Both Martin and I had surprisingly much fun at the party. After we both refused a couple of offers to dance, people got the picture, and we spent most of the time chatting. Martin asked me to dance, and he was a good dancer. Neither of us had been drinking, and as evening turned to night and the party got a little wilder, we decided to head back to town. CeCe and Jessy had left earlier; we just waved to the sisters and some of the guests as we left.
“That was a nice wedding. I was afraid it would feel stiff, as I didn’t know anyone but you,” Martin said as we were in the car.
“CeCe and Jamie are easygoing. I’m not surprised they had an easygoing wedding. It suited them,” I told him. We parked behind the coffeeshop. “Want to take a walk before we turn in?” I asked.
“Sure.” We walked along the lake and ended up at the same picnic table where Finlay and I had sat when we first met. The night was quiet, as most people in town were at the wedding.
“What about you?” I asked.
“What about me, what?” Martin tried to evade.
“Are you looking for your true mate?” I asked, not letting him get away.
“Yeah. I can’t see myself settling down with anyone else, always wondering who is out there and if she is waiting for me. I’m not saying I don’t scratch the itch once in a while,” he told me, giving me a grin. “But it’s always with someone who knows it’s just for the night. We have a night of fun, and everyone is happy.”
“Sounds like a good deal.”
“I’m not going to offer it to you,” he said.
“I hope not. I would hate to have to beat you up,” I told him. We looked at each other and laughed. We texted Sam and Finlay while we sat looking out over the lake. Then we headed back to sleep.
I was stretching out on the bed in my small room, looking at the selfie Amy had sent me. It was of her and Martin sitting in the same place where I had met her the first time. They looked happy and relaxed. Amie was wearing her teal dress with the large flowers on it, and she looked even more beautiful than usual. I regretted that I couldn’t be the one who accompanied her to her friends’ wedding, but I needed to be here at the meeting of the pack. I was happy Martin had gone with her; I knew he would keep her safe. The two of them had grown close; in one way or another, they had both lost a sibling and had found a surrogate in each other.
A: Don’t think you are fooling me with all the talk about how great the gathering is going. I know you can’t talk freely with all the wandering ears around you. But know that when you get back home, we will talk about whatever is bothering you. I’ll be waiting with a beer, and if I’m in a good mood, I will have made a pie from those gigantic rhubarbs in your garden. Stay safe, Alpha.
I read Amie’s message and smiled. It was nice to have someone who knew me well enough to see through my facade. It was irritating, but nice. The thing rubbing me the wrong way was my brother. Nothing new under the sun. It had been almost five years since I left his pack, and he still hadn’t let it go. What was worse, he had involved our mother and had taken her to this gathering as his plus one. My brother, I could ignore, especially since I knew it drove him insane when I did. My mother, that was another matter altogether. She had taken every opportunity she could to tell me how much she missed me, how the pack wasn’t the same without me and all the others, and how my brother had grown and things were different. On one hand, I felt the guilt of hurting my mother. She had always been a good mother, and I loved her. On the other hand, I felt hurt that she so clearly took my brother’s side. She didn’t take the time to talk to me, to see how happy I was. She didn’t ask about the pack, and every time I tried to tell her, she just changed the subject, as if it wasn’t important. I sighed and put my arm over my eyes. I should really get some sleep. Two more days of this, and then I could go home. I smiled as I imagined Amie making a pie in my kitchen. It wouldn’t be the first time she cooked at my house. Ever since she had started tending to my garden, she insisted I needed to eat some of the produce. Most of it she collected and handed in to the kitchen, but sometimes I would get home, and there would be a bowl with carrot and green pea soup waiting for me with instructions on how to reheat it, or an upside-down cake with whatever berries she had picked that day. The best times were when I got home while she was still in the middle of cooking. I would offer to help, and she would refuse to let me, so I would sit at the kitchen table watching her cook, talking to her about our day. Evenings like those were everything I ever dreamed of—maybe add a pup or two to the mix. It confused me how right it felt. Amie wasn’t my mate; I knew it, my wolf knew it. In the past, when I had flirted with women, my wolf had always remained reserved. He allowed me to have some fun but was always cold towards it all, a silent reminder to not get attached. But with Amie, he had no reservation. He enjoyed the evenings in the kitchen as much as I did. He revelled in the late-night runs in the forest with her wolf. All in all, it confused me and my wolf. I think it was just as confusing for Amie as well, which is why we didn’t talk about it. If we kept it undefined, we wouldn’t need to deal with the possible fallout. It was a cowardly way of dealing with it, but too much was at stake. I still worried. If you buried your head in the sand, you only had a higher chance of getting shot in the ass. I felt myself gliding into sleep. Then there was a knock on the door, and I sat up straight in bed, scenting the air. I got up, put my pants on, and headed for the door. I pulled a t-shirt over my head as I opened it.
“Councilman Rador, what do I owe the honour?” I asked, bowing my head ever so slightly. The elderly wolf outside my room returned the gesture.
“Alpha Finlay, I apologize for the late visit. May I come in and talk?” he asked. I stepped aside and showed him in. The room I had for the gathering wasn’t much, but I had a queen-size bed, a small desk pushed into a corner, and a small, round table with two chairs. I showed him to the table, and he sat down.
“Can I offer you something to drink? I only have water and iced coffee,” I offered.
“No, thank you. I won’t be long.” I nodded and sat down in the other chair.
“Your brother has been talking to the council,” Councilman Rador told me. I felt my mood souring.
“He has asked you to force a reconciliation?” I asked. The councilman looked at me with an appreciative look.
“You’re smarter than you look, son. Yes, he has. The council has denied his request, as we know the wolves who left with you did so of their own free will, and we don’t want to take that freedom from them.”
“But?” I asked. He wouldn’t be here if they had outright refused my brother.
“But, are you sure this is the road you want to walk?” he asked me.
“I am. My pack is doing good, better than good. We are thriving. Our land is vast, and we have just purchased more. The pack members feel seen and heard; they create a stable pack. Everyone has their place in the pack, and no one is more important than the others, not even me. It makes the pack feel safe to put down roots. Our settlement is growing, and so is the pack. Two of our females are expecting pups. You know as well as I do the births of pups signal a stable pack. We are on good terms with the closest humans, and there is harmony,” I told him. It was all I had wanted to tell my mother. He nodded as he listened.
“But as an unranked pack, there are dangers,” he pointed out. It was my turn to nod.
“We are aware of them. We hope the unknown acts as a deterrent, but we don’t rely on it. We have taken precautions. We train everyone in the pack on what to do if the worst comes to worst.”
“At least you have a plan. It means you and your top tier have at least thought about it. I won’t try to persuade you to return to your brother’s pack. I have quite liked having you as an Alpha. You are doing a good job. The state of your pack is a testament to it. It will be interesting to see what you will do in the upcoming games. Only five years left. Oh well, time for me to go. I’m too old to be up this late. Have a pleasant evening,” the councilman said as he stood up.
“Thank you for coming to see me,” I told him as I held the door open. He just nodded and left. This was a new low for my brother. I needed to think about what this could mean for the future, and why he was so determined to force us back into his pack.