The blood pack (book six)

~Paul~ We all sat in the living room, the weather outside turning colder as the months passed by. Leon, Iona and Ste’s son, was laid on his baby blanket while Rose, Allison and Launa made faces and jiggled toys in his face, while Hendrix and Jason played with their cars in the corner. The whole pack watched on, smiles on their faces as their children played so nicely together, while Trev and Dawn snuggled up, obviously thinking about when they would get to have one of their own. Even Peter and Felix were holding each other, looking longingly at the children. I knew my brother and his mate really wanted to have a child of their own. He had opened up to me about how much he and Felix talked about it, and even looked into adopting a human child, but were rejected when they told social services that they were werewolves. It had been a massive blow to them both, but neither of them were ready to give up on their dreams. I wanted that for my brother as well, only ever wanting him to have the best in life. The issue was that I had needs of my own. I was not staring at the children longingly, not watching them play and imagining what my own would look like. I had a different loneliness inside me, a different emptiness. People used to look at me and Peter and think that we were nothing but idiots, but we had grown up a lot in our time at the blood pack, and although we were not meant to be enforcers like we had always dreamed, we had still found a place here. I worked with Jonny at the construction company run by the pack, while Peter worked at the mechanics with Luke. But still, there was something missing. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out what that something was, and only one person understood the pain I was in. Me and Jonny were the only two wolves left in the blood pack to find our mates, and although that was fine for a while, the more time that passed, the worse the feeling became. Jonny and I had started to go out together to the local shifter hang outs, trying to find someone we connected with. When that didn’t work out, we started to go out on blind dates, which is where Jonny was right now. So far I had dated five different women from Alpha Drake, Lycan and Black’s pack, but there was never that spark, that thing that called out to me to say I had found the one. Every woman I dated, seemed to be wrapped up in themselves more than wanting to get to know me, some seeing me still as the stupid enforcer that Cassy used to give the slip to, and others just dating me because they were just as desperate to find their mate as I was. I let out a long sigh, pushing to my feet. “I’m going to turn in for the night.” I said, stretching slightly to act like I was tired, when really I just could not stand being the thirteenth wheel any longer. “Are you not going to stay up to see how Jonny’s date went?” Cassy asked, knowing that usually I would try to stick around to see if my good friend had been more lucky than I was. I shrugged slightly. “I am sure he will tell me in the morning.” Turning on my heels, I walked out of the pack house, the cold air wrapping around me as I walked through the trees toward my cabin. The ground crunched beneath my feet as I looked up at the cloudless sky, just visible through the leafless branches above me. I knew that the chance of a wolf finding their mate was not exactly a done thing, given that the world was so large and there was only one wolf made to be my other half. But Sanna and Theo were not true mates and they were one of the best and strongest couples that I knew. Why could I not be lucky enough to find someone like that, someone that completed me just the way I was? Closing my front door, blocking out the cold as I let out another long sigh. We used to all live in the pack house together, like one big family, but when Alpha Ash and Cassy had their children, we all decided that it was time to have some space to ourselves. I had loved my little cabin, a place to call my own, but now it was like my fortress of solitude. It wasn’t like I was old, and I knew that some wolves went decades without finding a mate, but it was hard when so many around me had that special someone and I was left here, alone. ~Jonny~ I was sitting in the restaurant, Natasha across from me flicking her hair over her shoulder for the tenth time in about as many minutes as she talked about how she was working in one of Alpha Lycan’s businesses and was due to be promoted. If I was being honest with myself, I had tunes out about twenty minutes ago. It was not that Natasha was not pretty, as werewolves were naturally attractive, but she was just so self obsessed that I was finding it hard to get a word in. We had been here for two courses and apart from my name and the fact I was from the Blood pack, I don’t think she knew a single thing about me. Maybe that was just me being self obsessed as well, but if she had been interested in me, surely she would want to know as much about me as she would want to share about herself. “So what is it that you do?” Natasha asked, picking up her glass of wine and taking a long sip. “I am an enforcer in the blood pack and I…” “Oh my brother is an enforcer. He works crazy hours. Maybe you know him, given that you did that training a few years back…” Natasha started up again, now telling me about her brother’s life story. I tried to flag down a waiter, not even wanting to stay for my dessert, but just then it was placed in front of us. “Could I get the check please?” I whispered to the man, his eyes looking to Natasha before he gave me a knowing nod. Natasha was so lost in her own story, she did not even notice when the man came back with the leather folder containing the bill and I handed him my card. I wolfed down my sticky toffee pudding, no pun intended, taking my card back and picking up my jacket. “Oh, are you leaving already?” Natasha asked as I shrugged it on. “Yeah, I have an early morning tomorrow. The meal is paid for, you take your time.” I smiled, glad now that we had decided to meet here instead of me bringing her. “I had a really nice time tonight Jonny. I would really like it if we could do it again sometime soon.” I resisted the urge to laugh, instead letting out a small sigh. “I am sorry, but I am going to be busy for a while with work. It was nice to meet you though.” Natasha let out an annoyed huff, obviously not the first time that a man had tried to let her down easily. I decided not to stick around, knowing that no good could come from me trying to explain how completely wrong we were for one another. I walked out into the cold air, pulling my jacket tighter around me as I made my way back to my car. This night was yet another bust, one of many recently. I tried not to give up hope, tried not to let it get to me like I knew it was getting to Paul, but it was hard to be Mr.Optamistic when it felt like the world and fate itself was against me. Turning my key in the engine, I relaxed slightly as the heat started to thaw me out, setting off on my way back to my territory. It seemed like now that Tallen Corp was out of the picture for good, I had more time to think about my life, and the more I thought about it, the more I realised how empty it was. I used to go out with Ste when he would sleep his way through most of the local packs, which was now probably part of why my dates were going so badly, having seen more than one of them do the walk of shame from his cabin. Paul and I had tried to find our mates at the shifter clubs, but most she wolves there were only interested in one night stands, and although it satisfied an itch, it was not really what I was looking for. I had never been one to sleep around, always hoping I would find that special someone and settle down, but it was hard to not give up hope when neither me or Paul were having any luck. I pulled up at the gate, which opened up to allow me to roll through. Josh, wrapped up in a thick coat and gloves, came out of the small security hut. I rolled down my window, the cold air taking over the heat immediately. “How did your date go?” He asked, his breath visible in the cold night air. “Same as all the others, man.” I sighed. Josh shook his head, giving me the same symthic look I was getting used to seeing when I came back not singing love songs at the top of my voice proclaiming I had found the one. “Hang in there.” He said, tapping my shoulder and walking back over to the small hut, closing the gate as I continued up the dirt path. Turning off the jeep, I sat for a moment, not wanting to go inside to see more sympathetic looks from my oh so happy pack. We were all like a great big family, and I loved them all like they were my flesh and blood, but they did not understand how painful it had become to be around them when they were all together. Deciding that I would tell the guys in the morning at training, I jumped out of the jeep, slipping the keys into my pocket and making my way to my small cabin, to climb into my bed alone yet again.