Chapter Four

Coral 

‘Where is he?’ My wolf growled in my head. 

It had been over two hours since Harley and Anders had left the compound. Although Anders didn’t tell me exactly when Duncan was going to arrive, I thought for certain he would be here by now. Both the packhouse for the Red Moon Pack and Crescent River Pack were an hour from the Red Wolf Compound. And unless Duncan was literally walking, it would take him less than an hour to arrive. Most just shifted into their wolves and ran, making the journey in 45 minutes or less. 

‘I don’t know.’ I replied to Ivy, my frustration clear. I already felt as if I was at a disadvantage when it came to my red wolf training. Outside of Raina, who was the first red wolf in 200 years, each red wolf who had come after her had come to the compound immediately after shifting. That meant that I had missed out on nearly five years of training. 

One thing that Talia and Vivian had shared with me was how calming the guardian wolves could be for their red wolf. Because the red wolf always seemed to be tuned in to the emotions of others, it could be overwhelming at times. The guardian wolves offered a sense of grounding for their red wolf. It helped in situations that were emotionally intense or when the red wolf had to use their abilities. 

I think that this was part of the reason I was so pissed off with Duncan blowing us off. I understood that he was busy with Alpha duties, but he could not shirk on his responsibilities as my guardian wolf. His father, the former Alpha, Michael, was a guardian wolf for Raina, so Duncan clearly understood the importance of this relationship. 

I can also admit that, with how good looking Duncan is, I wasn’t mad about having to spend time with him. He had those Alpha good looks that made all of the she-wolves want him. Tall, so muscular, blonde hair that was just a bit longer, and gorgeous blue eyes. His eyes were such a bright blue color. I had honestly never seen a set of eyes that color blue before - they were the type of eyes you could get so lost in. But, if he was going to be a jerk about meeting with me, it didn’t matter how good looking he was. 

As much as I was mad at Duncan that he had not spent time with us, I was also sad and hurt. Everything that I was told by the other red wolves, including Raina, was that the guardian wolves were drawn to us. Michael had struggled with being apart from Raina when the guardian wolves were first identified. This was, at least in part, why the packhouse for both the Red Moon Pack and the Crescent River Pack were moved to within an hour of the Red Wolf Compound. The compound sat between the two packs, with both packs having responsibility for protecting the compound. 

After sitting for 30 more minutes, my wolf and I had become frustrated. She was pissed that one of our guardian wolves was being so rude to us. My feelings were hurt. I was well aware that Duncan was in a bad headspace, but it wasn’t fair to take it out on me. 

I left out of the space that served as the packhouse on the red wolf compound and decided to head back to my own cabin. There were houses and cabins around the compound that served to house the red wolves, guardian wolves, and the families that came with them. If my mom had been alive when I shifted at 13, we could have all moved to the compound and lived here. That is what many families did. Because of this, the compound had been set up like most packs. There were homes, many small businesses, a school, hospital, trades, and so on, as well as a building that served as the packhouse. The Red Wolf Compound was bigger than some small packs, which meant that there was a need for self-sufficiency. Alpha Anders and Alpha Duncan had oversight responsibilities of the compound, although the former Alphas Callan and Michael, since no longer acting as Alphas, were taking on a lot of responsibility to increase security at the compound. 

I started walking towards my cabin, passing by Adam, one of my other guardian wolves. Raina had explained that the guardian wolves can often pick up on where we are, something that is most useful for keeping the red wolves safe. Sometimes the guardian wolves will simply show up where we are, especially if we have left the main house on the compound or our own home. 

“Hey Coral. How is it going?” Adam said as he walked up. 

I shrugged, taking a deep breath. “It is okay. I was supposed to meet with Duncan but, apparently, he has decided to blow me off. How are you doing?” 

Adam’s face seemed to fall a bit. “Has he met with you at all?” He asked, stopping in the path. 

I shook my head. “No. Anders told me he was going to come over, but I have been waiting a few hours and I am done waiting. I thought I would stop by the cafe and pick up a treat before heading back to my cabin.” I replied, motioning towards the cafe. I had only been here a short period of time but I had grown to love the cafe. It was a bakery and coffee shop that served the best iced coffee and pie. The apple crumb pie was the best, but you couldn’t go wrong with any dessert that you could get from the cafe. 

“Want some company?” He asked, a sly smile slowly crossing his face. After meeting with Adam several times, I had definitely noticed that he had been flirting with me. Talia and Vivian had been talking to me about the sexual attraction that many unmated males often felt towards the red wolf. Apparently that was both a blessing and a curse. The red wolf was often highly desired due to the emotional aspect of the red wolves’ abilities. 

Vivian shared she had “dated” at least five wolves in the last month. All of them had come on very strongly to her, and she gladly obliged, describing in graphic detail the sexual things that they had done together. Over the years, saving oneself for their mate had pretty much gone to the wayside. Very few wolves found their mates when they turned 18, so it seemed unnecessary to save your virginity for your mate. I was indifferent on the topic. I hadn’t dated anyone seriously enough to feel compelled either way. Well, I guess it is better to say I hadn’t dated anyone. The one area that seemed to be “off limits” was dating one of your own guardian wolves. 

“Sure, let’s go.” I smiled back at Adam. It was a quick walk to the cafe and we walked in silence. 

“Coral! Glad to see you again. Would you like your usual?” Jenna greeted me. Her family owned the cafe. They had been living at the compound for the last few years. Her brother, Josiah, was a guardian wolf. The entire family decided to move to the compound with her brother. That didn’t happen often, but from what Jenna said, the family didn’t like their Alpha and used it as an opportunity to leave the pack. 

“Please, and whatever Adam would like.” I replied, motioning Adam towards the counter. I could see his eyes widen as he looked over all of the dessert options. 

“Is that key lime pie?” Adam asked, his mouth nearly watering as he looked over the selection of times. The pie selection often changed and this was the first time I had seen key lime pie. I had to admit that it did look good. 

“It is. Would you like a slice?” Jenna asked as she grabbed a plate and got Adam a slice of pie. Jenna plated up my apple crumb pie and iced coffee, as well as Adam’s pie and the hot chocolate he ordered. It seemed like a strange combination, but he loved both and didn’t care if the flavors didn’t go together. 

Adam took the tray and we made our way over to a table by the window. I sat closest to the window, enjoying some of the fall sun. 

I smiled over at Adam as he seemed to be enjoying his pie. I couldn’t help but laugh as he closed his eyes, and a small moan escaped his lips. 

He looked at me, laughing at him. “What? This pie is delicious!” 

I nodded my head. “This place has the best pie.” I took another bite of my own pie. “How is your guardian wolf training going? I am sure that it must be different from the warrior training you had at the Silver Springs Pack.” 

Adam took a sip of his hot chocolate. “It is. The training is pretty intense. Some of the other guardian wolves have fighting skills I have only seen in Alphas. It is crazy.” He paused, wiping his mouth. “I have learned so much. I honestly feel stronger since coming here. It feels strange.” 

“Harley has told me much the same. Once she was here with the other guardian wolves, she reported feeling so much stronger. You know she has been doing training as well. I have never seen her fight like that.” I thought back to just yesterday, when I was watching Harley train. She had been coming to the compound every day, either to do training with the guardian wolves or to visit with me. I was out walking around the compound and saw the training. Harley was a fierce fighter. 

“How about you? How is your training going?” Adam asked as he took my trash, throwing it away in the trash can right behind us. 

“It is going. I feel like I missed out on so much because Alpha Carlson didn’t contact the compound right away. There is so much to learn.” I sighed, taking another sip of my coffee. “I am learning, I really am. It is just so much. I never realized how much I needed to keep track of when it comes to emotions. I felt sad the other day and didn’t even realize that I was projecting that feeling onto someone else until Raina told me what was happening.” 

When I was working with Raina and Cammie doing training, I started feeling very lost, as if I couldn’t keep myself from feeling sadder and almost hopeless. Romy, Raina’s daughter, was present during the training and started feeling extremely depressed. As a daughter of the red wolf, Romy had been the unwilling recipient of the skills of the red wolf and seemed to know that the feelings were not her own. Raina and I spent the rest of the day processing my emotions. That helped so much. 

But Ivy and I still had so much more work to do. 

A she-wolf, Polly, approached. She had been smiling at Adam, but sneered at me when I looked over at her. Polly’s sister was a red wolf. She has been living at the compound for a few years. From what I had heard, Polly was not as tuned in to the issues of the red wolf and had struggled with living at the compound. 

“Hey, Adam.” She paused, appearing to be a bit nervous. 

Adam smiled at her. “Hey Polly. How’s it going?” 

“Pretty good. Um, I was wondering if you would like to go to the bonfire with me?” She asked, clearly feeling a heightened level of anxiety as she asked. 

Adam looked over at me. “I am not sure of the expectation for being at that type of event with Coral, but I would love to go with you.” He stated, giving her a broad smile. Although Adam was a flirter and liked to flirt with me, we had already discussed that there would be no relationship between me and him. I encouraged him to avoid the other red wolves, especially Vivian. 

Polly gave me a nasty look, the type that if looks could kill I would be dead. She brushed her long, brown hair off of her shoulder as she turned to me. “And what does she have to do with this?” Her words were directed at Adam, but she scowled at me as she spoke.  Raina had warned me about this. She had warned me that she-wolves were often very jealous of the red wolf. It made for some pretty negative interactions. 

Deciding to be the bigger person, I smiled at her, conveying as positive of emotions as I could. “Adam, you won’t have to worry about me. There will be other guardian wolves there. Go and have fun with Polly.”  Polly seemed to step back at the positive emotions that were running through her, in contrast to the negative emotions that she has been showing to me. 

“Are you sure?” Adam asked, looking at me questioningly. 

“She is sure. I will be there with her.” I looked up to see Duncan standing next to the table.  I hated that my first instinct was to think how good he looked. But one could not deny how handsome Duncan was. But he was also arrogant and had kept me waiting for several hours. 

“Nice of you to finally join me.” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I will see you later, Adam.”

I stood, walking towards the door, the Alpha following behind me.