Chapter 20 - Destined

Daisy - 

I am currently waiting at the gated entrance of Forest Haven pack-lands for the Delta to come meet me. I have decided to climb out of the car so that I am more clearly visible to all of the warriors that I can sense running the perimeter. I know how it is, running the borders, so I want to be as open and visible as I can be to ease their minds. They will be able to tell by my scent that I am not a rogue this way. If I had stayed in the car they may view me as a threat and that is the last thing I need, drama before I even get on their land.

I can feel myself starting to get jittery, I hate staying still, and I hate waiting for others. But I manage to contain my fidgeting while I wait. I know getting agitated will only make me snappy and a snappy me may not be something that a pack that doesn't know me can tolerate. I know my flaws, I am honest with myself and I am not ashamed of my quirks, but I do understand that not everyone can be as accepting as my friends and family are, so I do try to tone it down a bit around strangers. Ease them into the crazy, ya know?

Right now all I want to do is bounce on the balls of my feet, chew the skin at the edges of my fingernails and hum a tune, well actually what I really want to do is shake my booty along to the music coming out of the car, but I am trying to find tamer alternatives that I can suppress. I don't know what is the matter with me right now, I make an ass out of myself on the phone to a Delta, now I can barely suppress the jittery bubbles in my stomach that make my need to fidget almost unbearable. But I give myself a mental slap to get it together and manage to casually lean on the side of my car when I see a large ash-blonde wolf appear from behind a set of trees, clearly running towards me. I use my hip to push myself upright, don't wanna be caught slouching, that would be an awful first impression, and wait while the wolf disappears behind a tree much closer to my position. I hear a rustle of fabric and I know they have shifted and are putting some clothes on to greet me, so I wait patiently (well with outward patience) until they step out from behind the tree and make their way over to me.

When the wolf steps out from behind the tree fully clothed I am surprised to see a tiny, almost pixie like woman making her way over. The Delta (what was his name?) said he was coming to get me, and before him I was expecting the Beta, but this she-wolf was the last thing I ever expected after seeing the size of her wolf. As she passes over the invisible line that is the pack's border I sense something in her, something other than a wolf, though I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

"Hi, I'm so sorry, I know you were expecting Damien, but Alpha Nick needed him to assist Beta Sam with something quite urgently, I had hoped to meet you anyway, I have a feeling you will have a great impact on this pack and it will be my honour to escort you," the woman, who has not yet introduced herself speaks, her voice carries a melody that soothes my edges, frayed from the long journey and the waiting.

"Of course, um, I'm Daisy, uh, Beta Daisy from Twin Lakes, it is lovely to meet you," I look down at the woman standing before me, she must be at least a foot shorter than me, but the way she carries herself and the calmness and authority with which she speaks tells me that she clearly has a lot of character to compensate her stature and from what I can tell she commands respect from her peers, she certainly has mine already, simply for being so clearly honest with me and so clearly unfazed by our size difference. I mean don't get me wrong, I am not saying that being small in stature means you should be meek or timid, crikey, Cassie isn't much taller than this woman and I know she can hold her own after all she has been through, but I guess that before I met Cassie I assumed that shorter women would need to work that much harder to be in the same class as others, but when Cassie came along I suppose my thoughts changed a little, but as this is the first woman I have seen since meeting Cassie, other than pack warriors, some of those old prejudices came flying back. I mean, there are women in Twin Lakes, obviously, but they all seem to be around average height for a were-wolf, if slightly malnourished.

"Carly," the woman before me supplies, "Sorry, I got so excited about the fact that you were here and that I would get to be the one to greet you that I clean forgot to introduce myself." She gives a small self deprecating giggle and she loops her arm with mine and begins pulling me back the way she came.

"Um, my, my car?" I ask, turning back to look at it as she guides me with surprising strength.

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's such a lovely day for a walk, one of the warriors will bring it to the pack house for you." With little choice I comply and allow Carly to set the pace as we walk. In all truth I could use the walk, a chance to stretch out my legs and breathe in the nature that a car just sorta muffles.

"I knew you would come, I…" Carly speaks after a few moments of silence, but she trails off rather than finishing her thought.

"You, what?" I ask, curious about what she was about to say.

"Well, I'll be honest, but you mustn't tell anyone I told you, I know I can trust you, but they don't like me talking to anyone about it, so just, well, you know, maybe don't mention it?" She babbles, making very little sense even to my mind which is often able to grasp the most complex of babbles.

"Your secret is safe with me," I vow, meaning it with all my being.

"Oh, I know that silly, but I had to warn you, for your sake as well as for mine, Nick, I mean, Alpha Nick, is a little protective," she trails away again and I come to the sudden realisation that this is the Luna of the pack, nobody but a mate would call their Alpha by their given name around strangers. "I foresaw your visit, and I foresee a relationship with this pack but I am unable to determine whether your importance is for the pack or for an individual." Carly speaks quietly as though not wanting to be overheard. But she speaks clearly and I am left flabbergasted, a witch, I have heard of them, but I have never met one before, and to find one that is mated to an Alpha, and has a wolf, that is unheard of.

"But, how do you have a wolf? I mean, um, no offence, but I thought witches couldn't be changed the way humans can?" I am desperately trying to remember everything I do know about witches, which I will admit is not a whole hell of a lot.

"Oh, no, I'm not a wolf, well not really, not in the way that you are. I created a potion that allows me to morph into a wolf, I usually only use it when we are planning a pack run, I find it helps the others to have their Luna present as well as their Alpha. Anyway, enough about me, I want to know you, I want to understand why you are here, for now all I know is that destiny has brought you to us, but I am not able to see why and that, my dear, is incredibly frustrating."