9. Midnight Forest Pack
2400 Words
Grant
~
I drove the nine hours from Utah into Nebraska towards the next pack. I was so excited about going to see uncle Sean and aunt Paris. While driving, I told Otto all about them and the rest of my family. I think I talked more than he did and I’m sure he found me annoying as hell by now. He really didn’t show that he was annoyed, though, he was attentive as he learned about me and my family.
It was almost six in the evening when we pulled up to the gates. The guards saw me and smiled brightly before greeting me and sending me through to drive to uncle Sean’s house. I knew he would be at home by now, so that’s where we were headed.
I parked and we got out of my vehicle. I stepped up onto the porch and up to the front door. I went to knock but the door opened right as I brought my hand up, and there stood uncle Sean. I smiled brightly at him before we hugged.
Once I released him, I turned to Otto and introduced the two of them. The three of us stepped into the house and walked into the kitchen and dining room area. I saw aunt Paris in the kitchen cooking dinner and stopped her to get a hug before I sat down to talk with uncle Sean.
As soon as I planted my ass, I heard my cousins storming through the house. Carter came racing around the corner with Ezra and Hazel right behind him. Carter was almost eleven, Ezra was nine and Hazel just turned four last week. It was hard to keep up with everyone’s birthdays with how big my family was. Thank the Goddess for calendar notifications on my phone.
All three of my cousins practically tackled me as they hugged me and said hi. I introduced them to Otto and then they ran off like I was no longer important because I was an adult now. I see how it is. Uncle Sean laughed at them and then turned his attention to me.
“How has it been going so far?” he asked.
“Good honestly. I have a lot to talk to you about,” I told him.
“Do you need me as an uncle or as a therapist or both?” he asked.
“Maybe both.”
“Alright. We will talk in the morning after a training session.”
“Sounds perfect.”
I heard aunt Paris take something out of the oven and it smelled so good. I could smell the pasta sauce and the garlic bread. So I knew we were about to have some type of pasta. She loved her Italian food.
Aunt Paris let dinner cool then called everyone to eat. I was right when I thought it was pasta. It was uncle Sean’s favorite; lasagna roll ups and garlic bread. All of us sat together and ate while I listened to my cousins talk about what they were getting to do over this summer. Hazel was just her sassy little self and I thought it was hilarious to listen to her.
Once we were done eating, Otto and I helped uncle Sean clean up while aunt Paris handled the pups. While we cleaned up, we talked.
“Tomorrow is your brother's birthday,” uncle Sean said.
“I know. I’ll have to call little pervy Jaxson when he’s done with his morning routine.”
Uncle Sean laughed loudly and asked, “is it really that bad?”
“Dude, dad walked in on that once. I’ve never heard dad scream in horror before,” I said with big eyes.
“Oh, my Goddess. I will never just walk into the pups’ rooms once they hit puberty,” he said while shaking his head.
I laughed and said, “that's probably smart.”
Once we were done, I said goodnight to everyone and led Otto to the packhouse. Aunt Paris had two rooms waiting for us on the top floor. I showed Otto around the packhouse and then up to our rooms. We both settled into our spaces for the night and I messaged Madison and Eric like always.
~
I woke up and met Otto in the dining hall for breakfast. After we ate a large breakfast, I called Jaxson to wish him a happy birthday. He answered on the third ring.
“Good morning and Happy Birthday,” I told him right as he answered.
“Thanks! What are you up to?”
“I’m getting ready to go train with uncle Sean.”
“Ah, lucky!”
“I know, right? You’re going to love your journey, I’m sure of it.”
“I hope so. The thought of it still makes me nervous,” he admitted.
“It’s all good. I get nervous going to places that I don't know with leaders I don’t know yet, but so far everyone has been nice.”
“That’s also because everyone knows mom and uncle Sean. I’m just wondering what it will be like when you travel outside of the country.”
“I think I will be ok. I’ll let you know how each place is though.”
“Thanks,” he told me.
“Yeah. What will y’all be doing today?” I asked.
“Mom and dad have a little party they put together with some friends. I’ll see Madison today.”
“How does she seem to you?” I asked.
“Good. She looks forward to the end of every day though. She says that’s when you message her.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’ll let you go so you can go train. Thanks for calling.”
“You’re welcome. Have a great day, buddy,” I said.
“I will and you too. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone and felt the sting of homesickness. I missed everyone and I knew they missed me. I brushed it off and got up from my seat, then headed out to the training field with Otto. We met with Sean and Akila. Sean was training Carter and Akila was training Yaro, Jasira and Darius. We watched until they were done and sent the pups off to have fun for the rest of their day.
“Alright. Akila can train with Otto and you can train with me, Grant,” uncle Sean said.
“Nah, I think all three of you can train with me at once,” I said.
Sean looked at me with frowned eyebrows and Akila looked at me like I was crazy. Otto stood there with a smile on his face and lightly chuckled.
“Maybe the three of us can take you down this morning,” Otto said in a small challenge as he hit my arm with the back of his hand.
I suppressed Skoll’s growl as much as I could and he didn’t like that. He bared his teeth at me in my mind. He could get angry with me all he liked.
“I’d like to see what y’all can do,” I challenged back.
“Arlight,” Sean said while shaking his head.
I stood in the middle of the circle and waited for the three of them to strike. Uncle Sean attacked first and I countered his attack and sent him into Akila. She caught him and they stumbled back.
“Pretty, I think you need to use your big ass feet to move in the correct direction and not step on my feet,” Akila hissed.
“Sorry,” he apologized to her.
He recovered and they both turned toward me and began their attack. Otto helped them as much as he could. I was fast and kept fighting hard in our session as they tried desperately to take me to the ground and make me tap out. I wore all of them out and yet uncle Sean kept coming back for more, even when Akila and Otto had stopped. Uncle Sean just didn’t know when to quit.
Finally, he gave up after I threw the old guy to the ground. I felt bad for that but I knew he was ok. He lay there in the grass panting with his eyes closed for a little while. His man bun was all messed up and strands of hair were loose. I grabbed a bottle of water for me and him. I gave it to him and he took a drink before speaking.
“My goddess, Grant.”
“Yeah.”
“Has anyone bested you?” he asked.
“No. Not even Curt and Grayson together.”
“f**k,” he said under his breath.
“Yeah.”
“Now I think I see why you want to talk.”
“That's part of it.”
“Alright, let’s go clean up and then I’ll meet you in my office.”
“See you there,” I told him.
“I’ll hang out with Akila while you two talk,” Otto said.
I nodded my head and everyone went to clean up. Once I was clean and dressed, I went to uncle Sean’s office. He was behind his desk already in his work clothes and motioned for me to close the door as I stepped inside. When the door was closed, I stepped over and had a seat on one of the chairs in front of his desk.
“Where do you want to start?” he asked me.
“Let’s start with my wolf and Lycan.”
“Ok, what are their names and what can you tell me about them?”
“My wolf’s name is Wraith. He’s somehow just a little bigger than other Alpha’s. Eric was the first one to notice it and told me. None of us know why or how he could be bigger.”
“Alright.”
“My Lycan’s name is Skoll. He’s the Lycan of the Sun. Wraith is my peacekeeper where Skoll tries to get me to beat up every guy I come across. He growls through me when someone hits me, even playfully. He growls at she-wolfs when they touch my arms or hug me and he says it’s because they shouldn’t be touching what isn’t theirs. So far, the only she-wolves I can hug have been family members. Except for one.”
“Tell me about that.”
“My best friend Madison. He never growls when she hugs me or takes my hand. Then, before I left, I kissed her and he never got after me. Normally, he does it even if I touch or try to touch someone.”
“Do you think Madison is your mate?” he asked me.
“Yeah, but I won't know until November of next year.”
“Well, during your travels I would keep testing to see if he will get after you with someone that looks like her but it sounds like he is going to make you wait for your mate,” uncle Sean said.
I nodded my head.
“Now about this strength you have,” Sean began and wanted more information.
“I have no idea why I have it. I’ve been looking to see where my max out is on strength but it’s almost impossible to find.”
He nodded his head and said, “It’s odd that you would be the stronger one when all of you have the same parents.”
“I know! It’s been driving me crazy looking for an answer.”
He nodded his head and said, “Through the week we will keep talking and I will come up with the proper list for your travels outside of the country. You will gain knowledge and tactics that you won't learn here. I’m hoping that somewhere you will be able to find the answers you’re looking for.”
I knew I would get help here and I wouldn’t be judged for thinking that someone under age was my mate. Sean was someone everyone could confide in. I know I could be with mom but I didn’t want her to get after me about what I was thinking.
~
All week I had been training and talking with uncle Sean. I felt better about things and knew that I couldn’t rush time, so I needed to focus on the here and now. Focus on my mission to build my pack, learn and find answers about myself if they were out there.
In today’s mini-therapy session, uncle Sean handed me a slip of paper and I looked at it. It had countries with pack names and Alphas. Looking at the list I saw; Scotland, Norway, Spain, Mongolia, China, Egypt, Western Australia and Brazil.
I knew where all the Lycans were in the world but this list was missing one and there were added places.
“There are three places that don’t have Lycan Alphas and one place that I should have because of the Lycan. Why isn’t Greece on here? Though, I’m not complaining. Mom said that the Alpha there is a real piece of work,” I told him.
“I don’t think you can learn anything from Alpha Alexis. If you want lessons on Greece, I can answer most of your questions. With everything that you have shared with me this week, this is a quest of learning about packs, finding your strengths, capabilities and seeing where your weakness is. Also, you need to build yourself as an Alpha.”
I nodded my head and looked back at the list.
“You can add Canada to the list. I don't think every rogue that wanted to come here has,” Sean said.
“I’ll check it out,” I said with a nod, and wrote Canada on my list.
“You might also want to take this with you,” he said, handing me a rolled up map.
I took it from him and opened it up.
“It’s not the original one that I traveled with years ago but it’s a replica with all the packs marked in blue,” he told me.
I smiled while looking at it. What was I about to add to this map as I traveled around the world with my Beta?
- Writer
