Chapter 6
Alby
The Hemlock Wolf Pack, Star’s Territory
I kept my hand in Bennie’s all the way to Raziel’s house. The last hour or so made my brain spin. How was this real? One minute I was part of a research study to help true-mates meet each other in the future and then I was smothered in Bennie’s scent. How did this happen?
“Raziel,” my wolf chimed into my thoughts.
“Well, him and remember, there were two true-mate meetings from the first test run Aidan Gilmore did too. It’s like if you’re incompatible with someone you should introduce them to your friends or something like that.
I don’t know how it works. I don’t think Aidan knows either or he wouldn’t have needed us to be part of the research.
Maybe the mystery is the answer to itself or something cyclical like that. ”
“You alright?” Bennie asked, squeezing my hand.
The increased pressure sent lightning bolts throughout my body and made me blush again. For a second, I imagined his big, strong hand sliding down my chest and stomach straight to my… I gave myself a good mental shake. The time to romp wasn’t when he was behind the wheel.
“Maybe just give him a hand job?” my wolf advised and I’d never been so grateful that Bennie couldn’t hear him yet. That wouldn’t come along until after our claiming vows.
“I’m okay. Just thinking…” I said.
“Me too. Raziel pulled this off somehow. I didn’t suspect anything. He kept prodding for my input every step of the way, but I still didn’t suspect anything. I just thought he wanted to ensure you had a good time. I think that was a big part of it but… Shit.”
“It’s a lot to take in,” I nodded. “You didn’t have any big plans for the day that I messed up, did you?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Just lunch with you and Raziel and then I figured I would spend the rest of the day hanging out in case they needed help at the cooling station. It’s balls hot out here.”
“Good climb onto the roof and take a nap weather,” I said.
“Exactly,” he laughed. “So, what do you do back on Hemlock Mountain?”
“A little of everything. Some folks have jobs outside of the Sanctuary but a lot of us just contribute to community tasks and no, before you ask, that’s not a fancy way to say that I’m unemployed.”
“Community living runs on a different system than most places,” Bennie said.
“There are more than a handful of shifter communities that run their societies like that to this day. Everyone works and everyone eats. It works well in a lot of remote places. Not better or worse than what we do, just different. So, what did you usually do?”
“I was at the library a lot,” I admitted.
“There’s a group of us who keep it all organized.
We have our own library that is technically part of the Hemlock Mountain branch but you have to have a Sanctuary card to check out books from there.
I organize authors coming in to sign books and stuff too.
Alesky Mink has come a few times. A few others. ”
“Mink, huh? The guy who wrote The Trouble with Lion Dads? I’ve met him a few times in the GGB. They have a pretty big Temple of Juda there and they always need extra hands and guards. He’s a decent lion.”
“You really go there for the drag, huh?” I teased him.
“Never passed up a chance to see a show,” Bennie shrugged. “Everyone has to have fun at some point.”
“I saw it on your social media,” I admitted.
“That’s why I post,” he said. “I think social media sort of lets us see into the lives of others and that can sometimes promote unity between groups.”
“Ah, you’re one of those,” I teased him.
“One of who?” he asked, side eyeing me.
“Someone who believes we can all be one big group,” I said.
“No, I believe at the core we are one big group. Citizens of Earthside. Just because we’re different shifters or vampires or whatever or because we have different ancestors, doesn’t mean we can’t find unity.
Imagine if we all had the same ancestors.
Theoretically we might be diverse enough to find mates, but I think it would be more difficult.
Sure, the lines from Frost and Juda have diversified now, but a lot of folks are still on family links together.
I think that’s why he said to welcome and be kind to outsiders in the Tenets of Frost. It’s like he knew the mates of his descendants would come from other groups.
I mean that’s a biological drive to be nice to outsiders and there are plenty of other reasons.
I just realized I’m monopolizing the conversation and probably close to boring you to tears. ”
“I’m not bored,” I said and meant it. “I want to know what makes you tick.”
“What about you? What makes you tick?” he asked me.
“Well, on one side of my family are the Raven Hollow Wolves, of course, and they have the Crow King and the other side of my family are wolves that came from the Appalachian Wolf Pack. No one really knows exactly what’s going on there.”
“That mountain range is older than trees. I always imagined that shifters who originated there were born from the mountains themselves.”
“Hey, it’s as good of a guess as any that I heard,” I said. “Those who prosper there respect the land and are tough.”
“But you still haven’t told me what makes you tick. I have the Tenets of Frost and trying to puzzle us all together.”
“Er… Maybe books,” I shrugged. “Finding the right one is like reading your thoughts that someone else’s fingers typed out.”
“Do you write?” he asked.
“I… I used to but no one wanted to publish what I wrote. So, I went back to reading. Those who can’t write should read and all that, I guess.”
His lips pursed together and I wondered for a long moment if he was disappointed in me. He’d accomplished so much in his life that of course it was disappointing to have a mate who couldn’t even manage to get one book published.
“What do you write about?” Bennie asked, using the present tense.
“Nothing anymore, but I wrote a few books of what I call mountain horror. They all take place on mountains. Some are shifters as monsters and some are like cryptids and some are just… the mountain. They said there wasn’t really a market for horror.”
“I’ll talk to Slyvin. The temple has its own printing and publishing house,” Bennie said.
“I don’t need to be sympathy published,” I said, looking out the window so he didn’t see me blush.
“It wouldn’t be like that,” he said. “They have a horror imprint because it’s a money maker when you get the books into the hands of the right folks.
A lot of folks who have trauma enjoy horror.
They find their home there. The temple also draws in those folks.
Either they want to be protected or they want to protect.
The temple even lends space to a horror book club every third Saturday evening.
So, my mentioning would help you, but also the temple. ”
“There you go with the unity talk again,” I teased him and squeezed his hand.
“You don’t have to try to get them published again but if you ever want, the offer stands,” Bennie said.
“I appreciate it,” I grinned. “Maybe one day. The manuscripts are back at the Sanctuary anyway.”
“Yeah, I noticed you didn’t bring much with you.”
“I traveled light in case I needed to haul tail,” I shrugged.
“You are so Clyde’s grandkid,” Bennie laughed. “His reputation procedes him.”
Pulling onto the Hemlock Estate felt as if I’d pulled up to some ancient draconic village.
Even before Bennie pulled the car through the gates, dragons swooped overhead, landing on and taking off from the tops of the buildings that towered over even the trees.
Sure, Hemlock Mountain had a fair number of dragon shifters, but we had nothing on this place.
If the first mate wasn’t a wolf, I might’ve felt out of place.
Then again, I was taught to walk into every situation like I owned it and knew exactly what the plan was.
“Don’t walk around like you expect a target on your back,” Grandpa Clyde’s voice played off in my thoughts from years ago. He had a million little sayings just like that one.
“It all looks a little overwhelming at first, but don’t worry there are plenty of elevators and escalators to help wingless folks not have to climb the sides of the buildings to get around,” Bennie said, as he clicked a button on his car’s visor. The big grey garage door in front of us lifted.
“You have a key to the garage?” I asked.
“We have the keys to each other’s everything. Well, not everything, but yeah, I can get into his place from the garage. I think he gave you keys to the main doors,” Bennie said.
“Is he alright?” I asked, because Bennie seemed a bit distracted still. I hadn’t outright asked if Raziel was okay earlier because I didn’t want to poke too hard at what seemed to be a sore spot of my new mate.
“I think so. He claims he is,” he nodded.
“This isn’t totally out of character for him.
He might not travel the world, but he’s one of the most selfless guys I know.
Whatever someone needs, if they need help, he’s there.
It’s like he’s working off something the rest of us don’t know about.
Though, I think that’s just the way he is. ”
“He really didn’t tell you how he knew about us?” I asked, squeezing his hand as we pulled into the garage.
“Said I wouldn’t believe him,” Bennie shrugged.
“That bothers you. It’s all over your scent,” I said, hearing my carrier’s voice in the back of my head telling me how rude it was to point out someone’s scented emotions.
I shrugged it off because not acknowledging his mood wasn’t an option for me.
I wanted him to smell like he had back in the parking lot when I thought for a second, we might fall down together on the asphalt and exchange our claiming vows.
“It bothers me because if he needs help, he should ask, but he won’t,” he sighed, killing the engine. “He’s always been like that.”
“Do you think he’s in trouble? I mean, he has to be a seer or have talked to one, right?” I asked, undoing my seatbelt.