Chapter 3

Isabelle

He held a disapproving, tightlipped gaze on me. “Are you sure that this is what you want?” He said concerned. Mom was up now, and was sitting at her desk, looking at me with a sadness in her eyes.

“Dad, mom. That dream was so real I could feel the wet dirt under my feet. This is a message from the Pale Lady I know it.” I said sipping my coffee.

“Kaiden, I think she’s right; remember Connor’s dream a few years ago?” She stated, getting up and putting her hands on his shoulders. He grunted.

“She knows nothing of how bad it is out there. No protection from the pack, no forgiveness from mistakes. No help. Other supernaturals.… and escaped prisoners…” He mumbled. His eyes turned red with his wolf, like he was remembering something, but I had no idea what.

“We have to let her go.” Said mom massaging dad’s shoulders now. He looked at her with an expression I couldn’t tell, but I think they were linking each other.

“…. You’re right… but at the very least, I’ll go with you into town and buy some supplies.” He said kissing mom in front of me. Ew.

“Your child is in front of you. Right here. Keep it PG-13.” I said with a small frown, and dad chuckled.

“Well, there is kissing allowed with that tv rating, Izzy.” He said kissing mom again, and she giggled. I rolled my eyes and got up, going downstairs to wait on them.

I sat on the couch for a little while before dad came downstairs with mom. I sighed heavily. “Really?” I said, and I was honestly glad that I left. Both their shirts were wrinkled, and I tried not to think about why. Good grief, I thought to myself. The moon from last night still had its effects on anyone who had a mate. It basically makes it so once you find them, you can’t keep your hands off them.

Dad chuckled, and got his keys. They both also tried fixing their clothes. I sat in the back seat while we rode to the pack gate. Slowly, the pack village turned into the forest. He was stopped by a guard, who looked like he was bored until he realized who it was. “Alpha, Luna, Princess.” He said with a deep bow. I wasn’t used to being called my title, because no one really treated you like royalty here. We were a casual pack that tried to treat everyone as fairly as possible. And pack life was peaceful… but I had never left the pack before.

Dad gave him a nod, and drove out the territory. I thought when he mentioned going into town, he meant the pack shops. The closest major human town was 3 hours away…

“Alright Izzy, rules: do not call me or your mother titles. Alpha, Luna and Princess aren’t exactly used by humans. Someone might hear me call you that, and think it’s a nickname... but we don’t need headhunters figuring out what we are. They would follow us home and kill the entire pack for a few hides Izzy.” He said with a small frown. “This is important too, don’t let the humans figure out that you’re a wolf. No growling, eye flashing, no claws or fangs. We’re going to a sporting good store, so there might be a bunch of Van Hellsong wanna-be’s in there. Our eyes are barely human looking as it is.” He mumbled.

I was the only one who inherited dad’s amber, yellow-brown eyes. Mom and Caleb’s were blue. I sighed with him, and looked out the window. I had seen cities and humans on TV, but I had never interacted with them. I wasn’t allowed to go to Horizon Prison, the only place where they could be found with dad. None of us could. Dad was really strict on that. That was where most of the pack’s revenue came from, taking prisoners from other packs as well as detaining Rouges ourselves, headhunters, and other riffraff.

“Kaiden we haven’t seen a headhunter in almost 20 years.” Said mom, punching dad in the arm.

“True, but there could always be a small group of them somewhere out there.” He said, grabbing her hand and kissing it while he drove.

Dad pulled into Bass Professional’s Shoppe, because it was the biggest sporting goods place in the area. We walked in, and I saw allot of stuffed deer, moose, and even a bobcat. In a way I was disgusted, and I didn’t feel safe here. I get that they were trying to make the store look like the forest… but I still didn’t like it. If they saw what me and my family could turn into, they would want us on a damn wall too. But we were here on a mission. I wanted to leave and be in the wild. I would have to be brave with brass balls out there. Like dad said… no pack, no help.

I took a deep breath, walking past all the dead animals, and we asked around, getting supplies. Mom looked like she didn’t like this place any more than me, but she didn’t say anything. I also assumed that linking was out the question as well, since our eyes flash with our wolves temporarily when we do.

Dad cleared his throat, and pointed to the camping section. They got me all kinds of gear: a tent like the one in my dream, a sleeping bag, portable solar generator for my phone and all kinds of other things that I could use.

When we got to the checkout, I saw our cashier was an old man. He was very wrinkled, and looked like he was at least 100. He gave me a smile, and started scanning my stuff, while dad looked through his wallet for his credit card. “Good afternoon,” He greeted with a smile. “Looking for your mate, are we?” The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I looked at him with his smiling face. There was no malice to it, but how did he know?!

Dad looked around to see that there were no other cashiers or customers checking out yet. “Human.” Warned dad low voiced, holding in a growl, but the man rolled his eyes and continued scanning.

“Calm down, or you’ll attract attention. I’m Mr. Jose Smith…. You just remind me of someone I used to sell bread to… you aren’t related to the Grays, are you? Is Greg still Alpha or did his little boy take over yet?” He said with a small smile. “When I lived up north, I catered the Gray’s events before I sold my rights to my older brother, bless his soul.” He said, scanning a lighter.

“My condolences.” Said mom, standing in front of me. The ironic part was that I really was twice her size.

“Oh, he’s not dead, he’s just an ass.” He said with a small chuckle.

“I haven’t been up there in almost 20 years, but when I did, he was already dead.” Said dad.

“Ah, well I guess he owes me $50 then.” He chuckled dryly. His expression became somber, but still carried a small smile. It confused me what he meant by that. Did they bet who would die first or something? Weird.

“If I ever see Alpha Gray again, I’ll send him the message for you.” He said with a sad smile. Dad looked like he knew something, but didn’t want to share. He paid and we left confused.

“Your majesty I formally request Storytime on the way home.” I said in the best English accent I could when I buckled my seatbelt. It was terrible, but it got him to chuckle. Mission accomplished.

“When me and your mother went to see the King, I ran into a scrappy kid who had the golf balls to nearly challenge me. He was at the oldest 25, just a pup, with the whole pack’s problems thrown on him. In New Apple no less. The biggest city in the country.” He said, shaking his head.

“Wow… and I thought you were stressed out running Horizon.” I said, pretty impressed.

“Izzy, one day you’ll lead your own pack. You have the wolf of an Alpha, and the blood of the Charred One himself. But what we do, we do for the pack. No days off, fights, worry, stress. All of the weight of the pack, big or small, falls to YOU. You defend the pack from attack. You give them comfort in knowing they can sleep at night, because Alpha is up on patrol. And those that help you, are also the backbone of a pack. It’s not just the power; anyone can be powerful… but it takes more. It takes dedication to your people.” He said all of a sudden. “… I just never thought 18 years would go this fast… I would kill a thousand men a thousand times to have one more day with you as a little squirt attacking my ankles, and running to babygirl for safety from the time out stool.” He said with a small smile.

“Tomorrow’s going to be hard…” Said mom, holding dad’s hand. We were almost to the territory; I could smell it.

“I’ll be back.” I said firmly.

“Is that a promise, little lady?” Said dad sternly.

“On my fluffy hide, I swear I will at LEAST visit dad.” I say with a smile. He hummed in approval.