Little Wolf

First night - Maisie -1

Hanna led me down a hallway and stopped at the last door on the right. “This is your room.” She opened the door and walked into a room that was larger than most houses. A huge king-sized bed with mint-colored sheets and an abundance of pillows took up a large portion of the room, while a massive fireplace sat on the far wall. The entire back wall had windows overlooking the forest, which was lit by the setting sun. The walls were a soft beige, and the floors were a warm brown wood. The room was cozy, and it had a welcoming feel. There were two doors, one leading to a walk-in closet and the other to a luxurious bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, shower, and double vanity sink.

“Come, sit with me” As she curled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace, I walked over and curled up near her, wrapping the blanket around me tighter.. her lips curved watching me. “That’s his blanket. He has never allowed anyone to touch it. There is something special about it, but I don’t know what.”

My eyes widened. “I didn’t realize that” I felt a pang in my chest, the thought of not being able to have his blanket. I shook my head. That’s ridiculous. You’re here as a guest. Don’t get attached. You don’t know what your future holds.

Hanna smiled warmly. “He doesn’t let people close, Maisie. I'd only known him for about 6 months when I met Mikhail. Mikhail is my fated mate. Do you know what a fated mate is?” She asked cautiously, unsure how much information I knew.

“Yeah…kind of…I really…don’t remember a lot.” My heart ached at the thought of someone loving me.

“There are many different types of mating. Fated is that are chosen by the goddess for us. It’s a connection, a feeling, absolute knowledge. We will always know that person. There is only one fated mate for each person. Fated mates are two halves of a whole. Soul mates are what Humans call them…”

I nodded, processing this, while I fiddled with the ring, twisting and turning it in my hand. She leaned over, plucking it from my hands, then slid it on the middle finger of my right hand. “He should have done this, but I think perhaps he was concerned it would scare you if he touched you again.”

I twisted the heavy ring around my finger and looked at Hanna, hesitantly asking ”Can I ask you a question?”

She nodded, “Of course”. I noticed her eyes glaze over, frowning, she caught the look on my face and held a finger up then sat there a few moments before smiling “Sorry little one. I was arguing with Alexei and Dmitri”

She opened her mouth then closed it again, she reached out tugged my hand to hers, and inhaled deeply against my wrist. I pulled my hand back. “What are you doing??” looking at her like she was crazy.

She grinned. “Smelling you. You smell like raspberries with a hint of honey, which, by the way, I find hilarious since Niko smells like chocolate and honey.” I felt a little thrill in my heart when she mentioned Nikolai, but still looked at her like she was crazy. “OK, but why smell me? "

Her eyes flicked towards the closed door, then reached over and grabbed a remote, Chris Stapleton and his wife’s song “You Are My Sunshine” started playing and she moved closer to me. Her voice was soft, “Maisie, I can smell your wolf, but the guys can’t.” If she wasn’t right next to me I wouldn’t have heard her over the music. My eyes flickered with panic and I didn’t answer her. She reached over and tapped my ring. “This means you are MY Luna. It means you are Niko’s mate, whether you accept it or not. That means I am your Beta. I will never betray your trust unless you are a danger to yourself or others, and even then I may not if it’s others.” She looked at me intently. “Do you understand?”

I nodded slowly and then looked at her. “Are you going to tell him?” She shook her head, “No. I won’t tell him that I can smell your wolf or what we have talked about tonight. But if he asks me a direct question, I will not lie.” I nodded in agreement. “I have a wolf, but I’ve never shifted into her. Not fully.” She gasped softly, “You should have done that years ago! Most of us shift between 15 and 17. Does she at least talk to you? It would be a voice in your head.” I nodded. “I have a few times. Gavriil made me drink this vile drink every day, but when he was out of town the old Beta didn’t give it to me. I don’t know if he knew about it. After a day or two of not drinking it, I could hear Sif. Whatever it was he gave me made her weak. She said it was wolf’s bane.”Hanna shuddered. “That’s nasty s**t. It makes it so our wolf is suppressed and can’t shift. It makes us weaker and more vulnerable. and what I said proves why he was dosing you. How long did he give you that? "

I flinched “The entire 3 years he had me.” She blinked back tears and shook her head “I’m so sorry Maisie. She will grow strong here. It will take a few days for that to get completely out of your system since you’ve been on it for so long. Why are you so secretive about her? We all have wolves.”

I chewed my lower lip before blurting out, “She’s white. Solid white.”

“Holy s**t! White wolves are rare. I mean, I know there is a line from Ireland that has white wolves, and actually, this pack had white wolves until about 100 years ago. We can research that if you want.”

“Yes please, Hanna! I would love that!.” My eyes flickered with excitement briefly. “Hanna, can you explain what it’s like in a pack? I literally don’t know anything about pack life or …if I did, I don’t remember it.”

She nodded slowly. “Let’s start with pack life, OK? Every pack has an Alpha and a Beta couple. Sometimes an additional Alpha is chosen, but usually not. The Alphas are the leaders. They make the decisions, they’re in charge. The Beta’s are their advisors and help them rule the pack. The Alpha is the leader. He has the final say. The Beta’s are his right-hand men. The Beta enforces the laws of the pack, along with the Lead Warriors and the Enforcers. The Alpha pair usually also has a Lead Warrior. This is a warrior chosen by the Alpha and Beta to lead the other warriors. It is generally the highest-ranking warrior in the pack. The Lead Warriors are chosen for their prowess in battle and their loyalty.

The Alpha and Beta have a Lead Warrior at all times. The Beta also has a personal guard, usually called an enforcer, whose sole job is to protect the Beta. He will also enforce the laws of the pack with the Lead Warrior and the Alpha. The Lead Warrior has the same, though his guard is chosen for their cunning and intelligence. Then you have the Pack Warriors. These are the wolves chosen to fight, or the best fighters. There is usually one or two Lead Warriors and a good handful of Pack Warriors. Next, you have the Pack Protectors. This is the security team of the pack. The ones chosen for this are the best guards. They have top-of-the-line training. You will recognize them easily because they’re always in uniform. They wear black cargo pants, black boots, and a black t-shirt with their last name on the back, and the Pack’s logo on the front. They are the eyes and ears of the Pack and can go undercover anywhere. They are the ones who keep the pack safe. They can be seen in the main part of the town. Then, you have the Omega. The Omega is the one who supports the Alpha and the Beta. She is the only one allowed to speak her mind freely and not be reprimanded. Lastly, there are the sub-ranks. Those are the members of the pack. You can choose to stay and be a member of the pack, or you can leave, though the Alpha’s daughter may not be permitted to do so until she’s older and mated. She can live in the pack, though, and just be a member. We have a lot of sub-ranks.”

“That is a lot of information. Alright, so what you are saying, based on you and my wolf saying Nikolai is my, is that he and I are the Alpha couple, and you and Mikhail are the Beta couple. Does that mean the twins are Nikolai’s lead warrior enforcer things?”

“Exactly!” Hanna nodded.

“So, let’s get the other part out of the way. You said you are the Beta, and you are mated to the Beta. Mikhail. Is he Nikolai’s brother?” I asked

“Nope. But I can see why you would ask. Mikhail, Nikolai, and his twin Luka grew up together, their moms are best friends, so they are as close as brothers. The twins are Niko’s cousins. Though” she grins “Apparently now they are your blood brothers since your blood mixed, leave it to them to come up with that.” She bursts out laughing, “That means they are Niko’s cousins/brothers-in-law, Oh they will love giving him s**t about this now!”

I felt my heart ache painfully when she said the name Luka as she mentioned brothers, I gave a sad smile “I think they were just being nice. But anyway. Blossom is our Omega and her mate is Dmitri”

Hanna lifted a brow tipping her head to the side “What makes you say that? Not that I think you are wrong, but still”

“The way he growled at his brother when he called her whatever it was in Russian, I think it was malen’kiy tsvetok. but I don’t know what that means.”

Hanna laughed softly. “He called her little flower. Blossom is very shy and quiet. Dmitri and Alexei are constantly teasing her.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that. They are the opposite. Blossom seems to bring out a softer side in them. Alexei is protective of her. But they both are of her… Mikhail called me malen’kaya svetanya. Was that something bad? Was he calling me an enemy or something?”

Hanna smiled softly and shook her head. “No, not at all. It means little sun. He’s never called me that. I guess he saw how you lit up when Nikolai came in and then the sun was just starting to rise. It’s a term of endearment. But the guys are going to tease him to death for that. Niko is going to have a field day with that. They call him Stone Face because he’s hard to read.”

“I call him the giant in my head” whispering softly, guilty

“It’s perfect for him. I will have to try that.” I actually laughed, “I don’t mean it to be mean, it’s just he’s like 10 feet tall and I’m only 5 foot. Actually, all 4 of them are like giants to me.”

She giggled softly. “It’s fine. He is a little intimidating to most. You, on the other hand, are not afraid of him at all” I snorted “I am utterly terrified of Mikhail, less scared of the twins, but Nikolai I think I’m most afraid of him.” Hanna’s lips curved as she heard that.

“Oh, sweetie, no you aren’t. Yes, he’s intimidating and can be a d**k, but you don’t fear him. Not really. I’m not sure why you are hiding your wolf from him. He would never hurt you, though. He’s the best Alpha I’ve ever met.”

I blushed slightly but smiled at her. “One last question before I go to sleep. When you were arguing with the twins that was mind-linking right?”

Hanna nodded. “Yeah we call it mind link, but it’s telepathy. It’s like….um…a mental telephone to pack members. I can reach anyone in the pack. When Nikolai marks you, you should be able to mind-link him. Then when you formally join the pack, you will have what we call a “Pack link” It’s like a party line. You can hear everyone who has it unblocked in their mind. Hell with your little blood sharing with the twins, you might be able to link them now.”Her eyes gleamed devilishly “Oh you should try it now, go on, do it!!”

I laughed “How?”

“Close your eyes, good, now search your mind, think of one, or both of them, then call to them” she instructed.

My eyes closed, I pictured the twins in my head and called their names, I heard two “What the f**k” in my head before roars echoed throughout the house, within moments my room door slammed open, and all four men shoved through, scanning the room for a threat. I issue a short strangled scream, jumping a foot.

Hanna sat there laughing hysterically. “Sorry boys, we were trying out her telepathy, and you two were her test subjects” She turned to me. “See, told ya you could do it”

Mikhail glared at her. “Really Hanna?” She shrugged. “They are her ‘blood brothers’ now, so why not test them? I didn’t expect all four of you to flip your s**t”

Nikolai glanced between Hanna and me. “What is she talking about?”

Alexei smirked. “Little sister here” Dmitri picked up “Inadvertently mixed our blood” Alexei took over “when we were holding her hands”

Mikhail’s eyes widened, and Nikolai’s narrowed. He glared at the twins. “I’ve been stuck with you in my mind for the last 30-odd years. You’re like children who don’t know how to shut the hell up, now you are going to yammer at her.”

Hanna grinned. “Maisie has a family bond with the twins now.” Nikolai stared at me intently, then looked at the twins, and snarled.

I looked around at everyone. “What is a family bond?” Hanna answered. “It’s like the telepathic link between members of a pack that I told you about”

My eyes had landed on Nikolai while Hanna was talking I stood up and unwrapped his blanket from around me, shivering with the warm blanket gone. I held the blanket out to him. His eyes softened as he stared at the blanket. He glanced back at the others and then strode out of the room without saying a word, the door closed behind him.

I wrapped it back around me, I didn’t realize the others had left the room, except Hanna, who was staring at me intently.

“You love him, don’t you?”

I gasped softly and looked at her. “Of course not! How could I love him? I don’t know him” pulling his blanket tighter around me. “It’s just he reminds me of chocolate and honey, and he smells good.” Hanna chuckled softly and rising she slips her arm around me and steers me to the giant bed.

“Little one. I know how Niko feels about you. He would give his life for yours. He would fight for you. He would die for you. He would kill for you. He would walk the edge of the earth for you. " I climbed into the bed and curled up, my eyes already drifting shut as I murmured “I don’t want him to die”

She slipped out of the room and headed off to her chambers.