The Drive

The sunrise from my window of the Crescent Winds pack house was spectacular. The morning went by rather smoothly. We had breakfast with the Alpha and Luna and said our goodbyes. Jessy decided to relocate to Lunarflare with Kreon, which made me happy, but we had to wait for her to pack, so we were delayed by an hour or so before we could depart. Luckily, the snow had stopped but the blanket that had fallen last night still lay untouched on the earth. 

My father had decided to drive when we left and I was thankful for that. I could set up front with him and now up against the two love birds in the back, though I did feel a little sorry for Liam. Once we loaded up our SUV, we said another round of goodbyes. Jessy was kind of sad about leaving her home. I understood why, of course. Finally, we were on the road. I was a bit nervous at first, wondering if my father could even drive in the snow, but he was doing well so far. 

I peered out the window. I knew that we had a long road ahead of us. I didn’t know how long it would take us to travel to Terra Firma, but I knew that it was hours through rough terrain, and even more hours though human territories. I’ve never spent much time in human territories so I was interested in seeing what all the fuss was about. I knew my baby sister, Lyrie, loved to go shopping in a human territory a couple of hours outside of our pack lands. She never went alone, of course. I just never had time for such luxuries. 

I stared out my window for what seemed like hours listening to Jessy and Kreon in the back fawn over each other, watching the snow taper off and green grass and thick forest take its place. It got warm enough outside that we no longer needed to run the heating system in our SUV. I was happy about that, I really hated the cold. The snow from Crescent Winds made me more aware of that.

Dad said that we were heading to Terra Firma. I’ve never been to the pack lands but I have met their Alpha before. She was amazing, and the stories about her were even more incredible. She was great friends with my grandfather. A long time ago, women were not allowed to ascend to the role of Alpha. They fought for our rights and the Terra Firma Alpha was the first female Alpha to take over another pack by force. 

The previous Alpha of Terra Firma had been an old chauvinistic man who had no respect for women. The females in the pack were treated like sex slaves and had to wait hand and foot for the male higher ups and pack warriors. The current Alpha of Terra Firma, Alpha Thalia, formed her own group of like-minded warriors built of men and women and took over Terra Firma by force, liberating all the women there. She is ruthless and is always the first to battle for what she believes is right, and luckily we have the same mindset. She is a little younger than my father and Lunarflare has always supported her.

I was really excited about getting to meet her again. This time I will be able to have a conversation with the Alpha that I idolize instead of just a brief greeting at an Alpha meeting. She has a lot of chosen mates. She took them after her fated mate died in battle about ten years ago. Lots of older Alphas don’t agree with her lifestyle, but not me. All of her mates are men who have lost their fated mates as well. I think it’s great, they are helping each other survive. Surviving without your fated mate is something that is very hard to do. Most of the time, the survivor needs a reason to live, whether it be a child, war or just plain determination, like Alpha Thalia.

I watched out the window as the woods started to thin and we entered a huge human city. The buildings were so tall and there were tons of people on the sidewalks. The traffic was something I'd never seen before. I set up straighter in my seat and hadn't even noticed the smile plastered on my face. I rolled down my window half way to take in the air as we drove through. It was loud, people were chattering about the city. There were people jogging alongside the sidewalk, women pushing strollers with babies and tons of people carrying shopping bags. No wonder my sister loved going shopping in the city. “You want to stop for a little.” My father's voice pulled my attention back into the vehicle and I raised my window, sat back in my seat and shook my head.

“No Sir.” I answered politely. “We have many more important things that require our attention and I don’t like being behind schedule.” I answered, a little disappointed, but someday soon I may have to take my sister up on the shopping trip offers she was always going on about. I looked over at my father and smiled, then rolled my eyes a little at the sound of Jessy giggling in the background. My father winked at me and I shook my head.

Jessy wouldn’t be able to officially join the Lunarflare pack until we were home and held a ceremony, so she couldn’t mind link with Kreon. So, until then, we all just had to bear the sappy sounds coming from the backseat. I looked back and gave Liam an apologetic smile but he seemed to be alright with his headphones placed in his ears and jamming out to whatever was on his playlist. He had a great idea there. I turned my gaze around and looked out the front window. I didn’t even realize that I had fallen asleep.

“Are you sure that we should be going? I just have a bad feeling.” 

“Yes, Lasaya, it’s our legacy, we are to become the next, and first female alpha of the Lunarflare pack. What are the doubts?”

“I just keep having nightmares about snakes. I don’t know how to explain it, Ume, but I feel like something bad is about to happen.”

“Now you sound like Sage, let’s leave the fortune-telling to the witch.”

“Just be careful, Ume, please.”

“We’re always careful, don’t worry. Besides, dad is with us, right?”

“I suppose that is right.”

I blinked my eyes open after Lasaya’s last sentence. It was already dark as I looked out the windows. I saw my dad still driving and looked into the backseat. Jessy was asleep on Kreon’s shoulder and his head was placed on top of hers. He was out as well. Liam was also asleep, his head against the window and his ear buds still placed in his ear. The clock on the dash told me it was after two in the morning. I stirred a little and looked back at my father. “You want me to drive a little while you rest some, dad?” I asked, my voice still sounding a little groggy.

I reach for my bottle of water and took a sip. “No Sweetheart, driving keeps me calm, plus we will be there in about an hour. I will get some sleep then.” He replied. 

I scrunched up my eyebrows. “An hour?” I asked, a little surprised. “How long have I been out?”

He laughed a little. “About six hours. You seemed to be having some sort of dream so I didn’t want to wake you.” He then motioned toward the backseat. “Those three zonked out a little after you did.” He smiled a little. “I’m glad of it too, I was tired of hearing all the kissing sounds coming from the back seat.” He teased. I know he didn’t really mind it at all. I know my father was always pro mate bonds. He even threw annual parties and invited all unmated wolves from our alliance to attend. It was always a lot of fun. Even though my sister wasn’t old enough to recognize her mate, she somehow always made herself the star of the party and surrounded by unmated wolves.

I smiled a little to myself thinking about it. I turned my gaze back out the window just watching as trees passed by, thinking back about my conversation with Lasaya, or was that all a dream? “Dad, does Grizz ever talk to you in your dreams?” I asked, my voice taking a more serious tone.

“Of course.” He answered, without any hesitation at all. “It’s easy for our wolves to speak with us more directly when we are sleeping, since they have a direct connection to our minds.” He added, I just nodded, then he looked over at me. “Did Lasaya say something that upset you?”

I shook my head a little, still watching the trees. “She just seemed a little worried about the trip, I think.” I told him, trying to remember the entire conversation we had in my dream. “I think she’s scared of snakes.” I laughed a little.

He reached over and patted the top of my head. “Well, Sweetheart, a lot of people are scared of snakes, but you’re strong and have nothing to worry about. You too, Lasaya.” He said, knowing that my wolf could hear everything that he was saying to me. I felt her nod in my head and it made me smile. “Plus, if we see any snakes I’ll kill them for you.” 

His comment made me smile a little and I could feel Lasaya relax as well. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” I felt her say, relaxing a little more. I leaned into my thoughts, pushing myself back to feel a little closer to my wolf as I looked back out the window.

The remainder of the trip went by quietly. I spent the next hour or so in and out of sleep as my father continued to drive. Jessy and Kreon woke up a little after I did and Liam shortly after that. Though I slept for quite a while in the car, I was still very tired and Jessy and Kreon were right back at it as soon as they woke up. 

I rolled my eyes to myself as I listened to them talk about the names of their future pups. Usually Kreon and I would give our friends shit about this kind of thing, but I guess you change a little when it was actually happening to you, but I was glad he was happy. I hope they didn’t have pups too soon though. I will need my Beta a lot when I first take over the pack and become Alpha. 

My dad turned from one back road to the next in some winding woodland when finally we came up to a tall wooden gate seemingly in the middle of the road, huge torches lit on both sides and guards with bows standing on the top. One of the ground guards came to the SUV and my father rolled down the window.

“Alpha Gabriel, welcome to Terra Firma.” He said with a smile. “Our Alpha and her mates are already in bed for the night, but I will lead you to the pack house and have the night housekeeper show your party to their rooms.” He looked through the window toward me and nodded with a smile. I smiled back at him politely. Though I was tired from the ride I was really excited to be at Terra Firma. “If you will just follow this car in front of you, Alpha,” he added.

My father nodded to the guard and I watched as he walked away and got into the car in front of us. My father shifted our SUV into drive and we followed the car in front of us down another long winding backroad. The area was heavily wooded but soon opened up to a field of what I assumed were flowers. It was hard to tell in the dark. After driving a few more minutes, a large log house came into view. It was mostly dark but there were some lights on the outside of the circled driveway and some yellow lights illuminated the windows in the house.

It looked to be about three stories. It reminded me of a cute cabin in the woods but on a much larger scale. I could imagine it decorated for Christmas and even snow covered, if it snowed here. “Beautiful isn’t it?” I heard Jessy say, leaning toward the front seat. “You would never know by the looks of it that the Alpha here is a complete savage and a bad ass.” She said with a smile on her lips. Alpha Thalia was sort of a role model for young she-wolves everywhere. 

“Alright girls, try to act civilized when you meet her.” My dad said, patting both Jessy and me on the head, teasing us. “She’s just an Alpha, not a rock star.”

“Says you, Alpha.” Jessy remarked. “She is a total rockstar. And beautiful.” She added, nudging Liam with her shoulder. He blushed a deep shade of scarlet as dad parked the car and we climbed out. 

There was an Omega waiting for us at the front door. She was older than my father, probably old enough to be his mother or more. She had a black skirt and white shirt with a collar around the top, short sleeves and a name tag that said “Omega Shirley, House Manager.” She greeted us. “Alpha Gabriel, and Lunarflare pack. It is a pleasure to host you at Terra Firma. If you follow me, I will have some attendants lead you to your rooms for the night.” Her voice was sweet and welcoming as she invited us inside.

Once inside the mansion of a cabin we were greeted by three other Omegas all dressed the same as Shirley, all female. The first a dark-haired young woman with a cute smile. Her name tag said Omega Hannah. Housekeeper. The second was younger than Shirley, around my dad's age. Her name tag said Omega Kathren, Cook and the third was a short blonde girl, she looked even younger than me. She had her eyes on Liam with a little flush on her cheeks. I rolled my eyes a little, begging it not to be another Mate bond. Her name tag read Omega Ukina, housekeeper. 

“These three ladies agreed to stay up until your arrival and show you to your rooms. These ladies are Hannah, Kathren and Ukina. Hannah will show Beta Kreon and his mate to their room.” I watched as Hannah greeted Kreon and Jessy, then left together up the stairs. “Kathren will take Alpha Gabriel and Liam to their rooms.” My dad gave me a hug, then followed Kathren and Liam up the stairs. “And Alpha Ume, Ukina here will show you to your room.” Shirley bowed and left the room through a side door on the right.

I smiled at Ukina and walked a little closer to her. “It’s nice to meet you, Alpha Ume.” She said, the flush on her cheeks was a little brighter. “Alpha Thalia is looking forward to meeting you in the morning. She has a huge breakfast party planned. I just wish you could stay longer. It makes me happy to see women in power.” She kept talking as I followed her up the stairs. “I was a rogue after my pack was taken over and she brought me and some other girls into Terra Firma and gave us all jobs. It is amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better home.” 

We walked up two flights of stairs and down a long hall all while Ukina kept talking about how great being in Terra Firma was. She made the pack sound really nice and friendly. We finally stopped at the door. “This is your room, Alpha. Please, if you need anything, just give me a call. I left my info on your table. I will bring up your belongings and a nice meal Kathren prepared in just a few moments.” She smiled and bowed her head a little.

“Ukina.” I asked before she walked away. “How old are you?” 

Her face turned red again. “I’m 18.” She smiled.

“And are you mated?” I asked again. It was a common question for young wolves to be asked, so it probably didn’t seem out of the ordinary. 

“No ma’am. Your guard, Liam, was so cute but, unfortunately, I didn’t feel the pull when I got closer.” she frowned for a moment. 

I gave her a bright smile. “My father throws a party for unmated wolves in the fall. You should come.”

Her face lit up. “Oh thank you for the invitation. I would love to.” She said with much excitement. 

“I will make sure to send you a personal invitation.” She nodded with her intoxicating smile, I couldn’t help but smile back as she skipped down the hall. Once she was out of sight, I turned to the room and pushed open the door. 

The light was left on for me and the room smelled of vanilla. It was nice. It was a bit smaller than my castle tower at Crescent Winds and there was no balcony, but it was no less amazing. There was a king-sized ivory four-poster bed with matching end tables with drawers. One of the tables had a piece of paper on top which I assumed was Ukina’s contact information. 

The floor was a light colored carpet and there was an open closet with another door next to it. I walked across the room, removed my shoes near the bed and opened the door. Inside was a light colored bathroom with an ivory-claw footed tub with a built-in shower. Across from that was a stand-alone sink with a mirror and a toilet. It was very charming. I turned off the light and shut the door as there was a knock on the bedroom door. 

I opened the door and greeted Ukina and another man following her holding my luggage. I stepped aside and let them through. The man set my suitcase on the bed, bowed and left. Ukina was holding a steaming dinner tray with food on it. She sat it down on the table with her contact information on it and picked up a remote control. “If you want to watch TV then you can pull it out with this button.” She showed me before placing it back down. “I will be back in the morning to help you get ready for breakfast.” She bowed and headed toward the door.

“Thank you, Ukina,” I said as she opened the door. She blushed and bowed again before shutting the door behind her. 

I turned to my bed and opened my bag, looking for some pajamas and underwear. “How about a soak in that tub then get some sleep?” I said to Lasaya. 

“How about we eat that food first.” She replied and I looked over at the tray as my stomach grumbled.

“Okay, food, bath, then sleep.” I laughed, taking a seat on the bed and picking up the tray of delicious food.