Life Without You

Chapter 7 - Tommo

I wake up bright and early, feeling surprisingly refreshed, despite the unrelenting growling coming from my stomach. With all the drama of getting Bren to leave the academy yesterday, I can’t actually recall eating anything. I’m sure I must have done, I just can’t remember what or when. Anyway I’m starving now and I really hope that breakfast will be served soon. When there are visiting wolves it’s always a strange time for a pack. Usually at home that means breakfast is served early, but I don’t know if that will be the case here. I decide to get up and go and explore anyway. Bren might know, he has been to the Dark Moon pack before, but there is no way I’m disturbing him this morning over something little like this. I open my bag, quickly finding my spare clothes that I packed yesterday morning, then get dressed and leave my room. As I stroll down the corridor the two she-wolves from last night, whose names I can’t remember, duck out of a room together and run towards me. They must have ranked down with the same wolf last night, or at least wolves that are sharing a room. Classy.

“Good morning ladies.” I can’t resist the urge to call out to them as I lift my hand to my head as if I’m tipping an imaginary hat. They don’t even spare me a passing glance, but mumble something unsavoury under their breath, as they presumably scurry back to their own rooms. Goddess, I dodged a bullet there. When I reach the end of the corridor the smell of food has my stomach rumbling even louder. I pause and sniff the air trying to figure out which direction it is coming from in this huge pack house.

“Morning Tommo. On your own?” Freya, a friend of Lettie’s from the Dark Moon pack asks with a smile. We’ve hung out a couple of times before, but I can’t recollect ever having a conversation with her outside of the group. I don’t miss the fact that her eyes are on my neck, searching for any trace of a mark that might have been placed there by a mate.

“Very much so, you?” I respond lightheartedly. I know she’s only 17 so she won’t have found her fated mate yet, but that doesn’t rule out a boyfriend or friend meeting up with her for breakfast.

“Absolutely. I’m sorry you didn’t find your fated mate last night. Do you want to join me for breakfast? That way neither one of us have to eat alone.” She offers warmly and the thought of breakfast is very appealing.

“How could I refuse an offer like that?” I reply but regret sounding so eager when her whole face lights up at the prospect of us eating breakfast together. She links her arm through mine and gently pulls me through the pack house as the smell of food intensifies. I should take my arm back from her so that the other wolves that are making their way through the pack house don’t get the wrong idea about us, but I don’t have the heart.

“You know that you might not have scented out your mate yet because she hasn’t turned 18.” She says enthusiastically.

“It’s possible.” I admit, knowing where the conversation is likely headed, and not really liking it too much. There is no denying that Freya is attractive and she seems like a nice enough she-wolf, but she isn’t really what I’m hoping for in a mate. She doesn’t feel like the other half of my soul, like the part of me that is missing, if that makes sense.

“I’m trying to get my father to speak to Alpha Fabian about holding a ball for my 18th. I know it’s only normally for Alpha’s daughters but I want to make sure that there are lots of wolves there so I find my mate on my 18th birthday. You will come to that, won’t you?” I feel Ash shaking his head inside mine, but I don’t feel like I can just bluntly tell her no.

“Of course. Get Lettie to speak to Bren about it closer to the time. I’m sure we can fit it in.” I say instead. Hopefully that doesn’t come across as too eager.

“Bren and Lettie don’t have to come. If you’re my mate we won’t be wasting our time with them.” She brazenly continues with this choice of conversation.

“And if we’re not, I’ll need someone to talk to when you disappear with your mate.” I try my best not to be rude, whilst not adding fuel to the fire that is already burning inside her that we are fated mates.

“I guess you’re right. It would be pretty cool if we are mates though, don’t you think?” She turns expectantly towards me waiting for my reply as my mind races at a mile a minute, trying desperately to come up with a suitable response for her.

“Yes, sure.” I eventually mumble losing a little bit of my appetite by being put on the spot like this. I try to push it to the back of my mind as I grab a plate and pile it high with food before finding an empty table to sit at.

“Your pack is on the coast right. I love the sea. I mean I’ve never seen it in real life but it looks beautiful on TV. I think I would be happy living next to the sea.” She still talks like us being mates is a done deal.

“Yes it’s beautiful, although to be fair I haven’t seen it much recently.” I explain, as the thought of the sea has me missing home.

“Of course. You’re at the academy with Bren now. You will finish just after my birthday. It will work out perfectly for me moving there.” She adds and I start to really wish that my stomach hadn’t got the better of me this morning. Luckily my Alpha and Luna choose this moment to come to my rescue.

“Good morning you two. Mind if we join you?” Luna Georgia asks and I nod more enthusiastically than I have ever been about anything before in my life. They sit down with their own plates of food and Freya looks awkwardly from one to the other before giving them a small disappointed smile. Our breakfast continues uneventfully as we are joined by Bren and Lettie, then Jace and Daphne and finally Frankie on his own.

“I’d like you to come back with us this morning.” Alpha Hayden says when everyone has eaten.

“We were going to head straight back to the academy from here.” Bren informs his father, clearly reluctant to leave Lettie so soon after finding out that they truly are fated mates.

“I know, but I would like you to come back with us.” Alpha Hayden persists and it now sounds more like an order than a request we can refuse.

“Don’t worry. We will see each other soon enough.” Lettie says to Bren as she takes his hand in hers and gives it a gentle squeeze.

“We would like you to come back too.” Luna Georgia tells her daughter.

“Ok. I’ll go find my dad and let him know I’m leaving. I’ll see you there shortly.” Lettie says standing from the table.

“Can I get a ride with you? I have to go say goodbye to Lydia.” Frankie asks, sounding disheartened at leaving his newly found mate.

“She’s not coming with us?” Lettie asks.

“She wants to stay in her pack until we finish at the academy. I can understand that. I’m not saying I’m not disappointed, but I can see why that’s what she wants to do.” He clarifies with a dismissive shrug.

“Ok, well let’s get going.” Alpha Hayden commands and we all rise from our seats.

***

As soon as we get back to the pack we head straight to the Alpha office. Me, Bren and Jace have spent almost the entire car journey home trying to guess why we have been summoned home, but so far we are drawing a blank. Alpha Hayden, my father, Uncle Rex, Gamma Darren and Delta Paul are all stood around waiting for us to join them.

“We have reason to believe that there is a lone wolf living close to the pack.” Alpha Hayden speaks first.

“What makes you think that?” Bren asks.

“We have new tenants in the old fish shop, they’re turning it into a surf school. I smelt wolf on them, but it didn’t smell like a pack wolf and certainly not from this pack.” Uncle Rex explains.

“We’ll go talk to them, see if we can work out who they are.” Bren offers and me and Jace nod in agreement.

“No. I want Lettie to go. That’s why I wanted her to come back here. She was a lone wolf before, she’ll have more success of finding out if they are a threat than you will.” I feel Bren tense, uncomfortable with the idea of Lettie going alone but he knows better than to speak for her.

“So why did you want us to come back here?” He asks knowing instinctively that there is more going on than we have been told so far.

“We need to discuss Frankie’s mate, specifically her pack, and I don’t want what I have to say to be heard by anyone else, not even Alpha Fabian.”