Only a Half Blood

Your Dad is a Wolf

They climbed into Aiden’s jeep and Alys took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe they were on their way to her moms house. What was she going to think of her daughter bringing a new guy home already? Why did Aiden want to meet her so much? He asked her to trust him and deep down she knew that she could with every ounce of her being, but how did she know? There were a lot of things going on and she was ready for some answers, she knew Aiden had some of those answers but they needed to talk to her mom first, does that mean her mom knows something about what’s going on as well? Is she the only one who is clueless? Her thoughts swirled around in her head as they drove down the road. Almost too soon they pulled into the driveway of Alys’s childhood home and Alys immediately knew she wanted, no, needed to know everything.

They parked the Jeep and Aiden hopped out and walked around to open the door for her, together they walked up the front steps. Aiden took her hand and rubbed the back of it soothing her as she reached with the other hand and opened the door to walk in. Here we go.

“Mom? Are you home?” Alys called out, leading Aiden through the front hall and into the living room. She could hear her mom in the kitchen before she heard her call out.

“Hi hunny! I’m back here.”

Alys brought Aiden into the kitchen and her mom turned around smiling before a look of shock crossed her face as she saw her holding hands with Aiden. She covered it quickly with another smile.

“Who is this handsome man you came calling with.” She asked as she gave Alys a quick hug. She wiped her flour covered hands on her apron before taking it off and hanging it up on its hook. It smelled like fresh baked bread and Alys felt comforted by the familiar smells of home. She missed them.

“Mom, this is Aiden Nichols, Aiden this is my mom Clary Russel.” Alys introduced the two. They shook hands politely.

“Nice to meet you Ms.Russel.” Aiden told her with a genuine smile.

“Oh please, call me Clary.” She waved her hand at him then gestured back to the living room. “Lets go have a seat and you can tell me why the surprise visit.” They followed her into the living room and she sat in one of the large comfy chairs as Aiden and Alys sat on the couch next to each other. Alys didn’t miss the look her mom gave them before Aiden started to talk.

“Actually Clary. It’s me who asked Alys to bring me.” Aiden said, “I’m sorry, but I need to ask you. Do you know who Alys’s father is?”

Clary’s face fell and she sighed. “I always had a feeling this would come back to haunt me.” She said sadly. “I know what you are Aiden. I knew what he was too. We met when I was travelling. I was young and adventurous and I had always wanted to backpack through Europe. About halfway through my trip I was at a bar in Scotland and a group of men were hassling me. They wanted me to leave with them, to go somewhere else, and I didn’t want to. He had been at the bar and had overheard everything. He came to my rescue and scared them off by pretending he knew me and had been looking for me. I was so grateful for his help, we ended up having dinner together. Then we went for a walk and we talked and well, one thing led to another. I ended up staying with him for a couple of months. I fell head over heals for him, and he for me. But it could never last. He explained to me one night why we couldn’t ever take it further. He knew one day he would find his mate and it would break my heart. He explained everything to me and at first I didn’t believe him, I thought he was lying to drive me away. Then he showed me. He was magnificent. I stayed a couple more weeks, but knowing that one day it would have to end, we decided it would be best to end it then on good terms. After that I decided I didn’t want to travel anymore so I came home. It was 4 weeks later that I found out I was pregnant. I was worried that he would want to be a big part of your life but the distance was too far, so I never told him.” She sighed taking a small break looking so sad. Some of the story didn’t make sense to Alys and she was about to ask her mom when she held up her hand to halt Alys’s questions then she continued. Aiden gave Alys’s hand a squeeze, and the now familiar sparks comforted her giving her the patience to keep listening quietly.

“I carried her to full term by your standards,” she nodded to Aiden, Alys was confused even more by that but he just nodded. “But other than that she never showed any signs of being like you. I hoped maybe my side won out and that we could just live a normal quiet happy life. When she got closer to 18 I got a little nervous again but still nothing happened. But here you are.” She ended looking at Aiden with a sigh. Finally Alys couldn’t help it anymore and she blurted out what she was thinking.

“What the hell does any of that mean? That was the most obscure story I have ever heard. Mom, what aren’t you telling me?” Alys tried to stay calm but a touch of hysteria entered her voice as she asked that last part, she didn’t know if she was ready for the answer when her mom smiled sadly at her.

“Hunny. Your father was a werewolf.” She paused letting that sink in for a moment watching the questioning look on Alys’s face before continuing. “Actually he is the Alpha of the Scotland Pack.” This time the shock she felt seemed to come from somewhere else and looking beside her she saw it plain on Aiden’s face. “We couldn’t be together because he knew he would find his true mate, his other half, the true Luna to his pack. I couldn’t be that as I am human, but we loved each other for a time anyways.”

“What?” Alys’s mouth opened and closed a few times trying to make sense of what her mom said. Werewolf? Mates? Luna’s? Alys didn’t understand what she was talking about. She turned to Aiden who was watching her carefully. “Are you?” Was all she could get out.

“Yes I am.” He said. “Would you like to see? Perhaps it will help to make sense of everything.” She looked at him like a startled rabbit.

“You mean right now? Don’t you need like a full moon or something, isn’t it dangerous?” She asked him, not sure what to think of all this. She almost wanted to believe this was some kind of sick joke but her mom wouldn’t do that to her. Aiden chuckled.

“No, not that type of werewolf that’s just folklore and fantasy. We are different. Our wolf is a gift from the moon goddess Selene, given to us a long time ago. We can shift when we want to, or even just bring forward a few traits from our wolf like heightened senses, better sight, our claws.” He held his hand up and she saw his nails extend like claws before retracting again.

“Woah.” Was all she said before Aiden continued.

“When we shift into our wolf we are still there and fully conscious, our wolf is more like an extension of who we are.” He explained.

“Ok, show me.” With that he stood up, he hesitated a moment as he looked down at her. “When we shift our clothes do not shift with us. I’ll need to take my shirt and pants off.” Alys nodded and he took them off setting them down beside her. She couldn’t help admiring the man in his boxers in front of her when all of a sudden he stretched and Alys heard snapping as she watched his body change in the blink of an eye to a beautiful pitch black wolf with a white patch on his chest. His eyes were still that deep blue. He was beautiful. He stood gazing at Alys, she was shocked, she still hadn’t fully believed it until she was looking straight at him as he shifted. She looked at her mom who smiled encouragingly at her and she lifted her hand and slowly reached towards the big wolf in the middle of the living room. He nudged her and she ran her hand down his back sliding off the couch to kneel in front of him, she looked him over running her fingers through his soft smooth fur.

“You are still Aiden?” She asked the wolf, Aiden nudged her again and gave a wolfish grin before licking her face. “This is amazing.” She whispered, “can you please change back now though. I have some more questions.” Aiden walked over to where he left his clothes on the couch and picked them up in his mouth, trotting out of the room. A minute later he came back in fully dressed and sat back down beside Alys taking her hand in his again.

“OK.” She inhaled deeply then let it out slowly, thinking and collecting her thoughts. Her mom and Aiden sat quietly watching her. “So if my dad is a wolf, does that mean I am?”

“Technically, you are a half blood.” Aiden answered.

“Then wasn’t I supposed to get my wolf when I turned 18 or something?” She asked remembering what her mom said about being nervous around then.

“Being half human I believe has suppressed your wolf. I don’t know everything, but I have asked our pack doctor to try and find out more.” Aiden answered once again. Alys nodded. “Mom, what did you mean by you couldn’t stay with my dad because he would find his mate?”

“Every wolf has a true mate. They are like what we believe soul mates are, but they are gifted to them by their goddess. A wolf mates for life and is only given one true mate.” She answered looking at Aiden for confirmation.

“Yes but it’s deeper than that, as true mates our souls become entwined as one. We complement and complete one another, we will make each stronger. Also true mates once fully mated and marked are tied to one another until parted by death.” Aiden added to what she said. Alys felt her heart drop for a moment as she looked at Aiden.

“So what happens to us when you find your true mate?” Alys whispered, she was surprised at how much that thought hurt. She has only known him for such a tiny amount of time, how on earth could the thought of him leaving her already bother her so much. He gave her the biggest sweetest smile she had ever felt and suddenly the realization hit her. “Am I your true mate?” She asked with hope. It would explain so much, if she was supposed to be his mate, that would be why she had such strong feelings for someone who should be practically a stranger.

“Yes. We are true mates.” He cupped her face in both of his hands gently, looking deeply into her eyes. “And I could not be any happier. You are perfect in every way.” Then he gave her the sweetest kisses on each cheek, her forehead, and her nose, before finally leaning in and giving her a soft kiss on the lips. Alys sighed happily, before more questions bubbled up and popped right out.

“Wait, is that why you were growling at Cody the other night? He was growling too, is he also a wolf?” Alys said bringing all the events together from the last couple days. Everything was starting to make sense. “If I am your mate then shouldn’t he know I am not his, he has a mate somewhere, why was he so upset about you?”

“He is what we call a rogue. Wolves are pack animals they stick together to help one another. When a wolf goes rogue it means they don’t have a pack. This can be hard on a wolf and it can cause them to go feral.” Aiden explained. “I think he might sense your half wolf and he is trying to claim you as his chosen mate, to fill the gap of not having a pack.” For some reason this made Alys angry, but before she could say anything her mom beat her to it.

“Cody is a rogue wolf trying to claim my girl?” She exclaimed in shock.

“Yes.” Aiden stated, “Unfortunately he is refusing to see that I am her mate. He broke into Alys’s home and scented all of her things.”

“What do you mean by scented my things?” Alys asked anger lacing her voice.

“He’s rubbed his scent on all of your stuff, it’s a way of temporarily marking a territory. He’s claiming you as his. It’s actually considered similar to assault what he’s doing. I brought Jax here to help me keep you safe.” Alys felt disgusted and understood why she had been feeling so dirty after she saw her house. She couldn’t believe Cody had done something like that.

“So is Jax also a wolf?” Alys asked needing to change the subject for the time being.

“Yes, he is my Beta. I am the Alpha and Blue Lake is my pack. As my true mate, if you accept, you would be our Luna.” Aiden gave Alys big puppy eyes as he looked at her making her giggle. She knew she should probably be freaking out about now, but after everything that has happened, and everything that is happening, and the way Aiden made her feel, all she could do was just roll with it.

“What do you mean by accept? What is a luna exactly? Is that just what a female wolf is called?” The more she learned the more questions she had. Aiden laughed at her curiosity, but she couldn’t help it.

“Luna is the Alpha females title. It means you are my equal and we are in charge of the pack together, we work together to keep the pack running smoothly and safe. My mom will be more than happy to help you learn all you need to know about being Luna, She has been waiting a long time for me to meet my mate so she has someone to teach and guide. When I became Alpha without a mate, my father got to retire but my mom is still doing the luna duties for me. As for accepting, mates do not have to accept one another. You can formally reject your mate and it will sever the bond. It doesn’t happen often as it can be extremely painful and even sometimes the rejected wolf doesn’t survive.” Aiden explained to Alys, the last part he said carefully as if he didn’t want to scare Alys. She sat quietly again thinking about this. That is a large responsibility, especially since she doesn’t know anything about being a wolf, she may not even have a wolf. Will the pack even accept a half blood as a Luna? Aiden said his mom was willing to help her and guide her at least she had that. Alys didn’t even want to think about the whole rejection thing. Just the thought made her heart ache.

“You are taking this way better than I thought you would” Aiden said.

“Why, did you think I was going to hear it all then go running out of here arms in the air screaming wildly. Because don’t count that out just yet. There’s still time.” Alys threw her arms in the air and pretended to yell. Aiden just gave her a look like he didn’t really think it was funny which made Alys start giggling, his look then changed to confusion which only made her laugh that much harder.

“What is so funny?” Aiden asked her, and she started to laugh so much she snorted which then caused Aiden to chuckle. Alys was laughing so hard by now that tears where starting to stream down her face and her sides were hurting, the look on Aiden’s face wasn’t helping, it looked like he didn’t know whether or not to laugh with her or be concerned that he had tossed her over the edge of sanity. By the time Alys calmed down she had given herself the hiccups. She wiped her eyes and her mom handed her a cup of green tea. She hadn’t even noticed her mom leave the living room.

“Thank you mom.” Alys grinned over at her as she handed a mug to Aiden and then sat down with her own in the same chair she was in before.

“You’re welcome. Are you done your little giggle fit? She asked with a grin.

“Yes I believe so.” Alys sighed and took a big gulp from her tea to help calm herself down then she turned to Aiden, “So what happens next?”