Chapter 19 - Finders, keepers
1259 Words
John woke up early, the golden rays of the morning sun shining through the curtains.
'Isabel’. Her name was the first thing that came to his mind. Did last night really happen? Was she really here, in his apartment? In his bed?
He turned around to see, and yes - there she was... Her long legs were entwined with the duvet, hugging it as if it was a large teddy bear, and the morning light made her honey blonde hair glow in different shades of gold. Her soft rosy lips were parted and she had a peaceful look on her face, the little wrinkle between her eyebrows completely erased... She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But...
What have I done? he thought. This was not at all what he had planned. He was supposed to go back home to the pack, not get involved with a human. And especially not bringing her to his bed! How was he going to get out of this situation? As he looked at her, he felt a pang of guilt and regret. He couldn't hurt her, but he also couldn't let this go any further. This had to end as a perfect one-night-stand, nothing more, before things got out of hand.
But still… the mere thought of her with another man, especially a wolf, made him see red. His protective instincts were on high alert, and the idea of what could have happened if his brother Nicholas had gotten to her first was deeply disturbing. He felt a strong wish to keep her safe, away from harm. Nevertheless, whatever had happened between them had to end. Today.
John carefully sneaked out of bed and picked up her dress from the floor, gently folding it and putting it on top of his dresser. The thought of her in this dress made his wolf stir in his chest... He quietly left the bedroom, grabbing a pair of jeans on the way, and gently closed the door behind him, making sure he didn't wake her up.
He went to the kitchen and started looking in the fridge for something edible. He wanted to end this with style! He would at least offer the girl some coffee and breakfast before he ditched her. There wasn’t much, but there were eggs, flour and milk, so he figured he would be able to make some pancakes for breakfast. Too bad he didn’t buy avocados, he thought, smiling wryly.
He had just started whisking the batter as his phone buzzed. He looked at the display. ‘Warren’.
“f***k” he swore and picked up the phone. "Hello father."
"Where the hell are you?” Warren rumbled. “You were supposed to come back yesterday?"
“Yes, I know. I’m sorry, but I had some unfinished business…”
“So I heard. Nick says you were behaving very irrationally last night. That you violently attacked him, in the middle of a crowd, revealing your wolf… Just because you wanted his… human?” Warren’s voice was saturated with anger and disbelief.
“Well, that was not really how it was, I..”
“How dare you risk exposing us? Causing trouble among humans? I thought we had taught you the importance of being discrete!” Warren roared at the other end of the line.
“For your information, I was planning to go home, but then I saw Nick and I realized he was up to something. I had to follow him; he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. And then he put us all in trouble by harassing a woman! And now… I have to clean up his mess,” John clenched his teeth.
“I see…” Warren hesitated. “I guess it sounds more convincing than the story Nick tried to pull off… But John... Is there something you're not telling me?”
“No...” John lied, looking down at the whisk in his hand. “But I have some things I need to solve before I go back home. Can you do me a favour and keep an eye on Nick?”
After hanging up, John was even more convinced he had to finish whatever he had started. Isabel was the prettiest and most intriguing woman he had ever met, and her scent was addictive. But there was no way he could give in to his desires and… feelings? For the first time ever, someone made him feel something beyond lust, amity and duty... How ironic it was that this ‘someone’ happened to be human.
She could be ours, his wolf whispered.
“No,” John shook his head. He simply could not allow himself to fall in love with her! There was no chance for them to have a future together. He could never bring her home to the pack...
To be with Isabel, he would have to sacrifice everything: his tribe, his pack, his family. He would have to leave them all and live as a human in the city, reject his life as a wolf and forget about his true nature… And this was impossible.
Besides, what would happen to his family? To his pack? Without him as their Alpha, Nicholas would try to step in. Thinking of Nicholas as Alpha of the pack and head of the family gave him the chills - it would be a disaster. And Chloe… She was way too young for that kind of responsibility.
No, everyone was relying on him. He had to fulfil his duties.
We can keep her... bring her home… his wolf suggested.
“Not a chance,” John sighed, looking out the window. Besides, he couldn't simply 'keep her'. She was not a pet! And Isabel would never be accepted as an equal, neither by his parents nor by the rest of the pack. And he couldn’t assume she would be OK with living with a bunch of werewolves, everyone looking down on her. It could very well turn out to be a disaster, or actually, most probably it would be... A disaster! Just telling her the truth about him and the fact that he was of another species would freak her out, and she would think he was severely mentally ill.
Besides, even if she was OK with his true nature and she was accepted by his pack (against all odds!), what would happen with the pack? Having a pack Alpha who had a human mate would make the pack very susceptible to attacks - rouges and other packs would consider it a sign of weakness.
It would also endanger the future of the pack, since their potential children would never be able to follow his footsteps – he had never heard of a human-wolf mixed species that had inherited the wolf gene, and thereby such a child would never be able to shift. If they could have any biological hybrid children whatsoever, of course. It was incredibly rare...
No, he couldn’t do this to his parents, to his pack. He had to leave this human as soon as possible. He had to ignore his wolf, who for some reason wanted her, probably because of her scent.
He had to forget about what she made him feel... And he had to control himself so he didn’t give in to his desires again! He had to tell her that he was leaving town, and that they would never see each other again. He really should. He would.
But first... Coffee. Breakfast. And then... Goodbye.
- Writer
