Chapter 12
Stranger POV
I didn’t know who she was, I just knew that she was in trouble. The car she had been driving was a right off. Luckily, this woman; Whoever she was, was thrown clear of the pile of crumpled metal. I rushed over to her, not sensing any wolf present, I decided to send her to the human hospital that sat just east of the border.
I connected with my Beta, asking him to send an ambulance our way. I had to try and find out where this female had come from. Humans were unlikely to stray onto pack-lands. Our ancestors deliberately chose areas that were isolated. It allowed packs to grow in strength and numbers, uninhibited by the outside influence of the human world.
My pack, was like this. We did allow our young out of the pack-lands, they needed to discover who they were. And where they belonged in this world. Some of our youngsters even found their fated mates, within human society. When this happens, they are given a choice.
Leave the pack; meaning leaving behind the security and brother/sister-hood. Or, you could admit to the human mate, What you are. And ask if they will join you in becoming a member of our pack.
The easiest way for this to happen is for our blood to be mixed with that of the human. Once the blood has melded, it is ingested by both parties. The mating ceremony will follow as normal. Where the mating marks will be exchanged. And everyone is happy.
Unfortunately, More often than not, the human mate is so appalled by your admission, they flee from you in terror. The pack will then engage the services of the mage community. A potion is brewed, and unknowingly, the human will drink it. Thereby erasing all knowledge of our kind. The wolf is left bereft and if no rejection was given and accepted, they would never have another mate.
My pack, The Blood Oath Pack, kept to the old ways. For generations, our Alpha’s obeyed the high council. Because of this, my pack was the strongest in the land. We were often used to enforce high council rulings. It was an honour to serve the council. My former Alpha, who had died defending our pack, defending me; had one of the highest honours a wolf could achieve. A seat on the high council. Alpha Mic, as he liked to be known, had been a formidable warrior.
He was from a long line of wolves that past their soul-sharer on to the next in line. Meaning that every heir to my pack, be it Alpha or the rare Alpha-Luna, would receive the wolf that their predecessors had.
That was until me. We had lost the Alpha and his family during the last great battle. I had also lost my father, who was Beta of the pack. We had mourned for a long time, after losing such a wonderful Alpha. There were debates on who should become the next Alpha. And there had been some strong contenders.
But, in the end, the high council had named me, the successor.
That was over ten years ago now. Ten years of proving myself a good Alpha, every day. Strengthening my pack.
That was why I was at a loss at the girl I now carried in my arms. I had to place her on the public highway, she could not be found by anyone else, on my lands. As I cradled the human in my arms, I got the feeling of familiarity. Which was strange. I knew I had never met this woman before. I would have remembered, she was quite the beauty. I could see this, even though her body was all banged up from the car crash.
I was suddenly brought out of my revery, at the sirens I could now hear in the distance. I placed the woman on the ground and waited for the humans to arrive. By the time they finally arrived, so had my Beta. Steven Conners was a serious man, who took on his role fastidiously.
He had been the Beta to our previous Alpha, and when I was named as the new Alpha. I asked that Steven stay on as my Beta.
‘You should not have moved the woman, Alpha. You will have made any injuries sustained, worse.’
He chastised me, in his trademark gentle voice. I agreed with him. But what could I do?
‘I could not allow more humans onto the pack-lands. My pack would be outraged. No. I had to move her; and her car.’ I added. Steven looked at me, shock written all over his face.
‘You moved the vehicle on your own, Alpha?’ Again, I nodded. And stressed to my Beta that the scene should look right. ‘How would it look to the humans if this woman’s car was forty feet away from her? It had to be done.’ My tone had a finality to it that stopped any other protest from Steven’s mouth.
The ambulance arrived, and quickly saw to the injured woman. They asked Steven and myself if we had seen what happened. I explained that I had seen an animal run in-front of the car. I omitted the part where I was the animal; or rather, Raven, had been the animal. That not only ran, in-front of the car, but, got hit by the car.
That was why the vehicle was in such a state. Hitting an Alpha wolf, at any speed, would do more harm to the assaulter rather than the assaulted. I continued explaining how I saw the woman swerve and saw the car flip over a few times. Steven piped up at one point to explain how the woman had been thrown clear of the twisted metal. Something which the paramedics agreed, was indeed a good thing.
Before they left, I asked where they would be taking the young lady. I didn’t know I needed to know, until the words had tumbled from my mouth.
I thanked the driver of the ambulance for the information and watched as they drove away in the direction they had come from. Steven and myself walked into the thicket, stripped, then phased into our wolves. Running as my wolf, was so much faster than walking back in human form.
We were back at the pack house within fifteen minutes. Before I ran to shower and change, I told my Beta that no one was to know about the car accident, or the woman who was found. Steven gave me a curt nod, then walked away. I took the stairs to the upper floors, three at a time. There was an urgency within me that I could not explain. I did not know what the mate bond felt like. Having never had a mate. But one could assume the level of obsession growing within me could be likened to it.
That thought alone, should have horrified me. But it didn’t. All I could think about was getting to the human hospital, to check that the beautiful woman I had carried in my arms, was alive and well.
Jackson POV
‘Father, you must get back to your bedroom. You should be resting. You heard what Dr Porter said. Your stress levels cannot raise, like they did before.’
My father glared at me, huffing as he sat, heavily in the chair behind his desk.
‘Something has happened, your mother is on the way here too. I will wait until she arrives, before I speak.’
Whatever my father had to say, he had better be quick about it. I am to meet up with Eva, again tonight. Hopefully, this time will be easier on her. I am taking her out for dinner and will finish the evening in a hotel room. We had tried on several occasions now to have sex. It was always around this time that, Maria would start calling for Julia. And, as Julia had not been seen for a few nights now, it was up to poor Eva, to help her mother.
My gut twisted, as it did every time I allowed myself to think of Julia. The rejection had been the right thing to do. I knew it. I just wish I could shake off the doubt that kept clouding my mind.
My mother entered the office, looking casual, but still managed to seem effortlessly elegant. My father stood when mother had walked in. He was ever the gentlemen. The loving smile on her face as she looked at my father was tinged with worry. Mother sat next to me on the long couch, my father chose to sit opposite us on its twin. This did not bode well. Something truly bad must have happened.
‘Before I speak to you both, I must wait to hear from my Beta. He has gone to make sure that everything I will say, is correct. that it is a fact.’
My mother looked more worried now.
‘Dearest? what has happened to warrant disturbing the rest, that the dr ordered. I admit, I am perplexed.’
My fathers eyes softened as he looked at my mother. Usually, a fierce looking man. With his shoulder length hair and a close cropped beard. Standing six foot seven, he dwarfed mother. When their eyes met, or if he was just gazing upon her, his eyes would soften.
The same used to be said about the way he looked at me, and although my parents had not openly critiqued my chosen mate. I knew neither of them were happy about it, I don’t even think that it had anything to do with Eva. They would feel the same about any chosen mate; as they would not be my fated. And that was all that mattered.
As my mind wandered, I noticed my fathers eyes glaze over. He was mind-linking with someone. Probably his Beta, I thought to myself. After a few short minutes, my assumption was confirmed when my father looked at mother and I, grim faced, and said.
‘We have a problem!'