9

~Lou Wilson~

After a 9 hour flight and a heartbreaking goodbye to my parents and three brothers, Luan and I finally walked out of the Minneapolis airport.

Luan rolled my heavy suitcase behind him, while he only had a simple rucksack with him. Actually, I wanted to take my stuff, but he insisted on carrying it for me.

"How did you actually find me?" I finally wanted to know. This question had been buzzing around in my head for far too long.

"When we got to your pack to pick up Zara, all hell broke loose. Everyone was looking for you, the Alpha's daughter. Believe it or not, even Arian helped out. However, everyone thought you were somewhere in the woods on your way home and got lost. But I knew better..."

"Well actually, that's me in the first place." I scratched my temple in embarrassment.

"I know how I felt when I...when Ella died. I just wanted to get away from everyone. So I assumed you were running the other way and that was London." Talking about Ella, his blue eyes glazed over, but he caught himself before the first tear could fall.

“But London is big. How did you know where I am?" I asked further.

"You're still a werewolf and we werewolves don't feel comfortable around crowds, so outskirts came to mind. It was London so you might be hard to find but still it's quieter on the outskirts and well after they gave up looking for you I flew back to Minnesota with them. But like everyone, I didn't miss Arian's change in behavior, so I went to London every weekend and started looking for you. The wolf nose has made it a lot easier to find a wolf among humans."

"I guess I need to get better at hiding," I admitted, a little embarrassed.

Luan and I have now arrived at the parking lot and he stopped in front of an expensive looking car, in which he then stowed our luggage.

It was one of those hydrogen cars, which today were the only cars on the streets besides the e-cars. Only a few fuel-powered cars were still allowed to drive. But I didn't have an exact idea about it, after all I lived in the forest most of the time and only noticed something through short city trips or when something new was brought into the pack. Humans had actually managed to do something about climate change and just about turned the corner before we wolves stepped in. It's the year 2042 and what can I say, the world is blooming again.

"How far is it from here?" I asked Luan. I got more and more nervous when I thought about finally standing in front of Arian again.

"11 hours to go. We should make it before the big hunt." He said casually and got in the car.

But I just gaped. Wasn't there an airport that was closer?

"Why so long?" I asked after I got in the car.

But Luan first laughed, even if you could see that the laughter wasn't honest, before he answered. “Believe me, you will love your new pack. It's surrounded by forest and you can walk for hours across meadows and forest floors before you reach the next town. It's just every wolf's dream. No wonder many have tried to challenge us for our territory."

"I can't wait to try it," I said, smiling. It was the first real smile since my mate dumped me. And it felt good with renewed hope to start a new life. Now all that was left was Arian play along and everything would be perfect.

Luan started the engine and I was only 11 hours away from my mate. It was actually far too far a distance, but it got shorter by the hour, until finally, after hours of looking at nothing but trees, Luan reached a forest parking lot.

It was already dusk, but you could still see all the inconspicuous-looking log houses, which were scattered in all directions with enough space between them. Most notable was the large building, which I labeled as the pack house, another larger building, perhaps the hospital or a school, and a large mansion, also in the same style as the other buildings.

"This is our pack house. You'll stay there for the time being, as long as Arian doesn't take you with him." Luan pointed to the large building in front of us, which I had already guessed. "It's the pack hospital..." This time he pointed to the other large building.

"...And this is the house of the Alpha and his Luna. Actually, the alpha has always lived in the pack house, but after his wife gave birth to children number 4 and 5, they realized that it is better to have your own house with all the children. It was better that way, because after 4 and 5, there were 6, 7 and 8."

I swallowed. So Arian had quite a few siblings. I hope they are nice.

I kept looking around when I suddenly saw a familiar face running towards the car.

The redhead had a beaming smile on her face and couldn't get to the car fast enough.

I got out immediately and bridged the last few meters to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Zara, I missed you so much," I said when we were finally back together.

"And I you first," she replied.

I pulled away and felt a renewed glow appear on my face. It was probably a really bad idea to run away from home. Zara could certainly have cheered me up a bit back then.

But Zara's expression turned skeptical. She furrowed her brows and studied my face. "What happened to you? Did you lose weight?"

"So tell me. How is life here and where is...", I distracted. In fact, it even worked.

"Alex?" she added to my question. "He's already at the meeting point for the big hunt. Arian will take over the pack from today..."

When she mentioned his name, my expression went sad again. I knew why I was here and also that I would see him again soon, but I still couldn't forget his words.

"You're not my mate, and I don't want you to be my mate."

What if he really didn't want me? When he didn't want me as a person because he just didn't like me. Then all this brings nothing here. why did i just come here

Panic spread through me.

"L-Luan? That was a mistake. Please take me home." I said with a trembling voice and wanted to get back in the car.

My breathing got faster and faster. What if he showed up right here and told me worse things? He doesn't want me. Why couldn't I just accept that and walk away like he told me.

"Oh noanonono. Now don't back down," Zara stopped me. Apparently she was privy to the plan, which made sense since she wasn't surprised to see me here.

"Please. I can't do this." I said, trying to get past her because she was in my way.

"But you can and will. You're a strong person, Lou, so come along and show the alpha who the alpha female is."

"I'm not strong," I said, almost tearfully.

"Then you don't know yourself as well as I do," Zara retorted, pulling my sleeve in a certain direction.

So now it's either 'Hello Mate' or 'See you never again'...