Having spent the last few weeks travelling through every packhouse on the map. I sigh heavily from exhaustion, ‘What’s the name of the next pack’ I ask Nathan.
‘Blackwood, we will be there soon, but tomorrow night is a full moon. So I suggest we stay the extra night there to keep Chaos contained.’
‘I suppose it’s the safest thing to do,’ I say, agreeing with him.
As we park the car and step out, we suddenly feel a sense of doom. There’s a dark and eerie feel to the Blackwood territory. Dead trees surround the place, and a storm is brewing beyond it, adding to the eerie darkness. The only sound we can hear is the wind gushing through the trees. The dead branches and trees dance like they are all in a ritual. The dry leaves crumple under our feet as we approach the front door. The packhouse is a black Gothic house with huge windows all around. I can see a white curtain moving. Pack members peek through the window at me. Dried vines cover the house. Nathan and I glance at each other, then back at the view. Nathan shudders.
‘This place looks terrible,’ Nathan says.
‘Yup…and we are stuck here for two nights.’ I remind him.
We are approached and greeted by Alpha Tate. He is dressed in a white shirt and leather jacket. He looks sleek, but I can sense a cockiness about him straight away. Strangely, he seems very happy to have us here., unlike every other pack, we have gone to. He walks us through the pack house. The house’s interior looks better than the outside, but it still has room for improvement. I can see muscular werewolves in their human form, mostly wearing black shirts. They are grinning at me, but not in a welcoming way. We reach Alpha Tate’s office, and he invites Nathan and me inside.
A man walks in with a tray of small glass cups and a bottle of whisky.
‘This is my Beta, Sam,’ Alpha Tate says, introducing the guy with messy hair and a large stomach. Sam wears a sleeveless white shirt covered with some crumbs from the food he has eaten. His teeth are dirty, and it appears Sam has never made contact with a toothbrush. He also has a beard that still has remnants of food. He looks dirty and unkempt like the rest of the pack, and it seems only their Alpha is clean and tidy.
We shake hands, and I sit back down.
‘Drink?’ Sam offers, filling the four glasses. He passes us all a glass each.
‘We are thrilled to be hosting a Lycan in our pack house,’ Alpha Tate smiles and holds a glass of whiskey up. He swirls the glass before sculling it.
‘That’s funny because I’m pretty sure you declined to offer me the hospitality here,’ I remind him.
Alpha Tate chuckles. ‘I’ll be honest. I was a little bit concerned about the whole idea. You can’t blame an Alpha for wanting to keep his pack safe. But what kind of Alpha would that make me, refusing to host one of the last Lycans in the world,’ He says, emphasising the word ‘last’.
Nathan raises an eyebrow at me in amusement. ‘Yes, well, speaking of hospitality, tomorrow night is a full moon, and I would appreciate using one of your cells for the night, so you won’t have to worry about the safety of your pack.’
A hint of satisfaction is seen in Alpha Tate’s eyes.
‘Of course, of course, we have plenty of cells to choose from down there. You must make yourself at home while you are here, I insist,’ he says, pouring himself another whisky.
‘Thank you, Alpha Tate… I can’t help but ask if you have many unmated she-wolves?’
‘Unfortunately, we only have one she-wolf without a mate, and that is Ava. You will meet her tomorrow,’ he replies.
‘I can’t help but notice your mate and Luna is not here.’ I point out. Alpha Tate chokes on his whisky and sits up straight.
He then gives Sam a strange look. They must be mind-linking. ‘Um-yes, my mate, believe it or not, she only turned eighteen a month ago, so I only recently found her,’ he explains.
‘I would love to meet her,’ I insist as I watch Alpha Tate uncomfortable, correcting his collar and tie.
‘I’m sure you will meet her at some point. But, unfortunately, she is currently indisposed,’ Alpha Tate says as if he was assuring himself and not me.
We have another round of whisky. Alpha Tate wants to hear about my journey so far. I only tell him the basics, though. I honestly couldn’t be bothered with the extra details.
A pack member enters and informs us that the dinner will be ready shortly. We make our way down the stairs, following Alpha Tate and Sam.
‘I have a feeling your cook has made something with apples for dessert?’ I enquire. ‘What makes you say that?’ Alpha Tate asks.
‘Ever since we arrived, I’ve been able to smell the hint of warm apple and caramel. Whatever it is, I’m looking forward to having a bite,’ I reply.
Alpha Tate chuckles, ‘Yes, well, we have some of the best cooks here,’ he boasts.
Nathan sniffs the air. ‘I can’t smell it,’ he shrugs.
The feast was interesting, and the pack members happily spoke to me and asked many questions. It was quite refreshing to feel included and not be in a room full of people that were terrified.
We drink plenty of wine and laugh at all the dumb jokes and stories we tell each other at the table.
I become excited as dessert is brought out, but it isn’t the caramel apple or apple pie I thought it would be. Instead, it’s some strange-looking banana cake with cream.
It’s strange and unusual that I would be so disappointed over a dessert, normally I couldn’t care less what was given to me, but I’m feeling greatly disappointed and somewhat sad.
Chaos suddenly becomes frustrated. I quickly mind-link to Nathan that Chaos might make an appearance and stand up. ‘You will all have to excuse me. Nature is calling,’ They all nod at my excuse to leave the table.
As soon as it’s clear, I walk outside and sit inside the back of the limo.
Chaos is fighting for control, Chaos! Stop trying to take over! You will have all night tomorrow to yourself!
Nathan opens the car door and hops in. ‘Do you need some Wolfsbane?’ he asks.
‘I think I’m okay now. Chaos and I became angry over a dessert of all things,’ I laugh.
‘Well, it was overcooked and sloppy,’ Nathan laughs.
We exit the limo and return to the pack house. Before I enter, I breathe in the air.
‘The smell of hot apples and caramel is so calming. I can still smell it,’ I say to Nathan.
‘The only thing I smell is the fart I just released,’ Nathan laughs.
I playfully shove him. ‘Gross man, right in front of me too!’
Alpha Tate insists we join him for more drinks before we call it a night. He takes us into an old gaming room where we play poker and drink whisky for half the night.
Nathan and I have become more comfortable around here. Making our worries, we first had, disappear.
We retire to our rooms for the night.
After a sleep, I wake up in the morning and bang on Nathan’s door.
‘You ready?’ I yell out.
I hear Nathan moan, ‘Just a little more sleep, Alpha.’ he mumbles.
I let myself into his room. Nathan’s red hair and beard are in need of a good comb.
‘Come on, get up! We are going to meet… what was her name? Ava? Yes, Ava,’
Nathan sits up and holds his head. I walk over to a table, which has a glass and a jug of water. I fill his glass up and hand it to him.
‘Here, drink this shithead,’ I say to him.
‘I’m not a shithead!’ Nathan argues.
‘Well, you drank twice as much as I did last night and got shitfaced, so, yeah,’ I shrug.
Nathan sculls the water down, ‘Have a shower. I will wait for you.’ I say as I walk over to a bookshelf and pick one out to read. I take a book about herbal medicine.
Sitting on the couch, flicking through the pages, I toss the book aside. I leave the room and wander up the hall.
The smell of cooked apples and warm caramel hit my nose again. I follow the smell until it leads me to an old staircase that goes up into an attic
I slowly walk up the stairs. They appear rotten and damp. I reach the door handle, turn the knob, and push the door open.
As the door creaks open, I see a really old thin mattress in the corner of the room—a broken chair in the other corner and a full-length broken mirror missing half the glass.
Cold fog rises from my lips. It’s so cold in here. I gaze at the mattress. I hope no one has been sleeping in here. I suddenly feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. The only thing that brings me comfort is the sweet smell in here.
‘Alpha Maximus,’ Sam says behind me. ‘What are you doing in here?’ he asks. ‘Sorry, I lost my way around. I was heading to the dining room but must have taken the wrong turn,’ I say innocently.
‘Yes, it’s a big place. I remember getting lost a few times when I first moved into this packhouse.’ Sam says as he leads me out of the attic.
‘Sam… can I ask you something?’
‘Sure,’ he says, raising an eyebrow.
‘Does someone sleep in that attic?’ I ask.
Sam starts to laugh. ‘Of course, not Alpha Maximus. That would be barbaric and cruel of us! That room is just used for storage.’
Funny since it’s practically empty, yet it’s a storage room. I sense that Sam straight out lied.
Nathan is in the hallway waiting for me. He is already dressed up, and he has brushed his hair and his beard. ‘Alpha! You said you would wait for me,’ he says. ‘Yeah, I kind of got bored waiting, so I decided to stroll around, but then I ended up in a dirty old attic,’ I tell him.
‘Shall we head downstairs to meet Ava?’ Sam says.
I nod and follow his lead.
We are in the large dining room where a woman stands waiting. She has dark shoulder-length hair with dark brown eyes. She wears a black dress that exposes her cleavage. I think she purposely dressed to impress.
She doesn’t look too bad, but I don’t like her scent. It reminds me of last night’s sloppy dessert. Regardless, she smiles at me and winks too. I have never had a woman wink at me before.
‘You must be the famous Lycan prince, Alpha Maximus,’ she says, bowing her head. ‘I’m Ava, and I’m happy to help you in any way you need,’ she says seductively.
I laugh nervously. ‘Oh, thank you, Ava.’ I don’t feel any attraction to her whatsoever. There is no bond between us.
Nathan purposely coughs. I mind-link him that she isn’t my mate.
Well, at least she hasn’t run off screaming. Nathan links back.
‘Jerk! I reply.
‘Alpha Tate won’t be having breakfast with us this morning as he has pack matters that need attending to,’ Sam informs us.
We nod and sit down for breakfast
