Forbidden But Bound

His Plan

The orange and yellow light around him was getting brighter. Was it the sunlight or did it come from a fire? James could not tell. The light was so bright that he had to squint to see the figure that was coming out of the barrel of a crashing one-meter-high wave. From where he was standing the figure came closer and closer towards him at a reasonably slow pace. He was unable to identify what it was. It looked like a deer from that far but as it drew closer to him he realized it was a white wolf. Its coat was white with some grey tints. As it trotted in slow motion in his direction he could then make out that its eyes were a dark, marigold color. All of a sudden there was a cry in the background. The cry was coming from a distance. It first sounded like the cry of a baby, but then James realized it was the sound of a pup crying for its mother. The sound was heart-wrenching to James. He felt overcome with a deep sadness. Within him there was a strong urge to save that puppy and bring it to his mother. James focused on the sound and began to run after the sound. Shouting with his hands cupped around his mouth,

“I am coming don’t worry. Where are you?!” Then there was a gunshot and James was jolted out of his dream, sitting up abruptly and gasping for air. He felt slightly disoriented. It took him some time to realize that he was sitting up in his bed.

“That was weird,” he thought to himself in between gasps for air.

James lay back down and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. He was covered in a mild sweat and his heart rate was slowly going back to normal. The sound of his heart was masked by his deep and loud panting. Then realizing that it was just a horribly, weird dream he turned to his nightstand and checked his phone to see the time. It was 10:30 am.

“Oh, s**t!!” He hopped out of bed placing his phone back on the nightstand. There was a flashing w******p message saying,

“Don’t forget the cake! See you just now.” It was his mum's birthday and they had decided to have an intimate BBQ lunch with some of their pack friends and James. And James was left in charge of the cake. Luckily he had picked up the cake the day before from the bakery down the road, knowing that he was probably going to forget it. The double-layer Black Forest cake was sitting in a white box on the marble kitchen countertop next to a little gift box wrapped in lavender-scented paper. He got his mum a beautiful silver bracelet with a little heart pendant in diamonds. He was finally able to get good money from the last couple of night hunts. James started a small business by selling a few animal carcasses to a few butcheries in the area. He decided that he would get something nice for his mother’s birthday.

He got into the steamy shower and just as he was scrubbing the shampoo into his thick hair he heard it again. The sound of a baby pup crying out. It was not a normal sound of either a pup or a baby but of the two merged into one sound. James turned the shower faucet off to try and focus on the sound. But as soon as he did that the sound vanished.

“What could that sound mean?” James asked himself.

“And how is it that I can still hear it? That was the same sound I just heard in my dreams.”

He brushed the thought away and finished up his shower and got ready. He had decided to wear his white shirt with a casual pair of shorts with black moccasins. Once he was dressed the thought came back to him and just to make sure he wandered around his apartment searching for where that sound could have come from. He leaned out of the window looking down the fire escape. There was nothing but cars driving by and the sound of sirens in the distance. Not seeing anything he continued to get ready for the barbecue.

James planned to tell his parents at lunch that he has decided to take on Caltan and become the Alpha of the Crystal Luna Pack. Ever since he was speaking to Julia and having seen how badly beaten Alister was at the last meeting. He could not just sit by and let this kind of behavior carry on. He wanted to surprise his parents as he was sure they would be over the moon about the news as they always said that the pack needed a new leader. Or maybe not, because this also meant that he might get killed so they could not be too pleased with the idea. James was ready for anything. He was not backing down from his decision no matter what.

Just then as he was collecting all his belonging to put into his pocket he saw the hotel room key card (which he had forgotten to return to the reception.)

“ Julia,” he whispered as he had a flashback to that blissful morning that they shared the last time he saw her. A little smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He never regretted that morning, not one bit.

Back at his parent’s house, the Barbecue was already in full swing. The sun was hitting down on the deck as the grey smoke from the burning coal in the barbecue pit rose into the atmosphere. The burning smell in the air was then followed by the smells of different meats being placed on the Barbecue stand; chicken, pork ribs, steaks, and some grilled vegetables. At the Barbecue James’ dad, Edson was chatting to his guest Nathan about poor performance by the Yankees at the recent games. They each had cold, chilled cans of Bud Lite in one hand and Edson a pair of barbecue tongs in his other hand. Nathan and Lucy were the only other guests invited. The families go way back, having been part of the Crystal Luna Pack before James was even born.

In the kitchen, the ladies prepared the salads. “I wonder who he will pick for his mate the next matching ceremony. After the few months with Stacy and the breakup, I am not sure that James is even going to attend the next Matching ceremony, Lucy. He seems to be on a completely different planet,” Lauren said while adding the vinaigrette to the salad and tossing it.

“ Maybe he just needs a little time to get over that breakup before he moves on to another mate,” said Lucy.

“There is no real hurry there are so many amazing female mates. He will be able to pick one,” Lucy continued trying to give Lauren hope that her only son will find a mate and continued their line.

“I just hope that after breaking up with Stacy and upsetting her father that the others will not look at him as a bad match or a waste of their time,” Lauren was worried about what had happened between James and Stacy. There was talk around the pack that her father was very displeased.

Lucy went up to Lauren and held her shoulder.

“Don’t worry Lauren you have a great son and a very eligible bachelor. All the girls will fall at his feet. Especially now that he is well established in the pack. It is not the first time mates have called off an engagement so don’t worry. There will be a wedding soon enough.”

Lauren sighed, “ I hope you are right Lucy, I do hope so.” Lucy picked up a set of plates and cutlery from the kitchen counter and went outside to set the table for lunch.

Just then there was a quick knock on the front door and James walked in with the cake in one hand and a gift in the other. He placed the cake down on the kitchen table.

“There you are, my handsome big boy. ” Lauren tiptoed to kiss her son on his cheek.

“Happy birthday mother, this is for you,” James handed the gift to his mother.

“Why thank you, James! You didn’t have to get me anything,” Lauren protested with a smile on her face.

“ You deserve it, mum,” James kissed his mother on her forehead.

Lauren blushed and placed the gift down. “ I will open it later, thank you, son. You are just in time the lunch is ready. Your father and Uncle Nathan have been cooking up a storm or more like chatting up a storm. Let us hope the food is not burnt.” They both chuckled and moved towards the deck outside.

Everyone sat down and helped themselves to the delicious display of food. James was chatting away with the men on one side of the table while the ladies did the same on the other side. They enjoyed the delicious food and they just cut the cake for dessert. James decided this would be a great opportunity for him to bring up his plan. They all looked relaxed and happy. He stood up.

“I have something to tell you all. I have been thinking about this for a very long time and I feel this is the right moment to tell you about my plan.”

The whole table’s attention was now on James who was speaking.

“It is time that the pack has a new leader. Caltan has been the alpha for way too long and I think that his methods are not only unnecessary but brutal and downright against what the Crystal Luna Pack stands for. So I have decided that I will fight Caltan and try my luck at becoming the new alpha.”

James looked at the people around the table to see their reactions. Lucy and Nathan had a smile on their face as they clapped their hands.

“Good on you James! I have to agree with you. Caltan is no longer worthy to be an alpha. He is corrupt and a bloody dictator. With a good plan and enough training, you will win. Well done boy!” Said Nathan. Lucy just clapped with a delightful look across her face. James felt encouraged that they thought of him so highly. But the expression on his face changed as soon as he looked at his parents. His mother and father did nothing. They did not react. They looked at each other and then back at James. James’ mother stood up and began clearing the table in silence.

“Would anyone like a cup of coffee?” She headed to the kitchen. James’ father did not say a word.

James, Nathan, and Lucy looked at each other confused. They were all taken aback by their reaction.

The rest of the afternoon there was a sense of awkwardness in the air. The conversations were not as free-flowing as they had been when the celebration had begun. James just sat there in silence the rest of the time. Avoiding any interaction with his parents. Lucy and Nathan noticed that the party was over, so they decided to head out just after their coffee.

“Thanks for coming Lucy and for the lovely gift. I appreciate it.” Lauren said to Lucy as she saw them out.

“It’s only a pleasure,” Lucy responded.

“See you soon Nathan,” James' dad said giving him a firm goodbye handshake.

Now that they were gone. James wondered what his parents thought about his idea. He also couldn’t understand why they were so upset, his dad always spoke very ill of Caltan and his pack leadership. And James’ mum too, she never liked him, so James just couldn’t understand what was the problem. “Maybe they are worried I might lose to him,” James thought sitting alone on the deck. “But Caltan is old and you can see he is not that physically strong especially during their hunts. I have had to help him many times.”

James got up and went to the kitchen to speak to his parents. “Ridiculous,” he stood up pushing the wooden chair behind him, and darted towards the kitchen.

“Mum, Dad, please can you tell me what is the problem with my plan. Because clearly, you both are not too happy about this whole idea.” James said leaning against the kitchen table. His palms were sweating and his heart began to race. His anger and irritation were visible to his parents.

James’ father stood up and walked towards James. The man who never had much to say was about to speak. James stood up as his father walked towards him. You could tell that his father was angry. His face had turned bright red and the vein in the middle of his forehead was throbbing. He had a blank but angry expression on his face. James, without realizing stood in a fight stance, one foot in front of the other. He could tell his father was pissed off.

“Who the f**k gave you the idea that you were good enough to become an alpha? You are good for nothing. You have no idea what it means to be alpha you can barely do your f*****g laundry. Do you think good looks and a few muscles will make you alpha? For f**k sakes you damn fool! You will go and get yourself killed.” His dad’s face was a few inches from his. You could smell the beer and feel the heat of his anger.

“Edson!! Stop this!!” James’ mother jumped in and pushed his father away from him. She was already crying.

“You are damn stupid James. Lauren, we might as well start planning his funeral,” His dad said walking away.

James was fuming he could almost see red. He was trying to keep calm and maintain a level of respect for his father but he couldn’t take it anymore.

“You are just jealous dad, that you are an old man who has not got the balls to stand up to Caltan. You and all the other old wolves are the reason why we are in this f*****g situation. You are all a bunch of...” He didn’t even have the time to finish his last word when he felt a punch against his cheek. The shock of the blow resonated through his entire face. He fell back against the kitchen sink and just managed to regain his balance.

“Get out of my house now!” His father ordered pointing to the back door.

James looked at his mother who, even though she was in tears did nothing to protest his father's request.

James rubbed his cheek, looked at his parents, and walked away. He got into his car and drove off.