The fight against all odds

chapter 4~ the pack

we finally made it to the main part of the pack. it was beautiful. most of the houses were cabin style, which really fit in with the woodland around us. there were flowers and vines everywhere, making it even more beautiful.

when we got to the pack house, I was in awe. it looked to be a five, maybe six story building, and looked to be a couple miles long. way bigger than the pack house back at my old pack.

it was mostly built out of wood and stone, making it blend into the wilderness around it. it had long widows and balconies at every other window that were overflowing with different plants and flowers. I was just in awe at everything around me.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. everything about this place is beautiful."

"Thank you. my father worked hard to build it and maintain It. I never changed it because it looks amazing."

"Your father did an amazing job here."

we didn't say anything after that. we made our way inside, and immediately, everyone's head turned towards us. I immediately felt shy and dropped my head, letting my hair fall over my face.

"Follow us. You can sit at our table until you make some friends."

I was surprised Layla was talking to me. If Alex had told her about me, then she most likely knew I was his destined mate. why was she being so nice to me?

I followed them to a table that had all sorts of food on it. my stomach decided at that moment to make itself known, growling loudly. I blushed, keeping my head down. in a room full of people with super human hearing, I'm sure they all heard it.

I chose to have a few ham and cheese sandwiches and an apple with some water. it's gonna take some time getting used to normal food after being in the wild for so long.

as we walked to the table, I heard them whispering about me. some were just curious while others were quite rude or hateful. I don't take it personally, though, seeing as I am an outsider.

we got to the table, and all sat down. Alex is at the head of the table with Leyla to his right. Another man that I haven't met before sitting to his left with a woman sitting next to him. Kyle was seated next to Leyla. when he looked up and saw me he gave me a kind smile.

I slowly started eating my food, keeping quiet as everyone around me went on talking about how they day was so far. I learned the man sitting to the left is named Liam, and the woman next to him is his mate Jessica. he was the beta of the pack, and Kyle was the gamma. not a lot of packs have gammas, but some do.

it was nice being around people again it was getting lonely out in the wild by myself. it's a bit overwhelming, but I'll get used to it again.

"So Octavia, how old are you?" Liam asked, looking at me suspiciously.

"What year is it, beta?"

"it's twenty twenty-five."

"I'm twenty years old. I'll be twenty-one in July, sir."

"damn you've really been out there for seven and a half years. did you ever get lonely?"

"laim don't be rude."

"Baby, it was just a question."

"it's okay ma'am, I don't mind. he has every right to question me. I am a lone, after all. and to answer your questions, yes to both of them. every now and then, I would cross paths with other lones, and sometimes we'd share a meal and swap stories, but we usually just kept to ourselves, not wanting to attract any rouges to us."

"Okay, what pack are you originally from?"

that's when I froze up. I knew I'd have to tell them at some point, but I'm just not ready for that conversation yet. let alone with it being I front of almost the whole pack. I saw Alex looking at me with a curious gaze. I know he wants to know as well.

"With all due respect, I'd rather not talk about that right now. at least not in front of everyone.."

Liam seemed to realize that we were around a bunch of people

"I understand that I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. I understand why you're asking. i promise to tell you guys everything. I just don't think I'm ready to rip off that bandaid yet.."

the rest of the lunch went by pretty good with everyone talking and laughing. every now and then, I would join in on the conversation. they seemed to be really interested in what it was like being a lone for so long.

after lunch was over, we all kind of went our separate ways. expect me, Alex, and Leyla.

"Go get those reports done that I asked about. I need them for the morning."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna show Octavia around the pack and talk to her some more. see if she's going to be joining the pack or just passing through."

Leyla didn't seem to like that one bit. she waited for Alex to turn around before glaring at me. I just turned to follow Alex.

"So, what do you plan on doing? do you want to be in a pack again?"

I thought about it as we were walking. I didn't answer it right away, pondering over what I wanted to do. I do want to be in a pack again. I also want my mate to myself now that I've met him. but I'm also scared of what's going to happen when I tell him why I ran and when he knows who I really am. I'm also scared Trey will find me. I know I have to face him sometime, but I'm not ready for that yet. I need to get stronger before facing him. and I don't want anyone involved in it.

"I would love to be in a pack again. but I don't know yet. there's still things I need to talk to you about.. things that I'm scared to talk about.."

"Listen, I'm always going to be here for you. your my mate, I'm always going to be here. I'm not going to rush you to talk to me about anything. I'll wait until you're ready. but no matter what it is, I wouldn't make you leave over it. I would stand by your side and face it with you no matter what. I hope you do choose to stay. I don't think I could let you willingly leave.."

I felt my heart flutter hearing him say that. I know it should be wrong because he's with someone, but he's my destined mate, not anyone else's. if anything, she should be the one who feels bad.

we walked around that pack for a while. he showed me everything. the schools, the supermarket, where they grow their food and take care of the live stock, they even had a small mall in the pack.

one thing I realized is that this pack is a lot bigger than I thought. I don't even remember him telling me the name of the pack.

"Hey, you never told me what the name of the pack this is?"

"You're in meadow field pack."

I stopped for a moment. dang, I'm a long way away from my old pack, then another thought hit me -

"Holy s**t I'm in Salem oregon?!?"

"Actually, we're about twenty to thirty miles from salem. we actually reside at Silver Falls. It is technically a national forest, but we're so deep into the forest that we hardly ever see any humans. and yes, I know Twilight was filmed here. but they didn't come this far into the forest."

"You watched Twilight???"

"I have an older sister who was obsessed with it in her teenage years. have you watched it?"

"I watched the first one. I ran away before I could watch the second one..."

"Well, we'll have to watch it sometime. it's an okay series, I guess. I much prefer the wolves, plus vampires aren't really like that."

"Yeah, I know.."