Pack Mentality

by Idella Breen

  Gwen was careful to leave the hiding area without revealing the injured tengu in her arms to the other human children around the playground. Her undershirt was covered in his blood by the time she reached the two chatting mothers who stopped and glared as she approached them. Their glares immediately turned into looks of absolute horror and she knew she was in for it.

  “What have you done!” they screeched, quickly drawing the attention of most of the people in the park.

  “I suggest you quiet down if you don’t want this to turn into something bigger than it needs to be,” Gwen spoke calmly and the two tengu women glared at her before ripping the boy from her grasp, scratching her in the process. She saw the punch as it was coming but decided to let it happen. She kind of deserved it. She should have been watching Elena more closely.

  “You’ll be hearing from our representative!” the tengu yelled as she and her friend walked away. Gwen sighed as she felt her black eye already beginning to heal. Turning around she made her way back to her car. As she came upon the two children she was surprised by the intensity of their conversation. They seemed to be in their own little world.

  “Yes, it is! It’s always my fault! I hurt everyone!”

  Elena gripped the warm hand in hers tighter. “You won’t hurt me.”

  “I already have!”

  “Rae!”

  The other werewolf quieted at the intensity of Elena’s gaze. Elena nodded and pulled her into a hug. “I’ll always protect you.”

  Raegan froze at her declaration, “Always?”

  Elena nodded against her shoulder, “Always.”

  “I wish you would protect me too,” Gwen’s carefree voice interrupted them making the two girls pull apart.

  Gwen’s face was covered in superficial scratches and a couple of bruises. “What happened, Aunty Gwen?”

  “Remind me to never pick a fight with a tengu mother. It’s just not worth it, I tell you!”

  Raegan and Elena both giggled and Gwen ushered them both into her car. “Come on you two. I’ll take you both home now.”

  “Me too?”

  “Yes, you too kid.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Gwen paused to meet fearful green orbs and smiled softly. “Yes, Raegan. I’ll take you home.”

  Raegan smiled and right then and there Elena decided that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

  “Come on, into the car you two. You’re both giving me a headache!”

  Both girls climbed into the back seats neither letting go of the other’s hand.

  7

  Gwen carried Elena into Integra’s study and laid her down on the couch. Integra came in behind them along with a maid. She bent down next to her granddaughter. “Hey darling, how are you feeling?”

  Elena shivered slightly from the coolness of the room but managed a small smile. “I’m tired, grandma.”

  Integra tucked a strand of hair stained with dried blood behind her ear and nodded. “Nessie here will take you to get a bath, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  The maid moved forward and picked up the little werewolf as if she weighed nothing. She carried Elena out of the room and Integra closed the door behind them then turned on Gwen. “Explain,” she gave a one-word command as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  Gwen shuddered at the intensity of the woman’s look but knew better than to keep her waiting. “Let me just say first that I didn’t see it happen. All I know is what I witnessed afterward and what Elena and Raegan managed to tell me.”

  Integra nodded and waited. Gwen swallowed and continued, “Apparently, Elena and another little girl, Raegan McCloud, were playing together when a boy, a tengu, I didn’t catch his name but he pushed Rae and Elena blacked out. Raegan said that Elena phased into her wolf and attacked the boy but she managed to stop her from killing him.”

  “She stopped her?”

  Gwen nodded. “Raegan said that she wrapped her arms around Elena and the girl phased back into her human form.”

  Integra frowned and massaged her temples. “What happened next?”

  “I showed up and took the tengu back to his mother. We had a…” she trailed off, paused to take a deep breath, then continued. “A discussion and then I met back up with Elena and Rae before taking Raegan home. Then I came here.”

  “What do you know about Raegan McCloud?”

  Gwen shrugged. “She’s a werewolf but she has a strange scent.”

  Integra frowned, “How so?”

  “You know how most werewolves have an earthen scent?”

  Integra nodded.

  “Well, it’s usually the dominant scent or at least very prominent and easy to pick up. But Raegan’s earthen scent is buried under something dark. She smells dangerous. No, that’s not entirely accurate. She smells corrupted.”

  “Corrupted? What does that even smell like?”

  “It doesn’t really have a scent that translates into human language but my wolf understood it and the smell made my hackles raise and put me on edge. The whole car ride back I felt the strong urge to grab Elena and take her as far away from the other girl as possible. I think Raegan is aware of her scent as she kept giving me sad glances every time our eyes met.”

  Integra nodded but her brow was furrowed in deep thought. “What about when you dropped her off at home?”

  “It was strange. She went in through a back door but it looked as if she had to sneak in. When I originally asked her where her mother was at the park she had responded that she was alone. When I asked her to clarify, she said that she always comes alone.”

  Integra sighed. “I’ll need to get more information on this girl. Was there anything else? Care to explain why you weren’t paying attention to my granddaughter?”

  Gwen frowned as she thought of her earlier encounter. “I was, ah, talking to someone.”

  Integra frowned, “You were flirting with someone instead of watching my granddaughter?”

  “No!” At Integra’s glare, she amended, “Not like you think!”

  “You're digging a deeper and deeper hole, Gwen.”

  “She was my imprint!”

  Integra frowned. “Your imprint? You’re sure?”

  Gwen shook her head. “No, I’m not sure but it’s likely.”

  “How can you not be sure? I thought it was a sure thing once you touched them.”

  “I’m different.”

  Integra sighed and sat heavily on the couch. Gwen stayed standing. “Gwen, I’m going to give you a chance to explain from the beginning or I might have to take action. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  Gwen gulped but nodded. “I don’t really know if you’ll believe me.”

  “Gwen, I’ve lived a very long time. Try me, please.”

  “I think I’m asexual.”

  Integra studied her for a moment then nodded. “How does this have to do with your imprint?”

  “Well, I don’t really feel the same way about people. I don’t get sexually attracted. Sometimes I think a person is beautiful or handsome but it’s more like looking at a piece of art or a really pretty picture. I just like it, ascetically. But, there’s no urge to jump someone’s bones or jump into someone's bed.”

  “Have you tried?”

  “I did, before I learned about it. I mean, everyone talks about sex so I just figured that once I did it I would start feeling the same way as everyone else.”

  “I take it you didn’t.”

  “It was just kind of boring. I felt like I was betraying a part of myself and I didn’t like doing that.”

  Integra nodded and leaned back into the couch. “So how does this play into your mate.”

  Gwen shuffled.

  “Well, out with it girl!”

  “Mates.”

  “Mates?”

  “There have been two women in the past week that I’ve met that made me feel different.”

  “Different how?”

  “Like, I feel like I’m connected to
them and I can tell that they feel connected to me if the fact that both of them have unapologetically pursued me is anything to go on. Neither are human but I’m not sure what they are. I believe that their species mate in similar ways to mine so they are pursuing me but, I’m not like, you know?”

  “You don’t want to rub up against them?”

  “No!”

  “What do you want to do?”

  Gwen shrugged. “I’d like to get to know them.”

  “What happens if they are both your imprints?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen someone imprint on two people before. Usually, they only have one soulmate that either becomes their blood bond of lovers or their blood bond of friends. I’ve never seen someone with two imprints.”

  “Have you talked to Remus?”

  “No! I can’t talk to him.”

  “Come now, girl. You can’t afford to be embarrassed about something like this. It could be dangerous if not handled the correct way.”

  “Remus is a control freak.”

  “Well, he is an alpha.”

  “I’m not his to control.”

  Integra paused at the power behind the claim that Gwen made and studied her for a moment. “What do you plan to do then, Gwen?”

  Gwen frowned. “I don’t know. I think one of my imprints might also have another woman she’s seeing.”

  “You’ve confirmed this?”

  Gwen paused then shook her head.

  “How do you know of it?”

  “I saw her with another woman. They were close.”

  “Are you sure that they were close in that way?”

  Gwen frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Have you spoken to her about it?”

  The omega shook her head again. “I was too scared.”

  “I work in a tricky business Gwen. As a council member, I have to navigate backstabbing monsters and false smiles on a daily basis. If I took everything at face value I would have been dead centuries ago. Speak with her. Get the whole story. It will save you a lot of heartaches to come in the future.”

  Gwen nodded. “Okay, I will.”

  Nodding, Integra asked, “So what’s the other thing?”

  “Has this ever happened before?”

  Integra looked up into stormy blue eyes. “You’re asking me?”

  “Well, you’ve been alive longer than me.”

  Integra frowned. “Are you insinuating something?”

  Gwen gulped. “Yes, that you are wiser than me.”

  The salamander smirked slightly. “I don’t dwell too much in werewolf culture. I know enough to deal with your kind politically. And I know a bit from Cait but I’ve never been behind the lines so to speak. You would know more than me in this case. Even Cait would know more though I believe she is a bit restricted in her knowledge do to her self-induced seclusion for so many years.”

  “Shit,” Gwen dropped down next to her and placed her elbows on her knees.

  “Indeed.”

  “You can’t do any digging?”

  “Ah, I see. Well, this falls under pack dynamics and my hands are tied in that area.” The salamander smirked.

  “You really can’t help me?”

  Integra shook her head as she stood up and straightened her skirt. “My advice is to suck it up and ask Remus or another clan elder. This seems serious. I can’t even imagine what will happen if you try and sort this out for yourself. A smart woman knows when to bite the bullet and face her challenges and when to try and fix things herself.”

  “Which is this?”

  “I always wondered what a bullet tasted like,” Integra smirked and walked over to her desk before pulling out her cell phone. Gwen groaned.

  “Now, run along dear. I need to go back to being a responsible adult and take care of your mess. I have to do grown-up things and you need to figure out what to do with yourself.”

  “Such as?”

  “Speaking with an angry tengu representative and smoothing things over. Unless of course, you’d like to do it for me?”

  Gwen shot up and smiled nervously. “I’m sure you have it covered. I’ll just get out of your hair.”

  The omega made her way over to the door and just before she slipped out Integra called out to her. “And Gwen?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Speak with that first woman. Ask the hard questions. You might be surprised by what you find out.”

  The omega nodded, “I will.”

  “Good. Now, get out of here before I make you into my secretary for the day.”

  The werewolf was gone before she finished her sentence.

  Gwen was moping. After speaking with Integra she had returned to Remus’s house only to be reminded of the upcoming ca-brewing trip. Now it was six o’clock in the morning, the sun had barely made it into the sky and she had already been carted off to the forgotten ca-brewing trip she had been dreading before all the drama in her love life had begun. Now, she was in a canoe with Remus, the last person she wanted to be around at the moment.

  “Paddle on your left, Gwen! We have to stay in the front!”

  Gwen grumbled but did as instructed as her alpha emptied another beer with one hand while he steered with the other from behind her. She was starting to feel like she was in some sort of whose-dick-is-bigger contest and could faintly hear some of the other wolves calling out orders and paddling in unison. She was coming to realize that this was way more than just a leisure drinking trip. It was seeming more and more like a pack strengthening exercise. Gwen glanced over her shoulder to see Remus studying the other wolves, a keen gleam in his critical eyes. He turned to her curious gaze and frowned.

  “Paddle to the left or we will hit those branches.”

  Gwen spun around to see the overhanging branches and quickly did as instructed. Her arms were beginning to feel like lead from the constant use but she was able to stay ahead of all the other canoes. After a few moments of silence, she heard Remus grunt.

  “So, Gwen?”

  She frowned at his tone. “Yes?”

  “Do you have something you wish to discuss with me?”

  Gwen twisted around so fast that the canoe wobbled from side to side but Remus easily adjusted his weight to keep them from capsizing and met her gaze calmly. She was beginning to think that it wasn’t a coincidence that she was paired with Remus for this trip. Her heart hammered in her chest and she was sure he could hear it. “Wh-what do you mean?”

  He held her gaze for a moment. “Is there something you wish to say to me?”

  They stared at each other, each daring the other to cave first. Gwen hadn’t realized that she had stopped breathing until air became a necessity and she gasped before looking down into the canoe at all the empty beer cans.

  “I—” water splashed at them as a canoe zoomed on by.

  “Snooze, you lose, alpha!” Sam yelled as he and another pack member flew past them. Remus didn’t even flinch. Gwen shook her head and turned forward but quickly realized that she couldn’t control the canoe without Remus’s help.

  “Come on, Remus,” she whispered.

  He didn’t move at first but eventually, the canoe was gliding across the river with even and matched strokes. Gwen thought over what it was exactly that he was asking. If she wasn’t careful she might give away more than she wanted to. She glanced behind her and gulped at her alpha’s intense stare. He was still waiting for her response.

  She sighed. “I don’t know what you mean Remus.”

  “I think you do. But I can be patient with some things—”

  Gwen snorted.

  “This isn’t one of them,” he finished as if she hadn’t made any noise.

  Gwen mulled over his question for the rest of the trip down the river as they held an awkward silence. It wasn’t until he cornered and basically forced her to drive back to his house with him alone in his car that she was forced to answer his question. Remus was never really known for his patience. Gwen was worrying her hands when
Remus suddenly reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. Gwen tensed but he simply pats her hands before placing his back on the wheel.

  “I’ve met my imprint,” she whispered.

  Remus didn’t respond and the silence was stifling.

  “And I met another imprint.”

  Still no response.

  “And they're both women.”

  Remus grunted.

  “Remus? What’s happening? Why do I have two imprints?”

  He sighed before gazing at her briefly. She caught patience and understanding in his gaze before he faced forward again.

  “It’s your curse, Gwen.”

  “My curse?”

  “Well, that may be a bit dramatic but it is something that is passed down throughout your bloodline.”

  Gwen’s brows furrowed. “I’ve never heard of this before.”

  “For good reason. We all hoped it would skip you.”

  “Explain.”

  Remus smirked. “Who's the alpha here?”

  “Remus!”

  “Fine. I was just kidding.”

  “I’m freaking out here.”

  He sighed again then pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before his shoulders relaxed. “What do you know about your family?”

  “The pack?”

  He smiled but shook his head. “No Gwen, your family. Your mother, father, cousins, etc. What do you remember?”

  She thought this over for a moment. Pain erupted in her chest as she thought about the family that had abandoned her. “Not much.”

  He nodded as if expecting her answer. “The Landers, our clan, is a strange one. We are very much a hodgepodge clan as we are made up of many wolves originally from other clans who happened to find me and assimilate into my pack. Since the olden days when clans were made of strong, pure, werewolf blood we have since become diluted but have gained much in our survival as a result. Werewolves naturally seek out strong mates. It’s a survival instinct. But rarely are those mates human or other werewolves. Most of the time they are something else entirely but equally strong.