Our Wolves Within

5.

Jackson saved me by saying, "I actually needed to borrow him for a security briefing, Sheila," as he was aware of Louisa.

I told her, "Thanks for asking however."

She gave a nod and walked away. Many would gladly have taken the opportunity to dance with her. She was a fierce fighter and quite attractive. For some, it was a whole package.

Unfortunately, my package was not with me. Danica gave me a beer, which I quickly finished. I swear, this will be the longest week of my life.

"Louisa, happy birthday!?"

Even though I knew she could not hear me, I suppose it was the thought that mattered.

Tonight's starry sky was breathtaking. The view from the top of the packhouse was one of my favourite locations. No one else went there but me, so it was a location that was all mine. I needed something that was exclusively mine, so I had never informed anyone about it. Maybe Louisa would enjoy it as well. Nothing would be off limits to her when it came to me.

Despite not even having spoken to her in a few years, I sounded like one of those naive, infatuated puppy partners. I simply continued to stalk people from the shadows of packed classrooms and packhouse dinners.

Zen snorted and remarked, "You are pretty f*****g weird sometimes."

As if you are any superior. I retorted, "Tell me you have not been thinking about her wolf all day."

I knew I had him there when he huffed.

We had not laid eyes on her wolf. How on earth is it even feasible? Zen noted that she has been able to shift for five years.

That was a really good point, I must say. A component of training was wolf training. Now that I think about it, I also do not recall ever seeing Louisa in training. An Alpha command would be the only means of exempting her from it. I suppose my father approved, since it was not me. But why would he act in that way?

I had a mystery about my partner that I would eventually unravel.

I would hear it from her instead of my father; there had to be a reason.

Louisa

My father woke me up by singing "Happy Birthday." We kept up this custom in our home after my mother passed away, and I liked it.

He wished his sweetheart a happy birthday.

He put his arms around me and hugged me. The best father I could have ever asked for was my own. All rolled into one, he was my rock, my consoling shoulder, and my papa bear.

"I am grateful, Dad."

After giving me a quick kiss on the head, he left me to prepare for our annual birthday brunch. I would meet Jane and Seven at Bessie's Diner, where Bessie would treat us to a delicious brunch. At work, this was a five-year custom that we would carry on the next year.

I had chosen my clothes in advance. It was a crimson fitting V-neck tank top with a dark pair of faded jean shorts. I wore it with a gorgeous lace fringe cover that Jane sent me last year to wear over the tank top.

After that, I hastily put on minimal makeup and French braided my hair. I thought it looked fantastic. Since I had no one else to teach me, Jane was the one who taught me the craft of cosmetics. She claimed that even now, I was her best student.

As I was leaving my room, I touched the picture of my mother. My pain was not as great as it formerly was. I disagreed with the statement that all wounds will eventually heal. Time covered the wounds with other experiences in life, dulling them, but it did not heal them.

Even though the memory of the night my mother was murdered in front of me faded with time, it would always be there. I felt deep down that there was more to it than just her being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is why it continued to haunt my nightmares. I closed myself off and handled it on my own because no one else felt as secure about it. That was actually untrue because Moira assisted in handling it as well. Although she had not visited yet, she concurred with my line of thinking.

It was a day to celebrate, so I pushed those thoughts away too. My mother would be telling me to "think happy things and embrace them" if she were here.

As soon as I walked inside the diner, Bessie said, "Welcome to our Birthday Girl."

I gave her a wave and a smile. The best was her. Bessie was kind and kind until you crossed her line because she migrated here from the South. Then you had to cope with a woman who could make you feel worse with a single glance than Alpha Tom could when he was giving someone a hard time.

Jane, being the wild person that she was, threw me down next to Seven and climbed over the edge of the table.

She held Jane's phone in front of her face and said, "Say 'Bessie's the best' on the count of three."

Get in touch

Before she gave the phone to me for approval, we worked on several positions together for her. I adored every one of them as I scrolled through.

There were five humorous ones and two sombre ones. I received all seven, along with Seven.

We were all weirdos, the three of us, but we were weirdos to each other. Everything else was irrelevant.

"B, please stop bothering me now." Seven sighed.

It was Jane who shoved me. Alright. My muscles are intimidating you for tonight's battle, therefore I will get off you," I jokingly said.

Bessie, who had made our speciality coffees herself, gasped and put them down. She even has nice coffee shop equipment. For speciality drinks, the pack frequented this location. All three of us were frequent patrons.

She exclaimed, "Is our very own power-duo squaring off tonight?"

"Power-two?" I asked the identical question that Seven did, and we gave each other sidelong glances.

She said, "Your father may have shared a video of you two sparring once or twice."

He did something that made me sigh. I was a little bashful about it, but not angry or anything. I was honestly thrilled for him because he was incredibly proud of his daughter.