Pathways

Later that day we made it into his territory. By than it was warm enough to shrug off most of the winter gear and Darren also seemed to get more comfortable. He began to stop shuddering against every gust of wind and he opened up a bit more. Between awkward silences he cracked a few jokes and told me about that his pack was like.

I learned that they were mostly hunters because they had a big pack to feed and that every family was expected to find foods for themselves. Of course they had all the similar services that my pack had. A butcher, a tailor, a librarian, and a few teachers. That seemed weird to me considering everything I heard about his pack was that they were pampered, they were supposed to be completely different then us. Could it be that this war was started simply over the color of fur? Maybe everyone just assumed the differences. If that was the case then hundreds of wolves had died for no reason.

I also learned about their schooling system. Back in my pack wolves went to school to learn how to survive in the harsh winters, and if you had a higher class parent then you were able to learn how to read and write. Because Roe had taken me in I was one of the lucky children that were able to do that. Darren’s pack was different though, he told me that everyone goes to school until they were sixteen. From there they would choose a career that they planned on perusing in the pack. Of course they had to get it cleared with the alpha and the council before they were allowed to do as they pleased. Regretfully Darren informed me that lately his father had been signing away every able bodied wolf to war. Now that I was here he said that he would be able to bring them home to their families.

That made one thought cross my mind. I would be the only tundra wolf there. Those people would be bound to feel threatened by me. I was a wolf that they had been trained to fight. What would Darren tell them? He was their strongest wolf-which is why he is alpha- and he is taking a girl from the enemy pack at his mate. There is no way that they will ever accept me.

“Are you sure you want to do this then.” I questioned as he explained all this to me. He seemed very into telling me about his beloved pack, I was just afraid to survive it. Of course Roe did tell me that if I ever needed him he would still be there, I guess if something terrible happens I can always escape to him.

Darren stopped and looked back at me. The sparks of green in his eyes dazzling in the sunlight as he shifted his heavy winter coat on his shoulder. “Sure about what? You?” I nodded slowly, hanging my head and kind of nibbling on my bottom lip. My ears strained to hear him move, would he come towards me or would he stand there and tell me he wasn’t sure? “Of course I’m sure, I would never bring you back to my pack if I didn’t. I’m very protective of them, each one is my family.”

Out of nervousness I dug my heel into the snow, watching a slush pile form around my foot. Because we were back in his territory the snow was quickly melting, even more as we neared his village. The closer the got the more green grass I seen. At least I could enjoy the change in weather, it took my emotions off of the nervousness of meeting everyone in his pack.

The sound of him moving towards me filled my ears. I didn’t think that he would move to comfort me. Before I had a chance to raise my head to see him, I found his body embracing mine. His warm arms pulled me into his chest and I found myself leaning into his embrace.

“You’re worrying about nothing, Darling. They follow my led, meaning that if I accept you then they will to. Though I have to admit that it is rather cute that you worry about my family accepting you.” His lips pressed against the top of my head then he pulled away from me, giving me a chance to look up at his dashing smile. “Lets stop wasting time, they are waiting for my return. I’m a day late, they must be getting restless.”

I nodded and watched at he began walking towards his home once more. I paused still, waiting until he was at least ten steps away from me before I allowed myself to follow him. For some reason I felt the need to think, and to me that meant I needed to be somewhat alone. Ten steps were the most I could get without the fear of being left. From this distance from my old pack I would never find my way back. If I was left now I would become rogue, and even though I once wished for that outcome I know that I wouldn’t make it. Maybe if I stayed in my old territory I could make it, but Darren has shown me that the world is bigger then I once thought it was.

Our feet crunched against the half frozen grass. For a while that was the only sound we heard, and the only sight I seen was the changing grass. It changed from the froze chucks to damp pads of green. It was simply astounding to watch, but I lost track of time as I was doing it. The next time I raised my head was because of a sound that alarmed me. A low growl rang through my ears. At first I thought it was Darren seeing something he didn’t like, but when I looked up he was stopped in his tracks as well. He was looking in the direction was the tress to his left, I moved my eyes to it.

There in a cluster of trees stood a wolf. It was a girl, I could tell because of her build. Even in her wolf form you could tell that she was a gorgeous. Her wolf form portrayed beautiful curves and powerful muscles. They were meant for killing, a hunter’s body. Someone he actually hunted everyday like I was supposed to, someone who trained and worked hard to get to where she was at. My eyes moved to hers, they were the same at Darren’s and they were locked on me. My animal instances screamed for me to run.

“No, Gwen.” Darren suddenly growled. At first I thought he was talking to me, but then I noticed that his eyes were still glued on the wolf. He squatted down and held his hand out towards the wolf. “She’s with me.”

The wolf growled again and snipped at him. I jumped a little at that then took a few steps back when she began to approach me. Darren stood up, his hands baled into fists and turning his body to face me. He didn’t stop her as she walked straight up to me and began to still me. I held up my hands, hoping that I wouldn’t have to defend myself.

“She’s my mate, Gwen. Leave her alone. “ He growled once more, walking slowly towards us and grabbing the scruff on her neck. Once he got a hold of her he yanked the brown wolf back and pulled her a few feet away from me. “Rose, this is Gwen…my half sister.”

The wolf….um…Gwen then changed back, showing me her human form. She was a tall, lean human. Curvy and blonde, she was a vision. Every guy’s dream. It wasn’t hard to believe that she was Darren’s sister, they were both extremely beautiful. She barred her teeth at me once more, crossing her arms over her check. Because we were naked after changing back, crossing her arms made her large boobs just perk up. If I didn’t know that she was Darren’s sister then I would feel offended about her doing that in front of him.

“Their scent is all over her, Darren.” She hissed. “You’ve taken an enemy for a mate. Claimed an enemy wolf to led our pack.”

He snorted back a laugh and walked back over to me, standing a step in front of me and angling protectively in front of me. I didn’t blame him though, even I could tell that she could kick my ass. “I haven’t claimed her yet so cool your jets, Gwen. Nothing changes that she is my mate and I certainly have no problem with that. I’m sure you’ll get over it eventually.”

Darren then reached back to take my hand and begin dragging me back the way we were originally going and before long I was setting eyes on his village, but I could still feel Gwen at our heels and she didn’t seem to happy.