Run! The Black Wolf's prey.

Chapter 45 - Was it you?

John had spent hours trying to make up his mind on how to tell Isabel about his true nature. He kept finding excuses to delay the conversation, hoping to bring it up at a more opportune moment. They needed to get dressed. Check. They needed to eat first, ordering pizza. Check. He even made them dessert. Check. They finished their dessert and wine. Check. But now...? Now, he was out of excuses.

“My prince,” Isabel wrapped her arms around him from behind and kissed him on the neck as he was wiping off the kitchen table, cleaning up after their dinner. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me.”

“I think you will need to sit,” he grimaced. “This is going to be hard for you to swallow.”

“Don’t worry,” she smiled teasingly. “I’ve already figured it all out.”

“You have?” John looked at her in surprise.

“Yep!" she grinned. "You’re an alien prince, and you're here to learn the ways of humans. You are planning to go back to your kingdom on Mars, where your parents want you to marry a princess from Venus, and that’s why you think you can’t bring me with you. But,” she playfully tapped her finger at his nose. “You forgot that I have superpowers! I can breathe on Mars as well as you. So, as you see, I already know everything…”

“Wow, not bad,” he laughed and embraced her before he wrestled her down into the huge comfortable living room sofa. It was in a royal shade of blue, with velvet cushions and oak feet. Indeed, a piece of furniture for a prince! Isabel hugged her knees and looked at him expectantly.

“Erhhhm..” John cleared his throat. “Well, you were actually right about a few things.”

“OK...?” Isabel smiled, arching her brows.

“I’m not… human.” He took her hands into his.

“Very funny, John.” she jabbed him playfully. "Enough playing around now, you need to be serious"

“But it’s the truth,” John looked at her with a serious face.

“What?” her eyebrows went all the way up to her hairline. “You can't be serious?”

“Yes. I told you it would be hard to swallow.”

“OK, so you are an alien?” she laughed in disbelief. He was clearly messing with her..

“No… “ He shook his head, his lips slightly curved into a smile.

“I know!” she exclaimed. “You’re a vampire!”

“No,” he shook his head again, his smile a little wider. “Vampires aren’t real.”

“OK, we can agree on that,” Isabel grinned. “But, stop fooling around now. Tell me.”

“I’m a wolf,” he said, his eyes searching hers for her reaction. “Or maybe not a wolf, we're called ‘werewolves’, since we have both human and wolf forms. And we are not really like ordinary wolves, or humans, anyway, we are stronger, faster... and way more dangerous.”

“Seriously, John?” Isabel snorted, starting to get annoyed.

“I’m serious. Think about it,” he took her hands to his lips, looking deeply into her eyes. “All those men, behaving so irrationally? They are wolves. And they behave like that because your scent drives them crazy. It’s very… unique.”

Isabel looked at him with scepticism and remained silent.

“OK, let’s put it this way: How could Nick know where to find you? He’s been tracing your scent. And I’m really sorry to tell you this, but he’s my brother,” John grimaced as he continued. “He has a very hard time controlling his wolf. It’s not an excuse, but maybe it makes more sense to you... We can choose to be in our human form, but sometimes, when we’re excited or upset, our wolves rise to the surface, and one has to practice for years to be able to control it from surfacing.”

Isabel’s eyes went wide, suddenly scared.

“John... What colour are you, as a wolf?”

“What?” John didn’t expect her to believe him so suddenly. “My wolf?”

“Yes. What colour is your wolf?” she repeated, withdrawing slightly from him.

“Black,” he said carefully, trying to read her facial expression.

“Was it you?” she whispered, her eyes in disbelief.

“What?”

“The black wolf in the woods? Was it you?”

She was looking at him nervously. This could explain a lot. She had never understood why that black wolf in the woods had behaved so irrationally! That is, until now. It had done so because it wasn’t a regular wolf - it was a werewolf... A human mind in a wolf’s body. But not only that – it might have been John. It had been a dreadful experience, and it would break her to find out that it had been him all along.

“The black wolf stalked me. It seemed oddly interested in me but kept its distance, initially, but just when I thought I was safe, it jumped me... And now you're saying that was you?”

“What? No!” John burst out. “You were attacked?” he couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yes. By a big black wolf. It pushed me down at the ground. I didn’t even know wolves could be that big! So... it wasn’t you?”

Isabel was relieved. Even if she had a hard time accepting what he was telling her, it was all starting to make sense. But most important of all, she needed to hear that John wasn’t the black wolf she had encountered in the woods.

“No, of course not. I would never do such a thing,” he took her in his arms, his heart pounding.

He was furious, who had scared her like this?

“It must have been Nick…” he suddenlt realised. “That’s it. It must have been then he got so obsessed with you… Did he hurt you?”

“No, not really,” Isabel breathed into his chest. He had been right. This was very hard to swallow.

“Thank Goddess…” John murmured into her hair.

“I’m so overwhelmed, John, I don’t know what to believe,” she admitted. “So, you’re telling me that sometimes you’re human and sometimes you’re a wolf. And it’s not only when there’s a full moon?”

John laughed and kissed her at the cheek, then held her chin with his hand and looked her in the eyes.

“No, we can shift whenever we wish. Not only during the Full Moon. Even if we do prefer staying in our wolf forms those nights, the Goddess is calling upon us and we celebrate the Full Moon together with our families.”

“The Goddess?” Isabel arched her brows again.

“The Moon Goddess,” John nodded. “It’s like your God, but for us, she’s more… present. We can feel her watching over us, and she is the one who’s blessing us with our true mates, at least some of us…”

“I’m not really that religious,” Isabel grimaced. “I consider myself an agnostic… But what is a true mate?”

“It’s a fated mate,” John tenderly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “We usually don’t get married, like humans, even if some do nowadays as we are becoming more modern... But we have mates! There are the true mates, chosen by the Moon Goddess, and their bonds are the strongest. But then there are also the chosen mates, meaning two wolves fall in love and decide to become a couple, ignoring that they might find their true mate one day. Either way, we seal our bonds by marking each other. It’s the equivalent to your wedding rings.”

“But how would you know if you have met your true mate or not?” Isabel was confused.

“We just know. I think, probably, it’s by scent. Our inner wolves know immediately, so just being in the vicinity of one’s true mate, one would know. The pull of attraction is supposed to be exceptionally strong, almost impossible to resist.”

“Have you…?”

Maybe this was it, Isabel thought. Maybe this was the reason he couldn’t bring her home – he had his true mate there, waiting for him.

“A true mate?” John smiled gently at her. “No, I never found her. If she even exists… I’ve started to believe the Moon Goddess has other plans for me.” He kissed the back of her hand with his hot lips, his gaze intense.

“But what if you do meet her?” Isabel’s eyes widened. She hadn't thought of this before. No matter how strong their love was to become, how could she possibly compete with a true mate, as John called it?

“Isabel… Not everyone has one. And what I feel for you… I never felt this way before. Not for anyone. Not even close. And especially not for a human…”

“What do you mean, why would you feel differently for a human, compared with a … she-wolf?” she frowned.

“Everyone is just called ‘wolf’, no matter if it’s a man or woman” he chuckled. “I guess, what I’m saying is… well, wolves don’t mate with humans. There are, of course, cases where wolves have been having… you know, s****l intercourse,” John arched a brow, “with humans, but it rarely leads to anything more than that.”

“Why?”

“Because we're a rather conservative species,” John replied patiently. “Our traditions are very important to us. And humans don’t fit well in our societies, or in our ‘packs’ as we call them. Pack life is very different from anything you have ever experienced. Besides, it’s a matter of self-preservation! We have been haunted in the past, and in some countries, our species was nearly extinct just a couple of hundreds of years ago. Even if we are much, much stronger and tougher than any human, if there are enough of you, you would eventually be able to take us down.”

Isabel contemplated his words.

“So... You think you are better than us…” she wrinkled her nose.

“Yes, we do. Because we are, in many ways,” he nodded. “But you humans are better at handling your emotions. We are often carried away, and that has been our biggest problem over the years. So nowadays, wolves that cannot control themselves and stay in their human form, no matter what happens, are prohibited by their packs to mingle among humans. And sadly, that is the reality for many. That’s why pack life is so important. We don’t do well on our own. But together, as a pack, we are invincible.”

“Wow…” Isabel was overwhelmed by all the information and all the questions spinning around in her head.

“I am taking a huge risk, telling you this. But if you truly want to be with me, you must know. And it will be hard. Not only am I a wolf, I’m also the Alpha of our pack, as well as the leader of our Tribe, which basically is a bunch of packs together, forming an alliance…” John paused, looking down at their hands. “This means I have a lot of responsibilities. And it makes it very difficult for us to be open about our affections, and for you to live with us.”

“Why can’t you stay here, in the city? Do you have to live with the pack?” Isabel had to admit to herself, the thought of living with a bunch of werewolves who didn’t want her there did not sound very appealing.

“I can’t,” John sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I must be there. We have had peace for a long time, but the winds are changing. Some of the northern packs, and maybe some of the packs on our eastern side as well, have started to provoke us. There used to be a war, but it ended before I was born. Now, it seems like maybe a war is sneaking up on us again.”

“I would be a burden…” Isabel spoke softly, slowly starting to understand why everything was so complicated.

“Never,” John looked her straight in the eye. “But it would be a disaster if anything happened to you. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. But you’re not safe here either, so I prefer to keep you close.”

They were silent for a while, both deep in their thoughts.

“OK…” Isabel finally spoke. “But let’s say I come with you, to your pack, what would happen then? Would it be impossible for your family to accept me?”

“I don’t know,” John said frankly. “If it wasn’t for me being the eldest son and the pack Alpha, then maybe it wouldn’t have been such a big problem.”

“If you are the leader… I mean Alpha… of the pack, can’t you do as you please?”

“It’s not that simple,” John said with a sad smile. “As I said, traditions are vital to us. And as the Alpha, I need an heir…”

“An heir…” Isabel let the words sink in. John was trying to tell her he would need to build a family. He needed a child that could inherit his position. Like in a kingdom, she thought. It turned out her prince wasn’t just a prince – he was already the king, and he would need a little prince eventually to take over his throne. Or maybe a princess, she mused. But not just any child, it would have to be a wolf child, even she could see that. And how would she be able to give him that?

“And… erhhm…” Isabel was trying to find the words. This relationship got very serious incredibly fast, talking about their potential children! But she had to ask. “Would it be possible for me to…”

“No, I’m afraid not,” John kissed her on the back of her hand again, his eyes full of concern of her feelings regarding this. “It’s common knowledge that a human woman cannot give birth to a wolf child. First of all, s****l intercourse between the species rarely results in any pregnancy. In those few cases it does, the woman is normally having a miscarriage. I’ve only heard of a few children of werewolves who were born by human mothers, and they had not inherited their fathers’ wolf genes. The human body rejects the wolf genes immediately.”

“I understand,” Isabel’s breathing was ragged, her emotions overwhelming her. Of course, his family wouldn’t accept her! She wouldn’t be able to give him any children, and they wouldn’t have an heir to their pack.

“What happens if the Alpha doesn’t have an heir?” she asked quietly.

“Someone else will take over. Either the Alpha’s sibling, or nephew, or similar, or someone else from the pack or from the outside will challenge the sitting Alpha eventually, when he would be too old rule.” John noticed her devastation, and he hated himself for bringing all of this upon her so soon.

“Hey…” he said, lifting her chin so she would meet his gaze. “I love you. You said it yourself, we will face this together. I am not leaving you. Ever. As long as you will have me. OK?”

“OK,” Isabel nodded, trying to smile through the tears that began falling down her cheeks.

This was way more complicated than she could possibly have imagined... By being with her, John was forsaking his chance to have children, to have a family. But he was also putting the safety and the future of his whole pack at stake!

She had never felt so inadequate in her whole life.