Chapter 16: Chapter 16

The woods around the pack grounds were magical. With a soft snow fall, it couldn’t have been a better tour of the grounds. Soren loved to walk within the trees, getting flakes of snow caught in her hair, her nose getting red and making her snivel. She hoped she wasn’t annoying James but every time she looked over at him, he told her she was ‘cute’ which she could help but resent, but also love. She kept catching him staring at her with a look in his eyes that she could only come to describe as admiration, but whatever it was it made her heart skip a beat every time.

As they walked James had kept hold of her hand, they walked in peaceful silence, until every once and a while James would share a piece of pack information and knowledge. He seemed to be a never-ending source of information about the wolves and about the pack, and Soren loved how passionately he talked about it. It was obvious that the pack was his life, and that he loved and cared for all of them deeply, they were his family.

“I’m sorry you spent so long away with them to be with me.” She mumbled, gripping his hand hard as if afraid he would let go.

“I’m not.” He said, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear as she looked up to stare at him in disbelief,

“The pack’s my family, yes, but sometimes they stress me out so much. It gets hard to handle, everyone always counting on you and coming to you for questions. I’d never want to be Alpha, I know so much work goes into that – more than I’d be able to manage, but at the same time Matt hardly deals with the personal aspect of the job. He gives speeches and holds interviews and event with everyone, but it’s me that has to deal with people when their children are sick or their businesses are failing or a child goes missing, it just wears on a person, you know?”

Soren’s heart didn’t know whether to be in awe of the man in front of her, or cry for how much he sacrificed of himself for his people. He was an amazing man. He never asked for anything from her, other than the occasional demand that she eat, and he never complained. She didn’t know how one man could be so selfless and kind, and yet so stressed and sad and lonely.

She pulled him into her and gave him a hug, gripping him as tightly as possible, and as she pulled away, she left a feather-light kiss on his cheek,

“You’re amazing, you know that? Amazing.”

She said it and she meant it, by the look on James’ face, that wasn’t the reaction he had been expecting. She knew he was always trying to be conscious of her, of not making her uncomfortable, but she was done being shy. Her time with him had shown her that he was no more threatening than his wolf, he might’ve been dangerous and undoubtedly deadly, but he wasn’t to her. She knew he would never hurt her, and so she was done worrying, done keeping all her questions and comments inside.

“You still up for a little exploring before lunch? There’s somewhere I want to show you.”

He looked hopeful, and Soren was always happy to spend more time outside, breathing in the nature that calmed her,

“I’d love that.”

With a grin, he grabbed her hand and began to set off deeper into the trees.

They ended up on top of a wide hill. Standing on top she felt like she could see for miles, it took her breath away.

“This is where I always come when I’m upset or stressed. It makes me feel small standing up here, and it seemed to make my problems seem smaller too.”

They could see the small town the community had, the main street where they had a few assorted shops, as well as the houses that were scattered around. It was a picturesque sight, the town looking tranquil and calm from way up where they stood.

“It’s beautiful.” She leaned into his side, eyes roaming the vast expanse of mountains and snow topped trees.

“It’s yours.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m serious,” He gripped her arm and turned her to face him, “I know it may seem silly and ridiculous to someone who grew up human, but here we run on a system. It’s a flawed system for sure, I know that and so does Matt, but it’s the one we have. All of this,”

He gestured outwards,

“All of it is yours and mine. Being my mate makes you Beta Female of the pack, meaning everyone down there would lay down their lives for you. They just want you to be happy, and in return all they want is to get to know you and to welcome you into their lives.”

Soren’s eyes were glued to his, it was a lot to take in.

“That’s a lot of responsibility James. I don’t know if I can have all those people down there depending on me, expecting me to be something I’m not. I’ve been by myself for so long now, I don’t even know if I remember how to talk to people, how to make friends.”

He pulled her in for a hug, calming the heart that had begun to pound in her chest,

“You talk to me just fine, they’re no different.”

“Yes, they are, and you know it. They weren’t made for me, you were. You make me feel safe, they make me nervous and I haven’t even met them yet.”

The corners of James’ lips turned up into a small smile,

“They might make you nervous right now, but just give it time. You’re going to love all of them and I’m sure they’ll love you too. Fate wouldn’t have trusted you with this if she didn’t think you could handle it.”

“Fate’s a woman?”

James chuckled,

“Nice change of subject, but yes. All the important people are.”

A comfortable silence settled over them, leaving them standing side by side, deep in thought, embracing the quiet and calm that surrounded them.

She didn’t know how long they stood there until James interrupted her thinking.

“Want to go eat? It must be around lunch time now.”

She nodded, pulling away from his side and shoving her mitten clad hand into the crook of his elbow.

“What do you think about wandering into town? There shouldn’t be that many people out, it might be a good way to informally introduce you to some people.”

“Sure.”

Her voice was a tad nervous. Never one to not pick up on her feelings he placed his hand atop her own,

“I’ll be there the whole time. I’ll even bring you to the bathroom with me if you still uncomfortable when we get there.”

She sent a light punch to his arm at his teasing. She knew he was joking but she would also seriously consider following him to the bathroom if people were scaring her too much.

Walking into town brought quite a few stares, but for the most part it didn’t bother her. She knew she was an outsider in a close-knit community and for all intents and purposes she was their new leader, sort of. Gripping onto James’ arm she tried to calm her heart, she was sure everyone could hear how it was banging violently, trying to rip itself out from her chest.

James strode confidently down the main street, smiling and saying hi to people as they passed. He knew exactly where he was going and within minutes, they were sat in a worn vinyl booth in the town’s only diner. It was either this or a more upscale restaurant and Soren was grateful he hadn’t even needed to ask her which she would prefer.

It was homey inside. Many things, she had noticed since arriving within the pack’s boarders, were about comfort and practicality. There was barely any room for frivolous items that had no use. She liked that about the wolves, they didn’t take more than they needed, and they wasted as little as possible. She felt that like her, they cared about the nature around them, and she took comfort in knowing that the strangers she was meant to rule shared in her ideals. The menu held many items she struggled to read, and even when she could sound out the words, they meant next to nothing to her.

Seeing her struggle James told her he’d order for her, surprise her with something on his list of things for her to try.

“James!” A voice rang out from behind the counter, as an older man with greying tufts of hair limped over as fast as he was able.

“My boy it’s been way too long since I’ve seen you in here! Variety and I were starting to worry about you!” The man’s voice was scolding, but Soren could sense the amusement rolling off of him.

“Sorry Pops, I’ve been busy.” James looked across the table and nodded at her and she cursed the blush that rose to her cheeks.

“While I’ll be damned James Moore, is that her?” His tone was hopeful.

“Yeah Pops, I finally found her.” James was grinning ear to ear.

Soren jumped in surprise as the little old man threw himself at her, crushing her in a tight hug.

“My goodness is it nice to finally meet you. I’m Vince but everyone ‘round these parts calls me Pops. What’s your name, Hun?”

“I’m Soren.” She gave a small smile.

“Well Soren, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure you’re going to be very happy here with our James, he’s a keeper that’s for sure. Just make sure he doesn’t forget to feed you, sometimes he forgets to feed himself he’s so busy. I swear if it weren’t for me and Variety the boy would be wasting away.”

Soren felt immensely grateful for the man in front of her. She was glad to know that someone was taking care of James, that he wasn’t only taking care of others.

“Thank you.” She said to Pops, her tone indicating the sincerity of her words.

“Of course, darlin’. Don’t mention it. Now,” He stepped back and looked at James,

“What will you too love birds have?”

James ordered them both a burger and fries, with a milkshake on the side, not even glancing down towards the menu. Scampering away, Pops vowed to return with Variety at his side.

“I like him. He’s nice.” Soren stated, watching his retreating form as it slipped through the kitchen doors.

“Yeah,” James agreed, “Him and Variety have always been there for me. Through thick and thin, you know? They’re like parents to me. I’m sure Variety’s going to have a conniption when she sees you though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well you’re just so absolutely adorable, I just don’t know if she’ll be able to handle it.” James leaned back and looked at her, a gleam in his beautiful eyes, watching with a knowing grin as her cheeks flamed.

“I love making you blush. It’s true though, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. I’m so lucky to be sitting here with you right now.” Soren couldn’t hold his gaze, she saw the raw honesty displayed within, and she couldn’t come close to understanding how someone could be saying those words about her.

“Hey,” he leaned forwards and grabbed her hand across the table, “don’t over think it okay? Just go with it, it’ll all be fine. Plus, you only have about ten seconds to prepare yourself, Variety’s on her way over.”