Ma’Heron walked down the pathway toward one of the side entrances of the Packhouse, when he felt a presence in the dark…
And it was fast approaching his position, intending to attack him!
He waited a couple of seconds before immediately crouching down. His attacker dived toward him just then and missed him by a fraction of an inch.
The long-haired adversary smoothly landed on her hands, and then her legs twirled, her heels aimed at his face. Her first hit connected solidly with his chin.
He got a hold of her other leg as it approached his nose and pulled her down to the hard bricklayered path. He heard her gasp of pain upon her landing. Ma’Heron now dived on top of her… But she rolled away in time, and he painfully landed on the pavement as well.
She took this chance to run into the darkness…
But he flipped upright, was on his feet in one swift movement, and was soon sprinting after her. Because of his speed, he overtook her easily, then the Gamma barreled into his escaping assailant. He brought her down and pinned her with his hard, muscled body against the soft, grass-covered lawn, within the unlighted parts of the Packhouse gardens.
“Do you surrender, wife?”
“I never surrender easily, husband…”
“True, so expect me to be relentless and ruthless, beloved.”
The darkness was the perfect place to hide the ‘torturous’ punishment Ma’Heron gave Alexia. It would be daybreak when they finally retired to their apartment, finally sated and with the added clarity of what they needed to do next.
* * *
As promised, Di and Aaron were soon back from a successful talk with the she-wolf’s parents.
Just in time for the storytelling session, too.
There was a lot to eat and drink. The wolves had a very high tolerance for alcohol and Di, along with the others, happily drank wolf wine and wolf beer. Siel, on the other hand, since she was a human, was already almost asleep after a few sips from V’s wine glass.
“Would you please help me with the kids, guys? I’m gonna take her to the apartment now. If she sobers up, we’ll come back later. If not, I’ll let her sleep.”
Siel protested, “No, just give me coffee… please… I don’t want to miss the storytelling time.” “I agree, V. Myron and R will start telling stories soon and Siel might miss it,” Di piped up as she continued drinking wolf wine.
“Wait… Myron your Personal Assistant and Raquel are here? So, they’re wolves too? Are they mates?!” mumbled Siel, already half-asleep.
“Yes, they are, Elena,” chuckled V, handing her a cup of strong coffee, with her preferred amount of sugar and cream. “Now drink up…”
“How is it that I don’t notice these things?” Siel said, sipping from the large, steaming mug.
The kids came and hugged V. They seemed to be tired, but right then, a familiar voice suddenly called out…
“Hello, everyone! Welcome to our bonfire’s storytelling time!”, Myron announced in a louder and much more animated tone than his usual CEO’s Personal Assistant voice. “We have chosen ten stories from all of those that were submitted this Christmas, and we will be performing the selected ones in two parts. My beautiful wifey, Raquel, will help me with the voices and sound effects.”
Everybody started cheering! Even the children of both Siel and Lena started clapping. “Wanna hear the story, James?” Lucas, Lena’s preschooler asked in his cute and soft baby voice.
James looked at him, rubbing his eyes as if forcing himself to wakefulness. He reached out to Lucas, and they held hands.
“Rosie,” James said, looking back then he took his little sister’s hand.
Darien, Lucas’s twin, joined them, too. They all slowly walked to where Myron and Raquel were, closely followed by Lena and Serg. Soon they were all listening intently to the stories… “It was the most amazing demonstration of love. They completed their mating ritual, and not long after, he felt himself changing. His eyes went wide as he felt that his worst fears would become a reality. He managed to tell his mate to run, but as brave and stubborn as she was, she refused…” Myron went on, telling one of the most famous tales of the pack, The Legend of the Moon.
Diwa looked around her, taking in the picture-perfect scene of the annual bonfire, an event she had missed for more than ten years. Before the incident that changed her life when she was fifteen, she never found any reason to miss these Packhouse celebrations. And now, she was back, and everyone was happy to see her return, especially her parents.
Ma’Heron was truly happy for her coming back to the pack, which she was definitely sure of, despite his supposed aversion to Aaron. However, his recent conversation with her and Aaron was quite uncalled for.
That was unfair of M. After all, even I never even imagined my mate would be Aaron…
Even now, as she felt the comforting and warm, masculine hand tenderly holding her own feminine fingers, her heart seemed to pulse with a different kind of glow. Her mind was more at ease now that she was in the company of those she considered her first family.
I think it’s really because of my mate that I’ve finally found a truly genuine reason for me to face my fears, even the same one that almost destroyed my life before. But should I tell him what happened? What if he asks if I’m ready to return to the Packhouse? What then?
Just then, she looked at her mate since she felt his eyes on her. And, she realized, it was alright, as she drowned in Aaron’s soft and caring stare.
I’ll cross the bridge when I get there. For now, I’ll just enjoy the moment.
* * *
From the Packhouse, two pairs of eyes viewed their target from their bedroom window. One sighed as the other softly rubbed the other’s chest. They had just finished another “torture” session and were now looking at two people in the distance.
These two meant a lot to both of them.
“You HAD to be so dramatic with him.”
“I know him more than most, beloved. My aim is not to discourage him, but to fight for the one he truly wants. The SINGULAR WOMAN that he loves with all his heart. There is more than just the mate call for people like him. And he needs to learn that if he really wants her to be with him.”
“Yes, you would know, right? It was the same with you, two years ago…”
“True,” he answered. “No regrets. I just hope the outcome would be the same with him.”