The White Wolf - Love Across the Ocean

Across the Ocean - The Prophecy

Jackson sat up in bed with a gasp, the same strange dream he’d had for weeks haunting his thoughts.

Each night he dreamt about her. A beautiful white wolf with stunning blue eyes looking at him, but this time as she had gotten closer he had felt a mate bond! As usual the dream ended with her fading into darkness and a crow cawing. What did it mean?

Rubbing his eyes he looked at the clock on the night stand, 3am. He groaned and flopped back down on the bed. He had training with the juniors tomorrow. He needed more rest than this.

“Ronan are you awake?” He asked his wolf.

“I’m awake, I felt it too.”

“The mate bond? Yeah, that didn’t feel like a dream!”

“It was real.”

Ronan wasn’t chatty tonight, and Jackson wasn’t sure why, they had been together 10 years now.

But sometimes Ronan kept his thoughts to himself.

Jackson tried to settle back down under the covers, but his thoughts turned again to the wolf in his dreams. There seemed to be an enticing scent about her, sea salt and lavender. The ocean isn’t far from here, he mused. Maybe she is in one of the packs near there.

He sighed and rolled onto his back. He wasn’t getting back to sleep tonight, he thought about going for a shower but decided against it. Instead he swung out of bed and pulled on some lightweight running clothes. He would run in human form until the mountains, then shift for a good long stretch. Ronan always enjoyed that too.

As he jogged through the pack houses he saw a curtain twitching. Why is it that whenever he left his house, someone always noticed? This time it was Seline. Ronan scoffed inside his head.

“I swear she has a tracker on you.”

Jackson smiled, or is it her wolf keeping tabs on you Ro?

They were not mates, but Seline’s wolf Shanna also had a crush on Ronan, Seline and her wolf would be very happy being chosen mates, but Jackson couldn’t bring himself to choosing a mate, when his dreams told him his own mate was out there.

His father kept pushing him, told him that now he was Alpha of the Black Mountain Pack that it was his responsibility to give them a strong Luna to help with the running of the pack.

A good, kind and wise Luna who could be loved by all.

Ronan scoffed again. “That definitely rules out Seline.”

Jackson agreed with him, Seline loved herself, liked him, and didn’t get on well with anyone else.

Her father was his dads old Beta before Jackson had taken over as Alpha, and she felt like it made her one of the most important wolves in the pack. It was far from the truth however.

Jackson stood at the edge of the village looking down, it was now 4.30am and smoke started coming out of the chimneys of the pack bakers. It wouldn’t be long before his own Beta, Andrew, was awake and asking for the training schedule for the day.

He turned and headed off west towards the forests edge where the mountain loomed above them, stripping and shoving his clothes behind a rock, he shifted and let Ronan take the lead.

Running for an hour. They soon arrived at a waterfall halfway up the mountainside.

Taking human form, Jackson plunged under the cold water, gasping as it hit his skin.

Running his fingers through his short dark hair, he let the water rinse all the dust and sweat off his body.

Ronan reminded him they’d be running back too, but Jackson didn’t care. He needed this, not just physically. The mountain water always refreshed his mind and body.

The sun was climbing up over the mountain as they headed back down to where he had stashed his clothes, as he trotted round the corner he could smell another wolf up ahead. Andrew! He picked up the pace, and a brown wolf soon came into view.

“Morning!” He mind linked. “What are you doing here?”

Andrew laughed

“Seline told me she was ‘worried’ you’d been gone so long. With all the rogues that have been around recently.”

Jackson stood behind the rock his clothes were hidden behind and changed back to human form, pulling on his trousers he looked over at Andrew.

“Were you worried?”

Andrew looked at him and shook his head.

“I only came to get away from her nagging, she really does think she owns you.’’

Jackson jogged back down the trail next to Andrew, looking over at his friend.

They had been best friends since school, Andrew had always treat him normally, when everyone else didn’t know how to act around him. The son of an Alpha with no mother. He didn’t blame them, but he wished he hadn’t grown up such an outsider. It was so hard to accept taking over a pack that had never really gotten to know him.

“Head back to the pack house. I’ll be there soon, I’ve got new training lists for today.”

They were training the new juniors who had recently gotten their wolves. The 14 year olds.

Andrew was right, there were a lot of rogues around recently, and the best way to protect the pack was to make sure that the pack were learning to protect themselves.

They had a few promising students who were learning quickly, and, as usual, a couple who just hated the amount of physical exercise that went into training.

It was tough, their pack were renowned for training the hardest, hunting the furthest, winning all multi pack sports events, etc.

Jacksons father had spent his whole life keeping up daily pack training, they were all warriors, men and women, Their pack was one of the few that had rogues on one side and humans on the other. They were between the world and the rest of the local packs. It was their duty to protect wolf kind.

His phone beeped. Pulling it out, he quickly read the message that popped up. It looked like they wouldn’t be training today after all..

*****************************************************

Jackson looked out the window of the car, They had been driving 3 hours. Snoring on the other side of the car Andrew was sat with his head back on the seat.

There had been a High Council meeting called, for all Alphas and Betas in the region.

Jackson hadn’t wanted to leave the pack but these meetings were not optional.

He remembered his dad leaving for them when he was younger and knew that sometimes they could take days, hopefully these ones wouldn’t be long. He had asked his dad to keep an eye on the pack while he was gone, at least he knew that his dad would keep up the packs training schedule, he was even harder on them than Jackson was!

The training of the juniors was going well, last week he had taken them to the sparring fields where they had worked off their energy in human and in wolf form, quite a few of them had strong powerful wolves, so he had focused on the ones that were more timid, and shy, encouraging them that they could fight well, they just needed to learn techniques in defence first.

He had them weaving and blocking each other. Vital moves in a real life fight, being able to block an enemy would be the difference between life and death one day.

“Hopefully not one day soon.” Ronan said in his mind.

“No, hopefully not.” Jackson agreed.

These kids were so young, but rogues didn’t care about age when they attacked a pack.

His defence parties were reporting back that things were getting quieter at the moment, but he didn’t trust that, all it meant was that the rogues were regrouping to come back stronger.

He rubbed his hand across his eyes. He needed more sleep. Andrew spluttered and coughed,

“Awake are you sleepy head?”

Andrew grinned,

“I bet I was snoring again. Katie hates it.”

Andrews mate Katie was a pretty omega, with auburn hair and freckles. She was from a neighbouring pack and Andrew had met her at a multi pack meet a few years before.

She was currently pregnant with their first pup, and a bit grumpier than normal with him keeping her awake.

“I don’t blame her.” Jackson replied. “I hate it too.”

Both men grinned and looked out the window as the car pulled up in front of a large stone building.

“Here we go.”

They got out and stretched before bounding up the stone steps, large ornate doors stood open at the top, and they could see other Alphas and their Betas inside.

High Council meetings were a good time to meet other packs, but not everyone was friendly, Jackson spotted a couple of familiar faces and moved over to them. They nodded and someone offered him a drink,

Across the other side of the room Andrew said hi to a Beta he knew from Katies pack.

Mind linking Andrew, Jackson reminded him to keep an ear out for anything that would be important for him to know. People talk more freely in front of Betas.

A bell sounded and everyone shuffled through into a large meeting hall.

The High Council were sat at a long stone table, and the seating was in rows facing them.

Jackson caught Andrews eye and they both sat together at the back. Being one of the newest Alpha’s there, Jackson let the more senior and longer serving Alpha’s go in front of him. Everyone had super sharp hearing so no one would miss out anyway.

Taking a sip of his drink he settled back. There was always a lot of talking but not a lot of plans made at these meetings.

A high councilman stood, talking about how more rogues seemed to be gathering.

It was true, usually rogues travelled alone, or in twos and threes, but recently, they had seen packs of rogues unto twenty or thirty at a time, targeting packs, killing innocent wolves.

The loss of good wolves was hard on everyone.

Suddenly Jackson sat up straight, the councilman had mentioned a White Wolf! What was he saying?

“The signs are clearer now than ever before, the Prophecy is now, and we must be prepared! On our last full moon we could clearly see the shape of a white rose on the surface of the moon, the time of her coming is now! She will be here, and with her Alpha, rid the land of these rogues!”

Cheers and clapping broke out amongst everyone gathered there. Jackson turned to the clapping Alpha next to him..

“What White Wolf prophecy does he mean?”

The Alpha glanced at him.

“Ah you’re a bit younger, its an older prophecy, I’ll email you it, I’ve got a written copy in my files.”

Jackson muttered his thanks and went back to his drink as the meeting changed direction to border patrols. He couldn’t take his mind off the prophecy, he knew it must have something to do with all of his dreams!

********************************************************

Jackson’s phone beeped. He swiped it open quickly, finally! The email from the other Alpha had come through. Here was a copy of the Prophecy!

“When the White Rose blooms,

Peace will fall upon the land.

A White Wolf will become High Luna

Her Black Wolf Mate will stand by her side as High Alpha

Their Clan will bring peace to all Clans.”

Jackson felt a shiver run down his spine, a black wolf! Ronan was a black wolf.

“Ro what do you think of all this?”

Ronan felt excited, he had felt the mate bond in their dreams too.

“Could it be us? The White Wolf in our dreams?”

Jackson read the prophecy again, High Alpha? He had enough just being Alpha of his own clan.

Would he be unto the task of saving them all?

"Don’t get so big headed.” Ronan interjected. “It’s the High Luna that saves us all. Her Alpha is her trophy boy.”

Jackson laughed. “I’m not big headed, I don’t think it’s even me, its just weird that this prophecy is about a White Wolf and a Black Wolf.”

His phone beeped again. Looking down he sighed heavily, Seline again!

She really was becoming persistent. She had actually started asking him now if he was going to take a chosen mate seeing as he ‘clearly didn’t have a fated mate.’

The question made him uncomfortable, and also worried. What if he really didn’t have a fated mate? Had he upset the Moon Goddess in some way? He had heard stories of wolves that had never found their fated mate, and it was a very lonely existence. Most went and lived among humans so they didn’t have to have the daily reminders of their friends and family all around with their mates.

“I wonder what it’s like when you live among humans knowing you’re a wolf?”

Ronan mentally shrugged.

“I don’t know, I’ve never done it.”

Jackson laughed. “I know you’ve never done it. Because I’ve never done it. I was just asking.”

Jackson pulled out his suitcase and started packing to go home, the council meeting had lasted 3 days, and that was 3 days too many that he had been away from his pack. His dad had kept him updated, including that Seline had been suggesting he might be her father in law soon.

His dad was actually fond of Seline, mainly because her father was his best friend. It was easy for him to imagine his son being mates with his best friend's daughter. Jackson felt irritated. It’s fine for him to say! He isn’t the one being forced into considering he doesn’t have a fated mate. He had my mother!

He slammed his case shut and headed out to the car. Mind linking with Andrew to tell him that they were leaving.