Wolf Pack

When he finished his coffee, Alina took the compress off Jack’s ankle, and what was once a huge bite, was now just a few red and scratched marks, she still bandaged him and gave some recommendations, when he put his feet on the ground, Jack no longer limped anymore.

“I have to go to the lumberyard, I have a lot of things to straighten out today, won’t you go over there Hughes?”

“I’ll go later, first I’m going to go to the hall to see about the Ball, we still have a lot to arrange until the ceremony.”

The prom. At that point I had completely forgotten about it, and I needed a dress for the occasion.

“It’s okay if I go?”

Jack asked quietly, almost like a whisper next to me, just for me to hear, I knew it was because I had asked him to stay, but now I really felt safe.

“Yes I’m fine.”

Jack smiled, and followed to his car, Alina approached me with her eyes almost closed in a sweet smile.

“Do you have a dress for the prom yet?”

“No, I didn’t see that yet.”

I said as I arranged my loose hair around my ears.

“How about we did this together?”

“I would love too.”

I said smiling and thinking that I never had a moment like this with my mother, as much as I was super grateful that my adoptive parents saved and raised me, we were never very close, we were distant friends, who called each other once a month and visited at Christmas. And now I was going to choose a dress together with my great aunt.

“I don’t want to put an end to your plans, but Luna won’t leave the village today, and I don’t even know when that will be possible.”

Hughes said in his authoritative tone, at that moment I felt he wasn’t asking for it, he was ordering it. I was thinking about being trapped in the Village for my safety, I thought about my apartment and my things.

“What about my stuff? How are we going to do it?”

I asked still trying to assimilate everything.

“I need to go get them.”

“My granddaughter, it’s very dangerous for you to go out, even with the guards, we don’t know what could happen, I fear for your life.”

He said with sweetness the concern in his eyes.

“Why don’t we do it like this: If I can’t take you to the stores downtown, I’ll bring them to you. I’ll go downtown and bring the most beautiful dresses I can find, bring them here, we’ll choose and return the ones you don’t want. And I’ll take advantage of it and I’ll stop by your apartment, pick up some personal items and clothes for you, at least for now. And the rest you need we can pick up at Judith’s market, she has a little market here in Vila, but there’s a lot of stuff and it’s stocked weekly .?”

Alina said smiling as she finished her coffee.

“Okay, fine.”

She said nodding her head.

“I’m leaving now, to come back soon.”

Alina said as she got ready to leave.

“Be careful my sister, I don’t know what this Forsaken attack could mean.”

“My brother, have you forgotten who I am?”

Alina said smiling as she squeezed Hughes’ shoulders and looked him in the eyes while laughing her head off.

“I’ve looked you in the face since I was a kid, I’ve never lost or run away from a fight, and I think it would be really stupid for the Forsaken to attack the Alpha’s sister and the Pack Guard Chief’s wife.”

“But they attacked the granddaughter of the Alpha and the Beta of the Pack.”

Hughes said pursing his lips and clearly upset and angry about it all, Alina looked down thoughtfully, really attacking wasn’t a good sign. I felt a stab of fear at the memory of it all.

“I’ll take care of myself, and I’ll take two guards with me, okay? It’s just that I really can’t leave my great-niece without a dress worthy of her first Moon Ball.”

Hughes smiled and affectionately kissed his sister’s consideration.

I finished my breakfast still in Hughes’ company.

“So Jack is the Beta? Makes sense.”

I asked as I took my last sip of coffee.

“Yes he is, he has the leadership ability like me. Naturally it would be someone in my family, I was my father’s Beta, he taught me all about leadership, I had elected your parents my Beta, your mother was a leader too. Something that our Pack is different than usual, normally there is not an Alpha and a Beta, there are two couples, the Alpha female has as much responsibility in the Pack, as the male, she takes care of the well-being of the Pack, and exercises as much leadership as. The Forsaken didn't take away from me just my wife, my daughter and my son-in-law, they also took my Alpha, and my Betas.”

Hughes said while clearly getting emotional, he held back tears and sniffled trying to control his emotions.

“And they even took away the possibility of raising you.”

His blue eyes were full of tears, when he looked at me, he smiled and caressed my emotions.

“I was aimless, Alina became my Alpha, trying to keep the pack together and provide stability. I was completely lost, but besides you, who was already with your adoptive parents, another child was orphaned since the attack, it was a boy 7 year old who reminded me a lot of myself as a kid, kind of gangly but very smart, I recognized the power of his leadership, and kind of adopted him, once he hit 22 I made him my Beta, and taught him everything I know, he might be Alpha of the Pack one day. When he first transmuted it was a sweet surprise that he was a caramel wolf too. I thought you might be too, but you’re a white wolf just like your grandmother and mother.”

“Jack doesn’t have a mate? The Pack doesn’t have a Beta then?”

“No, he hasn’t had his Soulmeet yet, for the time being he holds the ends of all responsibilities.”

Talking to him was like getting to know me better and understanding the whole story, after breakfast he went to the Ball venue, and I went for a walk in the Vila, but with me were two guards who followed me at every step. And it was strange to have someone always following me, but that way I felt safe there, as I approached the houses I saw how life there was simple and really worked, each one had their role, and each one seemed happy and fit in their lives, it made me think how I always felt like I was out of place, I never fit in anywhere, at school, in my family, at my job, I always felt like a fish out of water and there, there I felt like I belonged, it seemed crazy to think that this world was introduced to me 1 day ago and I already felt better there in Vila than I ever felt anywhere else.

I passed by the ballroom and I could see Hughes with one hand on his chin and the other resting on his hip, he was thinking about something at the ball, and together with Stephan and two other women they decided and were fitting the decorations, the ballroom it was turning out beautiful, couldn’t wait to see it all done.

I quickly ran my eyes over the pier, afraid to activate any more memories, but something on that lake and on the boats caught my attention, I ended up looking, and I had the memory again, but now it didn’t hurt, not did it terrify me, it was a good memory of my life childhood, which from what I was remembering, was very happy, I tried to force myself to remember my parents, but still nothing came. I went to the lake where I transmuted the first time and took a long walk around the area, I sat on a rock and spent some time lost in my thoughts, I thought about transmuting myself, but I didn’t feel free to do that in front of the guards , even more so the fact that I would be naked when returned to human form.