Page 11 of The Wolf Slayer

As they got closer to the Timber Territory, hidden in the woods northwest from Clemont, he noticed his brother wasn’t driving him back to his cabin but to the village. A little north of Cliff’s gas station they turned onto a narrow dirt road and passed a rusty old gate with a sign that read:

‘PRIVATE PROPERTY STAY OUT’

The dirt road led them through the dark forest to his pack’s village that was hidden deep within the woods. The road ended on the opposite side of the village by a small hill on which the main house overlooked the village. Blake had spent most of his life in this village, he knew each house and every path between them by heart.

Seth parked the truck at the end of the road and eyed him seriously. “I won’t tell father that you met her again, but you can never see her again. You need to promise me that.”

Blake knew it wasn’t an alphas command–his brother never used his commands on him–but not willing to lie to him, Blake nodded and got out of the truck.

They followed the footpath up the hill to his family’s home. In front of the house sat a huge brown and red wolf, with gray patches all over his fur–a sign of his age. Blake had always liked Bill, his father’s beta, he’d always shown him great kindness. Bill was among the ones that accepted him for who he was. His dark eyes studied them as Seth and he came walking up the hill.

When Seth reached him, Bill respectfully bowed his head and did the same toward Blake, even though he didn’t bow as deep as he did with Seth. Blake knew that Bill didn’t mean to disrespect him. Blake’s blood made him an alpha, but with being the younger brother to the heir, Blake was lower in rank. It was an unusual constellation and Blake appreciated Bill’s efforts to show him the respect he deserved by birthright. Few wolves in the pack did so, and the blatant disrespect he had to withstand from many of them was often physically painful.

Seth walked inside, but Blake sat on the porch next to Bill. He watched as the massive red wolf shifted and transformed into an old man with long gray hair, then grabbed a pair of shorts and put them on.

He sat next to Blake and watched over the village. Blake had known him for all his life. Bill had been his grandfather’s beta and after he had died, Bill had become his father’s beta. Bill had devoted his entire life to the pack and unlike many betas before him, he’d decided not to bring an heir into the world.

Unlike alphas, betas weren’t born with beta blood, they were chosen by their alpha. Because an alpha needed to trust their beta, they needed to have a great relationship with each other. Even though betas weren’t born with beta genes, they usually came from the same family. Most alpha and beta families were so tightly intertwined that their sons grew up like brothers which made them naturally trust each other. By the time the alpha’s son became the new alpha, the beta’s son was the natural choice for the new beta.

Blake had always wondered why Bill had chosen not to have an heir. He didn’t hate children. He’d been Blake’s second father growing up and every single child in the pack loved him as much as he loved all of them.

Blake had always been determined not to have a mate and children. A mate because he knew at some point a woman would want children, and he never wanted to have any. He’d never committed himself to anyone because he didn’t want to curse anyone with a childless life. Anyone carrying wolf blood naturally wanted children–it was an animalistic survival instinct. His alpha blood had always made this decision hard on him. His reproductive instinct was much stronger than that of other wolves. No matter how determined he was, his wolf always made him question his decision. If he ever had children, he would give them a cursed life, he’d always known that and that had always helped him justify his decision.

After meeting Niev his whole outlook on his future had changed. He wanted and somehow needed her in his life and was willing to sacrifice everything for her. Her happiness was his one and only goal, and knowing that scared him. If she ever were to ask him for a child, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to withstand her pleas. He knew denying a woman what she was born to do would hurt her deeply.

He also knew he was overthinking this whole situation. She hadn’t even decided that she wanted to be with him. He hadn’t even asked her to dinner, let alone to spend the rest of their lives together. He was mad to even think about something like children if she hadn’t even made her choice to be with him.

Bill turned his head toward Blake. “Something is bearing heavy on your mind.” It wasn’t a question, but rather an observation.

“Thinking about my future.” Blake tried to keep his answer as vague as possible.

“All alphas have their future path directed to them. You’re the only alpha that can choose his own path. Choose what feels right to you. Selene has given you the gift of a free will because she trusts that you will make the right choice.” With that, Bill got on his feet and walked toward the village.

Blake watched as his figure slowly shrunk. He knew what felt right for him. He knew he needed Niev and that she needed him just as much. His world had shifted, and his life had become meaningful through her. He knew that she needed time to get to know him and he needed time to figure out how to persuade his father to allow him to share their secret with her.

From now on he would call Niev every evening and give them both the chance to get to know each other. He hoped this way he would be able to be there for her without angering his father by leaving the territory. During the day he would do whatever his father asked of him to please him and ease him into the right direction.

Blake got on his feet, braced himself, and put on a smile before walking into the house. Seth and his father sat at the dinner table discussing business, while his mother was busy in the kitchen plating the food.

He sat down across from his father and Seth and poured himself some juice. Blake’s family owned a lumber business, which also included personalized wood works for their customers. While Blake had been with Niev, Seth had been meeting with a potential new client who wanted the woodwork in his house restored.

“They didn’t like my quote. They said others gave him a cheaper one,” Seth said and shrugged his shoulders.

“Are you sure we’re not overpriced?”

His father had been reluctant toward the idea of expanding their business. Most of their customers were from around Hunter’s Village–forty minutes north of the territory. Now Seth wanted to expand the business all the way south to Clemont which was a good two-hour drive. Seth thought it would be good for the business to have new clients and widen their services.

“No, we are worth every dime and that’s what I told him. The others might be cheaper, but they’ll also butcher their work.”

“Now enough business, let’s eat and relax for now.” His mother sat the food on the table.

It was a quick and quiet dinner–Blake preferred it that way. He was eager to leave and call Niev. After helping his mother clear the table, he excused himself and walked out the back door. He quickly took off his clothes and let his wolf take over his body. His bones cracked, muscles ripped, and within seconds his four paws dug into the ground. He gently picked up his clothes with his muzzle and ran into the woods toward his cabin. Blake loved running through the trees and feeling the ground give in under his weight. Werewolves were much larger than normal wolves, and he enjoyed the fear he spread throughout the forest. Other animals scattered out of his way and tried to escape him. He could hear deer leaping in the opposite direction, afraid he would hunt them down.

After only a few minutes, he arrived at his cabin. He quickly shifted and got dressed before grabbing his phone and dialing Niev’s number.

“Blake?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

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