Chapter 13

Elise's POV

We sit for a few quiet moments and Leo is holding my hand and gliding his thumb back and forth gently over my skin. I can feel the tiny sparks from our contact and I can’t help but smile.

“It’s beautiful here,” he says, breaking the silence as he looks out across the gardens at the snow-covered mountains. “The mountains look so close to us from here. You grew up here?”

“I did.” I watch him as he takes in the view.

“How big is this place? What is this place?” He asks, still gazing out over the balcony.

“This is what we call the pack house. It is a bit like a fancy apartment building. Our family lives on two floors. Our elders live here unless they want to live on their own. Normally the Beta would live here, but Beta Lucas prefers his own home, he is married and has two kids. You met Sammi already at the pawn shop. She is my best friend and is furious with me right now because I have been lying to her and she knows it.” I pause for a second and think about what on earth I’m going to tell her.

“Anyway, there's a ballroom where we host pack events, and the pack kitchens are here. Anyone is welcome to gather here for meals, or even to use the game rooms. On the other side of the house, there are offices where my parents run the pack business. But our floors, my family’s home, that is off-limits to everyone. Very few people have even been in here. I think my father wants to keep that for himself. He has spent his entire life doing for others, caring for our people, but sometimes I can tell he just wants to pretend to be a normal guy. Beta Lucas is the only one he can truly be comfortable around. The minute he leaves our quarters he is bombarded by all sorts of things.”

“It sounds like a lot of responsibility.” He says and I wonder if he realizes that this will be his life too, eventually, in the southern territories.

“The houses down there, the people...are they all like you? I mean is everyone a...”

I can tell he is nervous to ask questions.

“Wolves? Yes, mostly. These are our pack lands but we do have non-wolf residents here. On rare occasions, one of our kind may be mated to someone that is not of the same species. Wolves can be mated to humans, or Vampires, for example, but the Northern Territories do not prevent such things. My mother and father rule with kindness, although my father can come across as rather terrifying if you don’t know him.”

Leo stands up and walks around the edge of the terrace. The royal gardens are raised up about ten stories, and they overlook the village, and while we can see down you are not able to see us from the ground. I imagine that’s why my father was comfortable with us going here.

“Can I ask you a few questions, Leo?” My voice sounds shy, which isn’t like me at all.

“Sure.” He responds, turning around and looking at me seriously.

“What’s your favorite color?” I ask and he gets a big grin on his face. My knees nearly buckle at the beauty of his smile.

“I was expecting something much more serious,” he says.

We sit and talk about little things for a long time. I find out that his favorite foods are sweets, and that there are so many foods he has never even tried. When I ask him simple things, his answers tell a very serious story about how he’s grown up. I ask him what his favorite movie is, and he admits that he hasn’t really seen many, he doesn’t have a TV, and can’t remember ever going to the movies. For growing up in the city he has lived a rather sheltered life and the enormity of what is about to happen to him, and who he truly is, becomes so much more apparent.

We sit quietly for a few minutes, both of us locked in our own thoughts, and then he turns to look at me and nervously runs his hand through his hair.

“Elise, I’m not sure if it’s allowed for me to ask this or not, and if I’m being rude or disrespectful please just tell me.” He fidgets a bit and then takes my hand. “Elise, can I see your wolf? Can I meet her?”

I’m shocked that he asked, and Lily is dancing around and can barely contain herself.

'I get to meet him! Elise please, let me. Please, please!!'

"Are you sure?” I ask and he nods with a smile. “Her name is Lily. When I shift, you will be talking to her, not me. We are two different minds that co-exist. Understand?” I ask and again he acknowledges, but I can sense he is nervous.

“Ok, just stand over there.” I start to undress and Leo’s face turns bright red before he turns around. “Leo, we are mates. You don’t have to turn around. It’s not like the human world.” I say but he keeps his back to me.

“No, doesn’t seem right. Let me know when I should turn around.” He says and I grin a little at his embarrassment.

Leo's POV

“Ok.” I hear a low voice say and when I turn around I see that the beautiful girl I was with before has transformed into an incredible-looking wolf. She is covered in brown fur that has a gold shimmer through it. Her eyes are intensely violet and when I see them I think of my own. It makes me feel like I may actually belong among them. I just stare at her and I can’t believe what I am seeing as she takes one step towards me and then kneels down before me and bows her head.

“Alpha Leo, I am truly honored to meet you,” she says. I put my hand out, but before I can touch her on my own, she thrusts her head up and rubs it against my palm.

“The honor is all mine, Lily. Please just call me Leo.” I say and she nods and stands, looking at me like she can see into my soul.

'Please Leo, please let me out. I need to meet her. I need to tell her my name. She is my other half, please. Leo, you must let me!'

“Is something wrong?” she asks me and I quickly let her know that it isn’t her.

“I, I think it may be my wolf. It talks to me. I-wow...this is a lot to take in.” I take a deep breath and my brain is in overdrive. The voice in my head is screaming at me and I don’t know how or what to do.

“We will meet soon enough,” she says. “I’m going to have Elise come back, but know Leo that I will protect you always.” She comes towards me and again rubs her head against mine. “Little wolfy, be patient with Leo, we will meet soon enough,” she whispers into my ear and I get chills down my spine. The voice in my head quiets and I feel a sense of calm wash over me.

'I love her. I will try and be patient, Leo. The voice says softly.

"I’m going to shift back Leo, you may want to turn around if you feel embarrassed, although I don’t know why you would be. I will see you again soon.”

I turn around and within a minute Elise wraps her arms around my waist and I turn to look at her.

“You made her very happy. She won’t stop telling me about how handsome you are and how she loves you. She is anxious to meet your wolf. She said she can sense that he's like no other.”

I can feel my cheeks heat up and I know I am blushing terribly. No one has ever said anything like that to me. I have never in my life had someone tell me they loved me.

“I love you too, Leo,” she says. “Lily and I both do.”

I don’t know how to respond. I have never felt love before, but when I am near her I feel like I’m no longer alone. She makes the aching in my chest go away and just holding her feels like the void within me fills. How is that even possible? I barely know this girl, but I can’t imagine my life without her beside me

I look down at her and gently place my hands around her face and I lean in and kiss her like my life depends on it, and in some ways, I feel like it truly does.

"I don’t deserve someone like you,” I say after our kiss and she takes my hand and brings it up to her lips.

“You’re right, you deserve someone so much better. I hope I can be everything you need, Leo.”

All I can do is shake my head. It’s going to take some time to get comfortable with all of this.

Elise's POV

“Do you want to watch a movie or something?” I ask and he agrees. I wrap my arm around him and we go back inside.

“Is it okay if I take a quick shower? I honestly feel a bit disgusting.” He says.

“Of course.” He’s been here nearly a week now, and I know that he has been wearing the same things over and over. All of it tattered. “You hop in the shower and I’ll be right back.” He smiles and closes the door behind him and as soon as I hear the water turn on I head to my parent’s room, finding my mom there.

“Elise, how’s Leo doing?” she asks.

“He’s just so overwhelmed and he looks so tired. We’re going to watch a movie, he’s just taking a shower.”

“Oh, good.”

“Mom, he doesn’t have much for clothes. I was wondering if I could grab just a few things from dad? Sweats and maybe a t-shirt or sweater or something?” I ask as I start to dig through my dad’s things before getting an answer.

“Here honey. Take these to him. I’ll make sure we get his sizes tomorrow and we can send someone out to get clothes for him and for Alpha Jonathan. We plan to introduce them tomorrow too. Might be less embarrassing for us to give them a new wardrobe if they are together. Something tells me that neither one of them will accept gifts easily.”

She hands me a pair of jeans and a pair of athletic pants that still have the tags on them. Then she grabs a few t-shirts, a sweater, and a sweatshirt. “Your father won’t even know they are missing. He’s clueless.” She chuckles.

I hurry back and I can still hear the water running. I knock on the bathroom door and warn him that I’m going to come in.

“I’m not looking, I promise. Just dropping off some clean clothes for you.”

'Look! I want to look. Just take a peek.'

Lily prods mischievously, but I ignore her and quickly leave.

When Leo comes out he is in athletic pants and a sweatshirt, both are a bit too big for him, but he looks absolutely gorgeous.

“Thank you for these. I’ll repay you for them.” He says quietly, and I don’t bother to argue about it.

“Funny? or Scary?” I say, plopping on the couch. He looks at me confused and I clarify. “A movie. Do you want something funny or scary?”

“Oh! Uh...funny. I’ve had enough of scary for a while.” He says as he tries to get comfortable.

“Come here,” I sit in the corner of the couch and I motion for him lay on me. I can see he’s hesitant at first, but he climbs up and leans against me and I cover us both up with the blanket.

“I feel so comfortable with you. So calm, and whatever perfume you are wearing it smells incredible,” he says as I softly run my fingers through his curls, “when we touch I feel like there are sparks.”

“That’s because we were made for one another, you and me, we are fated to be together by the heavens. The smell, what does it smell like to you?” I ask, I have always been curious what my mate would pick up.

“Vanilla and cinnamon maybe with a hint of orange” He inhales deeply through his nose and I chuckle.

“That’s not perfume. It is my scent. You have one too.” I say and he smirks.

“I bet. Probably not a very good one.”

“Evergreens and chocolate, it’s the best smell in the world,” I say as he nestles in around me.

I start the movie, but I don’t think we even get through the first twenty minutes before Leo is fast asleep and snoring lightly. I start to doze off when a soft knock is at the door.

“Come in,” I whisper and Beta Lucas enters and sees us on the couch.

“Kid’s asleep huh?” He quietly takes a chair and sits, pulling a phone out of his pocket. “This is for him, so we can contact him.''

“Can we mind link him?” I ask, but Beta Lucas quickly shakes his head.

“No, not yet. When he accepts his wolf, he would still need to be a part of the pack. I’m not sure what your father wants to do about that. There are a lot of decisions we need to make.”

“Is Alpha Eric really as bad as they say?” I ask, but I probably already know the answer.

“Worse. I won’t lie to you Elise, Eric is out of control. He’s gone completely mad. Our scouts will be coming back tomorrow to let us know what they found, but based on Alpha Jonathan’s encounter, I think we have every reason to believe he is terrorizing his people and others.”

I look down at Leo, peacefully sleeping in my arms, “Do you think he can save them?” I ask, so worried that he isn’t ready.

“I know he can. I did a little snooping on this boy. He’s struggled his entire life, but always found a way to keep going. Always trying to better himself and keep an eye on his goals. He could have so easily fallen into drugs or crime, but he didn’t. He could have become an asshole, failed in school, and given up, but he didn’t. This kid is something special, I know it. His Alpha Aura is strong, and once his wolf is accepted, he is going to be powerful. You and Leo will do great things.” Beta Lucas pats me on the arm and starts to leave.

“Beta Lucas?” He turns around and waits for my question. “What happens next?”

“Well, we need Leo to accept who and what he is, and then he needs to start training so that we can see what he can do. But we don’t have much time. Eric will find him. Get some sleep, okay? Things are about to get intense around here, enjoy the quiet moment for now.” Just before he leaves he turns to me one more time.

“And please, for the love of the Goddess, text Sammi, maybe go to lunch or something with her, she’s going crazy.”