The shadow packs wise one

Lowell

We get back to the community and it feels like I can finally breathe for the first time in two weeks.

No matter what, it will always be good to be home.

This place might not be much, but it is home to me. It will always be home to me. With everything that has happened, there is only one goal in my mind, and that is to find out what the fuck happened to Col.

"I need you to get me Beau Foxly's number," I tell Griffen just as we get out of the car and away from Ashina.

Ashina might be my sister, but I don't trust her and I know that she has a hand in whatever this is.

"Why?''

"Because I needed to talk to him, I need to find out what happened, and he is the one that is with Col right now."

"Your sister's mate, Col, or another Col I don't know about?" he asks, trying to play dumb.

I frown, "Don't you call him that."

I am beyond pissed and Griff is not making matters easier. "Sorry Boss, I will get you that number.''

He walks away from me and I watch him leave. I look around and nothing has changed in the community. Our landscape has always been big. The grass is well kept. There is a pond in the middle of the main building that belongs to the Alpha. Right now, it belongs to me. I look around and the people on duty are all in their posts. I nod to a few as I pass in the direction of my building. I need to find Ralph, but not for the reasons I would have had before i met Col.

Right now, all my plans are on hold. I just want to focus on the one thing that matters to me, and that is Colin. There is this big part of me that is missing right now. the emptiness that has arisen from his absence.

I go to the other side of the house, Ralph's building is at the far end, surrounded by the trees. He likes to be on his own. A lot of people in the shadow pack like to be secluded. That is probably why they haven't challenged me yet--that and the fact that I would kill anyone who tries to.

They know it and are being smart about it.

I get to the house, which is a small Ingrid home well hidden from the rest of our clan, a good mile and a half away in the woods. I slip inside and see a small fire burning in the fireplace. Ralph doesn't believe in locked doors. He might like to keep to himself, but he doesn't mind people entering his premises without permission.

I enter the den, which looks small and cozy with its sagging armchairs and old, worn rugs over the floor.

"You are back.''

I hear his voice before I see him as he ascends down the stairs. Ralph is an old wolf. He is wise and kind. He is the opposite of me. Because of my father, he has taken a liking to me. The one person that he could trust.

Since his passing, he has taken on the role of acting like my father. My father trusted him, and I pay it forward by doing the same. There is nothing Ralph doesn't know, there is nothing he can't do. He is the one I rely on the most in the pack.

"Yeah, just got in.''

He walks and I take a look at him. His hair is fully white. I've always loved that color on him. It makes him look even whiter. He has wrinkles, but only around his eyes. When I was younger, I asked him why he was only aging in his eyes, and he said it was because of all the things he had seen in his life. He has lived a long life, one that shows in his personality.

"How was the retreat? Something is different about you," he points out as we walk over to the chairs.

I take a seat, and he does the same.

His grey eyes shine as he studies me. That is what I mean. He is looking at me and he can already tell the things I might not even know.

With a smirk, he asks, "Do you want to tell me or do you want me to tell you?"

I smile back at him.

"I met someone."

He nods, "And?"

I shrug. "A lot happened. Things have changed."

"That person you met, where is he now?"

I think back to the reason why I am here.

"He is mated to Ashina.''

"Because Ashina said so?''

I nod.

"Has it ever happened before?''

"Has whatever happened?"

"The mating process, has it ever been wrong?''

I want to know if this is a glitch. Something went wrong. I want to find out if my sister had anything to do with it.

"No.''

I take a deep breath.

My heart ices over just thinking about it. I want to be right about what I think.

"This man that you met, you think he is yours?''

I nod.

"You had a mate. She is dead. Do you think it is possible to have two mates in a lifetime?''

Ralph is one of those people that likes to ask you things to make you see the answers. I don't know what is going on in his head, but he already understands everything--I am sure of that.

"I don't know. I have never met anyone in that situation."

He nods and I watch him as he closes his eyes. His eyes are the one thing about him that carries all his power.

After a couple of minutes, his eyelids part open and there is a smile on his face.

"Ashina has not found her mate. Whatever she did is with evil intentions."

He stands up from his chair and I watch him as he walks in the direction of the bed "Bring the boy here and maybe I can fix this.''