Ch. 6: History and a Mystery

ALEKSANDR

I smirk at my mother, knowing full well that she likely already has some sort of inkling about what’s on my mind.  Instead of asking her one of my many questions, I start with one that will give me a frame of reference to start the conversation, “What do you know?  You’ve been giving me looks all evening, so I’d rather start with the information you already have.”

My mother beams at me as she says, “So you HAVE found her.”

I chuckle at her excitement, “Yes, my wolf recognizes her as our mate, but I’m confused about something…”  My mind wanders back to earlier today when I first caught that faint but heavenly scent.  “When you first scent your mate it’s usually overwhelmingly strong, but her scent was so weak that I couldn’t smell it until she was very close to where I was.  I’ve never heard of a mate’s scent being almost undetectable.  Do you know anything about this?”

My mother has a far off look in her eyes, as if she is searching her almost 2 centuries of memories and information for something to explain this. I’m impatient for answers, but I know it's better not to rush her.

Finally, she responds, “I have never heard of this happening before, but I know that your circumstances with her will be unique.  Because she’s human, you can’t just claim her as a wolf would typically do.  You need to move slowly as you work to court her and win her heart.”

This is not exactly what I was hoping to hear.  Our wolves are very impatient, as soon as they smell their mate, they want to mark them immediately, however, I have a lot of practice in this area because I already had to wait longer than most for my first mate.  Ana was from a pack in Europe and by the time I found her we were both already 68 years old.

Our bodies slow down significantly on aging around 25 years old.  My parents are 176 and 182 years old, but they look like they are in their early 50’s and they are still in peak physical shape.  I’m currently 80 years old, but I look like I’m in my 30’s.  The slow aging and long life is really helpful for wolves like me who don’t find their fated mate right away.  We still have plenty of time to enjoy life together and have pups.

My parents didn’t meet until they were 94 and 100 years old, and they ended up only having me.  They could have had more pups.  I’m not sure why they didn’t.  We don’t usually have a hard time getting pregnant, and even now my parents could still have another pup if they wanted.  They're still considered fairly young for werewolves.

The only reason I found Ana when I did was because there was a special meeting called with all Alpha families to meet in Spain due to ongoing and ever-increasing issues with the oldest vampire covens.  They decided they were tired of hiding in the shadows of night and wanted to make themselves known.

This is illegal by supernatural laws because it would endanger all supernatural races if one became so publicly known.  Because it was several different covens working together, they called in reinforcments.  Vampires outnumber werewolves by quite a large number; however we are stronger and faster than they are.  One werewolf warrior can easily take on 3-4 vampires at once.  Their advantage is in their stealth.  They are good at moving about undetected, but once we find them, they don't stand a chance.

My dad was still Alpha at the time, but I traveled with my parents to Spain and Ana was there with her father who was the Alpha to their pack in Turkey.  She had the most beautiful warm ochre skin contrasted with her pale green eyes and rich dark chocolate colored hair that went all the way down her back to her hips.

She had been under pressure from unmated males in her pack to choose a mate since she had not found her fated mate, but her parents supported her desire to wait for the one the moon goddess chose for her.

My family had always held strong beliefs about waiting for our fated mates, and as a male, I didn’t face as much pressure. There was always the random she-wolf who hoped she could catch my eye and become my Luna, but I never gave them any attention and they quickly gave up on any attempts to gain my favor.

After I found Ana, we only had a few years together before we realized she was sick.  We couldn’t figure out why we didn’t have any pups.  Werewolves usually get pregnant very easily, so we started seeing the pack doctor.  After many tests, we found out that she had a form of ovarian cancer, but because of her wolf healing abilities, she didn’t feel sick.  It only affected her enough to prevent her from getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy.  She was gradually getting worse, but much slower than a human would.

About a year after we discovered the cause of our infertility the cancer got bad enough to start affecting how she felt and looked.  Eventually it got so bad that her wolf healing could no longer keep her well.  Watching her deteriorate and eventually die was the worst 3 years of my life.  It has been 5 years since she passed away, and although I still miss her every day, I’ve been able to move on with my life.  It no longer affects my behavior or the way I respond to things on a regular basis.

I suddenly realize I’ve been in a bit of a trance reminiscing about my first mate, and my parents are just sitting here patiently waiting for me to respond to what my mother just told me.  “Do you know anything else?”  I question my mother.

“I don’t,” she frowns, “but I will contact a few of the elder seers to see what information they may have on the subject.”

I don’t like this, I was really hoping for more information, but will have to be satisfied with her answer for now.  I can’t stop thinking about my new mate.  I don’t know her name, hell, I didn’t even get to see her eyes.  I decide that after dinner I need to follow up with Dustin to see if he found out anything about her from Ian and Davin.  For now, I need to try to enjoy the rest of dinner with my parents.

They can tell that I am unsatisfied with the lack of information about my new mate, so they shift the conversation back to pack business.  My dad may have retired as alpha, but once an alpha, always an alpha. He loves to know what is going on and is always happy to offer his own insight.  I’m extremely grateful for this because he’s also great at not overstepping his boundaries.  His input has proven to be invaluable in a plethora of situations.