The dark wolf

Alison

“Selene came over. She was looking for you yesterday,” my mother said. I barely looked up from my bowl of oatmeal, nodding.

“Okay,” I mumbled in response. I did my best to resemble the physical representation of static on a TV screen - Vague and uninteresting to look at.

“You should go see her. She said she didn't see you at the ceremony. So she may be worried about you,” my dearest mother continued in that oblivious way she always was in.

Oh, mother, I thought. You have no idea what is going on. If anything, she may have come here to try and appease me. I doubted that she would have succeeded though. I was still in a snit. My heart ached at the thought of them.

Despite having not eaten much except for the chicken soup and some pasta I saw in the microwave late last night, I had suddenly lost all semblance of an appetite. Standing up, I moved to place my bowl in the sink and began the small task of washing it before placing it on the plate rack and walking back to my bedroom.

“You should go out today,” my mother’s loud voice rang through the hallway as I stomped up to my room. I put on my favorite boots and moved to grab my denim blue jacket which I put on before leaving the room again, intending on doing just as my dear mother had said.

But I wasn't going to see Selene. No, I was going to one of the only hideouts I had not yet shown my former best friend.

I doubted that she would have the sense of mind to look for me there, in the alcove between the little shops in the pack compound. Thaywas, strangely enough, a very calming place to be in. It was also the best place to hear some little tidbits of gossip floating around the pack.

I sat atop the small, rounded platform in the alcove, tucked my feet under my thighs in a meditation pose and simply… listened.

The sounds of people walking around and talking did wonders for my impending high blood pressure and soon I began to fall into the state of calm popularly known as Zen.

However, my ears picked up a word that had me slipping out of that state suddenly.

“... has found his mate here, in our pack?” a woman was conversing nearby. Her voice was louder than everyone else. However it was the mention of mates that had made me alert.

Mates?

My ears pricked to know more.

“Ah, really?” another woman laughed joyously. “That is wonderful! Who could have ever guessed that the Alpha of such a powerful pack would have found his mate here, in our humble pack?”

“Almost like the stars aligned,” the woman I had first taken note of quipped. I could tell, just by her voice, that she was smiling or at least happy. “By the way, I heard he is looking for the girl, actually.”

Looking for a girl?

My brows furrowed.

It had to be someone else, right? I mean, I definitely didn't know what that ‘Alpha’ looked like, but it wasn't Dimiri, right? No Alpha of a large pack would go about meeting random drunk girls in the corner and keeping them company for the rest of the night… right? ugh, i couldn't think now.

I groaned to myself, standing up and dusting off my clothes before leaving the alcove. I had to find out more about the information, and this Alpha.

I approached the two women with a soft smile, trying to put my best foot forward as they chatted.

“Excuse me,” I greeted them. they both turned to me with confusion in their eyes. “I couldn't help but overhear… about the Alpha who found his mate?”

Their faces brightened almost instantly.

“Ah, yes! The Alpha of Dark Eclipse Pack,” one of the women said. “Handsome man, too. Although I only got a few peeks at him. He’s got the most charming looks. If I were not mated…”

My eyes were wide and my mouth agape. The Alpha of that pack?! It was more than a large pack, it was the most powerful pack in the region! It was a pack that had survived many wars and tussles for territory throughout the times and had been famed to be one of the oldest packs with the most revered bloodline, the Tulsi bloodline, as the leaders of the pack through generations.

It couldn't be him… could it?

Dimitri couldn't be the Dark Wolf, the one that was said to be fearless in all battles and took the mantle of Alpha so young but led with so much wisdom?

I bit my lip, wondering if I should ask the woman or not. Maybe it wasn't MY Dimitri. Maybe it was another man, whose name I didn't even know, and who had also attended the mating ceremony… and found his mate at about the same time that I had, right?

“Erm…” I stammered, trying to appear calm and collected as I raised my voice to ask. “So… what is the name of their Alpha again? I kind of forgot.” the two women paused, humming confusedly.

“uh… i don't really remember,” the other woman said, and i deflated, feeling tired all of a sudden. They really had no idea who they were even talking about?

“I heard he was the Dark Wolf, but his name…” the other woman seemed to be searching her memory.

“Hmmm… I don't recall anything about his name.”

“Oh, okay then,” my voice was small as I said that. Maybe it wasn't my DImitri after all. Coincidences do happen. and i was sure this had to be another one, just like my former best friend getting with my longtime crush.

Just as I was about to turn I heard something else.

“Oh, I do know his name is really unique. Not something you hear everyday in these parts at least… I think it starts with a D…”

I stopped moving entirely. Dread filled my gut as I pondered what the woman said.

D…

Dimitri..?

Was he a Tulsi, and was he the Dark wolf?

Wss he the Alpha of the Dark Eclipse Pack?