Darcingtowne Wolves: The Misfits (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty: Patience

Tobias’s parent’s reactions were about what he’d expected. His father was stricken, stunned into silence, though he could see the sharp mind behind his old man’s eyes whirring away as he explained his reasoning. Neither of them tried to sway him to change his mind, though his mother did come around to fold him in her arms while she cried for him.

Toby didn’t cry; he’d already run himself out of tears. All that was left in him now was resignation; the hollow kind of acceptance that comes more easily to those who have spent their life dutifully serving a cause. It was funny what one could adapt to if push came to shove; this was just another thing he had to adapt to - a life without his mate. When he left his parents house, he thought he’d feel better; more firm in his decision. He probably would have been, but for the words his father said when he got up to leave.

As they stood in the doorway of his parent’s apartment Lucas reached out to grip his son’s shoulder and said, quietly, “You know I am proud of you, right?”

“I know.” Tobias replied, just as quietly. His mother had retreated to the bedroom, ostensibly to sleep - though Toby had a feeling that she just didn’t want him to see her continue to cry.

“I won’t tell you not to do this, son. I know you think it’s the right thing to do, and I always want you to do what you think is right.” Lucas said. Then, he paused and glanced over his shoulder briefly before continuing, “But doing what is right for Francesca isn’t the same as doing what’s right for you. Sometimes it’s ok to put yourself first, son. Like they say, it’s better to put on your own mask first, then help those around you. It’ll be hard to help Chessa find love and happiness if you won’t allow yourself to find it too.”

With those words bouncing around in his head, Tobias made his way back to the Twilight Promenade territory.

Over the next week, Penelope was so busy trying to get her pack house in order, and her bearings around the city, that she didn’t have time to search out her mate. She definitely wasn’t avoiding him; it’s not like she was nervous about him possibly being a member of Twilight Promenade or anything. She was just, you know, really busy with being an Alpha and a student, and like...exploring the vast expanse of the city.

Then, the first week of University swept by like a whirlwind - leaving Penelope and the Misfits tousled and overwhelmed. By the time the second week of classes had come to a close, pull had faded somewhat, as it had been three weeks since their first encounter. Despite this, every so often she could feel the mate bond tugging at her; almost as if her mate had gotten closer to her, only to move further away again. It would have been more annoying if Penelope didn’t have such a firm grip on her emotions; if she’d been a weaker wolf, she probably would have run right out into the bramble, howling and prowling for her mate.

Unfortunately, her pack mates were not as in control as their Alpha was. 

“I can’t believe you, Penelope. How can you just sit there when you have a mate out there waiting for you?” Carrie whined as she nudged Penny’s thigh with the heel of her bare foot. 

It was early Friday afternoon, and they were sitting on the sofa in her Alpha suite. Carrie had been watching a true crime documentary while Penelope was going over her some reading for her English literature class, but apparently violent murder was less interesting than Penny’s stagnant love life.

“Carrie, I’m not in any kind of rush to find my mate. I’m barely eighteen, I have four years left of University, and a pack to run. Not to mention, the whole...he’s probably a member of the Twilight Promenade, a pack who I have no desire to get involved with, even tangentially.” Penelope said, looking up from the papers in her hands with a sigh.

“Just because his pack leadership are a bunch of knotheaded jerks doesn’t mean that he is.” Carrie said, snorting.

“He’s probably ranked, Carrie. Alpha wolves rarely get mated to anyone who isn’t. I think that makes him a knothead by proxy.” Penny retorted.

Carrie giggled a little bit at that, “Douche by proxy, eh? That’s pretty good. And Sebastian says you have no sense of humor.”

“That’s because Sebastian thinks humor should consist of fart jokes and s**t tier memes.” Penny rolled her eyes a little. “Anyway, I’m perfectly fine waiting for months, even years to actually complete the mating process. It’ll happen when it happens.”

Carrie sighed, and retracted the foot she’d been nudging her Alpha with. “You’re the least romantic girl I’ve ever met. If I had a mate I knew was out there waiting for me, I’d chase him to the moon and back to make him mine.”

That stung Penny a little. She didn’t think of herself as aromantic; just practical. “I...I’m not saying I don’t want my mate, Carrie. I do. I just...want to be cautious about how I approach this.”

Carrie blinked, then slowly turned to look at Penelope full in the face. “You’re afraid…?”

“Terrified.” Penny admitted, looking away as her lips curved into a gentle, sad smile. “I’m an Alpha female with a small, unestablished pack. I’m young too, younger than him...inexperienced. I’m not a full wolf, and maybe that will mean more to him than it means to you guys. And then, there’s you guys. What if he’s one of those purists? You saw what those people were like. I could never mate someone like that. I have to protect my pack. My friends. My heart.”

Carrie took Penny’s hand, and squeezed it, not quite knowing what to say - but saying more with the squeeze of her hand than she could have done with words in either case.

“I need to get going, or I’m going to be late for English Lit.” Penny said after letting Carrie groom her hair for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of the petite redhead’s fingers as they dragged through her long blonde locks.

“Oooh, is that the class with the cutie, Professor Oriano? I wish I’d signed up for that class. Some of the she-wolves in my early childhood development class have been talking about him.” Carrie said, grinning. “Your mate is older, maybe mine is too… I could totally go for a silver fox. Or wolf. Whatever.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but he’s mated already. He even wears a ring.” Penelope said, laughing a little when Carrie pouted. “Besides, my mate isn’t that much older than me.”

“Well...maybe he’s got a cute professor friend or something.” Carrie muttered. “Anyway, before you go...did you give any more thought to Sebastian’s idea?”

“What idea?” Penny asked, a puzzled expression on her face as she tried to recall what suggestions the beta had made recently.

“The party, Penelope! We have a rooftop deck with a heated pool, hot tub, and a grill that the boys have been dying to use. We NEED to have a party. One with like, cool people who aren’t total dickwads.” Carrie said, giving Penny the puppy dog eyes that she obviously knew the Alpha had a weakness for. “Sebastian’s got all these friends on the soccer team, Penny, and you know how I feel about soccer players…”

Penny pretended to consider this as she quietly packed her books into her bag, then checked to make sure she had everything she needed. Finally, she sighed and looked over at Carrie with a small smile, “Fine. Tell Sebastian he’s got the go ahead, but I don’t want too many people.”

“Thaaaank you, Alpha!” Carrie said, beaming at Penelope in a way that immediately made the Alpha regret having agreed to the party at all.

But, Carrie and Sebastian weren’t like herself and Ryan. While Ryan and Penny were perfectly happy to spend quiet evenings at home, or in Ryan’s case with one of his multitude of study groups, Carrie and Bastian relished the social aspects of University and Alliance life. Sebastian had already attended a few parties at other packhouses, and was feeling the itch to show off his own. 

As a Beta, this wasn’t an unusual urge. A party was, in this modern age of werewolves, a show of strength, wealth, and power. In truth, Sebastian’s desire to host a party suited Penelope quite well. This allowed Penelope to maintain her lofty position of being so strong that she didn’t need to show off, while Sebastian, as her beta, promoted their pack to any who might be interested in what they had to offer. 

Granted, the Misfits didn’t have much to offer someone who was part of a large pack already, but the world wasn’t just made up of ultra wealthy old money wolves. There were many smaller and medium sized packs that didn’t have the resources to support their membership. Penelope would even consider rogues for membership if they were peaceful.

Despite popular belief, not all rogues were violent. Many rogues didn’t end up packless because they’d committed some banish-able offense, but because of circumstance. Sometimes, there were wars, and other times it was those aforementioned limited resources that drove them from their original pack. Penny was of the opinion that anyone with good work ethic and attitude could make for a good pack member, regardless of their rank or status.

Penelope pondered this as she sat in her literature class, barely registering the discussion going on around her, though she usually enjoyed this class. She wasn’t about to admit this to Carrie, she did think Professor Oriano was kind of cute - in an older man kind of way. He had kind eyes and a jovial manner, always ready with a smile and a joke. It made his lectures fun, and encouraged the students to interact not just with him, but with each other as well.

Her afternoon lecture with Professor Oriano ended before she knew it, and Penny only stirred from her thoughts when the students around her started packing up. She sighed, and headed to the lecture hall door, irritated with herself for not paying proper attention during class. Before she could leave, the Professor called out to her.