Thorne

7

I walked into Ethan's office, my heart racing with excitement. I had finally pieced everything together, and I was sure that the man I saw frozen in the ice was the same person as the black wolf that I had seen at the bar. I couldn't wait to tell Ethan my theory, hoping that he might know something about who he was.

"Ethan, I have something really important to tell you," I said, barely able to contain my excitement.

Ethan looked up from his desk, his expression guarded. "What is it?" he asked, his voice laced with unease.

"I think I know who the black wolf is," I said, my words tumbling out in a rush. "I saw him before, when I was lost in the forest."

Ethan raised an eyebrow at me. "You saw a wolf in the forest?"

"Yes, but he wasn't a wolf then. It was the man in the cave," I said. "I was reading this book about mates, and I think he is my mate. We locked eyes and I felt it. I just didn't know what it meant then."

His brows furrowed, and he stood up from his desk, "Anastasia, you can't be serious," he said, his voice tight. "Humans can't have mates."

I stopped, looking at him suspiciously. "Humans can't have mates?"

He looked at me and tilted his head, "No. They can't." He said, putting his hand on my arm, "You're confused and you hit your head. You need to rest and just forget about this man."

I squinted my eyes at him, "You're lying to me."

Ethan took his arm back, "Think about who your talking to, Ana." He replied, darkly. "I'm the Alpha of this pack, and you can't go around accusing me of lying. Besides, why would I lie about that?"

"I don't know Ethan," I said, "but, I was talking to your mom in the library today. She told me that it is possible, and that it's usually a human girl that is mated to an Alpha. You guys said the black wolf was an Alpha. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"You entitled little girl," Ethan spat, "Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? Why would you think you are important enough to be an Alpha's mate?"

"Ethan!" I exclaimed in disbelief. I couldn't understand why he was lying.

"I don't know why I even let you into our pack when you are clearly delusional." He took a step closer to me, putting both arms on my shoulders. "Did you even see a wolf? Because we didn't find a trace of one. No one smelled anything either, so stop spreading your lies around my pack."

I stammered on my words, "I-I'm not lying!"

His hands dug deeply into my shoulders, pinching my skin. "Ethan, stop!" I yelped, "I'm sorry! Maybe your right!" I gave in. "I'm just confused, I-I can't even remember anything."

He let up, and I saw a flash of a smile pass his lips. "Just go, Anastasia." He said, turning away from me.

"But, Ethan, I-"

"Rachel will pick you up tomorrow and take you to see your therapist." He said coldly, "Maybe you can get a grip then."

I listened to him, and turned around, running out of his office, tears streaming down my face. My first thought was to run to Rachel's house.

I burst through the front door, tears streaming down my face. "Rachel, " I sobbed. "Ethan was so cruel! I don't know what I did."

Rachel had been sitting on the couch reading and she looked at me surprised, but her face immediately softened and she wrapped me in a hug. "Oh, honey, what happened?" she asked, concern etched on her face.

I sniffled and tried to compose myself. "We were having a conversation and he just said the meanest things to me," I said, my voice shaking. "He hurt my shoulder, and I don't even know what I did to deserve it."

Rachel's face darkened. "That's not okay, Ana," she said firmly. "You don't deserve to be treated that way."

I nodded, tears still rolling down my cheeks. "It really hurts."

Rachel hugged me tightly. "Try to remember that Ethan is under a lot of pressure right now. It's possible that he wasn't intending to hurt your feelings and that it wasn't personal."

I sniffled, considering Rachel's words. "You didn't hear what he said, Rachel."

"Well what was the conversation about?"

I explained to her the story about the frozen face, the electricity and the pull I felt towards that man. "I'm sure he's my mate Rachel, I can feel it. As soon as I read that book about mating, I figured it out. It must be the same man!" I pleaded with her to believe me, "Ethan just exploded at me when I told him. He even told me that humans can't have mates, but they can, can't they?"

Rachel looked surprised at that, "Of course they can! I mean, it is pretty rare, but all of the most powerful Alphas tend to have human mates."

"Well, I'm not lying, I really believe that wolf is my mate, and I just, I don't know why that idea would upset Ethan so much anyway." I said, still crying.

Rachel nodded. "I understand," she said, looking deep in thought, "You know, Ana, I think Ethan might be upset because he has had a crush on you since he met you."

My mouth dropped in realization. "Well, he actually did try and kiss me at the bar the other night." I said, cringing.

Rachel gasped. "Ana, you didn't tell me that!" She said, slapping my arm.

"Sorry." I said, cringing at the memory. "But, won't he have his own mate?"

Rachel nodded, and got a sad look in her eye, "Well, unfortunately, his mate died in a tragic accident a long time ago. It's also very rare that humans have mates, so he was probably very upset to think that you might have found one."

"Oh, I-I didnt know that." I said, gaining a little more clarity. "I'm sorry to hear it, but that still doesn't give him an excuse to physically hurt me."

"Well, of course not, but it may help you to understand why he did what he did." She said, reassuring me, "I'm going to talk to him and Marcus together, and let him know that he cannot go around doing that. Especially as an Alpha."

"Thank you, Rachel." I said, "I'm curious though, what happened to his mate?"

"It was a long time ago," She said sadly, "It was a sad day for our whole pack. Ethan actually used to be a Beta, but he was mated to the Alpha's sister. Their whole family had gone out on a hike, and nobody really knows why or how, but they fell off a cliff hiking. We think it was a piece of ice that just gave out, and... they all fell."

"Oh," I said, stunned, "That's awful."

"The weirdest part was that they never actually found Alpha's body, just his mom and sister. It was not likely an Alpha would die from falling off a cliff, but he never came back, so Ethan had to take over the job. He led us out of a very dark time. It was a lot of responsibility to take on right after his mate died."

I sat in silence taking in this new information.

"Let's not just brush over the fact that you may have found a mate, though, Ana." Rachel said in sing song voice and I smiled.

I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. I knew that I could always count on Rachel to be there for me, no matter what. We talked for hours about how special it is to find your mate, and Rachel filled me in on the entire process. She hadn't found her mate yet, but she was so excited for when the day came.

"I'm hoping I find him at the ball this year." She sighed dreamily and I smiled at her. "I bet you will see yours again before the ball."

"Well, I don't know." I said, "why hasn't he already come to see me?"

Rachel stopped, "It is odd, because Alphas cannot stay away from their mates for long. It's possible that he just needed to tie up some loose ends in his pack before coming back."

"Do you think he has one? I mean, he was frozen in a cave the first time I saw him." '

"Oh, right." She responded. "I guess we will just wait and see then."

...

Rachel picked up the phone, getting ready to phone Ethan and Marcus. She was going to talk to Ethan about what he did to my shoulders, and hopefully, get an apology. I sat by nervously awaiting their responses, feeling awkward that I was the one in the middle of everything.

The phone rang and rang, but Ethan did not answer. She called a few more times and... nothing.

"Well, that is strange," She said wearily. "He always answers. I mean he's the Alpha, so he kind of has to."

"He probably knows what you are calling about." I said, feeling a bit queasy. "He knows we are together, I bet."

"Hmm." She responded, "Well let's just give him some time to cool off, and revisit the subject later." She turned to look at me, "But, don't worry. I will not let him just get away with it."

I nodded, "Thanks, you've been such a good friend to me, Rachel. I don't know what I would do without you."

Rachel smiled, "Oh, thank you, and of course." She pulled me into a hug, "Let's take the day to cool off as well. Im gonna call Marcus and we can all go out and get lunch or something."

I nodded, and she phoned Marcus and invited him to meet up with us. We decided to spend the rest of the evening lounging in the central square, enjoying the warm sun and the lively atmosphere of the pack village. It was a beautiful day, and I was in higher spirits as I chatted and laughed with my friends.

They were telling me about their adventures as Beta and Delta, regaling me with tales of the strange and wonderful sights they had seen while carrying out tasks for the pack. I listened in rapt attention, laughing at their stories and marveling at their courage and determination.

As the sun began to set, we decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the food stalls that dotted the square. Rachel led us to her favorite spot, a small vendor selling savory grilled meats and vegetables. We each ordered a plate and sat down at one of the long communal tables to enjoy our meal.

As we ate, we chatted about everything and nothing, relishing the chance to relax and be together. But as the conversation turned to Ethan, Marcus mentioned that he hadn't heard from him all day.

"I wonder where he's been," Marcus said, a concerned look on his face. "I hope everything's okay, he's never disappeared like this before."

Rachel and I exchanged a worried look, both of us feeling a sudden sense of unease.

After we finished our meal, we decided to head back to Rachel's house. As we walked through the streets of the pack village, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the chance to be with such wonderful friends. However, even as we laughed and enjoyed ourselves, a small part of me couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

After we ate, we walked back to Rachel's house, and were followed in by two young men who were grinning from ear to ear. "Anastasia, Marcus, I'd like you to meet my younger brothers, Jason and Tyler." Rachel said, gesturing towards the two young men.

I smiled and held out my hand. "Nice to meet you both," I said.

Jason stepped forward and shook my hand. "It's great to meet you, Anastasia. Rachel has told us so much about you," he said, giving Rachel a teasing look.

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, we've been looking forward to meeting you," he added, also giving Rachel a playful glance.

Rachel grinned, rolling her eyes. "Oh, stop it, you two," she said. "Anastasia, don't listen to them. They're just being silly."

I laughed. "It's great to meet you both as well," I said. "And I have to say, I'm not surprised Rachel has told you so much about me. She's always been such a supportive and loyal friend."

Jason and Tyler chuckled. "That's definitely true," Jason said. Rachel beamed with pride.

"Where's mom and dad?" She said, turning to the two boys. "They're late."

"Oh, they are on their way." Tyler answered, taking a seat at the table. "They stopped for pick up and mom said the line was really long."

Rachel nodded, and then turned to Marcus and I, "It's family dinner night for us, do you guys want to stay and eat?"

I declined her offer, not wanting to intrude, "You guys have fun, I've had a really long past couple of days and I want to go to bed early tonight."

"Are you sure? The O'Rourke family is quite famous for hosting the best dinner parties!" She asked again hopefully.

"No, really, I can't, but I will definitely come next time you guys host one." I smiled.

"Okay well, get home safe, Ana." She said, smiling.

As the sun began to set, Marcus offered to walk me home. I gratefully accepted, as I would be a little nervous to walk alone so late and his house was a few blocks further than mine, so I was on the way.

The two of us walked in companionable silence, taking in the sights and sounds of the pack village as we made our way towards my temporary home. Marcus was a kind and attentive escort, always keeping a watchful eye on me and making sure I was comfortable.

As we approached my cabin, Marcus slowed his pace and turned to face me. "I'm glad we all had a good time today," he said, his voice soft and sincere. "You deserve it after all the stress you've been through this week."

I smiled up at him, feeling a warm surge of gratitude. "I had a great time," I replied. "And I feel a lot better. Thank you for being such a good friend, Marcus."

And with a final smile, Marcus turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone in front of my cabin, my heart full of warmth and gratitude.

As I opened the door, my heart skipped a beat as I saw a man sitting on my couch, his face shadowed in the dim light. I froze, my hand still on the doorknob, as I tried to make sense of what was happening.

The man stood up, his tall, muscular frame towering over me as he stepped into the light. I gasped as I recognized him...