Leonardo sat back in his chair turning his attention to him waiting for Ralph to speak.
“I want…” Ralph started only to sigh and shake his head. “I don’t know what I want.” He went quiet again his face going pale. “I miss her.”
Leonardo closed his eyes a muscle in his jaw twitching at Ralph’s words. “Yet, you marked another without fully knowing the truth.”
Ralph flinched. “I thought…”
“You would’ve known,” Leonardo interrupted eyes snapping open glaring at him.
Ralph gritted his teeth before he slumped in his seat. “I was lonely, and it felt as if she didn’t want me to find her. Besides, Whitney…”
“Whitney, what does she have to do with it?” Leonardo repeated the glare lessening lightly.
“What she said made sense at the time,” Ralph explained, and when Leonardo lifted an eyebrow, he continued. “When Whitney and I first met, I barely noticed her even though she was coming onto me and it was a month afterwards that I explained my situation, and she consoled me.”
Leonardo stared at him a thoughtful look on his face. “What did she say to you?”
Ralph clenched his hands next to his sides. “At first, it was words of support and encouragement which made me feel grateful. Then as time went on, she talked about how her own searches, and questions, were getting nowhere. She believed that my mate didn’t want to be found or otherwise she had an accident.” Ralph clenched his jaw tightly eyes narrowing. “Hearing that in her soft voice, I started to think maybe she was right and my mate just didn’t want to be found, but I preferred to think of that instead of the thought she may have dead.”
“So,” Leonardo surmised slowly studying him intently, “you decided to mark her as your mate. Did you hope that the news would draw your mate out?”
“Yes, it was the reason why I marked Whitney,” Ralph admitted with a jerk. “But nothing happened, and then I started to feel guilty since I used her…”
“Then she started getting threatened which made you feel even more guilty,” Leonardo concluded putting his hands together. “You asked for my help since you really didn’t want to get your pack involved, and yet since you’ve been here, there has been no threats or even suspicious people. In fact, the reason for Garin and the others being here is because your mate asked for extra protection.”
At his words, Ralph’s eyes widened before his eyes narrowed understanding settling on his face.
“By the Moon Goddess, I’m such a damn fool.”
Garin came back later that evening only to be met by Alec who merely handed him a pair of shorts.
“I talked with Brianna.” Alec revealed staring out over the yard. “I can’t wait to go home, Garin, for the first time in three years. I’ve missed home.”
Garin sighed eyes going up to the sky. “I enjoy helping others, but I love it when we go back to the pack house to see our friends and significant others.”
Alec gave him a sharp look, but Garin didn’t say another word and merely gave a smile although the words echoed in Alec’s head long after they went inside.
It’s about time that you go home and finally admitted that to the woman who has been waiting for you.
Chapter 17
Brianna and Daya were working in the infirmary when suddenly there were loud exclamations echoing throughout the house.
Daya glanced over at Brianna who stiffened her eyes shining with delight before they dimmed.
“I think we’ve straightened up enough for today,” Daya remarked stretching her leg which was aching slightly, but it was bearable. “I think I’m going to go rest in my room. You should go and make sure no one needs you, Brianna.”
Brianna slanted Daya a quick look, but Daya ignored it heading out of the room. She headed for the staircase to the third floor and was heading up them when she felt eyes on her. Looking over her shoulder, she met the green eyes of a very good-looking man who was studying her intently.
“Hello.” Daya turned back for the stairs a soft smile on her face. “Brianna is in the infirmary.”
She sensed his shock at her words, and with a soft a chuckle, she continued up the stairs to Garin’s room which she had started to think as theirs.
Entering the room, Daya closed the door and walked over to the bed a sheen of tears in her eyes.
“I miss you, Garin.”
It was a mere whisper, and yet it echoed like a loud yell around the room making Daya shake her head.
She fell back on the bed her leg protesting at the sudden movement, but Daya ignored it closing her eyes.
She needed to take a shower, but weariness pulled at her conscious and she fell asleep after having a sleepless night.
A few seconds later, a smile drifted across her when inside her dream a beautiful wolf walked toward her.
“I’ll keep you company,” he promised with a low growl. “Until we return from our mission.”
He ambled over to Daya who without hesitation nestled herself into his soft fur.
“I miss you,” she repeated softly. “Please convey this to your other half.”
“I will,” he promised. “But for right now, sleep and heal.”
The wolf curled around Daya, and within minutes, she was fast asleep so she didn’t hear the whisper words of her protector.
There will be obstacles ahead for all of us.
Miles away, Garin stiffened when he heard his wolf utter Daya said to tell you that she missed us.
Garin was heading out on his patrol when his wolf said this, and he frowned unaware that someone was watching him.
“Garin,” Whitney called out coming down the stairs.
“Alpha Female.” Garin greeted with a small bow lifting his head to give her a cool stare. “I’m heading out on patrol.”
With those words, and another bow, he walked out of the house to do his job although he was still thinking about what his wolf told him.
I’m glad to hear that she misses us, but I wasn’t aware that you were in contact with her, Garin replied going into a full out run without shifting.
After her accident, I peek in on her when she is sleeping to make sure that she is all right. Tonight was the first time I actually initiated contact, his wolf told him. Besides, I enjoy the time with her that doesn’t include you.
“Wise ass,” Garin muttered although there was a slight smile on his face even if confusion still rolled through him. “But I don’t understand, how can you go into her dreams? We haven’t marked her, so we shouldn’t be able to hear her.”
His wolf didn’t answer his question, and Garin sighed heavily knowing that his wolf wanted him to come to his own conclusion on why they were able to do what they do concerning Daya.
“Second mate,” Garin whispered before shaking her head a grim look coming to his face having never believed in the concept, and after Whitney’s rejection, it didn’t matter anymore.
It does now, his wolf uttered, and Garin tilted his head to the sky knowing that his wolf was right. He wasn’t ready, though, he admitted fear flickering through him, to admit it because he didn’t want to lose Daya. If he admitted it, Garin found himself going back to what happened in the past with Whitney.
It’s not the same, his wolf argued. But like I said, you take your time and come to the decision yourself, but I will leave you with one suggestion. Pick the one that you feel can be your partner no matter what happens.
Garin grunted at his wolf’s words before he lowered his gaze eyes sharpening to focus on his job.
“Let’s just get this mission over with,” he muttered in a low, hard voice.
His wolf gave a low grunt, but otherwise didn’t utter a word the rest of their patrol.
It was getting dark when Garin returned to the house sending Paul a brief message of his return, and stepping onto the porch, Garin’s eyes narrowed when Alpha Ralph stood up from where he had been sitting.
“Alpha Ralph.”
The greeting was respectful, and yet ther
e was a note of question which Garin didn’t bother to hide. Alpha Ralph had become different in the last few days, and Garin found himself surprised at the turn around.
The older shapeshifter chuckled turning his gaze to the land and the darkening sky. “After you left, Whitney came complaining that she wasn’t happy with the current situation. She wants me to take her to my pack,” Ralph slanted Garin a look at his words, and Garin merely lifted an eyebrow wondering if that meant he and Paul could go home. “She wants you to come with us although the other can go back home.”
Garin’s jaw clenched while fury erupted through him even as his wolf’s anger did the same.
“Don’t worry,” Ralph suddenly said getting Garin’s attention. “If we leave here, I don’t have any intention of taking anyone with us except my own members.”
Frowning, Garin sensed there was more to that comment then was said, but he didn’t ask knowing the Alpha in front of him wouldn’t answer anyway.
“I’m curious, Garin, about this young woman who you left to see so abruptly,” Ralph remarked getting Garin’s full attention. “She must be very important for you to leave an important mission especially when it was concerning your…”
Garin shifted his gaze to the night sky. “She is,” he replied honestly the frown deepening. “But I’m hesitant to admit it to her. After my rejection, I dismissed the idea of mates even…”
“Second mates,” Ralph concluded, and Garin nodded his head a thoughtful look on his face.
“Alpha Ralph.” Garin turned to the other man seeing the shock on his face since Garin hadn’t been so respectful to him. “Is it possible to hear your mate in your head even though you haven’t marked her yet?’
Ralph’s eyes sharpened on Garin which he caught wondering why he looked so serious suddenly, more than he had been. “What do you mean?”
Garin let out a sigh. “Well, when Daya got injured, I felt as if she was calling for me. My wolf just informed me that he goes to her every night just to keep her company in her dreams. I didn’t do that with my ex-mate.”
Garin winced slightly when he finished. “I’m sorry, Alpha,” he apologized not really surprised when Ralph waved it away staring at the man in front of him objectively after all he learned from Alpha Leonardo.
“That’s surprising,” Ralph remarked, and Garin frowned at his words. “I’ve only heard about it happening two other times, and yet it is still a mystery even for us.”
He chuckled, but Garin was still lost having no clue what the older shapeshifter was talking about.
“He is talking about the concept of a shapeshifter having two first mates.” Leonardo replied stepping out of the shadows with a grin on his face. “Yet, I don’t believe it is as rare as one my think.”
Garin was completely confused his face showing it while his wolf merely snarled lightly before settling down.
“Two first mates?”
Inside the room she shared with Ralph, Whitney threw the pillow she was gripping across the room while thinking about the look Garin gave her that afternoon when he was leaving.
“He is supposed to crawling all over me,” she scowled turning around from the bed. “That was the reason for his being here, and yet he hasn’t done anything.”
Her eyes narrowed remembering the talk of a woman, but she shook her head. “I’m his mate, and even though I was marked by another, he will never forget that feeling. Some upstart human won’t be able to elicit those same feelings.”
She went to the window staring up at the moon. “But I need to hurry up before Ralph learns the truth. Garin is the only one who can help me achieve my happiness.”
With a small seductive smile, Whitney turned for the bed and crawled underneath the covers to wait for Ralph although he hadn’t been to their room in almost a week now. Whitney shrugged her shoulders relaxing in the warm comfort of the mattress her mind whirling with a plan. Garin wasn’t doing what she wanted, so she just had to make sure to create a situation where he didn’t have any other choice but to take what she knows he wants although his restraint was better than she had thought.
You may be wrong, her wolf cautioned, but Whitney tuned her out without hesitation. She was the master, and her wolf was only a part of her that needs to be used just like Garin so she could be happy.
The following day, Ralph walked over to Garin who had stepped away from the morning training since he was going on patrol in an hour.
There was a frown on the Alpha Ralph’s face which caught Garin’s attention.
“Everything all right, Alpha?” Garin asked his tone more respectful since their discussion the night before.
“I may be imagining things,” Ralph muttered his eyes shifting to Whitney who for once seemed to be getting along with the others. “I just have a weird feeling. Garin, be careful when you go on patrol today.”
After he walked away, Garin followed him with his eyes a frown on his face.
Listen to him, his wolf remarked on edge for some reason. Something doesn’t feel right.
Garin shifted his gaze to Whitney just as Ralph did, and almost as if she felt it, she turned at the same time to meet his eyes. She smiled slowly her eyes sparkling, and yet the cunning look didn’t go unnoticed by Garin much to his surprise.
He started laughing once the surprise wore off when understanding hit him. He saw Whitney’s eyes widened before a seductive look crossed her face, and she winked at him.
Garin found himself chuckling even as he nodded his head respectfully to her before finishing his water returning his focus to the training aware that Paul had shifted him a look hearing his sudden merriment.
After watching for a few more minutes, Garin turned and headed to the front of the house allowing his eyes to scan the yard a slight frown on his face Ralph’s words running through his mind along with his wolf’s own sudden alertness.
I’m heading out, Garin mind-linked Paul hearing his grunt of agreement.
Shifting, Garin trotted off into the woods feeling the breeze ruffling his fur and he realized that it was quiet.
Too quiet, his wolf muttered, and Garin could feel his unease knowing he was right.
Be on alert, Garin cautioned chuckling when his other half growled lightly at the remainder.
Moving slowly through the trees, they sensed the presence of the pack’s fighter wolves, and yet they detected the presence of others in the area who didn’t belong.
We have unknown shifters in the area, Garin was told, and he was about to add his own observations when another scent hit him.
What in the hell…? His wolf growled head whipping around to stare at the woman who was striding through the trees toward them. That isn’t the only thing. Alpha Female Whitney is out here too.
“Garin,” she cooed in a low, seductive voice fluttering her lashes at him. “I thought we could talk since we are away from the pack house.”
That’s not the only thing she wants to do, his wolf snarled fury vibrating through him, and Garin felt his wolf losing disrespect for the woman in front of them who seemed to be unaware of their unwanted visitors.
We’re at a disadvantage with her here, Garin confirmed his wolf’s anger echoing within him. Paul, we have unknown shifters in the area and Alpha Female Whitney is out here.
In the pack house, Paul’s head snapped up even as the other fighter wolves jumped to their feet.
“We have unwanted visitors,” one growled eyes narrowed.
“Garin just confirmed it also,” Paul reported getting to his own feet a heavy frown on his face. “But we also have another problem, it seems Alpha Female Whitney is also out there.”
She just showed up.
Paul heard the fury in the words relied to him and shook his head repeating them to the others.
“According to Garin, she just showed up and he isn’t exactly happy about it,” Paul informed them a scowl drifting across his face. “She will be a disadvantage for him unless…”
“She doesn’t partici
pate in any of the training,” another revealed a hard on her face. “Do we know how many?”
Everyone shared looks, but what was said had everyone clenching their jaws.
“They can’t get an accurate account. They are moving swiftly through the area and the patrol guard is unsure if they are heading for the pack house.”
Paul turned for the door, but he knew that they couldn’t leave just yet and although he was worried about Garin, he knew that Garin could handle himself.
He can, but he will also try to protect the Alpha Female too.
Paul couldn’t help the scowl that crossed his face knowing that his wolf was right and he turned to the others.
“I know you want to head out, Paul, to aid Garin, but until we are sure that the pack house is safe, then we can’t go anywhere.”
Paul nodded his head reluctantly having already come to that conclusion and relied the information to Garin although if he knew his pack member, and friend, then Garin would already be suspecting that reply.
I’ll head back to the pack house with Alpha Female Whitney, Garin replied. I’ll let you know if something comes up.
“Alpha Leonardo.”
Paul turned his head to the two alphas who stalked into the room heavy frowns on both of their faces.
“What is the situation?” Leonardo asked eyes shifting to Paul, and no one missed the hard looks on their faces.
“We have unwanted visitors and unsure of how many there are.”
Leonardo grunted at the info since he had been informed first before it swept through the pack link.
“Alpha Female Whitney is out there,” Paul reported catching two pairs of narrowed eyes. “Garin has been in touch and has reported that he is bringing her back to the pack house, and will keep me informed should anything heed their return.”
“What is she doing out there?” Leonardo growled in a low voice.
“I don’t know, Alpha,” Paul answered with a brief bow of his head. “I was lax in my duty since I wasn’t aware she had left the pack house until Garin informed me.”
His Wolf's Choice Page 21