The Forgotten Wolf Kin

Chapter 10 – Coldfell

Malachi’s POV

When I woke, bleary-eyed, I stretched and was grateful not to bang my head. Sometimes, it was just the small pleasures in life!

'Run! You Promised'

'I know, I hadn’t forgotten!'

I dragged my carcass out of bed, washed my face, and walked through to the kitchen in just my board shorts. No point in getting dressed when I was about to strip.

“Morning, you’re up early.” Mum was already in the kitchen.

It was just after 5 am and we had intended to leave at 8, which gave me more than enough time to let Eero have a good run, come home and shower, change, and grab enough stuff for an overnight stay.

“I promised Eero a good run. Why are you up so early?” I asked, knowing she didn’t usually get up at that hour.

“Oh, I wanted to make a special family breakfast for you, before you left me again. I missed feeding you up!” she smiled as she sipped her tea, making her way to the fridge. “ What time will you be back?”

I smiled widely, we usually all had breakfast together in the main food hall downstairs, but on special occasions, mum would prepare us a banquet so we could eat together there, and she was a great cook.

“I’ll just let him do a border run, so we’ll be gone for just over an hour”. I kissed her on the cheek, downed a glass of orange juice, and left.

I walked to the edge of the forest and hung my shorts on a nearby tree, allowing Eero to take over, knowing he was going to make the most of his freedom. We ran as if our lives depended on it, and we did the border run in record time. As we rounded up, he took off to the nearby river, and padded down to the riverbank, panting.

After taking a long drink, we took in our surroundings. The river was as picturesque as I remember it. That time of year, it was relatively peaceful looking, surrounded by small rocky passes, the water slowly babbling past as if inviting you in. The banks were low, and it was easy to get to the water’s edge.

It was a well-frequented place in the summer months, many of the younger pack members came here to chill and mess about in the water, and family had picnics here, kids playing and splashing in the cool water.

However, it was a different scene altogether in the winter; the water was a rush of rapids and swells. It was a formidable place, and without fail, every year, the pack was warned of the dangers of this place when the weather turned. For now, however, it was begging to be jumped in. Eero edged further into the water.

'No, Eero, we don’t have time. Next time!'

'You are no fun.'

Says you! You have been a moody bastard for way too long.'

His growl reverberated lowly under his breath.

'We will find her soon. I can feel it.'

I knew he was talking about our mate, and I knew that was why he had been less than his usual self. When a wolf came of age, it was a natural instinct to want to find your mate and settle. Even more so for an Alpha. I felt his impatience, and I often felt the same, but knowing there was nothing I could do about it, made me accept it and wait. Eero, on the other hand, was not so patient.

'Come on, we need to head back. Mum will kill me if I miss the family breakfast!'

He didn’t say anymore, he knew I was right. I made it back to the tree line, shifted back, threw on my board shorts, and walked back to the packhouse, via the guest house, to get Avery. We had agreed to meet at the food hall, but as Mum was making breakfast, I didn’t want him to miss out and end up eating alone.

When we reached the top floor, and I opened the door to our floor, Avery took it all in.

“Wow, nothing short of as impressive as I thought it would be” he contemplated.

“Perhaps if there weren’t 9 adults living here” I laughed.

It was an impressive space, it had 6 bedrooms, obviously Mum and Dad shared, and I had my own room, as did Marley and Mattie. Both Maddox and Maxxim and the girls shared. Everyone was happy with the arrangements, except perhaps the girls when they were in their mid-teens.

They were so different that they often didn’t see eye to eye. However, as they got older, they seemed to have accepted it wasn’t going to change and made it work. Despite their differences, they get on better now than they ever had.

Luckily, Mum and Dad's bedroom was soundproofed. No one needed to hear what went on in that room! Wolf shifters, in general, were known for their excessive s****l appetite. Once mated, even as you age, it does not lessen.

If any of us had dates, we would always take them to the guest house if we had any inclination anything s****l would happen! All the rooms were soundproofed there, and none of our rooms were. We were pretty sure Mum did it on purpose to try and reign us in. But when it came to Maddox and Maxxim, there was little she could do. The truth was, Marley was probably just as bad, just more discreet, but I was much more careful.

I wasn’t entirely sure if Mattie and the girls had ever had s****l partners. It wasn’t something I had ever discussed with them, but it was an unwritten rule that the guest house was the place to go. Despite my age and my natural urges, I have never been promiscuous. I wanted to find my mate and I certainly didn’t want a bunch of jealous exes causing me or my mate concern.

Many shifters saved themselves for their fated mate, but times had changed, and it wasn’t expected. We all knew we had someone who was especially for us, so many people did wait. I hadn’t, although I had not had many previous partners and none in the last 18 months.

Being Alpha, I had to be much more careful than others with the partners I chose. Especially to ensure there was no rivalry between them and my mate when I found her. I had only had two previous partners, both were friends, and both were now happily mated, so I had no concerns here.

I took Avery through to the kitchen, which smelled utterly divine. My mouth was salivating, and I pinched some bacon off the plate as Mum slapped my hand away.

“Aww,” I joked.

“Go shower, you stink!” Mykah moaned.

“I’m going!” I left them and had a quick shower before joining everyone for breakfast.

I ate as if I hadn’t had a decent meal all my life, and by the time we had all finished, and the chaos was starting to die down, there was nothing left. Between the 7 of us kids growing up, Mum had to cook mountains of food to keep us full, which was essentially why we rarely ate there. Mum would probably spend the rest of the day recovering!

Marley walked back with Avery to the guest house to get his belongings, and Dad and I met them at the front of the packhouse. We said our goodbyes, knowing we would see them all again tomorrow when normal life would resume, and we made our way to Coldfell.

I could tell Avery was pleased to be going home. However, I was more surprised that Eero was stirring in my mind, anxiously excited.

'Do you really think she is here?'

'I don’t know for certain. I just have a good feeling.'

'I wish I shared your enthusiasm. I want her to be, but I don’t know Eero. I don’t want you to get your hopes up if she isn’t.'

'I’m a big boy Malachi, I will get over it.'

I rolled my eyes internally. Honestly, I didn’t know if he would!

As we neared the mountainous terrain of the Coldfell pack, we entered the pack lands without problems.

“Did you tell them we were coming?”

“Well, yeah, but not what time. I wasn’t sure”

“Then where are your border patrols? I haven't seen anyone?”

“We used to have them do a border check every few hours or so, I don’t suppose this has changed. We have never had a border breach. The terrain puts most people off.”

I shook my head. “Jesus Avery, have you learned anything? Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it won’t! The safety of your pack should be top of the agenda, border checks should be constant.”

I hoped he was ready for his Alpha title, because, quite frankly, he had a mammoth amount of work to do to make this place secure, updated, and back in the real world. Complacency had clearly been something he had inherited from his father, and I wondered why Dad hadn’t encouraged and discussed these things more with Alpha Aldine.

I made a note to ask him later when we were on our own. There was definitely something up with that because it was the one thing Dad has always pushed on me from an early age, facilitating growth, security, and self-sufficiency.

Avery seemed to regress into his own thoughts, and I took in the beauty and bleakness of our surroundings. It was less than an hour from our border edge to his, yet the stark difference in terrain was unquestionable.

As we climbed higher into the mountains, the air took on an additional chill. The trees became more sparse, although they still remained present. The mountains were covered in lush green grass, spattered with rocky outlets and sporadic areas of roughage, bramble, and heather. Higher up, the rocky terrain has become more consistent and hostile.

It was difficult to see how they could remain well hidden from such an open view. Like us and Blackwell, Coldfell was known to the human town. However, its presence and growing consideration, as with all packs, was never something we openly liked to share. Keeping to ourselves and remaining relatively concealed was important to ensure our safety and anonymity. The fewer people knew, the more private we could be.

However, as we continued along the uneven dirt path etched out in the mountainside, and turned the corner, I was amazed at what I saw.

“Holy s**t!”

“Language Son!” Dad scolded. “You will not speak like that when we arrive, you need to make a good impression”, he had a small smirk on his face, but he was serious nonetheless.

Dad had told me about the pack, but it looked very different in my head.

Avery laughed “Not what you were expecting?”

“Nope, not even a little bit!”

Etched into the mountainside, in between a spattering of trees and rocky juts, was a village. The houses were made of stone and slate clearly sourced from the surrounding area. It wasn’t particularly well hidden, but it was a difficult place to get to if you didn’t use the main and only road.

The only way in by car was the road we were on and would allow anyone looking this way to see you. However, my main concern remains valid. Humans would struggle to get here without being seen or heard first, even if they walked, the terrain would slow them down and an ambush is highly unlikely. But wolf shifters didn’t need cars, and a surprise attack, if intended, was more than possible if they conquered the terrain and came from the other side of the mountain.

The pack was midway up the central mountain, with two smaller mountains on either side, creating a semi-circle, with a large body of water at the base. The lake was calm, and the dark midnight blue colour told me it was deep. It was so clear that it mirrored the surrounding area, making it look like a picture of the mountains at night.

This pack may well not be the most secure, modern, or insightful, but it was certainly spectacularly beautiful. Given the right support, Avery could really make this place incredible. The potential was astounding, and it made me question why not only his Dad hadn’t done more, but also, why my Dad and he hadn’t worked together more.

There was a lot here they could offer us, and us them, yet I had never been here, nor had my siblings. I knew my Mum had been here with Dad, before we were born, but not since. The alliance had never been in question, yet Dad and Alpha Aldine only ever met when the alliance meeting occurred.

The meetings were always held in our pack, and this was something I planned to change. Avery had become a good friend, an annoyingly irritating friend, but one, nonetheless. I wanted us to continue to have a close and fruitful relationship and alliance. Meeting with one another, more than for an alliance meeting, was definitely going to happen.

Equally, neither of us knew much about Blackfell, other than their reputation, and as Alpha Lexis, the previous Alpha’s son, took over a few days after Avery and left for Alpha training, it was important we met with him and found out more about the truth regarding their pack, their intentions for the alliance and hopefully build a better relationship with them.

As we neared the pack, the community came into full view, and the workmanship in the houses surrounding us was evident. They were spectacular, and from where we were, the view of the Lake below was breathtaking.

The main packhouse was central and had the perfect view. It was a decent size and the mix of stone, wooden accents, and glass made it look eclectic. It was 3 stories high and about two-thirds of the length of our packhouse.

It had a large balcony on the first floor that protruded out from the main house above the front entrance, covering it from the elements. I had no doubt that in the colder months the weather here was more treacherous than in the forest, although both equally had their own hazards.

As we stepped out of the car, Alpha and Luna Aldine were waiting for us. I was surprised the rest of his pack was not here, including his sister. I had expected a welcoming committee for Avery. Just as I thought this, a young woman, who I could only assume was his sister, came bounding out of the front door, and towards us.