up by a run. Nothing sounded better, plus three days of waiting was almost more than I could take.I was dressed and ready hours before I needed to be. I wore my black leggings and a dark blue dress that flowed to my knees. My hair was down with a blue headband holding it away from my eyes. Amber noticed how excited I was, as she suggested we could arrive a little early if need be. I didn’t even have to think about it, but I paused for a moment to at least act like I needed to, I knew Amber already had a pretty good idea that I liked the Alpha, but I was never someone who could openly talk about my crushes, not until I was sure the other person felt the same. “Yeah, I guess that will be alright” I tried to say calmly without smiling, but inside, I was beyond excited.I was hoping maybe today would give me a chance to talk to Alpha Ethan without so many people around, and maybe I could
The next week passed by slowly, I tried to occupy myself by keeping busy with work and training. A couple days had gone by since the disappointing Saturday when I came home from the craft store to find Amber preparing a feast. I spotted serving dishes piled high with steaks, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. It all smelled so amazing. "Umm I know we eat a lot, but this seems like a bit much for us." I laugh "Oh yeah Jonathan is coming over, so I figured we would need some extra." She responded "Beta Jonathan?" I questioned Apparently, this wasn't very out of the ordinary as him and Amber were close friends, she explained."Oh, I didn't know" I said smiling wondering if there was something else going on there. Amber wasn't as reserved as I was, and she was content "experimenting" as she put it with others until she found her mate. Soon there was a knock at the door. I went to open it. Jonathan was standing there with a tub of ice cream and the movie Underworld. "Up for a movi
I didn’t sleep well that night, me and Amber’s conversation kept replaying in my head. I couldn’t believe she suggested Jonathan and me should be chosen mates when we hadn’t even had a date. Maybe she was just trying to get her point across, when we used to talk about our mates together, Amber would always say why put off your happiness now, for something that might happen later. I understood where she was coming from, but I guess I was still caught up in the fairy tale of finding my mate. I finally rolled out of bed around 10 a.m. the next morning and headed downstairs for some breakfast, luckily, I didn’t have to work today and I decided not to train, I really just wanted a lazy day at home. As soon as I stepped in the kitchen, I was met with a booming happy voice."Hey there sleepy head." Beta Jonathan said surprising me. He was smiling at me while he was cooking something on the stove. I knew I smelled axe body spray and cranberries, but I thought it was just left over from the