JARED'S POV

I was unsure what to do. Anna's request to take her to my pack didn't seem like the best idea right now. She was overwhelmed, and seeing masses of wolves running around in front of her would definitely freak her out. I didn't want her becoming frightened that they would harm her.

"Anna, are you sure?" Clara questioned as she looked at me with an uncertain expression, and I released a small sigh.

Anna nodded, pursing her lips. "Yes. If you're telling the truth, then yes, I want to see it."

"Anna," I took a hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Our pack is big. Many wolves live there and you will most likely see a lot of them. Some of them may even be fighting, and I don't want that to scare you."

"Is there an issue with a human entering your pack?" Anna asked, the words sounding strange leaving her mouth. I really never thought I would hear her say them.

I shook my head, scowling. "No, not if you're mated to me. We don't allow members of the public in of course, but there are a few humans that live there already. Sometimes wolves get given human mates."

Anna gulped, pulling her hand away from me slowly, fiddling with her fingers. I understood why she wasn't inclined to be touched by me right now, but our bond was desperate for me to comfort her.

"And you said some Goddess just 'gives' them to you?" Anna's tone sounded slightly offended, and I frowned, not wanting to think that she was just some object to me.

"It's not like that. She pairs people who she thinks need each other. We were paired for a reason." I decided not to mention the fact that I had had another mate before her for the moment. It would only complicate things and I needed Anna to understand the world I lived in before I told her. The news wasn't going to be easy to hear.

"I'll call Dylan," Clara mumbled, grabbing her phone and exiting the kitchen. I knew that she wanted to run Anna entering the pack by Dylan first, and I was hoping that he would say it was okay. I hadn't expected Anna to want to actually come and see the pack so soon, but it seemed that she was mentally battling with herself on what the right thing to do was.

"So this house isn't even yours?" Anna mumbled, taking a shaky breath, and I shook my head.

"No, but please understand that I couldn't just take you to my pack without you knowing what I was." Anna nodded once, letting me know that she understood.

"Um, so when you...turn into a wolf, can you...walk?" Anna looked hesitant, and she dropped her gaze to her feet, focusing intently on the flooring. She looked guilty for asking, and I released a small chuckle, wanting her to know that she was welcome to ask me whatever she wanted. I wasn't going to be offended by her questioning.

"No, I can't," I told her, keeping my tone light-hearted. I cocked my head as I attempted to listen in to Clara's conversation with Dylan, but, I was focusing on Anna's breathing, wanting to ensure that she took deep breaths and didn't give herself another panic attack.

"It's hard not being able to use my legs. All my wolf wants to do is run, but that will never happen," I explained, and Anna's face dropped. She looked physically hurt, and I noticed her fingers twitching. I could tell that she wanted to reach out to me, but something was stopping her.

I opened up my mouth to speak again, but Clara cut me off, entering the kitchen with a smile on her face. "Okay, Dylan says that you visiting the pack is fine. He suggests not staying too long though just in case it ends up getting a bit much for you, but it's up to you, Anna."

My mate nodded, offering my sister a small smile. "I'm ready to go."

"Okay, I drove," Clara spoke, grabbing her car keys and gesturing for us to head out.

I smiled at Anna as she exited the house, and I spotted Clara's black SUV messily pulled up onto the sidewalk. It looked like she had rushed here as fast as she could.

The journey was quiet, and I could tell that she had a million questions lingering on her lips, but she decided to remain silent. She stared out of the window, resting her forehead against it, her hot breath fanning across it and fogging it up.

It was hard to make out her facial expression from the back, but I noticed how her jaw shifted multiple times, signalling to me that she was anticipating what she was about to face. I imagined her mind was running wild.

Clara eventually parked up, and I wheeled myself out of the back of the car, pulling open the door for Anna so that she could hop out. We had parked on the side of the road, something we didn't usually do. We always entered the pack grounds and parked in the garage, but I could tell that Clara wanted to take this slowly. She wanted Anna to do this in her own time.

"Are you ready?" I asked her, and my mate dipped her chin, nodding, gazing up at the large iron black gate, her hands shaking.

"How many wolves will there be?" She asked me, and I scrunched my nose up, thinking.

"A lot of them will be at home around now, so there shouldn't be too many of them around. Just try not to stare when you do see them," I told her as Clara thanked the guards who opened up the iron gates for us.

They studied Anna for a few brief seconds before offering her a small smile, and I could tell that they were trying to sus out who she was before allowing her to enter. She was with the Luna of the pack though, so they didn't question anything.

The pack was quiet like I had expected, a few people milling around in human form, looking as normal as ever. They smiled at their Luna once they caught sight of us, looking away quickly and re-focusing on whatever they were doing before they had spotted us.

Anna craned her neck as she took a good look around the clearing, gazing up at the number of large houses, looking overwhelmed. There were a few stalls dotted around too, but the clerks were packing up, closing for the day, looking ready to get home.

I began to wheel left, wanting to steer clear of the training field. I knew that there was a session going on around this time, and I wanted to try and avoid the ferocious wolves. Seeing them pin each other to the ground and growl animalistically in each other's faces would surely chill Anna down to the bone.

"Where are we going?" Anna questioned me, her steps quick next to mine, and I turned to her, offering her a small smile.

"To my house, well, the house I've been staying in. My actual one is being renovated, so I've been staying with Clara and Dylan," I told her and Anna gulped. She looked nervous to meet Dylan, and I could understand why. "Don't worry. Dylan might be an Alpha, but he's a softie really."

Clara laughed from behind us, and we made our way across the clearing towards the house. The flowers outside of it had started to wilt, the rain having beat down on them too harshly, causing the petals to droop. I furrowed my brows at them, hoping that it wasn't a sign that this was all about to turn to shit. I moved aside as Clara pushed the door to the house open, inviting us in.

"Um, is Sophia here?" Anna asked hesitantly, clicking her knuckles, and I nodded towards the ceiling. She would most likely be upstairs by now, or was being put to bed. She enjoyed going to sleep early so that she could be read her favourite book. Although, she never actually stayed asleep very long.

"Can I get you a drink?" Clara questioned, making her way into the open kitchen and getting a few glasses out of the cabinet, holding them up.

"Um, just water will be fine, thank you," Anna responded, and I gestured for her to take a seat on the couch. She perched herself on the corner of it, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know if it's a good idea for me to be here with Sophia. The school will-"

"The school doesn't know that we're mates," I told her, releasing a small sigh, noticing how Anna's body tensed at my words before she forced a small smile. She wasn't used to being called my 'mate', and I could tell that it was alien to her.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the living room, and Dylan made his way down the stairs, raising his brows at us. I nodded at him, my eyes travelling down his arms to see a fresh tattoo. He wasn't an overly inked man, but his right forearm was now covered in an intricate design. I hummed to myself as I studied it. I would have to ask him more about it when I had the chance. I had been meaning to get a few tattoos.

Clara made her way over to Anna, passing her her glass of water before making her way up to Dylan, smiling at him and planting a kiss to his lips. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a tight squeeze before releasing her.

Making his way over to the couch, Dylan settled down. "Hi, Anna."

"Hi," my mate responded, nodding at him, looking uneasy. It wasn't hard to find Dylan intimidating. He was a huge man, tall and muscular, and his face was masked with a scowl the majority of the time, despite the fact that he was actually a fun and caring person. I blamed the stress of being an Alpha.

"So, you're mated to Jared over here?" Dylan smiled, settling back into the couch and shutting his eyes, tilting his head back, looking exhausted. "You've got a good one."

I shot him a look before he fully shut them though, not wanting him to push Anna too far out of her comfort zone. It wasn't really the time for jokes.

"Is this what you expected, Anna?" Clara questioned as she also settled down on the couch, flicking on the TV for some background noise, releasing some of the tension.

Anna hummed to herself, shrugging. "I don't know. I didn't see any wolves."

"Dean's running a training session with the fighters right now, and everyone else tends to head settle down at home around this time," Dylan told her, opening up his eyes.

"That makes sense," Anna responded, shooting me an uncomfortable look. I could tell that she was struggling being sat inside with us all, the expectation to talk and dig heavy in the air.

"Anna, will you come with me?" I asked her, holding my hand out for her to take. "I want to show you something."

•••

What is Jared going to show Anna?

Read ahead on my patreon:

patreon.com/Loveme105

The link can also be found in my bio!

Please vote if you enjoyed!