№23|Lastachka
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Kirkland paced back and forth in his mind. Ever since he got infected, his mind became a prison for him and his wolf.

“She was right there! Right fucking there!” Kirkland growled, his pace quickening.

“I know, I know.” His wolf walked towards him, trying to calm him down. “But at least we saw her… I mean, that has to count for something.”

Kirkland sighed, sitting down in the black pool of darkness that acted as the floor in his personal prison. “Time’s been good to her…” He chuckled, his mind drifting back to the encounter with the australian beta.

It was almost as if he could still feel the warmth of her skin underneath his fingers. He could feel the slinkiness of her blond hair. He could hear her australian drawl ring though his ears as his name fell off her lips.

“Time has been good to her,” his wolf curled up next to him, “I just wish it was good to us too…”

Kirkland sighed, petting his wolf. “Don’t we all…” He watched in agony as the wolf on the outside bashed up against the box once again, drawing blood from his forehead.

Kirkland pressed his fingers on his forehead, looking at his hands to see blood. His wolf got up from its spot, licking Kirkland’s forehead to help the wound heal faster. While the two were locked in Kirkland’s mind, him and his wolf began to grow closer.

“Don’t worry,” he licked Kirkland’s cheek, “she’ll be ours soon. I just know it.”

◥✥◤

“...oh! And this one is a prince Dalaja! Isn’t that exciting?” Her mother pointed to the picture of the young man.

Dalaja, Ishaan, and Chaaya were aboard a fancy jet to take them to the summit in North America. Along the way, her mother took it upon herself to show Dalaja more potential mating options. However, Dalaja – as usual – was the least bit interested in the men her mother chose for her. Her mind was transfixed on the man from her dreams the previous night.

Ever since she woke up from her dream, she couldn’t get him out of her head! Everything about him was fascinating to Dalaja. Even though she couldn’t fully see him, his actions were what fascinated her the most. He could have left her in the snow to die of frostbite, but he didn’t. His heat melted all the harsh cold she felt in her body as well as all the loneliness.

She frowned when she remembered she never got his name. As if not being able to see him wasn’t enough. She sighed softly, turning back to her mother. “What…? Oh, yeah, he seems great. Set it up.” She replied nonchalantly, her mind drifting back to the man in her dreams.

Meanwhile at the Whiteclad Pack, Alistair and Ayame received the news of their parents' arrival.

“WHAT?!” Alistair and Ayame yelled simultaneously.

Yvette yipped, hiding behind Lawrence. “I told you they get mad…” She muttered.

“Shona, I’m not mad at you.” Alistair pulled her out from behind Lawrence, kissing the top of her head. “Our parents are… very traditional.”

“What do you mean?” Yvette tilted her head to the side slightly, a confused look in her eyes.

“Shona, you’re too innocent at times.” Alistair wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

“What he means is that our parents don't like the fact our mates aren’t Indian Wolves.” Ayame sighed, shaking her head. Her fingers wrapped around Lawrence’s hand.

“I’m sure if we just explain it to them that Lawrence and I  love Alistair and Ayame, they’ll understand.” Yvette suggested, a hopeful smile gracing her lips.

“You can try, Shona,” he kissed along her neck, “but I don’t think it’ll work.”

“Alistair, no matter the race… we all understand the simple fact of love.” She giggled, her hands on top of Alistair’s.

“I hope so…” Ayame muttered. Lawrence kissed her cheek.

“Don’t worry,” he smiled at her, stroking her hair, “I’ll make sure they’ll understand we love each other.”

Up in the potions room, Montego watched as Chelia and Kalypso made potions. Something didn’t feel right about today, and both Montego and his wolf could feel it.

“A mystery man?” Chelia questioned, pouring a white liquid into the cloudren.

“Yeah. I had another revenge dream last night and he was there… he protected me. It was… nice.” She blushed, looking back down at the cauldron.

“Do you think he’ll come back tonight?” Chelia nudged Kalypso’s side. “Maybe he’ll do more than protecting.”

“What are you implying?” Kalypso questioned.

“Come on, Kally!” Chelia laughed, mixing the potion. “You’ve never had a steamy dream about someone?”

“What?” Kalypso was still confused.

“Ya know,” Chelia snickered, “when you and the person you dream about have sex in a dream. Sometimes it’s better than in person sex.”

“Chelia!” Kalypso squealed, her cheeks burning a bright red.

“Did he excite any of those witchy girl parts of yours?” Chelia smirked slyly, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Th-that’s non-none of your business!” Kalypso's body began to heat up at the sheer thought of her protector.

“Mmhm…” Chelia rolled her eyes, bumping her hip against Kalypso’s. “Tell me what happens tomorrow morning.”

Chelia turned towards the wolf sitting on the stool. Chelia placed down the cauldron in front of him. She leaned over the table, her elbows propping up on the table as she held her head in her hands. “What’s wrong?”

“Something isn’t right…” Montego felt a shiver roll down his spine, “the air smells weird…”

“You’re crazy.” Chelia kissed his nose. “The air smells fine.”

“Baby, you don’t have the strong sense of smells werewolves do.” He sighed, sniffing the air once more.

The smell of jet fuel grazed across his nose. He looked outside the window to see a jet with the australian symbol on it fly past. He growled deeply, clutching the windowsill.

“Alpha!” Montego marched towards Barron’s office.

Hearing the footsteps coming, Barron patted Medusa’s legs. “I need you to move for a moment, my love.” 

“Why?” Medusa tilted her head.

“Because he’ll be here any second.” Barron sighed, watching as the door burst open.

“You invited them?!” Montego yelled, marching over to the desk.

“Yes…” Barron began. Medusa got off his lap and moved to the couch, “and I need you to play nice with them. Okay?”

“No!” Montego shook his head. “I will never forgive them for what they did!”

“Montego, I know you’re angry-”

“I’m furious!” Montego interrupted.

“Montego, listen. I know what they did was unforgivable, but I need you to play nice. Am I clear?” Barron glared at him.

Montego growled but ultimately nodded. “Fine... but I swear to the gods if they-”

“They’re not gonna be anywhere near her, don’t worry.” Barron patted his shoulder. “We’re going to welcome them. You’re going to smile politely and greet the alpha couple, got it?”

“You want me to smile and play nice after everything they-”

“Delta, you are to play nice. Am I clear?” Barron’s voice grew stern.

“Yes, alpha…” Montego sighed, looking at the ground.

“Thank you.” Barron hugged him. “I pray for them every day, ya know?”

“I do too…” Montego whimpered. Him, Barron, and Medusa walking out to greet the Campbell pack. Barron nudged the delta, cocking his head towards the alpha couple.

Montego growled and walked up to Oliver and Giselle. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” Montego clutched the alpha’s hand hard. Both of their claws dug into the other’s hand.

“Pleasure to meet you too, Delta.” Oliver scoffed slightly, chuckling at the wolf’s rank.

Giselle moved Oliver’s hand away from Montego’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Montego.” Giselle smiled, giving him a hug.

“You look like you needed a hug.” Giselle whispered. “I’m sorry for what those wolves did to you.”

“How did you-”

“Fairies can sense emotions by hugs… we can feel emotions, like pain and anger, in waves…” Giselle hugged him tighter. “You felt loved moments ago… then anger… and hate.”

Montego smiled and hugged her back, electing a growl from the alpha. Giselle smirked. “You wanna really piss him off?”

“Do you really have to ask?” Montego chuckled. Giselle whispered a plan in his ear. 

Montego was shocked. “I don’t want him to kill me.”

“He won't, trust me.” Giselle winked. Montego moved his hand down to her waist, his nose rubbing up against the mark on her neck.

“Okay! That’s enough hugging!” Oliver pushed Montego away from her. 

Giselle laughed hard. “Don’t worry, I’m only yours.” She patted his chest as the alpha couple walked into the compound.

Medusa boarded the plane to see a young woman still sleeping in one of the seats. She walked over to her, shaking her shoulder to wake her. “Honey, wake up.”

Piper opened her eyes, sitting up from her seat. “Who are you?”

“I’m Medusa, the Luna of the Whiteclad pack. Your Alpha and Luna are inside talking to my mate, Barron. You seem exhausted. Let me show you to your room.” Medusa helped her up from her seat.

“Thank you, Medusa.” Piper smiled, grabbing her suitcase.

“Now,” she pulled out her notebook, “what is Australia like? Are wolves different over there? What is hunting like? What is the day to day life of an Australian wolf.”

Piper sweatdropped, “you sure ask a lot of questions, huh…?”

◥✥◤

Chelia spotted Montego walking down the hallway, a scornful look on his face. She ran up to him, “there you are! What was that all about? You rushed out of the room so quickly I couldn’t even ask you what's-” she looked behind him to see Giselle and Oliver not that far behind.

“Giselle?!”

“Chelia?!”

The two fairies ran up to each other, partaking in a warm embrace. “Oh my gods and goddesses!!” the two fairies cheered, “I didn’t think when you said you were mated to a wolf you meant an alpha.” Chelia looked over her shoulder towards Oliver.

She smiled politely and waved at him, “I’m Chelia Lee,” she extended her hand for him to shake. Rather than shaking it back, the alpha gently cupped her hand in his, kissing her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lee.” Oliver winked at Chelia, his eyes shifting towards the Delta who quickly moved Chelia away from him.

Oliver smirked and held Giselle close, the two wolves growling at eachother. The fairies sighed, pulling out their wands. “Stopza!” the two chanted, the world stopped and it was solely the two of them.

“I’m sorry about Oliver…” Giselle sighed, shaking her head, “he isn’t a fan of Grecian Wolves… but it doesn't seem like Montego is as bad as Oliver makes him out to be.”

“Grecian Wolves and Australian wolves have always hated each other. Especially Montego’s family and Oliver’s.” Chelia frowned, “he never told me the full story but I can feel his emotions when I hug him…”

“Yeah…” Giselle frowned as well, soon perking up, “we should help them!”

“Help them?”

“Yes!” Giselle smiled widely, “let’s make a promise to make these two best friends before we leave.”

Chelia shook her hand, “I look forward to working with you, Giselle.”

“You’re too formal!” Giselle hugged her, Chelia hugged her back, “don't worry, Chelia, we’ll fix them.”

Meanwhile, Dechen's eyes sparkled as she pressed her face against the window of the town car. The moment she arrived in North America her eyes lit up with wonder.

Ambrocio chuckled, “your mother was the same way when she first arrived in North America.” he looked down at the tablet, ever since they let the pack he had his pack member put up cameras to all the Alpha to have 24h survaliance of his mate.

Dechen turned towards the tablet, “dad, mom is gonna be okay.”

“I know she will,” Ambrocio kept his eyes on the tablet, “I just want to keep an eye on her… she’s a lot better this morning, less angry. Some of the omegas were able to bring her food when she was asleep! That’s the best impovent we’ve had in weeks!”

“That’s great dad,” Dechen patted his shoulder, “I know you’ve been so stressed out since Mom got sick… maybe I can help-”

Ambrocio shook his head, “nonsense, have fun while we’re in North America. Enjoy it! Maybe you can meet some good North American wolves.”

Devhen chuckled, gazing back outside the window at the beautiful view. Her thoughts drifted back to her mysterious man from her dreams, he was just so alluring, it was something about the man that made her want to learn everything about it.

“I can’t wait to meet him.” Ambrocio said, snapping his daughter out of her thoughts, “or her, whichever you prefer is fine by me.”

“It's a him, father.” Dechen chuckled, her heart fluttering as her mind raced with thoughts of the man. “Wait, how did you know?”

“Some of the omegas told me you woke up in a sweat last night, you keep muttering something in your sleep and tossing and turning in your bed.” Ambrocio chuckled. “I may be middle aged but I can tell when somebody is in love.”

Dechen blushed, “I-I woul-wouldn’t say love…”

“Oh come on, Dechen,” Ambrocio put away the tablet, turning towards his daughter, “you’re a very lucky werewolf. Only a few lucky wolves see their mates in their dreams. You should be glad the Moon Goddess picked you and your mate to see each other.”

“I would be even luckier if I knew his name…” Dechen muttered, pouting her lips slightly.

“Sometimes names ruin the pleasure.” Ambrocio said sincerely, “the dream is supposed to be a taste of what’s to come. A slice from the pleasure cake. Trust me, it’ll make finding him all the more worth it.”

Dechen hugged her father, “did you see mom in a dream?”

Ambrocio held his breath slightly, looking into his daughter’s innocent eyes, “yeah… it was your mom.”

Dechen laughed, releasing her arms from around her father, “must run in the family then.”

“Yeah… it runs in the family.” Ambrocio forced a smile.

She doesn't need to know the whole story yet.

Meanwhile, Endar bounced his leg impatiently waiting for the car to pull up to the Whiteclad compound. Katya laughed, placing her hand on his thigh, “don’t worry, you’ll see her soon. I’m sure she misses you.”

“What if she doesn't want to see us? I mean it has been a while since we contacted her… what if she hates us?” both the wolf and Endar grew worried. The wolf paced back and forth in his mind.

“She’s going to be so excited to see you.” Valentin smiled at the alpha, “I haven’t her years! She must be all grown up now! When she ventured off she was so little… the entire pack was saddened when she disappeared.”

Endar frowned, his wolf missed their pup dearly. “If I just went with her in the woods that day, maybe-”

“Don’t worry about what happened in the past,” Katya kissed Endar’s cheek, “we’ll see her again… it’s gonna be marvelous.” at that, the car stopped in front of the pack.

Endar quickly exited the car to meet Barron and Medusa, “hello, I’m Barron Whiteclad.”

Endar was about to push past them but Katya held him back, “greet them.”

Endar sighed, flashing the young alpha a smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Barron.” Endar shook his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you too, I’m glad we can put our differences aside… I’m sorry about everything my brother did.” Barron whimpered, looking down in shame.

Endar patted his back, “don’t be sorry, you’re a wonderful alpha and he was a jerk.” he smiled brightly, ruffling Barron’s hair. His eyes shifted towards Medusa, “a wonderful alpha who has a lovely Luna.”

“It’s a pleasure, Endar and Katya,” Medusa brought out her notebook and recorder, “are your coats thicker due to the cold weather? Is there a shortage of animals you hunt during colder months? Is Russian mostly spoken at your pack or is it english?”

Endar, Katya, and Valentin chuckled nervously, “you sure do ask a lot of questions, don't cha…”

“Medusa let’s pester them with questions, I’m sure they’re exhausted.” Barron kissed her cheek.

“Sorry… my mind is so quick to learn new things…” Medusa smiled widely, “one of our omegas will show you to your rooms.”

The moment the small group walked inside, the smell of neroli and rose made Endar’s heart skip a beat. He smiled widely, running towards the smell at great speed.

Meanwhile, Yvette was up in the storage room, placing blankets and sheets up on shelves when Alistair came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“You’ve been avoiding me~” Alistair whispered tenderly in her ear, “have I done something wrong?”

“No,” Yvette laughed, turning towards him, “today feels… strange.”

“Strange?” Alistair tilted his head.

“Yeah,” Yvette’s breath was shaky, “maybe I’m just being weird.”

Alistair kissed her nose, lifting her onto the counter, “maybe you just need a little loving to calm your nerves.”

“Oh?” Yvette wrapped her arms around his neck, “just a little…?”

“You can always get more if you want,” Alistair kissed along her neck, suckling at her soft skin, “you can get my love at the drop of a hat and you know it.”

Yvette giggled, tilted her head to allow more access. She sighed in delight, “have your parents arrived yet?”

“Forget about them,” Alistair licked across her mark, “all that matters now is yo-” before he could finish, the door to the storage room bursted wide open to reveal Endar.

Tears began to swell in his eyes, “it’s you… you’re here…” he muttered, a smile gracing his lips.

Yvette stared at the man in shock, “папа? (dad?)”

Endar pushed Alistair off of her, knocking him into the wall, then embracing Yvette in a big hug, “Lastachka (little sparrow),” he cried into her shoulder, “I thought I lost you…”

Yvette clutched the back of his shirt tightly, “I was so scared… I couldn’t find you…”

“It’s okay, Lastachka, it’s okay…” he held his daughter close, “the day you left was the worst day of my and your mother’s lives… we thought we lost you to those monsters again…”

“I shouldn't have left your side that day, папа… I’m sorry… I didn’t want to worry you… I was lost… I couldn’t find you, or mom, or Valentin…” Yvette sobbed, her blue eyes becoming puffy.

“What?!” Alistair was confused, getting up from the floor, “who the heck are you?!”

Endar didn’t know if it was paternal instincts or his wolf instincts were kicking in as he held Yvette close, growling deeply at Alistair, “why don’t you answer first, jackass! How dare you feel up my little sparrow! You’re lucky all I did was throw you into the wall! I should kill you for even looking at my Lastachka!”

“Dad, dad, it’s okay,” Yvette laughed, Endar loosened his grip on Yvette, “he’s my mate.”

“Oh…” Endar laughed, patting Alistair’s back, he clenched her shoulder, “hurt my daughter and I’ll make sure you won’t like to see another day.”

Alistair gulped, “ye-yes sir.”

“Good,” Endar smiled at him, he stroked his daughter’s cheek, “we must catch up Lastachka (little sparrow).”

“We will dad, I promise, you’re probably tired. You, mom, and Valentin should get some sleep.” Yvette smiled, “we’ll talk later, I promise.”

Endar held her breath slightly, his daughter had grown up so beautiful. He tried to move but his wolf made him stay.

Yvette laughed, patting his shoulder, “go, I’ll be there when you wake up.”

“You’re not gonna get lost again, right?” his voice was filled with worry.

“I’ll be right here when you wake.” Yvette kissed his cheek, “take a nap, do some sight seeing, I’ll be okay.”

Endar hugged her tightly, “I’m glad you’re back…”

“I am too.” Yvette smiled.