My Hidden Wolf

Chapter Fourteen

William P.O.V

        My first two exams went well I think, just one last one left next week. It was Saturday morning and I was having a very much needed lie in. I was meeting Cara in town later to talk about next weekend: marking her and also to see if she'll be willing to talk to Emily.

        After a while, I'm not sure how long as I kept dozing off but the clock on my night stand said it was ten forty five when my dad knocked on my door.

        "You'd better get moving Will, ladies don't like to be kept waiting."

        "Good morning to you too dad."

        "Up and at em kiddo."

        I forced myself out of bed after waiting to hear his footsteps fade away down the hall. Quickly jumping into the shower to both freshen up but also to help me wake up. I brushed my teeth and pulled on some mid blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt and my trusty old Vans. Before leaving my room I grabbed my phone and my house keys. I ran down the stairs hearing dad in the kitchen I shouted:

        "See you later dad!"

        "Remember to stop to get something... Oh and..."

        "I'll be back in time for supper with grandma and grandpa." I interrupted him.

        "Have a good time."

        I was already out the door running down the driveway. I ran all the way to the edge of town, only slowing down to a light jog and then a walk when I heard humans not too far away. I stopped at a small florist to buy some flowers for Cara before making my way to the café where we were going to meet. When I got there she was already waiting for me. Sat outside, reading a book, her long golden brown hair loose and fluttering in the breeze. She looked up as I stepped closer towards her. My eyes met her gorgeous hazel ones. She smiled at me and I thought my heart was going to stop.

        "Hey handsome." She said as I sat down.

        "Hey beautiful," I smiled at her "these are for you." I handed her the flowers I'd bought.

        "Oh, lovely, peonies, iris and gypsophila, my favourites, thank you William." She inhaled their fragrance, smiling and closing her eyes.

        "Glad you like them. Have you ordered yet?"

        "Not yet. I was waiting for you."

        "Sorry I was late, were you waiting long?"

        "Not at all." She smiled and put the flowers to one side.

        "What would you like? My treat."

        "Just a glass of lemonade and one of their delicious bacon sandwiches please."

        "Of course Cara, I'll be back in a minute." I got up and went inside. The café was small but very popular. It had a homely feel and everything was homemade with locally sourced ingredients. I stepped up to the counter to be greeted by a very smiley young woman.

        "Hi, what can I get you?"

        "Hi, two lemonades and two bacon sandwiches please." I smiled politely back at the woman.

        "That will be ten pounds sixty pence please sir."

        "Here you go." I wasn't keen on being called sir, it made me feel old, or like my dad, almost everyone in the pack calls dad sir. I suppose they'll call me sir once I'm Alpha.

        "Thank you. Someone will bring your food over when it's ready. Where are you sitting?"

        "Outside." She handed me a numbered wooden spoon in a stand so it stood up right. "Thank you." I waited for our drinks which only took a moment, then went back out to rejoin Cara.

        We chatted until our food came, which only took about ten minutes. Both of us added tomato ketchup to our sandwiches and tucked in. I waited until we had both finished before bringing up school and exams and also Emily.

        "How's school and your exams going Cara?"

        "Schools good, exams are going well I think. I've just got one more left next week. What about you? I know you were feeling anxious about your Maths exam."

        "I think Politics and Maths both went well, physical part of P.E was of course a doddle, just got my P.E theory left on Wednesday."

        "That's good. Have you made any new friends?"

        "Yeah, just one. Her name's Emily." She tensed slightly. "You can't tell anyone this, not even your parents." She nodded her agreement. "Emily is also a wolf. Only her pack knows she's at that school. She's from the Stour pack and she asked if she could meet you to talk about mate stuff with a woman her own age, she's only just met her mate and doesn't have any parents to ask about it."

        "What happened to her parents?" Cara asked looking relaxed again.

        "They abandoned her when she was just six years old."

        "Oh, poor girl, of course I'll talk to her, if she's your friend I'm sure we'll become friends in no time."

        "Thank you Cara. I thought maybe next weekend, Sunday afternoon after we've celebrated your birthday."

        "That's fine with me. Talking of celebrating my birthday, your father was meeting my parents this afternoon to discuss me moving into the main pack house after we've... you know... after you've marked me."

        "He did say that he would. How do you feel about it all? The marking, s*x for the first time and moving in. It is a lot to deal with at once."

        "I know but we've been waiting for this since we were fourteen when we found out we were mates. Just promise me no children yet. I want to get my nursing degree before we even think of having little ones."

        "I promise no children until we're both ready for them. I've still got to learn what's involved in being an Alpha anyway."

        "Thank you Will."

        We chatted for a while longer before wandering around town for a bit. It started to get late so I walked Cara home and headed home myself. I walked up the drive and saw my grandparents car parked outside the house. I walked into the house and found my dad and grandparents in the kitchen talking.

        "He's on the move Thomas, he's causing trouble and he's headed south." My grandpa, Donovan said, not realising that I was there.

        I cleared my throat to let them know I was in the room.

        "Hello grandma, grandpa." I gave them both a big hug. "Who's he?" I asked curious.

        My dad and grandpa exchanged a look.

        "He is your mother's father, Charles. No one knows why he's causing trouble. He could be looking for your mother or maybe your sister. He must have found out that she left me, not that we hid it, everyone understood why she wanted to be with her mate rather than the man her father forced her to marry." My father spoke up, looking me in the eye. "This situation could escalate very quickly. If he doesn't stop we could be headed for war and he's bound to head in our direction, our pack being the last known location of his daughter. He never signed the treaty agreement either. His pack is strong and his allies are stronger. Not that I think they would join him in his search, they're not as old fashioned as he is."

        "But not even you know where she went or who her mate was." I said as we all sat down around the table.

        "No but whichever pack she went to, the pack her mate belongs to, must have known who she was when she arrived."

        "Do you think we should try looking for her now? Find out where she went and warn them?"

        "All the Alphas in the area know what's happening, probably all the Alphas in the country. Everyone is monitoring the situation."

        "That's enough of that. Lets get cooking, William can help me and you two..." My grandma, June, spoke and looked at my dad and grandpa. "Can go and do some tidying in the garden while it's still light out."

        My dad and grandpa immediately got up and went out into the garden. Neither of them daring to even try to argue or complain in my grandma's presence. She was a formidable woman and a fierce fighter in her day. Her cooking was the best. I could eat all day long if she was cooking.

        "Now then William," She said sharply, making me jump. "tell me how Cara is." Her voice softened.

        "She's well, almost finished her exams and planning on doing a nursing degree if she gets the grades that she needs, which she will. I have no doubts."

        "That's wonderful. When are you going to mark her though? She's eighteen this coming week. You need to complete the bond with her sooner rather than later."

        I went bright red from embarrassment. It was one thing talking about these things with my dad, he was easy to talk to, I could tell him anything. My grandma on the other hand was not someone I felt comfortable talking to about certain things. She had helped to raise me when my dad was really busy so we had grown relatively close over the years but she was still my grandma. I stayed quiet, not wanting to talk about it.

        "You have at least talked about it with Cara haven't you?"

        "We have talked about it, but... I'm sorry grandma, I'm not comfortable talking about it with you."

        "Good. That's fine dear, as it should be, the mate bond is a sacred thing, to be treasured. Come on, you can chop the carrots, onions and potatoes. I'm making cottage pie, your dads favourite."

        I set to work chopping the carrot into small pieces and the potatoes into large chunks and finely slice the onions, which made my eyes water. Grandma started with caramelising the onions in a frying pan while the potatoes were boiling on the hob. Next she got the beef mince out of the fridge and added it to the onions to brown it off. She added a few different spices including black pepper and paprika. Lastly she added the carrots and some peas from the freezer while I mashed the potatoes with some butter and grated cheddar cheese. Grandma pulled out a heavy Le Creuset dish and put the beef in the bottom, then the mashed potatoes and then, lastly, finished the dish off by adding more grated cheddar cheese on the top. She put it into the oven and set the timer for twenty minutes.

        I was setting the table when the timer went off. My dad and grandpa came in and washed their hands while grandma pulled the delicious smelling and looking cottage pie out of the oven and set it on a thick wooden board on the table. We all sat down as grandma served up the portions for everyone, Giving me extra cheesy mash from the top.

        The conversation flowed smoothly, avoiding any 'official' pack topics and keeping things light. The food and company was good, we spent the evening chatting and laughing until my grandparents left at which point I headed to bed.