What's Next - Pt.1
What's Next - Pt.1
Author's Note: Thank you all for joining me on the journey that is Cam and Grimm's story. I appreciate all the comments and feedback I received along the way. Please enjoy a sneak peek at my next work, currently in progress: The Reluctant Queen
The Reluctant Queen - Chapter 1:
It was early in the morning, the dawn just tinting the eastern sky with the colors of dawn, as I quietly slid my bags into the trunk of my car and got behind the wheel. I didn’t bother to spare the land around me a final look as I navigated my car out of the territory and towards the open highway. It was just another in the long list of places I’ve visited over the last four and a half years. I’ve gotten very good at leaving.
After driving for nearly two hours, the sun was now cresting the top of the mountains in the distance, bringing light to the day and burning the chill from the air. As soon as I saw the sign for a roadside convenience store, my stomach growled wanting breakfast. I took the exit and slid into the parking spot out front; I had my hand on the car door handle, already dreaming about sipping smooth, iced coffee, when my phone rang.
I took a second to seriously considered pressing ignore and returning the call once I had coffee coursing through my system, but my responsible brain pulled rank and I reached for my phone. It was probably better to get it over with anyway.
I stifled a sigh and answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, given the circumstances, “Hey, Brian.”
“What the hell, Mena?” he shouted.
His tone was understandable considering I did sneak away that morning while he was sleeping, only leaving a short note saying goodbye.
“Did you get my note?” I asked innocently.
“I did,” he said, sounding like he was speaking through gritted teeth. “Why didn’t you wake me up? Or at least let me know last night that you were leaving?”
“Brian, I told you from the beginning that I could only stay at your pack for six months tops and might have to leave without warning. You said you understood and were okay that this was a temporary thing.” That was a little bit of a lie; I always left without warning.
I know, I know, it’s a pretty shitty way to end a relationship, but that’s just how my life goes and I always am upfront about it before I get involved with a guy.
“I assumed you would say goodbye when you were going to be leaving, like a normal person does, Mena!” Brian said.
“I did. In the note,” I countered, lamely. It sounded like Brian was doing some deep breathing exercises on the other end of the phone, so I took advantage of his silence and continued, “Look, I enjoyed my time with you very much,” another white lie, Brian was just ok, “but it’s just time for me to move on. And I think it’s for the best, too. Arthur’s Alpha initiation ceremony is coming up and there will be visitors from so many packs, I have a feeling you are going to meet your mate very soon.”
Brian was to be Beta of the Moon River pack when his best friend Arthur took over as Alpha in a week’s time. That was part of the reason I chose now to move on. The ceremony would draw visitors from lots of the local packs, they would all be wondering who the woman on the new Beta’s arm was, which would draw unwanted attention to me. I wasn’t lying about Brian finding his mate either. There was actually a good chance Brian would meet his mate among the visitors; it happened pretty often when unmated members of different packs gathered.
“I don’t understand why you can’t stay. It makes no sense, Mena. You’re not a rogue but you just travel around aimlessly like a packless wolf. What kind of life is that? Admit it Mena, you’re just scared of committing.”
I rolled my eyes, having heard this all before from other men.
“That’s not it, Brian. I don’t travel aimlessly. I have a home pack and that is where I need to get back to,” another lie, but I couldn’t tell him or anyone else the truth, “I’m sorry, Brian. I have to go.”
“Yeah, whatever,” he grumbled before hanging up.
I dragged myself out of the car and into the convenience store, now feeling desperate for a large cup of coffee. I hated when men tried to convince me they knew my life better than me.
After paying for my coffee, a large bottle of water, a breakfast sandwich and a few snacks for the road, I loaded myself back in the car and took off again. It was about a two-and-a-half-day drive to the next pack I would be staying at, and my plan was to make it as far as I could today before finding a motel to spend the night in.
This had been my life for over four and a half years, and I liked it this way. Werewolves are naturally pack animals, so many didn’t understand my lifestyle or thought they knew better than me. The truth is, I have a pack; it’s just a non-traditional pack, and it was my choice to leave it. In fact, I’ve actually had to work to be able to have the lifestyle I have now, as nomadic and easy-going as it might seem to the casual observer.
The older generation of wolves particularly disapproved of my lifestyle. Early on I had to learn how to politely dodge their nosy questions or provide vague, half-truths that pacified their judgment enough so they would leave me alone. The older generation didn’t understand the globalization of our society. In their time, they spent their childhood in the same pack and only left if they happened to find their fated mate in another pack. Those who didn’t would take a chosen mate, either in their own pack or one nearby. Their entire lives would occur in a small corner of the world. There were occasions where wolves would decide to leave their home packs and explore, but it was rare.
The werewolf world adopted technology and became more globalized about ten to fifteen years after the human world, being a bit more resistant to change. Because of this, the younger generation was more willing and eager to leave their home packs and explore. They started using social media and technology to find their fated mates in other parts of the country or even the world and taking chosen mates became less and less popular as the technology to find a fated mate advanced and made it easier.