16 Dante 8

By the time I had caught up with Hannalee, we had both already run for over a mile. I could hear her crying in her own mind and wished I could do something to ease her suffering. She let out a pain filled howl that would no doubt draw the rest of the pack's attention, then stopped.

I stopped next to her and watched as she flopped on the ground, panting. I nudged her softly, wanting her to know that I was there for her, while not knowing what to say.

'What do I do?' she asked, then sniffled.

I knew exactly what she meant by asking. She wanted to know how to make her mother accept her, how to make her mother love her for who she was, but I didn't have the answer for her. So I simply said 'just be true to yourself.'

She looked up at me with a pathetic look and I responded by licking her muzzle.

I had to admit that I was amazed how quickly she had adjusted to her new form, but I also knew that she was fueled by a need to run away.

'Dante!' I heard a male wolf approach.

I recognized the voice of the alpha in my mind, as well as the more distant murmuring of other wolves.

I quickly turned to face him, angling my head to bear my throat in a show of submission.

'Dante, who is this?' he asked calmly, but not hiding his show of dominance.

I looked over at my mate, who was watching our interaction curiously.

'She is my mate. Newly bitten.' I answered, looking back at him cautiously.

My alpha, in his human for was the same height as me, with dark skin and short black hair. His wolf had fur the same dark shade as his hair, and his eyes were a slightly brighter shade of brown.

He stepped around me, to face my mate, and looked her over. I was sure he could feel the power radiating off of her, but he said nothing. She looked at me and I gestured for her to show her submission the same way that I had, and she did as I told her. She rolled onto her side and extended her head to show him her throat.

Some of the murmurs turned to soft laughing, and I almost wanted to laugh with them.

'Are you in pain?' my alpha asked her.

'No, well, kinda. Just emotional stuff.' she replied quietly.

He looked at me, expecting an explanation.

'She is having difficulties with her mother.' I stated, sensing her stiffening.

He looked back at her 'you have family here. You have no need to worry about your parents.'

She moved and sat up and looked at him, then around us. The other wolves of the pack were coming into the lit area, some stepping closer than others. Part of me wanted to warn them away from her, to keep her all to myself, but I knew I couldn't do that with the pack. As my mate, she was a part of the pack, and a greeting was rather mandatory. And, while this hadn't been how I had hoped for her to meet the pack, what was done, was done.

First, one or two wolves came up and sniffed at her, then more. I watched as she looked around, stiffening as if afraid. But she didn't smell of fear, and I knew that she was safe with the pack.

'She smells kinda weird.' a smaller wolf approached me, sounding quite young.

I could guess that this was the alpha's son, since he had recently had his first shift. And, while I couldn't make out his exact coloring, he also had a similar scent to the alpha.

'She's special.' I smiled calmly.

'What do you mean?' the alpha asked, stepping next to me and his son.

'May I explain in the morning, my alpha?' I asked, keeping my voice quiet so he wouldn't think I was fighting him.

'I suppose, but I expect you both at my house early.' he said, giving a warning tone.

I nodded and turned my focus back to Hannalee. Some of the smaller wolves, the children of the pack were sniffing at her and nipping at her in a playful way, and she seemed to be having fun with it. It reminded me of what her mother had said just before I had gotten her outside. Hannalee could have my pups if she wanted to. She wouldn't need any fertility treatments or doctor help to conceive. But, would she want to?

It was true that she was prepared to return to her home to be assigned a partner for birthing a child, but, did that mean that she truly wanted to have children? When she had been planning to return home, it had been for some future goal, but now she didn't have that goal to hold onto anymore. If she came to resent me, I don't know what I would do.