Chapter 2: Summoned By The Alpha
Kelsey
I had taken fate into my own hands and started my new life in Arizona with no regrets. Four years later, I graduated from the best years of my life at Arizona State and was now living out my childhood dream as a teacher at a local high school in the area. My boyfriend, Eric, had moved in with me a few months ago and I was truly the happiest I had been in a long time.
Eric was a CEO of a big wealth management company which sometimes resulted in him traveling and working long hours, but he still made sure that I knew I was his whole world. My family had met Eric a few times when they came out to Arizona to visit me and they both seemed to like Eric a lot, apart from my older brother who couldn’t seem to understand what I was doing dating a human. My best friend, Asher, who had come out to Arizona to celebrate his 21st birthday with a few other pack members also seemed to approve of Eric. Well, besides the fact that Eric was a die hard Dallas Cowboys fan.
I threw my body on the plush black couch in my apartment and gripped onto the side of my torso, that stabbing pain that gutted at my insides was back with a vengeance this time. Goddamn mate bond, I muttered to myself. For the past four and a half years, I would feel this aching pain come and go. Sometimes it was so bad that I had to excuse myself from my classroom so that I could go lay down in my office until it subsided. I was lucky that I taught high school students who didn’t seem to mind when I frantically told them I had to answer a call in my office. Everyone else though? They all thought I had IBS. Yep, irritable bowl syndrome.
The mate bond is sacred amongst shifters, the missing piece of the puzzle to your soul. Two hearts binding together for eternity to become one. Your mate is handpicked for you by the Moon Goddess even before birth. A shifter can only find their mate after they turn eighteen years old; some find each other shortly after they reach of age while others search an entire lifetime. Legend has it that a wolf can never be fully complete until they find their destined mate.
Yada, yada. Fact is, I didn’t have my mate but I was doing just fine.
Finding your mate is what many shifters eagerly await their entire lives. The chance to find your one soulmate. Most of the time, couples rejoice when they find each other. Not in my case though, I was forced to take fate into my own hands and now I’m constantly reminded of that. My Prince Charming is still a toad and as far as I’m concerned, Cinderella can still kiss my ass.
Although there are rare situations where destined mates reject each other, it doesn’t happen often. Rejecting a mate causes subtle lifelong torture until you eventually wither away, it is believed to be the punishment for crossing the Moon Goddess’s decisions which was probably what was happening to me.
As the throbbing pain began to subside, my body relaxed into the couch and took refuge against the soft cushions. Feeling my phone vibrate for the third time in a row, I finally pulled it out and smiled when I saw Asher’s name on the screen.
“What’s up Casanova?”, I say playfully.
“Arizona! I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all damn day, almost sent out a search warrant to the sheriff”, he replies, I can vividly picture the smirk on his face by his tone.
“Ha…ha…. I forgot you were such a comedian. I just got home actually, I’m pretty sure grading these finals will be the death of me”, I exclaim.
“Hmm”, Asher says and then pauses, “or are you trying to fake your own death as an excuse not to come back to Blackclaw tomorrow?”
“Not the worst idea you’ve ever had, I’ll give you that”, I tell him and heave out a sigh, “I just don’t understand the rush, my five year check-in with the Alpha isn’t for another six months”.
“If I were you, I’d rather get it over and done with then stretch it out longer. Since Blake took over as Alpha, his father has been trying to ease the transition for him. You’re not the only one who’s been summoned back for a check-in”, he explained, “plus it’s gotten boring around here without you”.
“Yeah, me plus old man Logan right?”, I respond with a giggle.
Logan was the old man down the road from my parents’ house, he had left Blackclaw to attend law school and never came back except for his five year check-ins with the Alpha. Most of the pack pities him, they say that he missed finding his destined mate because he was too busy playing human.
When shifters leave the pack to go to school or work in the human world, they typically come back afterwards. Since we are wee pups, the importance of pack life is heavily embedded into our brains. Everyone has a responsibility to serve and protect the Alpha. Abandoning a pack is equivalent to abandoning your family.
I could hear Asher snort at my comment and then sincerity flowed from his voice, “Kels, just promise me you’ll try to make the most of it. Your family, your friends, your pack mates - we exist too, Blackclaw isn’t just comprised of Blake. This week is going to fly by and then it’ll be another five years until you’re back.”
“Good riddance for that”, I teased, “don’t worry, I promise I will. Blake is a thing of the past, I’ve moved on if you haven’t noticed”.
“Oh ya, how is Mr. Dallas Cowboys?”, Asher said sarcastically. I could hear the doorknob rattling as the key entered the lock.
“He actually just got home, gotta run”, I reply.
“Tell him I said hi. Oh and Kelsey? I’m sorry that I can’t pick you up from the airport”, Asher muttered.
“What?! You’re the Beta now! I could never hold that against you. I’ll see you tomorrow”, I replied and ended the call.
Eric walked into the apartment with his navy blue tie loosened at the collar and his hair a tousled mess. I could tell that he had another strenuous day at the office and was exhausted but that didn’t hold back the excitement that twinkled in his honey brown eyes every time he saw me. Eric was undoubtedly handsome. He was the textbook definition of tall, dark and handsome and he was mine. My wolf however, made it clear that she felt differently by constantly reminding me that sex with a human wasn’t all it was chalked up to be. Horny little slut she was. It wasn’t Eric’s fault though, shifters just had an increased appetite for sexual intimacy that was often in overdrive.
Eric held up a brown paper bag one hand and snaked his other arm around my waist, gently pulling me into his body and placing an affectionate kiss on the top of my head.
“Chinese? I figured you could use one last binge before you leave for Blackclaw”, he chuckled.
I stared up at the total stud in front of me in complete awe, it was the little things that Eric did that always showed me just how much he cared. I was the luckiest girl in the world.
He was right through, there was no chance that I would be getting any Chinese food over next week. The population in Blackclaw was a grand total of 28,972. Huge right? Maybe not for a human town but Blackclaw was actually the second biggest pack in the US. The closest city was an hour away. I’ll admit there was a peace of mind in Blackclaw though. It was a shifter town which meant that there was little to no threat of being exposed to humans which left shifters free to roam however they pleased.
Eric had asked to come home with me when I told him I was going to go visit my parents for a week. I was lucky enough to dodge him though, promising that I would formally take him to see where I grew up for Christmas. I knew he wasn’t happy about it but he accepted it, which thankfully now buys me more time. In order to ever bring Eric to Blackclaw, I would have to ask permission from the Alpha and the odds on that one were staked against me.