5. Silver Pack

After riding the elevator, Stefan took Ullric to his office on the top floor of the building. Along the way, Ullric, who seemed clueless about many things, came into Stefan's view. Seeing the caution Ullric showed towards things that should be common in modern times made Stefan finally convinced that Ullric was indeed an ancient werewolf. The man was completely unfamiliar with technology, and was not accustomed to hiding his werewolf eyes from ordinary humans.

"Sit where you're comfortable, Ullric," Stefan told him. Ullric finally chose to sit on one of the couches, while Stefan sat opposite him. The two were silent for a few moments, before Stefan finally relayed the results of their previous pack discussion.

"First of all, can I ask you a few questions?"

Ullric nodded confidently. If he wanted to be allowed to be in the same pack as his mate, of course he had to show his sincerity in front of Stefan.

"You're an Alpha, aren't you? What happened to you, that you could be in that place?"

Ullric's gaze dropped slightly, before he told everything honestly after that.

In short, Ullric was the Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, which was famous for being a pack that contained generations of powerful warriors. The Red Moon Pack lived in the deepest parts of the forest, and rarely socialized with other creatures. The pack managed to live solely on their strength, and maintained pack peace for hundreds of years.

Ullric family is a respected Alpha family. Their family had so much power, that they were always the leaders of the werewolf warriors.

At one point, Ullric rescued a girl in the middle of his hunt. The girl was badly injured, and would have died if Ullric had not helped her. Feeling sorry for the weak-looking human, Ullric finally decided to treat the girl in his own pack. His pack didn't protest much over their Alpha's decision either. They took care of the girl, until she finally recovered and could return to her place again.

A feast was held before the girl was escorted back to a nearby village. Perhaps because she was the first human that introduce Ullric to the outside world, Ullric had slightly complicated feelings for her, even though she was not his mate. They exchanged drinks that night. Everything seemed fine, until Ullric finally realized that the girl had poisoned his drink.

After the poison entered his body, Ullric could not use his powers at all. The alpha watched as one by one his pack warriors began to fall, and suffered the same fate as him. Not long after, a witch came with his subordinates to capture them all. It was only when Ullric saw the witch praising the girl he had saved that the Alpha finally realized he had been saving the wrong person all along.

In the end, his pack was torn to pieces, while he was held as a special arena dog. Ullric had no idea how long he was locked up in that cramped space, until Stefan finally came to his rescue. Stefan reminded Ullric of himself when he was fighting hard for the safety of his pack, and hoped that he could help the Alpha avoid making the same mistake like him.

Ullric didn't want to see werewolves slaughtered right before his eyes again. Coupled with the fact that this time he knew that his mate were in the Silver Pack, Ullric was now even more determined to protect the Silver Pack with all his strength.

From beginning to end, Stefan listened to Ullric's explanation seriously. After Ullric finished with his explanation, Stefan unconsciously let out a small sigh. Actually, they had agreed to accept Ullric into their pack as long as Ullric was willing to comply. But the mate problem was different. Lulla was Stefan's most beloved sister. And Stefan knew full well how much Lulla hated anything to do with mates.

Perhaps because his younger sister felt that her werewolf blood didn't stand out, Lulla tried to cover up her insecurities by saying that she hated mate-related things. Even if the others tried to convince the girl that she also had someone destined for her, Lulla always got angry and said that she would not believe even if the mate destined for her came to see her. Lulla's level of stubbornness was so high when it came to mate, that everyone slowly began to give up on persuading the girl.

Until now, Stefan couldn't even get Lulla to accept the fact that she too would have a mate. Now, how could Stefan told Ullric that it was possible that his sister had hated Ullric at their first meeting?

"About my mate ... You don't have to worry, Alpha. I am the destined mate for her. If I can't make her accept me willingly, then I don't deserve to say that I'm her mate."

Stefan hadn't had time to say anything about Lulla, and Ullric had already put Stefan's mind at ease. The Alpha of the Silver Pack stared at Ullric for a long time, before he finally smiled a little at the man's words.

"She is my sister, and her name is Lulla. Perhaps because our mother's blood is more dominant in her body, she almost looks human and goes through a routine not much different from ordinary humans."

Stefan looked at Ullric's troubled expression, before he added his own words.

"I think you've guessed it. But my father's mate is a witch, who should be our main enemy. That's the reason why my siblings and I have other powers than our werewolf powers. But in Lulla's case, her witch blood is thicker than her werewolf blood, so she has trouble changing or experiencing what other werewolves should experience."

"Ullric, I know from your life story that you hate witches more than anything else. But from my experience, not all witches are evil. And having witch blood won't make my sister a bad person either. I'm sure your selection as a mate also happened for a reason. If I may ask ... Please do not reject her existence just because she has witch blood in her body, Ullric. I don't want her to feel the torment of not being able to be with her mate. I know, no werewolf wants to be rejected by their mate."

Ullric nodded weakly after listening to Stefan's words. "I didn't mean to offend her earlier. If I had known that she would hate what I said, I probably never would have said those words. The fact that she has witch blood won't make me hate her, Alpha. She is my mate. No matter what happens, I will still love and protect her," Ullric replied confidently.

From start to finish, Stefan was completely satisfied with Ullric's answer. Now that he knew his sister's mate, Stefan felt he could leave Lulla to a strong, responsible man like Ullric.

"Right now, she's probably rejecting you because she's afraid you'll be disappointed with her half-witch state. She might be able to act stubborn and a little rude. But if she can see your sincerity, I believe she will definitely accept your presence in the future, Ullric," Stefan told him. Ullric nodded seriously. Any mistakes he made, Ullric promised he would endeavor to correct them no matter how long it would took him.

"Are you sure you're going to remove this mark?"

To Ullric, the mark in his palm should have been the last relic of his destroyed pack. However, in the end, the man still nodded confidently, before asking Stefan not to think about his feelings for his pack before this.

"Being allowed to be in the same pack as my mate is enough to satisfy me, Alpha. From this moment on, I swear allegiance only to you. I will fight to protect this pack, as well as protect the home of my most precious mate," Ullric said firmly.

Under Ullric's confident gaze, Stefan finally continued the marking process. The Alpha of the Silver Pack extended his hand as well, before using his power to mark Ullric's palm.

As Stefan began to mark Ullric's hand, the ancient Alpha felt a sting of pain and heat on his hand. Once the pain was gone, Ullric could now see the Silver Pack's special mark on his palm. The mark proved that Ullric had officially become part of the Silver Pack, as well as being willing to submit under the rule of another Alpha.

After Ullric had been officially recognized as part of the Silver Pack by Stefan, the man immediately knelt down to salute his new Alpha. Ullric did not feel at all embarrassed or humiliated, as he bowed his head as Stefan's new subordinate.

"Ullric Yardar, swear allegiance to the Silver Pack from now on, Alpha."

Although such oaths are no longer used by modern werewolves, Stefan still did not stand in Ullric's way as the man knelt and swore solemnly before him. Stefan tapped Ullric on the shoulder so that the man could get back to his feet afterwards. The alpha smiled faintly, as he repeated his words congratulating Ullric.

"Once again, welcome to the Silver Pack, Ullric. From now on, this pack will be your new home and family," Stefan informed him.