Chapter Two
As a wolf, the pack comes first. When you're born into an Alpha line, that takes on a whole new meaning. Usually, finding your mate is the best thing you can do for your pack, a blessing of finding the one that compliments you perfectly. Mates are a gift from the Moon Goddess.
Unfortunately, finding your fated mate has become increasingly rare so each one is celebrated not just within their packs but with all wolves.
But as much of a celebration as there would be, I had to remember that there was a time and a place for a declaration like that and it definitely wasn't in front of a room full of Alphas who were looking for a way to discredit me.
I needed to stay calm. There would be plenty of time.
It took every ounce of willpower I could muster to drag my eyes away from the amber glow that had captivated me.
"Thank you all for your time," I said, forcing my eyes to move over the room rather than fixate on Alpha Varyn.
My body burned when I turned away, the heat trailing over my body as I struggled to keep my pace steady. If I could just get out of the room, I could gather my thoughts, collect my emotions and be composed when I finally got to meet my mate properly.
I was painfully aware of the risk of eyes on me as I walked down the winding hallway. I couldn't let it drop, not yet. In a place like this, any whisper could get to the wrong ears.
When I finally reached my room, I clicked the lock into place behind me and let my weight fall against the door.
The smile felt foreign on my lips, the heat that had bloomed in my chest battling with the coolness that washed over me and filled the room. I poked my cheeks, fascinated by the faint ache. The laugh bubbled in my chest but was smothered before it could pass my lips.
The sharp knock caught me by surprise and the smile dropped as the instinctual icy shroud took over.
With one steadying breath to calm the warring temperature in my room, I twisted the lock and opened the door to a familiar scent.
"Good, there's no blood," Talia said, dropping her eyes with a bowed head.
"Whose blood were you expecting?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, opening the door wider to let her in.
"Theirs and then a very rushed trip back north," she answered with a single shouldered shrug, a slight smirk on her lips. "Not that I didn't have any faith in you."
Talia sat down on the edge of the bed, her cocked to the side as she watched me.
Like most of our kind, Talia bore a strong resemblance to her wolf.
Long, ash blonde hair in a half up, half down braid and tawny eyes.
Her face was long and elegant with high cheekbones and a straight, delicate nose.
She was willowy and lithe, the perfect match for a wolf known for her speed and evasiveness.
"I can keep myself together long enough to meet with these wolves," I said with a roll of my eyes, leaning against the desk across from her. I wasn't that much shorter than her but I felt eye to eye with her tall frame even though I was still standing.
"Be serious, Kiera," Talia said with a breathy laugh. "Your tolerance for perceived weakness has never been the highest and you don't rate the human touch of these southern wolves very highly."
I rolled my eyes but my lips pressed into a tight line as I suppressed a smile. Of course she was right. Talia could always see right through me.
"I just don't understand how they can be so removed from their wolves. It's not natural." My nose scrunched and Talia laughed softly at me.
"Not everyone is so primal, Ice Queen," she teased, leaning back on her hands.
Talia was always more free with her emotions than I could be, the icy wind of freedom less potent when her guard was down. Being around her was relieving and I'd clung to that feeling since I was a child.
A few years older than me, Talia had taken me under her wing like a younger sister, even as I annoyed the life out of her plenty of times in our childhood. When there was only one person who could accompany me south, Talia had been the one I could count on.
"Sounds like something they should work on." The corner of my lips quirked into a small smirk at the laugh my comment elicited. "How do you feel like getting primal with me?"
After too long in these pinchy shoes and the mental gymnastics of navigating the Council's politics, my body was itching to shift.
I didn't need to ask Talia twice.
The forests that surrounded the Council House were lush and green, the floors covered with grass and soft moss that dampened the sounds of cracking twigs as the two of us sprinted.
The sun peeked through the canopy, glinting against my snow white fur as I darted around trees and over fallen logs. The freedom was intoxicating as I chased Talia down, her wolf just a streak in the bushes.
I trailed her scent, my ears twitching towards the soft crashes of her footsteps, the chirps and squeaks of birds and animals turned out as I honed in on my prey.
I skidded around a tree, my front paws stabilising me enough for my back legs to vault me over a moss covered log.
She was still running when I came crashing into her, our bodies tumbling and rolling through the fallen leaves as we wrestled. Her jaws snapped at mine as I stood over her but with one low, rumbling growl, her head twisted to the side as she bore her neck to me.
I sneezed and licked at her muzzle, acknowledging her submission with play as I stepped off. The new scents of an unfamiliar forest quickly stole our attention as we sniffed along the worn trails but it was something in the wind that struck me.
My nose rose, twitching at the intoxicating smell in the air. It was musky and fresh, like earth after rain, pine, and warm amber. I needed more.
I lost track of Talia, overcome with the compulsive need to reach the smell. My ears perked at the snap of twigs. The smell was getting stronger, the padding footsteps getting louder.
The wolf was nearly completely black, the fur tinged a deep rust where it caught the sunlight, and his frame threatened to dwarf mine. His nose twitched, head cocking to the side as his amber eyes met mine.
The warmth was like stepping into the sun, golden and radiant, flooding me with a calm stillness.
The black wolf's ears flattened, his head dipping down as he stepped towards me. I crouched, hind legs raised as my paws tip tapped against the ground. The wolf pounced, sending the two of us tumbling to a wrestle.
My teeth nipped at his mouth, his ears, his neck as his feet pushed against my body from where he lay on his back. The small sneezes I gave were instinctual as he bore his teeth with an open mouth, the soft growls only playful.
With a snap of his teeth, he pushed me backwards, taking the dominant stance as we fought with gentle nips before I rolled underneath him and took off in a sprint.
We chased back and forth, a game of tag marked with hind leg nips as we explored the forest.
I let out a yip when he nipped at my back leg, letting myself stumble for the game so he could pounce on me.
I bore my teeth, expecting another round of playful wrestling but was instead met with a lick to my muzzle.
He nuzzled against me, rubbing his scent over my fur as my wolf relished in the attention.
The black wolf moved from on top of me, licking at my muzzle, my ears and my neck as he groomed the bits of broken leaves and twigs from my fur.
My eyes closed at the bliss, my ears settling against my head as I relaxed against him. A satisfied growl rumbled in his chest.
I knew this aura, this scent, this feeling of completeness. I should shift, finally meet him in person and introduce myself to my mate but I couldn't ruin this moment. I'd give my wolf just a few more minutes of bliss.
A howl broke through the quiet serenity and the black wolf's head cocked to the side as we looked towards the distant sound.
His amber eyes were swimming with something I couldn't quite pinpoint when he looked at me but I didn't need to know to understand what it meant.
He was leaving.
He nuzzled his nose against my neck one more time before he turned and sprinted off in the direction of the howl.
My return to the house was slow as I tried to compose myself from the sadness that tugged at my heart from our moment being cut short. After collecting my clothes from a tree at the edge of the forest, I shifted and made my way back to my room.
What was meant to be a stretch of the legs, had turned into an afternoon of playing and now that the sun was dipping behind the trees, I had barely any time to get ready for the evening's gala.
The gala where I would finally get to meet my mate face to face.
A special thanks to my two lovely dogs - Percy and Sirius - for their inspiration in writing this wolfy scene. After some research, I realised most of their behaviour and interactions are the same as wolves so I've taken a lot from them.
What's your impression of Talia?