The Last Female Alphas

THE FRIENDLY PACK 4

Ray POV:

“Would you like to go into the greenhouse or to the meadow?”

“Oh, meadow, please. It smells so fresh, vibrant, and calming here. But I really want to see the meadow.” I told him slowly, not sure if he really needed an answer. He looked ecstatic about my answer, so maybe I answered correctly. I am still unsure of myself, but his eagerness rubs off on me.

“Just wait here for a second, I will come back soon.” He says, stopping me in my tracks and running back to the community hall. I wonder what he is up to now. Maybe he doesn’t want to show the slave around anymore, or he has something important to do.

I stand there like an i***t. A lot of known faces are around me, but I still can't place them. They look like they are giving me some space, still smiling, and waving occasionally at me. I saw the kids playing with Luke and decided to go stand there.

“Hi, Luke.” He is startled that I decided to talk to him at all.

“Umm. Hi Ray. What are you doing here? Where is Blaze? Do you need something? Yeah, of course, you need something. You are standing here.” The kids don’t pay any mind to his mumbling and keep playing around us.

“I just wanted to say Hi. And introduce myself even though you all know more about me somehow.” He sighed in relief. What’s his deal?

“Well, we know you because of Blaze. So that’s his fault and you can blame him all you want. You look nervous about something. I am older than I look, so I know you want to ask me something, actually several things. But you don’t want to offend me. Are we good or should I go on?” He says plainly. I am gawking at him with my jaw falling on the floor. Blaze comes back with a small basket. He didn’t want to abandon me. That gives me a weird sense of relief. I didn’t know why it would affect me so much.

“He does that a lot, you know. People are not scared but outrightly terrified of lying to him when he does that. Also, I got us a picnic basket. Should we go?” I stood there stunned. They are an unusual group of people for sure.

“Umm ok. I wanted to ask you if you would give me some books to read and teach me a few things about history and stuff. I want to learn more about my family.” That makes both the boys look guilty and awkward. They must know something.

“Yeah.” He nods to himself and looks lost for a second before looking back at me.

“Sure. I will. After we all had that chat, we discussed earlier. After you listen to our story and still want us to be your friends. I will help you find anything you want. Even if you hate us, I will still help you.” With that, he turned around and went back to the kids. Blaze looked horrified but took my hand, guiding me further away from the little friendly pack. He looked like he wanted to say a lot but kept quiet. He had a faraway look. He must be talking to someone via mind link, I need to ask him about that too.

“I just let others know we are in the meadow if anyone needs us.” He says when he sees me staring at him.

“Can I ask you something?” he slowly nods. He looks very cautious before agreeing.

“How many species of supernatural stay here?” I asked before he could answer my first question. He looked almost relieved by the question. Now they are just scaring me. What are they hiding?

“We have wolves from Red Claw and Black Foot packs. Some are from our neighboring packs too. There are grizzly bears. You have met Don, he is one of them. Then we have panthers. You met Ethan. He is one of them. Blake is a tiger. We have a group of foxes and wolverines too. We have Faes. Ritz is an earth Fae. Diana and Dimitri are twins, they are water Fae. Stacey is a witch. And finally, Luke is our own friendly vampire.”

He says as if it’s the most normal thing for so many supernaturals to stay together. “Don’t they fight? I thought werewolves and vampires didn’t get along.” I told him, considering his words.

“It’s just an old myth. When you get to know people and learn their stories, we are all more alike than different. Somehow, everyone is a little broken or lonely. Together we can help them heal and make each other less lonely.” He says simply and keeps walking. I remember goddess Diana’s words about giving my mate a chance. Mate, I look at Blaze. I hope with all my heart that he is mine. That surprises me. I trust him more than anyone else. To think I want him as a mate is beyond my dreams. I never even thought I would have a mate when I was back in the pack. Maybe I really need to give these people a chance. A day into this strange pack, I am planning for the future and thinking about mates.

We reached a beautiful meadow with lots of yellow wildflowers and wild strawberries. In the distance, you can see the granite peaks of the sawtooth ranges, and further ahead are the snow-covered mountain peaks just like the dream. This scenery is very similar to my strange dream. The meadow is surrounded by maple, fir, spruce, and aspen trees. This place is calming and warm. We sat near a willow tree. A lot of small brown butterflies with black patches and white spots are around us. There are rainbow-colored butterflies in the distance. There are even small glowing worms in the grass. Tiny magical creatures are further away near the bushes. I want to explore and get closer to them, but I stop myself at the last minute when I see Blaze unpacking everything.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life,” I told him honestly.

“It’s beautiful.” He looks at me while answering. I blush at his words, and he turns red saying them. He scratches his neck and goes back to unpacking the picnic basket. We sit there basking in the sun and enjoying the silence and calm. He doesn’t speak much, just occasional questions regarding my likes and dislikes. I see him staring in the distance as if he is lost in a memory. We sat in the meadow for hours enjoying our peace and silence, eating the little picnic snacks he brought with him. After a while, we decided to go back to the cottage. He told me everyone has their own cottage. Should I ask him about mine? I don’t want him to feel I am intruding into his space.

“Blaze, you said everyone has a cottage. Do you want me to stay somewhere else?” I ask him nervously, and he replies instantly.

“No, I mean you can if you want to, but why don’t you focus on recovering first? I can take care of you if you are staying with me,” he said eagerly.

I nod, which makes him grin like a kid. When we reach back, Blake and Connor are getting the bonfire ready in the back of the house overlooking the forest. Stacey is sitting with a very small girl. She looks so familiar somehow, but I have never seen her, I am sure of it. She feels like family. I don’t even remember what family feels like, but she does. She is staring at me with the same knowledge and question in her eyes. My legs guide me towards her on their own. I stood there looking at her blue eyes and familiar face. She is about my height, with a linear build. She has a lot of bruises. Her eyes are dry and lifeless, sunken in the sockets. She has dark circles around her eyes. She looks ghastly pale. Her hair looks dry and thin. She would need a lot of love and care for her healing. She looks as if she has barely been fed most of her life. She looks worse than me, which is surprising because I thought no one could look worse than me. Connor introduces us.

“Ray, this is Dia.” I smiled at her and hugged her before I could stop myself. It feels so much more than hugging a friend. I don’t understand this feeling, but it feels good. Everybody sits down awkwardly. Waiting for someone to start talking. Connor gave in first. I don’t think he can handle silence well.

“Ray and Día, I don’t know how to tell you this nicely, but you know what they say, just rip the bandage off so that’s what I am doing.”

“You both are sisters, I mean cousins. Your mothers were twins. They were mated to the alphas of Red Claw and Black Foot packs. They were really close; you know, before everything went badly. I am sorry we failed to help both of you. We tried; we really did. But with everything going on and we were just kids ourselves. I am sorry, we couldn’t do much. Día, this is what I had to tell you first before anything else, so you make an informed decision.” He unloads in one go. I can’t even comprehend everything he said, but cousins, he said we are cousins. I have a family.

We both just look at each other, not knowing how to react. I didn’t have a single family, and now I have a sister. I just hugged her tightly as if she would disappear too. She winces but he doesn’t let go. We are both crying. After a while, I looked at Blaze directly.

“I want to know everything, and from the beginning. No more keeping the truth or evading.”