How Could This Happen to Me?

Chapter 5

Pat lifted his head up, hearing quick foot steps coming towards him. Waves of sadness and embarrassment rolled off of Sebastien as he approached the porch.

“What the heck is going on, Seb? You were all hyped up to go hang out with Nichole and you come running like a pup with his ears back, tail tucked between the legs like you just pissed all over the floor and got smacked for it.”

Seb sat down in his spot on the porch, instantly bringing his knees up to his chin and hiding his face. He wrapped his arms around his legs, a whimper escaping his lips.

Chuck opened up the screen door and stepped outside on to the back porch, “Remember when I told you, Pat, how Sebastien’s wolf greeted Nichole the first time they stood face to face with one another.”

Pat looked from Seb then up to Chuck, “Yeah, what about it?”

“Seb refused to look Nichole in the eyes once more, and I warned him that there would be consequences if he didn’t listen. Sure enough, the wolf took over him and greeted her. He didn’t hold back like last time to show how pleased he was to see her again.”

Seb hid his face more, if that were even possible.

Chuck sighed and walked over to the other side of Seb, he sat down and patted his back lightly. “Seb, you did nothing wrong..”

Seb raised his head up, tears forming in his eyes. “I had no control over my body, that’s the second time now that something like this has happened. Nichole will think I’m a total freak now because every time I see her and we’re standing in front of each other, something bad happens.”

“Awww.” Pat reached over from his camp fire chair he had placed in the center of the porch and ruffled up Seb’s hair gently. “Like Chuck said, if you do not listen to the wolf when he’s asking you a simple request of just seeing her..well, obviously he’s going to step it up a notch and give her something she won’t forget.”

Seb shook his head, “I haven’t said a single word to Nichole yet, but she’s felt and seen me have a hard-on twice.” another whimper escaped Seb as he lowered his face into his hands.

Pat leaned on the arm rest and continued to stare down at Seb, “Welcome to werewolf puberty. It’ll take a few weeks maybe even a month before the wolf will hopefully mature and not have that pouncing feeling all the time. Gotta give him some credit for at least not showing the signs in January, otherwise you’d be on your own.

Seb lifted his head up and looked at him, “What do you mean?”

Pat was taken aback by this question, he sat up in his seat. “Well, what?” he asked.

“What happens in January?”

Chuck couldn’t help but laugh at this, “I’m not even going to start to explain about that month.”

Pat glared hard at Chuck, silencing him immediately. He looked back down to Seb once more, “Depending on how you see it as good or bad news, January seems to be the time of the year where you’ll either hate or love the werewolf gene. Like regular wolves, werewolves have mating season early on in the new year, between Winter and Spring to be exact.”

Chuck laid his legs out, letting them dangle off the porch as he rested the palm of his hands on the boards they sat on. “It’s bad news if you don’t have a girlfriend, because otherwise if you don’t keep yourself busy by focusing on something else, you’ll get yourself into trouble by messing around with girls you don’t know that well, or there’s watching porn.”

Seb’s eyes grew big at this, he looked back and forth between the two. “Oh come on now, I can’t have this shit do a double-whammy on me. Don’t you think human puberty is enough? I’ve already gone through that stage and have been handling it just fine, but now you gotta tell me that I have to deal with my testosterone along with the werewolf as well?! Besides, what’s wrong with porn and sex?”

Pat nodded his head slowly, “Well, the good news about that month is that the pack kinda separates and we’re lone wolves until the reproduction period is over. We’re not out to do massive breeding of our kind and have litters of pups, but…for those who have a mate, it gives them their own personal space and time to just be together without interruption.

Sex is not a bad thing as long as you have someone to help your needs. You can’t go chasing the first girl you see and get her pregnant, because then you’ll have the whole town after your ass. Porn isn’t a bad thing either, it’ll be a quick and easy way to get off without getting yourself into trouble. The only bad thing for you is finding a place where you won’t be interrupted by family members. ” a chuckle left him as he explained.

“Exactly.” Chuck agreed. “During that time, the female is in total dominance, whether the male likes it or not. He is there to service her needs, any distractions by fellow pack mates will getcha one pissed off female who won’t hesitate to start a fight for being disturbed.”

They both looked down at Seb as the information sank in his brain, “So is it a bad thing that t-the wolf is having those signs around Nichole?”

Chuck smiled at this, “Bud, if you could’ve seen the look on her face from my point of view, it would’ve been hard to tell a stranger that you two weren’t already dating. Although you have not said a single word to Nichole since you two have met, the wolf has stepped in for you and taken matters into his own hands. The wolf can not out right speak to Nichole for you, so instead he tries to show her. Even if it means by the time you gain control back and you have an erection, that is a statement of its own saying you like her.”

“Yeah.” Pat piped in. “Unless you absolutely disapprove of what the wolf is doing. He may like the moments he’s creating for you guys, but do you?”

Seb blushed deeply at this question, “I’ve only known Nichole for a few days, just because she can get my cock hard doesn’t mean I’m in love with her.”

“No, you’re right about that.” Pat said. “But it shows you are attracted to her, if those moments occur when the wolf is not present at the time. The werewolf half of you has chosen his mate, and he’s only seen Nichole a few times to even make that decision. Now for you, it’ll take more time because you still have to develop a friendship, actually talk to Nichole and get to know her, go out on a few dates maybe, and if a relationship starts and the feelings stay true…well, you’ve got yourself a mate for life.”

Chuck tilted his head to the side becoming confused, “How the hell is that going to work out unless she knows and accepts for what he is. Yeah, if things go well and they just happen to get into a relationship. Their status as humans will be boyfriend and girlfriend, but for Seb being a werewolf? Now that’s an entirely different situation because there are the steps of courtship to become a mated pair, and that only works out if both are wolf.

Last time I checked, Nic is one-hundred percent human. So, yeah they can be all lovey dovey, have sex and become a couple. But his wolf will still have that pending status between single and mated for life because she is not a werewolf!”

Pat watched as Seb lowered his head the more Chuck went into detail as to how hard it would be to even get into a relationship with a girl he has a small crush on. The discussion alone depressed both Seb and the wolf.

“Seb’s not the only one floating in a boat headed in the wrong direction, Chuck. You’re in the same situation as him since your werewolf has taken a liking to a female who is non-werewolf as well.” Pat spoke lightly.

Chuck stopped talking instantly, the new information sinking in.

Seb placed his hands down in his lap and sighed, “I have another really important question. If Nichole is completely one-hundred percent human and normal like anyone else. Then why is the wolf half of me keep thinking of becoming mates with her? I thought wolves stick with their own breed.”

“Hmm.” Pat scratched his chin.

“It does seem kinda disturbing for how that’s put. But I think…since the wolf has been locked up for years, his animal instincts have kicked in and he can’t help but show affection every chance he gets. It’s not so much of the whole…courtship that is on his mind. Believe it or not, I think the reason he chose Nic to be his mate was because he can sense things you can’t yet.

You probably think he’s thinking perverted thoughts, but you won’t know for sure until you transform and see her. In all honesty, the wolf just wants someone to love him. Heck, he’ll probably roll over and beg for a belly rub like a dog. Don’t always think negative about your other half, Sebastien.”

They all sat quietly after that, hundreds of ideas passing through their minds.

Nichole walked into the backyard a few minutes later, her eye brows raising with concern as all three males stared off into the forest with blank looks on their face as they sat in deep concentration.

“Well uh, I just wanted to say goodbye and I’ll catch up with you guys later. I’m finished working on my truck.”

“See ya, Nic” both Pat and Chuck replied.

Seb didn’t say anything, instead he lowered his head in shame as Nichole looked in his direction. As soon as she turned and started to walk away, Seb lifted his head and watched her disappear from sight.

He allowed the wolf to release one whine, before sadness engulfed him once more.

----

Instead of heading towards the exit to leave the forest, she backed out of Pat’s driveway and took a right, going further down the road.

After a three minute drive, Nichole pulled into a familiar driveway. One she had actually left earlier that morning.

She got out of her truck, slamming the door shut behind her while looking up at the biggest log cabin home in the woods.

Pierre opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside upon hearing the loud engine in the old truck. “Hey, Nic.” he smiled.

Nichole looked around the property, checking for any sign of his parents. When not seeing neither of their vehicles, she walked up the few stairs that led on to the back yard.

Pierre walked down the steps from his porch and approached her slowly, he sensed anger. “What’s up?”

Nichole hooked her thumb into her left front pocket, she let out a sigh thinking through a moment longer before speaking. “Why did you go after Sebastien and beat him up?”

Pierre tensed immediately, giving himself away. “Nic, I-…that wasn’t me.”

Nichole shook her head, “Don’t bullshit with me Pierre, neither Jeff or Pat are in High School so that already takes out the big guns. David can’t sit still for more then a minute without doing something to keep himself occupied, and I know Chuck gets along with him just fine…so that leaves you.”

Pierre’s lip curled up slightly, as if he was holding himself back from letting out a frustrated growl. “He wouldn’t stop staring at you, so I had to teach him a lesson. He could be a creeper for all we know, seeing as the conversation we had on his introduction last night would prove my point.”

Nichole moved quick before Pierre realized she stepped closer to him. Within a second her hand smacked the side of his face.

Pierre growled and instantly grabbed ahold of both of her wrists, he stepped even closer to her and stared down.

Nichole glared hard up at him, refusing to look away or blink. She knew Pierre did this to their other friends, it didn’t take long before they surrendered and looked away and cowered.

Pierre felt a snarl build up in his chest the longer they stared at each other, the wolf didn’t like having his Alpha status get put to the test against a human.

His eyes becoming irritated, Pierre blinked. That was all it took before one of Nichole’s hands was removed from his grasp and went instantly into his hair.

Pierre clenched his teeth as Nichole grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled tight. “You better let go, Nichole. Or I swear I’ll-”

Nichole pulled his head down so they were level with each other, “Or you’ll do what Pierre? Put me in my place like you do for all our friends? Do you honestly think I would crack as easily as them because I’m a girl.”

The wolf began to whine within as her grip grew harder, “If I feel threatened Pierre, believe me. I will take care of it myself.” with this said, she let go of his hair and turned away, walking back to her truck.

Pierre’s eyes instantly went to the ground, his breathing heavy as he tried controlling the temper of both himself and the wolf.

Let it go, Bouvier.

The Alpha closed his eyes and shook his head, he kept his head turned away as Nichole’s truck was started and it drove off leaving Pierre by himself once more.

-----

Seb followed close behind Chuck and Patrick while they walked through the forest, gathering wood.

“Our pack holds twenty-two members, each one has a status to their name.”

“Are wolf packs usually that big?” Seb asked.

Chuck turned his head and looked at him, “The usual wolf pack can range from two through ten wolves. It all depends on the territory, how much food there is, and how well a pack our size can operate. Our wolf’s appetite can survive on what our human forms eat, just as long as it isn’t continuous junk food that will not only mess up your appearance but also the speed and capability you have as a wolf.”

Pat picked up a few pieces of a fallen tree he had chopped, he placed them in Seb’s arms. “The territory spreads throughout the forest, covering about two-hundred miles. It gives plenty of space for the wolf to run, along with finding prey when needed. Once you cross over the line where our territory ends, you better hope it’s not another wolf packs territory. Going face-to-face with an Alpha you’ve never met or know its strength could cost you your life.”

“What do all the statuses mean?”

Chuck answered this one, “Well, as you obviously know already. The Alpha is the leader of the pack, that’s the wolf who is the most dominate and must be respected. If respect is not shown, it will be demanded. No matter what, the Alpha makes the final decision, they’re also the ones who try to do what is best for the pack. The wolves in our pack who hold the highest ranking is the Bouvier’s, Pierre and his parents.

Now, the second in command are the Beta wolves. When the Alpha’s are not present, the decisions are made by this wolf. Otherwise, they settle small things the Alpha does not want to waste their time with. This status is held by the Comeau’s, meaning myself and my parents..”

Seb stopped walking and looked over Chuck from head to toe, their eyes met. “You really hold that high of a status in the wolf pack, Chuck?” he asked.

Chuck nodded his head, “It’s not as great as you’re making it seem. I just deal with the bullshit Pierre is too lazy to do himself.”

Seb looked over to Patrick seeing him pass a bunch of different trees, “Hey Pat, why don’t you just cut down one of these fresh trees instead of going for all the shitty and falling apart ones?”

Pat lifted his ax and looked around as he stopped, “Because this forest is our home. It provides food, protection and shelter. No one except residents can cut down these trees, so I would much rather prefer taking out the dead ones and keeping the ones that are still alive…living.”

“Oh.” Seb lowered his head, feeling stupid for asking a silly question.

Chuck smiled as he picked up a few pieces of wood himself, “Don’t worry about it, Seb. You didn’t know.”

Seb didn’t say anything as he continued to follow Patrick.

“But anyways…There are the Elders, Guardians, Shaman, and Scouts, Omega, Pup and some are just marked as pack mate. The Elders are of the five families in our pack that joined together as one, our parents and grandparents hold this status.” Chuck continued.

Pat picked up a couple more pieces of wood and stacked them in both Seb and Chuck’s arms, he nodded towards the Beta and they turned around and started walking back. He spoke up this time, “The Guardians are the wolves who are more built, they protect our territory by fighting or scaring off any threat that tries to enter, the Stinco‘s originally held this status, but now only one does as well as two other pack mates.”

Seb raised his eye brow, “Why is there only one Stinco left?”

Pat sighed, “Because usually only the males in the family hold this status. A few years ago our pack got into a territory war, and one of our strongest Guardians lost his life fighting for us. Jeff, the son of the fallen wolf took his place immediately.”

Chuck nodded his head slowly, discomfort showing on his face. “As with the Scouts, they walk around the entire territory and keep a look-out for any threats. The other duties this wolf has is staying in contact with surrounding wolf packs and keeping both the Alpha and Beta updated on any news. Our very own David Desrosiers holds this status with two other pack mates of ours.”

Seb stopped, “Wait, you’re having the guy who can’t sit still and has A.D.D or something to watch for danger? Who the hell made that stupid decision?!”

Both Pat and Chuck glared hard at Seb, “Because his mother and father were the best Scouts we ever had. It only makes sense to pass it down to their son. David does have some issues, but he’s one of the fastest wolves we’ve got and he doesn’t slack when it comes to his duty of being in a pack.”

“It’s bad enough as it is that Pierre pushes him around and gives him a hard time, David lost both of his parents in the same territory war as Jeff lost his father in. That is nothing to laugh and joke about. The kid has no family with the same last name, all he’s got is the pack.” Patrick growled.

Seb took a few steps as both males got upset, “Sorry, I’m sorry. I was just asking.”

Pat shook his head, walking faster to keep distance between him and Seb now.

Seb looked to Chuck, “I’m sorry, Chuck. I didn’t know.”

Chuck shrugged his shoulders, “David likes to stay hyper and be active so his mind doesn’t stop and think about the past. He’s over it now, and enjoys sleeping over at Jeff’s place anyways.” he looked down at the ground.

“The last of the important pack rank statuses are the Shaman, and as explained before they are the wolves we go to when we need medicine or healing. The Langlois…Patrick and his parents are the Shaman. The low ranks of the pack are the regular self titled pack mates, and the Omega wolf. This wolf is the lowest of the low, the only one it ranks higher then is the pups. They sit out of hunts, and are the wolves that get picked on and constantly get taught a lesson. With this status, it’s the wolf that is also the last one to eat whatever is left if any.”

Chuck raised his head and looked to Seb, “I don’t think I need to describe the Pup rank, as they are the youngest of the pack.”

Seb couldn’t help but blush as he asked the next question, “What status does Nichole have?”

Chuck thought about it for a moment before speaking, “Nichole is part of the pack but doesn’t really hold a status just yet. She doesn’t interact with the actual wolves, go on hunts, all that good stuff. She just hangs out with the human forms of us. But since you’ll figure out sooner or later anyways…, Nic is the only female our age in the pack. All the other females are mothers, but none that can be selected as the next Alpha to stand along side Pierre.”

Seb stopped, both he and his wolf got angry. “Well why the hell does Pierre gotta put her in that kind of stress?! He doesn’t get to make the decision of who he wants.”

Chuck stopped as well and looked at him, “Pierre gets to decide from anyone in the pack who he wants to select, he gets the choice because he’s an Alpha. Who the hell do you think brought Nichole into this pack and why she’s been around for years? She doesn’t get to make the decision of whether or not she wants him.”

Seb growled, “Then why the fuck don’t you do something about it, Chuck?! You’re second in command, why don’t you find someone and take over the pack? You told me earlier that Nichole doesn’t belong to anyone, now you wanna change the story?”

Chuck scowled and continued walking, “Just because I said Nic doesn’t belong to anyone, doesn’t mean she’ll get to have the decision when it’s Pierre’s turn to take over the entire pack. Unless some other girl that is actually a werewolf shows up and impresses Pierre, he will have no choice but to choose her if he wants to keep his status.

Nichole may not have any werewolf gene in her, but she sure as hell knows how to keep all of us in order if need be. Pierre has control over every single one of us, yeah Nichole is my friend but I will not stand in the way of an Alpha to protect her rights. She can say no to him, but good luck for her if she wants to get into a fight because of it.”

Seb growled again and walked ahead of Chuck, he stopped the Beta in his tracks. “Is that how you and the rest of your pack mates feel, sacrificing the only girl that doesn’t even belong in a pack full of werewolves, to give her up to an Alpha you’re all afraid of.”

Chuck turned his head away and closed his eyes, “You wouldn’t understand yet, Seb. Your werewolf has only been active for a few days. Why don’t you try getting in the way of Pierre and fight him if she means that much to you.”

Seb breathed in deeply, “I will.”

Chuck rolled his eyes and walked past Sebastien, “Yeah, right. Good luck with that. A pup fighting an Alpha? You can’t even talk to her.”

Seb stayed still as Chuck walked further ahead of him. The younger of the two suddenly didn’t feel like hanging out with new ‘friends’ anymore.

----

Nichole stood outside the Lefebvre household and waited patiently. Her eyes scanned over the Grand Wagoneer that she had parked behind.

The front door opened and Kate appeared, “Hey, Nichole. Thanks for coming over to hang out, my brother ditched me this morning to hang out with your friend Chuck.”

Nichole couldn’t help but smile a little at the mention of her younger sibling, “Oh, that’s alright Kate. I seen Chuck introducing him to Pat and they were hanging out, he seemed to get along with them just fine.”

Kate sighed with relief, “That’s good, I thought he was going to have a hard time making friends. I’m happy that he’s fitting in. Come on in, make yourself at home.”

Nichole gave a slight nod of her head before entering the house, Kate closed the door behind them. “Nice place you got here.”

“Yeah, we’re still trying to put everything in its place. My stuff’s unpacked, the parents have a few more furniture they’d like to reorganize and put somewhere else. But Sebastien has hardly unpacked anything of his. Would you like anything to drink?” Kate asked.

“Water is fine, thanks.”

Kate smiled as she walked out of the entry way of her home and off towards the kitchen, Nichole unzipped the jacket she was wearing and placed it on top of her arm, she looked towards the living room, and then towards the staircase that lead up to the next level of the house.

“Hey Kate, do you mind if I look around?” Nichole asked.

“No, go right ahead. I’m going to get some snacks ready for us for a movie we’re going to watch.” Kate responded somewhere in the kitchen.

That was all Nichole needed to hear before she made her way towards the stairs and walked up slowly. For whatever reason, she felt like there was something important that she needed to see and it was in one of the rooms on the second floor.

One moment she was half way up the stairs, and in the next she was standing by a door that stood slightly open.

Nichole turned her head and looked towards the stairs, she heard Kate still gathering things. Nichole pushed the door open ever so slightly, she was greeted with what she presumed would be Sebastien’s bedroom.

Sudden relaxation took over Nichole as she stepped slowly into the room, she had no idea what it was and didn’t bother to question about it. Sure enough, Kate had been right. Boxes lay all over Sebastien’s room, some being completely empty and others needing to be unpacked.

That sudden feeling of having to organize and put everything in its place took over Nichole, she knew it was one of those reactions she always had when visiting her friends and catching a glimpse of their messy room.

With this in mind, she placed her jacket on Seb’s bed and walked over to one of the boxes. Nichole opened the box up carefully and picked up one item at a time, placing them where she believed was their rightful spot.

The few clothes that lay on top of the items on the bottom of the box were refolded and put in his dresser. An alarm clock was picked up next, and placed beside Seb’s bedside. Nichole plugged it in and set the correct time on it.

She walked back over to the box and looked to see what else there was, only four other items lay at the bottom. Three of them were picture frames, and the last piece was a teddy bear.

Nichole picked up the pictures and looked at each one carefully, the first one was of Seb and his family in front of a maple tree, it looked like it had been taken not so long ago as the twin siblings still looked the same today. She smiled and looked at the next one, this was of Seb and two other guys that Nichole assumed were friends of his. They were sitting on bikes and laughing.

Nichole looked at the final picture frame, it had Seb sitting out on a front porch and looking out towards the sun as it set. A light blush came to her face the longer she stared at this picture, Sebastien looked absolutely cute with his hair wet and spiked up, not yet having the time to tame his hair after a shower.

With the three picture frames in her hands, Nichole stood up and placed them on his dresser, spacing each one out carefully.

She then looked at the box one more time, walking back over to it and picking up the teddy bear. Nichole held the stuffed animal eye level and looked it over, she realized it had some age to it. A small smile came to Nichole’s face, her eyes scanned the room trying to figure out a good place to set this teddy bear that had been around for more then a few years.

Knowing the perfect spot, she walked over to Seb’s bed and placed the teddy bear against his pillow.

“Hey, Nichole! Where’d you go?”

Nichole became struck with panic, she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, then made her way down the stairs and into the living room.

Kate walked in a few seconds later with popcorn and a variety of candy to choose from. She walked back into the kitchen and returned with Nichole’s water along with a few sodas incase more caffeine was needed.

“Aww, thanks a lot, Kate.”

“No problem” Kate walked over to the family’s movie collection and searched for the movie she planned on watching with her new friend. She found it, and opened up the case and put the DVD in.

Nichole plopped herself down on to one of the couch’s, a bag of skittles sitting on her lap. “What movie are we watching?”

Kate grabbed the popcorn and sat on the other side of the couch, “The Holiday.”

Both girls made themselves comfortable as the previews began to play on the screen.

----

Seb sat in a camp fire chair, watching as the fire in front of him snapped and crackled. He had his hands folded, the day replaying in his mind.

He had practically spent the whole day at Patrick’s house, and although the argument he had between both Chuck and Pat was hours ago..the Shaman forgave him instantly, the anger vanishing as quickly as it had came.

The Beta on the other hand kept more distance, not saying much like he had earlier. The conversation about werewolves and the pack was no longer discussed.

Pat sat beside Sebastien, a roasting stick in hand with a marshmallow on the end of it.

“Alright David, get me some graham crackers and a piece of Hershey chocolate please.” He lifted the stick up and towards his face, blowing the fire out on the now burnt gooey fluffness.

David sat on the other side of Pat, instead of being in a chair like them, he sat on the ground with food in his lap. “Hand it over, Pat.”

Pat lowered the stick towards David and watched as the smore was made. He then passed it up to the older pack mate, “There you go.”

“Thanks man.”

A car door slammed shut near by, this caused all the werewolves around the fire to turn their heads to see who it was. Pierre stepped out of the shadows, a bald male beside him. “What’s the runt doing here?”

“Technically, he isn’t part of the pack until he’s passed a few tests first.., he’d be the pup, not a runt.” David spoke up.

“Quiet, Desrosiers. No one was asking for your advice!” Pierre snapped.

David cowered, lowering his head and looking to the ground.

Chuck looked up from the fire and to the Alpha, “I invited him over to meet pack mates and to learn more about werewolves.”

Pierre glared hard at the Beta before walking over to him and taking a seat.

The bald guy looked down at Seb while scratching his cheek, “Sebastien Lefebvre, right?”

Seb looked towards him and nodded his head, “Jeff Stinco?” he asked.

A big smile came to Jeff’s face, “Yeah. Nice meeting you, Sebastien.” he took a seat beside him.

Another vehicle approached the house, the engine loud as it parked beside the garage and shut off.

Seb’s heart started to go crazy for who he hoped it would be, he was proven correct as the truck’s door opened and closed shut, making a louder noise then Pierre’s car had made.

“Well look at this, all the guys sitting together and enjoying a camp fire.” Nichole stood in the one area that surrounded the fire that didn’t have a chair.

She looked at each male, seeing their eyes were on her. She shook her head, “Come on now, that’s not how we greet each other every time I show up.”

The guys stood up, Nichole approached the oldest first. “Hey Jeff.” the two embraced, Jeff lifted her up a couple inches before placing her back down on the ground. “Hey, Nichole” he smiled.

Nichole side-stepped over and looked to Patrick, he smiled and reached his arm out, a fist formed. Nichole pressed her knuckles against his. “Gotta stop avoiding my hugs, Patrick.” she ruffled up his hair a little and kissed the top of his head.

She approached Chuck next, who couldn’t help but smile as well. “Hey, Nic.” he hugged her, receiving the same back.

Pierre stood up straight as she finished with Chuck and walked towards him, a hopeful smile appeared on the Alpha’s face.

Nichole shook her head as she skipped him and went straight to David, Chuck looked the other way immediately as he heard a frustrated sigh leave Pierre.

Nichole hugged David and pressed their foreheads together, “How are you, Davey?” she asked.

David smiled weakly, “Okay I guess.” he answered.

Nichole hugged him tighter and combed her fingers gently through the back of his hair. “Long day?” she asked.

David nodded his head slowly, “You could say that…”

Nichole took a step back and looked at him more closely, “Hey, it’s alright. Don’t let it bother you too much..” she patted his back and then looked towards the final male of the group.

Seb had sunk into the chair, keeping his eyes to the ground the whole time as Nichole went to each and every pack mate and greeted them. It wasn’t until she stood in front of him that he finally stood up from his seat and looked at her.

Nichole smiled, “How was your day, Mr. Sebastien Lefebvre.”

Seb looked past her to see Chuck raise his eye brows in question to see if he’d actually talk this time. He then looked back to Nichole, “It was good…” Seb answered quietly to where he hoped only she could hear him.

“Ah, so you do have a voice!” she reached out and put her hand lightly to one side of his face as she turned his head a little and looked at the bruise. “Looks like Patrick helped you out some, seeing as he’s always prepared if someone gets hurt.”

Pat nodded his head in agreement, “I took care of him as soon as he got comfortable, made sure to treat the other wounds and give him an ice pack to ease the bruise a little.”

Nichole looked at Seb a moment longer before grabbing a small section of his bangs and tugging on them gently. She released his hair and stepped towards Pat and squeezed his shoulder gently, “Thanks, Patrick.”

Chuck smiled at the small moment going on between Sebastien and Nichole, Pierre’s eye brows were narrowed and he looked pissed. Which only made Comeau smile even more. Earlier he had told Seb that Nichole had no choice but to go along with whatever Pierre said.

In some ways, what he said was true. But the only reason he got all angry and told Seb all that, was just to see what the reaction would be. The Beta suddenly became satisfied, seeing as Seb would soon hold the lowest pack rank status, that didn’t seem to stop him though, as he believed taking on Pierre was worth it.

No one in the pack had ever went head-on with an Alpha, especially when it came to fighting a battle anyone else would’ve stepped down from immediately.

Just then, Kate came up to the fire pit and looked towards her brother. “Come on, Seb. Time to go home.”

Seb looked away from Nichole and over towards his sister, he nodded his head and walked over to her. “Thanks for letting me come over and hang out with you guys…”

“Come back again soon!” David grinned.

Seb waved and headed back towards the house, Kate looked over to the Beta and waved. “Bye Chuck” she smiled and walked away, following her brother.

Chuck’s face tinted red immediately, he covered his face with his shirt.

“Ooo, I think Chuckles may have a crush!” Jeff wiggled his eye brows.

Chuck looked at him seriously, “Shut up!”

----

Seb trudged up the stairs, once at the top, he walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. He opened up his bedroom door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

Sebastien instantly felt a change within the room, he looked towards his dresser seeing picture frames placed on top of it. Then down at his bed seeing his childhood teddy bear resting against his pillow.

Anger built up in him, thinking the worst that one of his family members were digging around through his stuff and putting it away. It drained almost immediately as he saw a jacket placed on the end of his bed, curiosity took over him instantly.

Seb picked up the piece of clothing and looked at it, the wolf perked its ears and was on high alert.

It can’t be…

Seb pressed the jacket against his face for a second, that was all it took before he realized whose it was.

We know this smell!

Seb shook his head quickly before placing the jacket back in its place, “Why the heck was she in my room? Let alone in my house?!” a small yawn escaped Seb, reminding him what he was about to do.

“I’ll ask questions in the morning…” he laid down on the bed, his arm wrapping around the teddy bear and bringing it close to his face. Sleep took over Sebastien in a matter of seconds.