Lost Pup Found and An Unexpected Twist

Aricka climbed into bed after making sure she’d latched all the windows in her apartment, though she knew that the locks were really useless.  She’d lost track of how many times she’d had to jimmy one window or another open to get in when she’d forgotten her keys. The door had two locks and a chain but none of them were truly secured to the door frame properly so if someone was truly determined to get in then they would be in. She just told herself that she had nothing valuable in the apartment and everyone in the building knew it.

Drifting off to sleep she dreamt of wolves at her windows trying to get in. There were three out there in the dark. One was small, tan with dark tufts on the top of his oversized ears and whined to be let in. He was irresistible so much like her own son that the next thing she knew she was opening her son’s window and let the pup in. Looking at her son’s bed to ensure he was safe; she found his bed empty and it shocked her. Where was he? But she had to Step back quickly as the little wolf jumped through the window and right into her son’s bed. He settled down to sleep turning in a circle and crawling under the blankets with his small head on the pillow. His body blurred and then returned back into focus again but this time it was her son in the bed. What… 

The other two other wolves stood outside the window. One was grey with a brown patch that looked like a saddle on his back and another brown spot over his right eye.  She felt like he would saucily wink at her with it at any minute. The other was almost pure white with golden eyes that seemed to broadcast that he was in charge of all he surveyed. She could feel his presence even from this far away and it unnerved her. They were so large, larger than any normal wolves but they didn’t look at all like a coywolf. She’d looked up what one looked like before she went to bed. 

That wolf was staring at her eye to eye with a hungry penetrating stare. It was unnerving and then he was jumping through the bedroom window with such graceful ease. Aricka took several steps back at the suddenness at the huge wolf taking up most of the space in the small bedroom. Instinctually she moved between the wolf and her son to protect him from any danger. Surely this was just stress from Evan’s imaginary stories about his Uncle causing this nightmare. “I never invited you in.” Was that all she could say?

“That’s vampires that need to be invited in. I am a wolf shifter just like your son. Now you and I need to talk.” There was barely any room in the bedroom for the wolf before he turned and walked out of the bedroom.  Aricka quickly followed him to the door.

“How are you talking to me? Who are you? Is your friend coming in?”

“That is what we need to speak about this is so highly irregular. No, he is not coming in. He is going to be keeping watch out there while I speak to you.” The wolf entered her living room and suddenly blurred just like her son. Leaving a very gorgeous Gregory Wolvensen in his place.  Aricka gasped seeing this man here suddenly in her space. He was so much larger that she expected closing in on six and a half feet. Aricka had to look up into his face as she didn’t even reach his shoulder. So much taller than his brother.  He must have a good sixty pounds on Richard and a good half a foot in height. His hair was short but just a little too long for the corporate professional he portrayed to the world.  But his eyes, they weren’t brown or hazel.  They were a pure golden colour that almost glowed with an otherworldly hint to them. She could have stared at him for hours if he didn’t unnerve her so much.

He folded himself down onto her ratty couch looking so out of place in his high-end clothes and the size was just off. It was all Aricka could do to prevent herself from drooling but she did and persevered for some odd reason to what he had to say. “You know me as Gregory Wolvensen and I am the Alpha or Leader of the Black River pack here in Ontario. I am Richard Wolvensen’s older brother and your son’s uncle. Now we don’t have time for the little niceties as it’s no longer safe for you or the pup here.  So, I am going to tell you what is going to be happening in the morning.” Aricka gasps but says nothing and Gregory continues on as he clearly expected his words to be listened to without any question, “As for talking to you, this is the dream realm and we are talking directly thought to thought. So, here’s the short and the long of it. Yes, you are sleeping and most humans are never aware of this realm. They are in complete denial of its existence. Now why are you present and aware? Because you are only mostly human but not quite. I assume my brother started the mating process before you became pregnant with the pup.  Did he bite you and finish the process?” He shifted on the couch uncomfortably and seemed to growl quietly clearly annoyed by the thought.

“What?! No, why would he?!” This was going from weird and ‘down the rabbit hole’ insane. “No, he never bit me.”

“Did he even tell you; you were carrying a shifter pup?”

                “I didn’t know he was a shifter. He said nothing at all. We were only married a little over a week before he was murdered and I never got to tell him I was pregnant.” The pain was still there deep down and the betrayal of knowing that he’d hidden a part of himself from her.  All the difficulty, he’d been murdered and she didn’t know if she was in danger or not. Because she now understood there was a lot, she didn’t know about him and his life.  She’d been left with everything and nothing. She hadn’t even had access to any finances. So, she’d lost the condo and at the same time she’d lost her job due to the economy and down sizing.  No one could help her because she couldn’t find anything to prove that they had been married at the courthouse. The minister was no where to be found and the papers seemed to have never been filed.  She had had to let his family claim his body because the authorities wouldn’t let her bury him without proof that she was his wife.

She’d been so distraught with grief at the time from losing him so suddenly and knowing she’d never been able to tell him that she had been pregnant with Evan that she’d just left and checked out of reality for a while.  It was only recently that she had up and moved to Toronto in hopes of getting away from all the memories and maybe finding a more stable life for her and Evan.  So, she had gotten tickets for the train this summer and packed a few bags to get here.  Summer time kids Evan’s age travelled free.  Once she had found a few jobs and a place to live that she even thought to contact Richard’s family.  So, trying not to be a creepy stocker type she’d planned on introducing herself to Gregory Wolvensen and just drop a note into his hand.  Then let him take it from there. She didn’t want anything from them. She just wanted her son to know about his family and whether they wanted to know him or not.

“If you were his mate, he would have quickly made sure that you were prepared to deal with birthing and raising a shifter pup. But I can see how you are looking at me that he didn’t even bother to do that right. He tried to steal you from me just like he tried to steal my pack from me too.” Aricka could see the anger and frustration in his face. Clearly that growl is one of annoyance. “Gods he was a selfish and jealous git. He did nothing to look after you or make a true future with you where you were safe.” Gregory wasn’t even paying attention to Aricka’s reaction but she was thinking he wasn’t being fair to his brother’s memory or her he had been her husband.  “Well that will be corrected in the morning.  Now due to the fact that we don’t have much time left here before morning I will say this quickly.  I will be here by eight in the morning tomorrow.  You and Evan here are in danger and I will not stand by as you or he are harmed.  Those animal attacks weren’t coywolves.  They were outlaw wolf shifters and I have received some very disturbing news from you very disobedient son that they are actually hunting for you and others like you. That puts both of you in danger and the only way to correct this is to remove you from the location which was the plan before this. It’s just the time line has just been pushed up.”

“Wait what?! No, I have a life here and responsibilities. I can’t just move without making preparations.”

“Seriously, you are worried about dead end jobs and this apartment when your life and that of your son are in danger? Never mind, I and my men will be here to pick you up in the morning and deal with what is here. I will have a team deal with your things and closing out your business dealings and such here for you so that the rogue wolves can’t track you through normal means.”

“Normal means?  What the hell are normal means?”

“Bank accounts, social insurance numbers and the such. This will be done properly. You will be safe and the pup will be in an area where he can be taught properly how to act and the traditions he must adhere to. He has to enter the pack properly or he as he ages, he will be considered a rogue and being a rogue is a death sentence here in North America.” He slowly unfolds himself from the couch and walks toward Aricka. “And you too will learn your place in our world. If you don’t you will have to be permanently dealt with and that I will not tolerate very well.  No one wants me angry. Gods they did a great job in choosing you for me. But I don’t like how worn you look. Why did you not leave an address or even your name when you left that letter?”

“What? I told them my name and phone number when I asked to deliver the letter to you. But I didn’t leave the letter intentionally. I dropped it when I heard that guy on the phone calling security. I didn’t want to be considered a stalker or an undesirable. I also didn’t want you to try and take Evan from me either.”

“Understandable. Now let me look at you. No, you should have written your information in the letter.  This is not a good way for you to live it will kill you too early. That I won’t have at all. Now to get out of the dream realm you are going need to lie down in your bed and go back to sleep.  When you wake up you will be in the real realm.  My enforcers are here in the dream realm and in the real realm they will keep the rogues at bay. I am going to change realms myself and then come straight here to recover you both but I am over two hours away. My Beta Jeff will come stay with you. He will assist you with anything you need and ensure you don’t do anything foolish.”

Aricka laughs and looks up at his face, “Seriously? I will wake up and just go about my day as usual.  That’s what I am going to do. This is just a dream that’s on the verge of becoming a nightmare. It’s all wishful thinking.”

“Oh no my dear. It’s real.  You just never wanted to look for it. Jeff will be here soon and you won’t rant at him ether.

Be have I don’t want the pup thinking he can disobey those in authority. Sweet dreams my love I will be here soon.” With that he walked to the door and stepped out into the hall closing it behind him with a resounding finality.

She was going to tell him where he could shove the love part. Pausing and looking around what passed as a home she sighed. There wasn’t much she could do honestly.  Waking up just might be the best thing she could do and get out of this train wreck of a dream.  She just didn’t want to think about it anymore. It was a dream and a waste of her time. She had to keep her eye on the ball and her feet on the ground.                             

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                Gregory came out of the apartment building disgusted by the state of it.  There’s a project he could develop.  He was determined to get a team together and deal with the companies that own and manage this nightmare.  He wouldn’t even let rogues live in these. With disgust he returned to Jeff in the back of the building. “It’s worse inside that it looks. I need you here to watch her, she’s in complete denial and I don’t trust her not to do something stupid like run. I want her ready to go before I get here.  As long as I don’t hit traffic, I believe I can be here around eight in the morning.”

                “Will do. Anything else?”

                “Yeah, Richard left her in the dark about everything. She claims he didn’t know she was pregnant. I call bullshit on that.  On a better note, I can keep this as pack business.  She’s my mate.”

                “Woah! That’s definitely a fact you should have led with Greg.  I wonder if Richard knew. Damn it. He should be here to explain himself and everything he’s done. He got out of this way too easily.” Jeff stood there shaking his head looking at Greg with a dumbstruck look on his face. “So, she’s our future Luna. Well at least we know she’s no wilting flower.” Before Greg could let out a warning growl for over stepping his position. Best friend or not respect was always demanded.  They were shifters not animals or scum of the earth. “I’ll treat her with the respect she deserves. Congratulations man. If anyone deserves to find his mate it’s you.  Now have you told her you are her mate? Just want to know how to approach her.”

                “I glossed over it and will deal with it when they are both in a safe place. Now get things started quickly. Contact Terry and get her to bring in a crew that can deal with the garbage here in apartment. She’ll have to deal with the landlord, bills and such. I will send her an email with everything else she will have to oversee being done for them. I really appreciate this Jeff. I wouldn’t trust her in anyone else’s hands.”

                “I am honoured and will look after her as her station demands.  Our Luna will be here and ready when you arrive.”

                “Anything new I should know about the rogues?”

                “Yeah the kid is correct they are definitely hunting in this area for something. But too undisciplined to not get distracting by having a little fun with the native population. But I am happy to say a vampire played a few real well and we won’t be worrying about them beyond a simple clean up. Harv, the bear from cabbage town is on it right now.” Harv was one of the few bear shifters that had settled in the area and ran a junk disposal company in the real realm. But to shifters he was a clean up specialist, specializing in picking up supernatural on supernatural crime scenes.

                “Good work. I’ll see you in a few hours. I’ll have my phone on me if you need me before I get here.”

                “Yes, my friend. Have a good trip here.”

Gregory left and quickly flitted back to where he truly slept and woke himself up. Sitting up it finally hit him. The pull to his mate. He was already craving her scent and that red hair.  He’d always had a weakness for red hair but he did not like how exhausted she looked in the dream realm.  If she looked that bad there then he could only cringe at the though of how badly she was off in the real realm.  The pup was correct, she needed help she wasn’t asking.  She should be demanding it.  But he knew if she had the pack would have push her away and taken legal action to get the pup from her. This still didn’t sit well with him either but he didn’t have time to dwell on this right now.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed he quickly stood and walked to his closet. Grabbing out a pair of black denim jeans and a blue-ish, grey-ish shirt that many said looked good on him.   He then went to shower and ended up having to get a very cold shower because he didn’t want to waste time satisfying his needs while his soon-to-be mate needed him.  With his hair still wet Greg came out and grabbed his good black boots and a matching belt.  Now he was glad he’s listened to that cat shifter designer and got a make over on his wardrobe a couple of years ago. On his way out he took his coat from the hall closet under the grand stairs.

Stopping in the kitchen he found Hilda up puttering around the kitchen.  That was her domain and she ran a tight ship making sure there was always food for everyone.  She was still in a dressing gown with her hair tied up with a scarf, a few curlers peaking out wrapped in graying mousy brown hair.  “Oh, good I don’t have to text you.”

“Can I get you something? There’s coffee if you like.”

“To-go and maybe one of those bagels you have hidden around here. I need something I can eat while I drive. But seriously I need you to get a few things done around here while I am gone and you might want to add to the list when I drop this information on you.” Gregory grinned like a school boy who’s prank just went off without a hitch.

“Alright dear boy hit me with it.” She’d stepped up to a white board on the refrigerator and stood poised with a white board marker.

“I’m bringing home your future Luna and my nephew.”

“WHAT!?! When did this happen? You have some explaining. Who is she and what nephew?”

“It seems we found out that Richard did sucker a human woman into thinking she married him and he died while she was pregnant with a male pup.  Now she’s in a dangerous part of the city with a lot of rogue activity. Now there’s more about the pup and such but I don’t have time to fill you in right now. I have to get on the road and bring them home.  So, if you can get the pup a room opened that would be great.  He’s seven or eight and going to be a handful.  I’ve already found him twice now in the dream realm and the twerp put himself at further risk spying on rogues.”

“Well sounds more like he’s your pup and not Richard’s.  You did things like that when you were younger, though not that young.” Hilda was like a pack mother.  Feeding people around the pack house and knowing what was needed around the pack house. Yes, she was getting older and really the Luna needed to be directing her to do this. But when his mother and father had stepped down as the Alpha pair they had taken on roles in the North American Ruling Council (N.A.R.C., yes, every pack had their jokes about this acronym.) “Now will she be needing anything?”

“She is my mate and will stay with me but…she’ll need everything. She practically has nothing at all worth bringing with her to her new life here.  Now she won’t understand what’s going on so I am asking you to not judge her too harshly and help her adjust to it all. It’s going to be a sudden change in lifestyle and she knows nothing about the world she’s entering.”

“Oh, gods help her. The poor dear how is she dealing with knowing she has a shifter son?”

“Complete denial. I have Jeff guarding her from rogues and herself right now.”

“Good he’ll look after her until you get there.” Hilda nods as she scribbles notes on the board only, she can read and then tosses a bagel into a nearby toaster.

“Hilda she’s been hard hit time and again.  She’s also afraid that we will take the pup from her so I think she was afraid to ask us for help.” Gregory looked at Hilda’s back with a pained look on her face.

“And the facts are if she wasn’t your mate then that is exactly what you would be doing. Man, up dear and accept that sometimes we have to do horrid things for the ones we care for.  The world is far harsher than any of us cares to believe.  That pup needs to be brought into this pack before he can become a rogue. I am sure she will adapt eventually and you will have to make sure that pack understands that they can’t treat her like they would a new shifter pack member. It will be your job to ensure she understands what she is in for here too.  Now do me one favour. When you see Jeff near her you will not let instinct take over. I do not want to have to bury my nephew because you couldn’t keep it in your pants.”

Gregory was shocked at that but chuckled. “I promise this time I will keep my mitts as you call them to myself.” Senior prom had been a night to remember he’d found his date kissing Jeff up against a set of lockers. It wasn’t his fault she had gone after him in a drunken haze.  But because of their positions in the pack they had been forced to get past it once their emotions had cooled down and everything had healed. Taking his favorite to-go mug from a rack he fills it with coffee and takes the now buttered bagel from Hilda with a kiss on her cheek.

Out through the side door to the garage where most of the pack’s vehicles were parked. He kept an SUV at the far end of the garage when he didn’t need to use a chauffeur to get to and from the corporate headquarters. Sitting behind the wheel he finished the last of his bagel, settled his mug in the cup holder and set his phone in its stand.  He knew exactly where he was going and set out from there. 

While driving he dictated an email to Terry and responded to her texts by dictating them too. He was just hours away from his future and it was looking bright.