Two Halves of a Whole

Chapter 11

She didn’t understand why everyone was hurrying to pack and leave but she allowed Lugos to put her to his truck.

The idea of being attacked by a group that was large enough to worry her five werewolf friends seemed unreal to her and further proved that they existed in a different world than the one she grew up knowing. Lugos had told her it was something called rogues, but rogue what? Rogue elephants? Lugos was still looking at her like he wasn’t sure how to explain.

Instead of answering her question he turned to her friends. “Ninja and Danny go first, I’ll take Sattira with me, then I expect Kim and Jacob to follow us. Sattira is to be protected above everything. Treat it as you would any of your training exercises.” Then he turned back to Sattira and said, “I will try to explain everything on the way to the pack house.” Then loaded her into his truck, closing the door behind her.

They drove a short way towards the gate before turning onto another road she hadn’t really noticed on the way in. They were not traveling at the leisurely pace she had enjoyed on the way to the lake house.

After giving him a moment she asked her question again, “So what’s a rogue?”

“I wanted to wait until we got to the pack house so I could concentrate on keeping you safe,” he told her.

“I can’t imagine anyone got passed your gate. Why don’t you just call the police if we are in trouble?” She wasn’t going to let this go. She hated when people kept things from her.

“Rogues are werewolves who have disobeyed the rules to the point where their pack will no longer tolerate them or wolves that decided they would rather flee their punishment than stay with their pack. Their wolf side is so upset by their human side that their smell changes. They smell rotten. If you ever smell a wolf that makes you want to gag, run. They lose their humanity and ability to be reasoned with the longer they are away from their pack,” he tried to explain.

“Why would an Alpha release a rogue knowing how bad they can be?” She could not understand why they wouldn’t just take care of criminals instead of giving them a chance to become a bigger problem.

“In some cases the alpha has dealt with a wolf who has committed various crimes and is accused of something real bad but it becomes a matter of not quite enough evidence for a death sentence but enough that the alpha doesn’t feel safe keeping that person in their pack. Alphas don’t keep pack members in a cell long term because a wolf can go feral just from being caged. So they leave it up to the goddess and exile the member so that if they are innocent they can leave with their family and live among the humans. If they are truly innocent they don’t go rogue and live out their lives outside pack boarders,” he finished without once looking away from the road in front of him.

“If they never go rogue..” she started to say when the vehicle in front of them stopped suddenly. Sattira saw a group of wolves she didn’t recognize run up beside them. “Are those rogues?”

She was confused because Lugos didn’t seem surprised or upset to see this group of wolves. Lugos rolled down the window so she could get their scent.

“What does your nose tell you?” He looked at her expectantly. It was the first time he had looked at her since he had put her in the truck.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on their smell. What do you think, she asked her wolf before answering him.

They smell like Nina, Danny, Kim, and Jacob but different. They must be from the same pack, her wolf shared with her.

She had kind of assumed that anyway because of how Lugos reacted but it would be foolish to not double check with her wolf. It could have been a trick question, after all.

“They are from your pack,” she said confidently. They had started to move again but more slowly so that the wolves could travel on either side of them without much effort.

“Very good, you took a moment to confirm with your wolf. My father sent an escort just to be safe. We should be there soon,” he said.

Her earlier questions were forgotten as she started to see houses and other buildings on either side of the road as they entered what looked like a town.

“Is this part of your pack?” She was amazed by how normal it looked.

“It is. Most packs try to be self sufficient. It makes it easier to keep our kind a secret when we can keep to ourselves and not have to worry about humans seeing us shift forms. We even have our own school. Only higher ranked wolves leave to go to human schools when they get to junior high or sometimes high school,” he explained. “It helps them to understand human better when they have to deal with them for the sake of the pack.”

He pulled up a long drive that had a mansion in the middle of a huge lawn with what appeared to be two identical large dormitories on the left and the right side of the mansion.

“Wow, your family lives in a mansion?” She asked as they stopped in front of the elegant building. It was done in a similar style to the lake house but was built from light gray bricks. She couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to keep it clean.

“The alpha and his family has the third floor all to themselves. The Beta, Gamma, Delta, and their families each have rooms on the second floor,” he told her as he parked his truck and climbed out to be greeted by a man who looked to be about his age with brown hair who was accompanied by a a beautiful woman with long black hair and a belly so round it was impossible to miss that she was pregnant.

Sattira climbed out of the truck and walked up to where they were already having a conversation without her. She was slightly worried about the beautiful dark haired woman. She was beautiful with her natural tanned skin and big brown puppy dog eyes. Who’s baby is she carrying, she wondered.

She is mates with the brown haired one, her wolf told her.

How do you know? She wanted to believe but didn’t understand how her wolf could be so sure.

See the marks on their necks, her wolf said to her.

Those matching tattoos? She wasn’t sure what tattoos had to do with this.

Those aren’t tattoos, they are mate marks. Once we mark our mates our scents mix so others can smell our mate when they smell us. Hearing what her wolf told her she suddenly remembered Nina and Danny had similar marks and their weird reaction when she had called them tattoos.

Oh my, they must have thought I was such an i***t. She was so embarrassed.

They knew that you didn’t know about things like that, her wolf told her but she could hear the humor in her tone as she saw the memory Sattira was thinking about. You are pretty naïve though.

Her conversation with her wolf was interrupted when the woman turned to her.

“You boys can discuss all this later. I am sure our guest would rather not stand out here in front of the pack house all day.” She held out her hand to Sattira, “I am Cara, and this is my mate, Brad, and the future beta to that one.” She nodded her head in Lugos’ direction to indicate him as the ‘that one’ she was referring to.

“Nice to meet you both. I am Sattira,” she said trying to sound as friendly as she could.

“Let’s go get something to snack on and get somewhere I can sit down,” Cara said. “Lugos will make sure your things make it to your room.”

She led Sattira up the stairs and into the mansion that she referred to as the pack house. The foyer was huge but unlike at the lake house it opened into a huge dining hall with numerous tables that were so large that they could easily fit 20 people each.

“This is the dining room where ranked members sometimes eat with pack members that don’t choose to have their own homes.” Cara indicated the large dining area as she led her along the outside of the room where a few people sat at tables talking and eating. “It is much busier around meal time.”

“Why wouldn’t they choose to have their own home?” She was curious about the habits of the pack.

“Well, I am not sure how much Lugos has explained to you but a pack is like a huge family.”Cara told her what Lugos had already explained but she waited for her to add to it as they entered the kitchen where staff members were preparing for the midday meal. “Until we have families of our own to live with we like to live and eat together for the company it gives us. It helps keep our wolves healthy because they are very social by nature.”

“So it would be healthier for my wolf if I lived in a pack?” Sattira was curious and hoped her question didn’t make her sound stupid.

“At some point, unless you are lucky enough to find your mate and start your own family,” Cara told her with a big smile as she sat down at a little table set up just out of the way of the staff. A young woman walked over with a tray set up with everything they would need for tea and a small platter of snacks. “Thank you.” Cara dismissed the woman after both were placed on the table in front of them and poured two cups of tea, handing one to her.

“Thank you,” Sattira said as she started adding sugar and cream to her tea. “So what if you wanted to go to college?”

“Being a Beta female my primary goal is to produce an heir so when our alpha’s heir takes over he has a strong beta to support him. I can am still finishing my schooling but it is all done online,” she smiles reassuringly.

“So you have to miss out on going to college with your friends to birth children?” Sattira didn’t mean to sound shocked but it all sounded rather barbaric.

Cara giggled at her response, starting her. “Once you meet your mate and spend some time with him you will understand. A lot of unmated females react just like you did until they experience the urges you get once you meet your mate. Werewolves don’t produce very many children so the more powerful the wolf the greater the urge to reproduce.” She rubbed her belly fondly, “and there is nothing as special to a mated couple as their pup.”

Sattira couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to carry Lugos’ child in her own belly. She felt bad that he was putting that on hold for her when it was obvious a very important part of who he was born to be. Would he really wait for her to finish four years of school or would he replace her if she made him wait too long?

“What about Lugos? Does it work the same with him, being the next Alpha and all that?” She was afraid of what the answer would be but couldn’t stop herself from asking.