Her Wolf (Book 1 of The Circle Series)

CHAPTER 3: SUNDAYS

SEBASTIAN

On Sundays, I usually sleep in a bit and then visit different families within our pack. It’s the only day of the week where there is no training and it allows me to check the pulse of the pack, as my father used to say. 

Our territory has expanded considerably since the days he was alpha. I’d like to take credit for this but the generations before me built quite a solid foundation. I’ve used all the strategies my dad taught me in business and leadership to provide and care for my pack. 

I also recognize my limitations. I’m 6’4". I tower over everyone, including my dad. Based on size alone, I know I can be quite intimidating. So I’ve carried on the Sunday visits my dad used to do and my bond with the pack has notably improved over the years.

Mornings like these usually end with a visit to my Aunt Nikoleta’s house. She’s already waiting outside for me while she tends to her roses. Aunt Leti as we call her loves her garden. 

I sign, “hello.”

She lives alone in a cottage near my parents. She has no kids and no mate. Her mate rejected her because she is deaf. When my grandfather ran the pack, many were ignorant and uneducated on hearing loss. It's not common for wolves and so many thought she would be incapable of living a normal life, being a good mate, and having a family. As a result, she didn’t have the easiest life when she was younger. My dad explained how she didn’t have many friends growing up, and it didn’t help that my grandfather was old-fashioned. He didn’t push her to carry on with her schooling or to get a job. 

She signs that lunch is ready. Sitting at the table, I can see that my nephew, Milan has stopped by recently because there’s a new drawing on the fridge. Her face lights up as she animatedly describes what he did the last time he was over. 

With no pups of my own, Milan is my heir, and I couldn’t be more proud of that kid. I’ve been the alpha of the Silver Moon Pack for almost three years, a birthright that’s been in my family for centuries.We are the biggest pack in Canada and one of the most powerful in North America and my father’s family are descendants of the first werewolf ever created by the Moon Goddess. Some Alpha wolves from our ancestral line have silver eyes, like my wolf Knox. It is a genetic trait passed on and it’s very rare. In our family my dad and sister’s wolves have them as well, but Aunt Leti’s does not.  

Some alphas pass along their title when their heir is 18 years old, but our family has a tradition of doing it at 25 and for that extra time, I will be eternally grateful. After university, I went into a military-type training camp for shifters. It was the most intense and grueling experience of my life but also the most rewarding thus far. It shaped me into the man I am now and prepared me mentally and physically for the role of alpha. 

Shortly after, I found my mate, Raquel. My Luna. My heart hurts at the thought of her. Raquel has been in a coma for two years. She was injured during a rogue attack and hasn’t woken up. Each day since has been a struggle. I try to remain positive, but it becomes more challenging as time goes on without her. 

After lunch, Leti and I say our goodbyes and I make my way to the hospital close by. I have a meeting with Dr. Penner to discuss Raquel’s prognosis. 

Walking through the hospital, staff stop and stare, a few say hello, but most of them keep their heads down out of respect. 

Her receptionist greets me with a seductive smile. It’s the same woman each week but I can’t seem to remember her name. Is it Cindy? Cynthia? Cici or whatever her name is stands up and she is wearing an obscenely tight dress. Her breasts are almost spilling out of it and while this should be enticing, it turns me right off. She’s trying too hard and the outfit seems out of place for the hospital. She makes her way over and places her hand on my elbow. 

I grunt. 

“Alpha Sebastian, please take a seat.” She ushers me to a chair as if I can’t help myself. As though I don’t know where the chairs are in the waiting room I’ve been in for the past two years. I shake my arm slightly, causing her hand to drop. 

“Dr. Penner will be with you in a moment. Would you like a coffee?” she asks in a low voice, which I’m sure she thinks is sexy. 

“No,” I reply brusquely and her smile falls. She’s an attractive woman with her dark hair and brown eyes. A woman like her would’ve stirred something inside of me once, but now I feel nothing. There’s only one set of brown eyes that I want staring into mine and the sooner the receptionist realizes this, the better. The women of the pack have become desperate for my attention since Raquel’s been in the hospital. Livid does not begin to describe my feelings towards these attempts at seduction. 

When I was younger, I loved the attention that came with my position. I took advantage of all the women who threw themselves at me and I enjoyed myself. Now, I don’t have the patience for horny she-wolves. It's been two years. Two years and I haven’t so much as looked at another woman since  Raquel was hurt.

“Good afternoon, Alpha,” Dr. Penner says somberly as we walk to her office. 

Dr. Penner is the head of the hospital. She is a kind woman in her late-forties and invaluable to the pack. I am confident Raquel is in the best hands under her care. 

“Dr. Penner, any changes?” I ask. My voice is steady but I’m hoping for a different response than usual. I don’t know how much longer I can deal with this. 

Wolves who are separated from their mate for long periods of time can go feral and even if that doesn’t happen, I need my mate. I want her back. 

“Alpha, there have been no changes in her condition. Everything is the same as last week,” she pauses. “I really think it’s time to reconsider what we talked about,” she looks away unable to meet my eyes. 

I know what she is going to say, and I cut her off.

“Everything is to remain the same for as long as it takes her to recover.” 

I walk towards her. 

“But-“ she shrinks back slightly.

“You and your team of doctors will ensure you are doing everything it takes for my mate to wake up. Is that clear?” 

“Yes, Alpha,” she bows her head and takes another step back.

I storm out and make my way to Raquel’s room, my hands clenched by my sides are just itching to hit something. I’ve been trained to solve problems, defeat and conquer at all costs but I can’t fix this, I can’t fight my way out of this. 

Raquel’s light brown hair has grown longer. That’s about the only difference, it seems. I grab her hand and silently beg for her to open those deep brown eyes. I apologize again and again to her for not protecting her that fateful day.

The doctors have suggested more than once to turn off the machines keeping her alive. They do not believe she will wake up, but she has to. I will not lose my mate. Dr. Penner suggested talking to her out loud but it always feels awkward. So I mind link her my thoughts. I can sense her wolf Lola, but I can’t reach her. It’s like Lola is sleeping as well. 

On the way to my office to do some paperwork, I witness something rare in the entertainment room. My beta and gamma are sprawled on the couches playing video games. There was a time when this is all we did, hang out in this room and cause a ruckus in the Packhouse. Now, we all have jobs and responsibilities inside and outside the pack, which don't allow us time to relax like this. 

I join them on the couch, desperate for a distraction. 

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Jacquie’s taking a nap and Shada took Milan out for some ice cream.  We have nothing to do," Christian says. 

Shada is Christian’s mate. He found her around the same time I met Raquel and she fits our group perfectly. 

“I’m sure I can find something for you two to do,” I smirk. 

Lucius snaps his head my way. “Listen, man. I need a break from your sister. I think I’m ready to pass out.”

Christian laughs. 

“Oh, you think this is funny? She complains that she’s so uncomfortable but all she wants to do is have s*x, all the f*****g time! Thank the Goddess she tapped out today because I wouldn’t have been able to go again. It’s actually embarrassing.” 

He runs his hand through his corkscrew curls and he looks like he could cry. He’s a 28 year old warrior who strikes fear in most people with just his presence alone, and his pregnant mate demanding s*x is what reduces him to tears. I don’t know whether to laugh at him or be pissed that he’s talking about my sister like that. 

“Luke, I don’t need to hear that,” I say seriously. 

He kisses his teeth, unaffected, and continues playing the game. 

I wouldn’t let just anyone give me that type of attitude but the three of us have known each other since we were in diapers. These men have become my brothers and when no one is around, we speak freely. 

“Is it worse than when she’s in heat? Shada’s heat is unbearable. I want to hide from her sometimes. She’s such a tiny thing but has so much stamina. She doesn’t quit.” Christian mumbles more to himself than to us. 

“Then you better wrap up junior forever because I’ll tell you this, pregnancy is way worse for she-wolves,” Lucius says. 

Listening to them, I can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. I’ve grown up with them. I’ve watched them become men, become mated, and no one is more deserving of happiness than these two. However, I can’t help but wish I was in their shoes. I wish I had the same complaints. 

“Seb, did you hear me?” Lucius asks. 

Shaking off the pitiful thoughts, I raise my eyebrows.

“He said, our favorite witch will be here soon,” Christian states. 

“Giada's coming home to surprise Jacquie for the naming ceremony, so don’t say anything to her, okay?” Lucius lowers his voice. Wolves have exceptional hearing and the main floor of the Packhouse is open for anyone to walk in. 

My thoughts go back to what Christian said previously and I glare at him. 

“She’s your favorite witch? Since when?” The words come out icier than expected. 

Lucius and Christian share a knowing look. 

“Seriously? We still doing this? She’s a grown-ass woman now and I have a mate. You don’t have to be like that,” he sounds slightly offended. 

“Be like what?” I ask. 

I know exactly what he means though. I’ve always been protective of Giada. I don’t know why but I always felt the need to look out for her when we were younger. I take care of my own. And Giada has always been one of us in my eyes. 

Wolf or not, it didn’t matter to me. Not all shifters feel that way though. Some hate the idea of interspecies relationships or friendships, for that matter. Even today, some fifty-odd years after the Great War and the peace treaty was signed, some shifters still voice their disdain. 

Before the war, groups often took justice into their own hands. Killing and punishing their own kind and others without a trial or justification. It got out of control. Shifters didn’t trust one another and there was a lot of tension and hostility amongst the different supernatural groups. The Tribunal stepped in and there were those who fought for peace and those who fought against it. Giada’s grandparents and mine believed we were stronger as allies and that we all should be treated equally. They fought for what we have now. 

So we grew up with friends from different shifter communities. We went to school together and hung out and though there were differences in our upbringings, we got along, for the most part. 

I can still picture Giada here, in this very room. Her big green eyes and dark unruly hair were quite striking and she had a tight body from all the competitive dancing she used to do. The unmarked wolves would go a little crazy when she was around. And she was completely oblivious, so I made sure no one got any bright ideas around her, especially Christian. He wasn’t exactly a saint back then, so I specifically ordered him to stay away from her. 

I treated her like my little sister, but I had eyes. She was undeniably pretty then. And she’s just as pretty now. 

I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I looked her up online a few times. In the last picture I remember seeing, she had lightened her hair with some blonde in it. 

“I haven’t seen her in forever,” Christian interrupts my thoughts of her. 

“Yeah, she hasn’t been back in years,” Lucius replies. “What happened back then with her ex, Rafe, messed her up for a while. She’s much better now.” 

I was away at the training camp when I found out, enraged that her so-called boyfriend had put his hands on her. The thought of someone hurting her has my wolf, Knox, stirring. He’s always been protective of her as well. 

“I don’t even know the whole story,” Christian adds.

“Me either. But if that asshole wasn’t already in the Tribunal jail, I’d kill him myself,” I say vehemently. 

Christian seems surprised at my small outburst.  However, Lucius looks me straight in the eyes and I can tell he knows what really happened. There is more to the story and it isn’t good. That realization sends a chill right through me. 

“You and me both, man. You and me both,” Lucius says earnestly. 

“So when does she get here?” Christian asks, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Three weeks,” Lucius answers. 

Three weeks. My stomach flips at the thought of seeing her again, and for the first time in a long time, I feel myself getting excited.