Chapter 31
I made a discussion that day I will stay away from most of the pack. I would then on my 18th birthday I will meet with the pack shake all hands if my mate is not here I will go on the walkabout. I will do this until my 29th birthday. I smiled the day I saw Sarah find her mate. She was mated to Cole's cousin Charles. He's the son of Cole's aunt, Alice. The youngest she-wolf of the six pups his grandparents had. Cole's grandfather is a human mated to a wolf. Cole's grandmother was both our mother's midwife. She was the first wolf to touch us both helping our mothers deliver us.
On my birthday all the she-wolves that have turned 18 since my last birthday will shake my hand at breakfast. If not found I leave the next morning for a month. With our birthdays months apart Cole has been able to find his mate longer. I do look forward to the day he finds his mate. That will be the last time we do this walkabout. I will not make him leave his mate for a month. I both look forward to and fear that day. I will be happy for Cole so there is looking forward to my friend finding his happiness. The fear well that's a simple fact I might never meet my mate and then there is the having to take a chosen mate just to have them die because of me.
Today Cole and I are heading to the post in the human town not far to pick up our weekly orders and drop off this week's order from them. Walking in I see Judith the owner's daughter inside. Groaning I look to Cole “I will do all your chores for a month if you go in the demon woman is in there again.” looking over he sees her too and laughs. I have known Judith for a long time. I have always come here with my father to do business. He wanted to make sure I had a good relationship with the post. One day Judith kissed me and I pushed her away telling her she was not my mate. Cole laughed and that just made her mad. Since that day she is rude and hostile towards me. So I do the adult thing and avoid her. Shaking his head and laughing Cole jumped down off the wagon and went inside. I tied the horses to a hitch and headed to the bank to deposit what I don’t need to pay the wolves at home. Walking over I hear a rustling between the buildings. Looking down I see a man hovering over two women. Not liking the look of this I walk over. They all notice me the power coming from me tells them who I am. They bow their heads telling me they are wolves. I have never seen them before so not from the pack. “what are you doing here?” I ask the man growls at me “none of your business pups.” he sneers at me.
“you're in my territory so it is my business. State your business now!” I demand letting the power lace my voice. My power may not be as strong as my father's but it's still stronger than any wolf around here. I have trained all my life to fight for my pack I live for my pack and I will die for my pack. “well then we will be on our way then.” he grabs for the older she-wolf arm yanking her to him “let's go” he hisses. “do you want to go with him? Who is he to you?” “yes, she does. And I am her mate.” glaring at him I widen my stance “I was not talking to your mutt. I was talking to them.” pointing to the she-wolves. I feel Cole come up next to me mimicking my stance. “oh did you call your bodyguard?” ignoring him I look at the girls “well?” they both looked at the man back at me shaking their heads. “do you want to go to my packhouse?” I can see the fear all over them I didn’t need Jonah around to see it. I don’t like it one bit. They stare at him he's glaring at them waiting to see their answer. Cole starts whistling. Getting his attention. When he looks away they nod. I know Cole saw it just as I had.
I charged his hand letting go of her as I hit him. Cole grabbed the she-wolves and took off. He loaded them in the wagon and took off heading to the pack. I was left to fight this poor excuse of a male. He didn’t last long okay not at all I had knocked him down with that hit. When he finally got back up he squared up with me then seemed to change his mind as he turns and runs off. I link father to let him know about the rogue. The she-wolves turned out to be a sister. The rogue is their uncle. Their parents were killed and he took them in. When their parent's money ran out he was planning to sell them. They joined the pack and were given rooms and jobs. I had helped them move beds in the rooms and a chest for clothes. Maryanne was 18 and not my mate. Annabelle is 17 and probably not my mate. Father plans to give them a few days to recover from their uncle before collecting all the information on them. I will be gone by then. I do not have high hopes for this walkabout.
If my nose had worked I would have known my mate was here the whole time. It took two years after that before I found out Annabelle was my mate. When I returned to the pack that year she had turned 18 a few days after I had left so when I got back she could smell me. But not knowing about the curses she thought I was rejecting her. Not having anywhere to go stayed not willing to give me up but not telling me either. I found out when I was running in the woods and stumbled over her sleeping body. That was also the day she found out about the curses and my nose. I had taken over the pack by now farther started to feel weaker the older I got. I had decided at 22 that I was no longer going on the walkabout. I will choose 29. finding her had been the happiest and saddest day. We sat there and talked I told her everything. Make sure she knows if she wants to reject me no one will know she did. Well, other than myself Cole who knows everything I know we cant shut each other out. And Jonah as he speaks with the goddess he will ask for her to get a second chance at a mate. She asked “would we have to have pups right away?” shaking my head “no I don’t have to have an heir until my 29th year. The pup has to be born and breathing by dusk on my 30th birthday.” “so we can have six years together before I die?” my heart already breaking at losing her.
She accepted me we spent 5 years together. I cherish every second I had with her. The pack loved her just as much as I did. The human town is now a ghost town so we expanded our land to include it. We keep a post and soon the train runs through. My belles went into heat early so we had a pup a year before we wanted. My heartbreaking and swelling at the same time. I knew right then I loved our little man with all of me and for my wonderful selfless mate. We will all make sure he knows how wonderful she is. I had a painting of her created as well as my mother's. Grandmother Betty had to describe my mother and she's beautiful. I wanted to honor our Luna. They are the real hearts of the pack. Each one has given their lives for ours. Even my grandfather johns mate died having a father. We spent the last six months of Annabelle's life pampering her and spending as much as we can. We added to the book my mother wrote to me. When he's old enough I will give it to him to read. The night Adam was born the goddess spoke through Jonah “again your son is born with no smell. I will now have them separated like Jesse and Michael have had to do. From this day at any age, if you touch your mate you know your mate and they know you. You will not be able to mark until you have your wolf but you will be able to mark each other once you both have your wolves. I can not fix your nose it is bound to the witch, but what I can do is bind the beta line to you enhancing their nose. Making the bond between the two bloodlines permanent. The link between the alpha heir and beta heir will never be closed. Can be muted voice but emotions no. You will always know how the other is feeling and can locate each other fast. The link is open at all times so that anything the beta smells can be sent to the alpha in the form of an image to relay what is scented. This will also help hide the cruses until they can be broken. I wish I could do more. “ Jonah dropping to the ground from being used by the goddess.
We closed the borders around of pack from that day on. No one in no one out. The pack being large enough our bloodlines would be fine. We still have rogues join or attack so new bloodlines enter as well. On Jonah's death bed many many years later he told me the day the Luna births a she-wolf the end of the curse is close. When the time comes pain will wash over the land but the healing will soon follow,”
Every she-wolf in the pack is now raised to be willing to choose the alpha as the mate when he is 29 and produces an heir. The she-wolf's family will be taken care of and a prayer to the goddess for their mate to have a second chance mate.
