The Alpha's Queen

Chapter Six

We ate a lot of good food, and talked to many new people and faces we met last night. I’m not sure how Terry could keep everyone’s name straight. The pack is extensive, with just under eight thousand members. It makes sense for the pack to have its own school, along with several grocery stores and specialty shops. The pack lands are almost a small town all on its own. 

It was well after 2 a.m. before the BBQ, or rather I should say the party started winding down. Everywhere you looked, you could see small children laying on either cots from the daycare or assemble shift pallets made from blankets and some pillows. Couples were sneaking off to find secluded spots for their own private moments. 

The next morning, I was woken up in my own bed to the smell of breakfast and it smelled delicious. I rushed through my morning routine, so I could sit down with my parents to eat. Ramon was already seated and talking about going mudding with my dad. I listened to them for a minute, wishing they would invite me along, until I remembered I didn't like getting mud in my hair or on me period. I'll never understand how they can tolerate the suffocating feeling of mud caked and dried on their skin. 

“Morning mom, dad, Ramon. How did you guys like the party, did you enjoy yourselves?” I asked as I walked into the dinning part or our rooms. “The pack is huge; how will I learn everyone’s names and help them all? It feels like, with that many people, I'll forget about someone, and I don’t want to do that.” I said growing concerned.

“You won’t honey,” Mom said. “You will be surprised at how much you wolf will help you with that.” She smiled and looked at dad while he grabbed ahold of her hand.

“How are you and Terry getting along?” Ramon asked.

Dad cleared his throat "ahem", we both turned to look at him. "I think he's a decent guy. With so much going on, the upheaval of the pack accommodating new members, and having the patience to let his newly found mate get her feet under her before anything else; merely shows he can be an understanding, compassionate, and caring guy. All qualities that a father would look for in someone his child is connected to in any way, and a superb Alpha to help guide and lead a strong pack. 

“He is a lot nicer than I expected when I first met him. But I was looking at him as a kidnapper and didn’t know what was going on. I still want to talk to Angel some more and find out why she has such a problem with me.” I told him, “it must be something more than what she said the other day when we talked. Granted, I could understand some of what she was saying. And she was making some valid points, but I feel as if she still has more that she wants to say. I’ve searched for her, but I haven’t seen her around since the other day.”

“Don’t worry dear, the time will come when you will figure it out. It could always be something simple like Emily said.” Mom said 

“I know, but it simply seems almost childish. How can you dislike a person so much before you even get a chance to meet them? Or even get a chance to know them as a person?” That was the question I was trying to get to understand.

“Mom, what are you baking this early?” I asked, as I got up from the table and strode to the kitchen oven. The most sensational smell was coming from somewhere and I can’t find the source. Mom, however, was gazing at me smiling. Along with dad, while Ramon simply glanced between all of us like we sprouted, another head or something.

“I’m not cooking anything sweetheart,” she replied.

I started moving around, trying to find the source of this wonderful smell. But I couldn’t find it anywhere. As I was walking around like a fool trying to find the smell, dad opened the front door to our apartment. The scent flooded into the house, it was no longer just a sweet tantalizing smell. It was now a beautifully wonderful mixture of oranges, and chocolate with a slight honey undertone. I turned towards the door and there stood Terry.

“MATE!”

Huh? What was that? “Uh mom, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Smiling at me and my predicament, she grabbed dad's arm, “Honey, I think Terry wants to talk to you first.” She said as she pulled dad out the door with her.

I could hear whispers coming from somewhere, they weren’t clear enough for me to hear what was being said, just barely above audible. The combination of the tantalizing smell and the whispering had me looking around trying to find the source. Terry walked over and pulled me into his arms, wrapping me into a hug of warmth. 

“Mate” there it was again. I looked up at Terry, “did you hear that?”

“Yes, it is our wolves talking to each other, mines is overjoyed and is prancing around like a little kid with sugar overload. He is excited and happy because your wolf is talking to him. This is a momentous event, we haven’t been able to communicate with your wolf, so you can imagine how excited he is.” 

“So, the whispering that I’m hearing is our wolf talking to each other?”

“Yes, soon you will be able to talk to your wolf as well. You’ll also hear when our wolves are speaking to each other. We will be able to speak mentally or telepathically, and across vast distances. 

“That’s so cool, tell me more.” I demanded, jumping up and down like I was a little kid. While he laughed at me.

"I don't know whether to be excited, creeped out, or jealous of you right now Mari." Ramon said 

“I thought we could have a day together and do some training simultaneously. But it seems we should relax and take it easy today. Would you like to go on a picnic? We can stop by the kitchen, I’m sure we can find everything we need in there.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea. By guys, I'll see you later for dinner. I'm not sure what today will bring, but I'm going to take advantage of not having anything to do today and watch a few clouds drift by.” saying my goodbyes, I grabbed a light hoodie out the closet and stepped into the hall with Terry close behind me. Going down to the pack kitchen, I realized the wonderful smell was coming from Terry. “Um Terry, can I ask a strange and possibly silly question?” I asked as we walked.

“You can ask me anything, what is it?”

“Well, you have a smell. It’s a combination of the oranges, honey and chocolate. I don’t know if you’ve been to the orchards and groves today or not, but I’ve never seen you pick up a piece of chocolate, let alone eat it. So why do you smell like that? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you stink or anything, I’m just trying to figure out why you smell like that.” I asked all in one breath. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, hoping that he doesn’t think I’m trying to be rude or anything.

“Each wolf has a unique smell that only their mates can smell. This is the moon goddess way of helping us find our true mate. I have been waiting and wondering what I smell like for you. For me, you smell like a combination of honeysuckle flowers and the ocean. Tantalizing I must say, all I want to do is bury my face in your neck and inhale.” That’s exactly what he did, and when he lifted his head, his eyes were so dark it was hard to tell where his cornea ended, and his pupils began.

Gasping and taking a step back, “what’s wrong with your eyes? Why did they change colors like that?” I couldn’t help but ask. 

“When a wolf is sexually interested or distressed, their eyes will change color. Right now, my eyes appear dark, that’s because I’m attracted to you. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to jump on you or anything, I can wait until you’re ready. If my eyes were too

change to golden or bright yellow, that would be because I was troubled to the point that my wolf would like to shift and take over the situation.”

We continued walking to the kitchen, once we arrived we made quick work of packing a basket and heading out on our adventure. We strolled to the west side of the lake, until we came to a natural clearing shaded by giant maple trees with a few redwood trees thrown into the mix. Making for a nicely shaded grove with a perfect view of the lake. I looked around, simply taking up the view from my little shady grove, while Terry kindly spread out a blanket for us to relax on.

"You want to go for a dip in the lake before we eat?" I turned and asked him. "I know we didn't plan on swimming; but it's so warm today, the ski is extremely clear without a single cloud in sight, and besides I would much rather swim before eating instead on trying to swim on a full stomach. That never ends well for me."

Not waiting for his reply, I started peeling off my shoes and socks. When I started lifting my t-shirt over my head, he stopped me. "What are you doing!" he all but yelled at me, "you can't just decide to strip down and jump into the water. Haven't you ever heard of a bathing suit before, crazy woman?"

Startled by his words, once it became clear what he was saying, I could only laugh. "Crazy man, I have a cami on under my shirt. I believe im safe enough at the moment to swim in my shorts and cami." Terry glanced at me in shock, then just shook his head chuckling. 

"Ok, you definitely had me outsmarted with that," he finally said after a fer minutes of staring at me in shock. So I proceeded to take off my t-shirt and walked over to the water's edge and wait for Terry to join me. 

We played, swam, and splashed around for a good while before dragging ourselves to our picnic blanket to rest and relax. I'm not sure exactly how long we were playing in the water, but I do know, that we both swam a quarter of the way across the lake before we turned around. And while I'm not enervated to the point that my bones feel like jello, but im definitely drained and borderline exhausted. I practically throw myself onto the blanket and throw my arm over my face. I sensed more than saw Terry take up residence right next to me, and we lay in compatible silence for a few minutes before we both sat up to enjoy our meal.

Conversation was casual enough, we kept the tone light, and shared our childhood pranks and mischief stories . I had to agree, this was an excellent idea and I think we both needed the down time to unwind and relax for a little bit.