IanMy father decided to be my guide into the pack.Not on the populated side per se, but in the areas surrounding my biological father's hut. The situation felt a little out of place, since he was the one guiding me in a community I didn't even belong to, but it felt right.Give him a chance to explain himself, my wolf said, and it seemed like a reasonable recommendation.My father and I sat near the river and watched a couple of men hover nearby.“They are wolves from this pack; they are patrollers,” my father said, and I sighed.“How is it that this world exists and humanity hasn't questioned it?” I asked with a frown.“Some of humanity, at least the one that rules, knows about the supernaturals and the Reservation,” my father said, and I looked at him open-mouthed. “There's a silent deal about it; it carries a lot of ancient magic and dire consequences for revealing the truth in such a simple way. So let's just say the situation is much more complicated than that, but it's been ef
IanMy head was going to explode.“Alpha Quill was about to get married a dozen times before he met your mother,” Archer said.“Your father was a very handsome man and desirable, so he got a lot of marriage proposals. In order not to be so adamant about saying no, he used legal loopholes to buy time to meet his mate,” my father said, and I could do nothing but laugh.“Do you want to ask one of the women my father turned down for help?” I asked teasingly.“Her situation was very different; actually, they never had any kind of rapprochement; she had simply been sent to do her internship in the Reserves. She and Alpha Quill became very good friends, and over time she fell in love. Then the event happened that got her kicked off the Reservation.”“That woman will not want to see me,” I said calmly and with common sense.“She will; she'll help; she'll hesitate, but she'll give in because it was your father who stopped the Reservation wolf council from slaughtering her for using forbidden m
IanThe thread that linked Archer and me felt very much alive.And my wolf was unhinged from approaching Archer's wolf in all sorts of ways I couldn't understand. It was as if the bond wasn't completely choking him.“You're so sweet,” Archer said to my wolf, and Aldo growled in amusement. “I've been waiting for you too.”Aldo's feelings were soft, easy to understand, and I realized they were identical to my own, yet I was completely confused and overwhelmed at the situation.It was not something I expected to feel; I didn't even know how to size it up.“Whoever cast the seal spell was someone very powerful,” Tori said, and we looked at her. “It drained me completely and broke all the magic wards Ian had. Now he's much easier for others to track.”Aldo groaned, and Archer immediately stroked his ears.“We're going to be fine; I'm going to protect them,” Archer said with conviction.I believe him, so trust, said my wolf, Aldo.I trusted; maybe I trusted too much, and it was that very th
IanThe rain was coming down hard that spring morning and I was soaked through and through.I didn't know if it was a bad omen, but I did know that I would be chilled to the bone if I didn't run the remaining block to my work. I crossed the street with alacrity and ran carefully until I reached the library where I worked."Ian, you're soaking wet,” Henry, the doorman, said with concern. “I think there are towels in stock and something you can use to change your clothes.”I sighed in relief and Henry smiled at me.He was an old man who cared about everyone and who, like few others in Veltonne, treated me with great care because of my history. For that, I respected him a lot.“Thank you, Henry,” I said before taking off my jacket.I shook it out a bit and walked into the library waving to everyone.The cold was chilling my skin a bit, so I went straight to the bathroom to get some hot coffee. On the way there, however, I didn't expect to find Carol, my best friend, trying to see our bos
IanTraining Archer was something of a mission impossible.He was a novice in every sense of the word, so much so that I wondered if he actually took the librarian course. I didn't want to judge him, but he wasn't giving me anything good to report to Rob; all I was seeing was one disaster after another.“I'm sorry,” Archer said again as he realized he had miscategorized a book in the system. “I know I sound stupid at the moment, but—”“Relax,” I said calmly. “You're very stressed and on edge; you need to calm down. It's your first day.”“I'm looking like an idiot in front of you,” Archer said as if that really bothered him.His reaction surprised me, so I was honest.“Why do you want to be a librarian?” I asked him seriously.Archer frowned and then looked at me as if he too was questioning the answer, which was a bad sign.“You can be honest,” I said and Archer sighed.“I'm here because they helped me get in,” Archer said and I nodded. “I need a steady job and a friend from the gover
IanArcher walked me home after I picked up my things.He seemed intent on taking care of me, which at one point I thought was a sweet gesture; however, I could take care of myself. Paul took me by surprise and took advantage of the fact that I was not a violent person. I used to measure my reactions well, as well as my strength. I tended to be a little weaker than the rest, but I made up for it with my intelligence.Or so I kept telling myself to feel better about myself.The situation was that I would not let Paul hurt me again; I would have everything prepared so that he would understand that it was no, it was not no.“Do you live far away?” asked Archer.“No, a few blocks,” I said calmly. “It's not necessary to drop me off at home.”“It is,” Archer said. “That man is violent.”“Well, you proved yourself to be violent,” I said firmly and Archer scowled at me. “You kicked him and didn't give him a chance to even throw a punch at you.”“I exercised legitimate self-defense toward a co
A whole week passed since Archer started working at my side.The first three days were total chaos, then Archer picked up the pace and took care of all the tedious part of digital categorization. He was fast at it, so because of that I was able to arrange the new library shelving properly without falling behind.We reached a point of good efficiency and my days were quiet next to Archer as he told me stories about the Reserve and avoided anything about his life. Although I understood that he was a private person, I felt that his avoidance of the subject was unusual. However, it was nice to know him; he was not as quiet as I was, he had an opinion for everything and he was always cooperative with everyone.He was a perfect gentleman, to the point that Carol was ecstatic to have him in the library.“The He-Man is a visual spectacle and he's divine as a person,” my best friend said that Tuesday while we were having lunch and Archer had gone to buy some candy she liked. “He's nice; he loo
I felt like killing that asshole, Paul.Death was what that bastard deserved to get.When Carol explained to me what Paul had done to Ian months earlier, I set about the task of investigating the fucking traitor. That's how I discovered that Paul was a two-faced man who pretended to be charming and the epitome of decency, when really, he was a good-for-nothing who rubbed shoulders with troubled people.That's why I had to be more careful about protecting Ian.I didn't trust a narcissist like Paul to sit still.I had a valid reason at the time.My wolf was thirsty for blood, enough to tear apart all the idiots lying unconscious on the floor. They had dared to touch Ian and that was a crime for us.No one could touch him.Kill them all, said my wolf, Roy.His idea was a very good one, but I couldn't do justice that way.I can't do it; I have to keep Veltonne's pact; if I attack humans here, we will have more problems, I told him, and Roy growled in my head angrily.I understood his frus
IanThe thread that linked Archer and me felt very much alive.And my wolf was unhinged from approaching Archer's wolf in all sorts of ways I couldn't understand. It was as if the bond wasn't completely choking him.“You're so sweet,” Archer said to my wolf, and Aldo growled in amusement. “I've been waiting for you too.”Aldo's feelings were soft, easy to understand, and I realized they were identical to my own, yet I was completely confused and overwhelmed at the situation.It was not something I expected to feel; I didn't even know how to size it up.“Whoever cast the seal spell was someone very powerful,” Tori said, and we looked at her. “It drained me completely and broke all the magic wards Ian had. Now he's much easier for others to track.”Aldo groaned, and Archer immediately stroked his ears.“We're going to be fine; I'm going to protect them,” Archer said with conviction.I believe him, so trust, said my wolf, Aldo.I trusted; maybe I trusted too much, and it was that very th
IanMy head was going to explode.“Alpha Quill was about to get married a dozen times before he met your mother,” Archer said.“Your father was a very handsome man and desirable, so he got a lot of marriage proposals. In order not to be so adamant about saying no, he used legal loopholes to buy time to meet his mate,” my father said, and I could do nothing but laugh.“Do you want to ask one of the women my father turned down for help?” I asked teasingly.“Her situation was very different; actually, they never had any kind of rapprochement; she had simply been sent to do her internship in the Reserves. She and Alpha Quill became very good friends, and over time she fell in love. Then the event happened that got her kicked off the Reservation.”“That woman will not want to see me,” I said calmly and with common sense.“She will; she'll help; she'll hesitate, but she'll give in because it was your father who stopped the Reservation wolf council from slaughtering her for using forbidden m
IanMy father decided to be my guide into the pack.Not on the populated side per se, but in the areas surrounding my biological father's hut. The situation felt a little out of place, since he was the one guiding me in a community I didn't even belong to, but it felt right.Give him a chance to explain himself, my wolf said, and it seemed like a reasonable recommendation.My father and I sat near the river and watched a couple of men hover nearby.“They are wolves from this pack; they are patrollers,” my father said, and I sighed.“How is it that this world exists and humanity hasn't questioned it?” I asked with a frown.“Some of humanity, at least the one that rules, knows about the supernaturals and the Reservation,” my father said, and I looked at him open-mouthed. “There's a silent deal about it; it carries a lot of ancient magic and dire consequences for revealing the truth in such a simple way. So let's just say the situation is much more complicated than that, but it's been ef
Archer“So you can take possession—”“I already said no!” said Ian in a deep voice, and I noticed his eyes turned a little golden.It was easy for me to tell that my grandfather was going to say something else stupid, so I interrupted him sternly.“Ian has been blunt, Grandpa,” I said, and my grandfather looked at Gloryn for help.She looked completely conflicted.“Ian is the one who decides what to do about his name,” Gloryn said. “No one can force him to take on a name he doesn't recognize as his own, so I urge you not to pressure him about it. He's got enough on the subject; that's enough for now. The important thing is for Ian to learn more about our people, our customs, and his powers so he can fit in with himself.”Ian looked at his grandmother as if she were his savior and I could tell that the two of them would get along very well. However, I was sure that the situation with my grandfather wasn't going to get any better. I knew it when Gloryn told Ian to walk her out so she co
IanWhen I woke up, my best friend was holding my hand while my father was pulling a handkerchief off my forehead. They were both still dressed in the black clothes they had worn to my mother's wake.“Are you okay?” asked Carol immediately and I nodded. “I insisted on taking you to the doctor, but your father and Archer insisted that what you have is an emotional fade.Are you sure that's what it is?”My friend was too perceptive, so I nodded to calm her down.“I don't feel so good,” I admitted out loud.The truth was, I was feeling very confused by all the maelstrom of feelings that were consuming me at the moment. So, I decided to be alone; I needed it.“What do you need right now?” asked Carol and I looked at her sadly.My friend knew me too well, so I made the decision to be honest.“Solitude, I need a night of solitude,” I told Carol and she nodded sadly.“Then it's time for me to go home,” my best friend said with a smile to make me feel better. “However, I'm going to be as close
IanMy mother was dead.And I was on autopilot because of the pain.I was numb despite knowing what my mother's fate would be after aggressive cancer treatment. I had made up my mind that I was going to lose her, yet the fact that I had discovered that she was actually best friends with my birth mother and that there was a whole hidden plot behind it made me feel completely sick.I loved my mother Mare like I loved a few other people, but I felt conflicted.I had pushed my anger aside so I could say goodbye to her, but after her death, I felt something snap inside me.That's how I was found by one of my neighbors, who had kindly gone to the hospital to find out about my mother.The woman tapped me on the shoulder and my response was to pull back in a very defensive way.“Are you okay, Ian?” asked the neighbor, an older lady with concern.“No, my mother is dead,” I said gruffly and the neighbor gasped.“I'm so sorry, my boy; I know how painful it can be for you,” the woman said in a le
IanI couldn't believe what was happening.I felt like I was in a nightmare within a nightmare and seeing my mother like this was like a slap in the face of reality.Everything that was happening was true.And a sign of them is that my mother convulsed in the ambulance during her transfer to the hospital. From that moment on, everything was a growing chaos.When we arrived at the hospital, Archer was already waiting there to support me. It was something I was grateful for because I was going crazy and he was being a support for me.My father seemed to be worse off than I was.It must have been horrible for him to see the love of your life agonize like that.There was no way I wasn't going to be there for him, at least not at that blunt and difficult time for both of us.The only way I could describe it all was that it was a frightening situation.“It's going to be okay,” Archer said.His words sought to give me comfort, but the reality was grim, so I put my annoyance at Dad aside, sat
IanI felt fear.The feeling was suffocating me completely; it coiled around my skin like a snake and crawled up to my neck to squeeze it viciously.There was no better definition to describe what I felt.When I awoke, I felt like someone was trying to dislodge me from my own head and an internal battle raged in my brain. It was beyond my understanding and had me completely dismayed.There were two of us in my mind, but my partner was doing nothing but growling furiously.I was unable to understand what was happening.Archer was trying, in vain, to get me to calm down, but I was in a lot of pain to an incapacitating point.It was a disastrous situation all around.“You need to breathe and talk to your beast,” Archer said and I shook my head because it seemed implausible to do. “You must try. It's the only way since your beast is disoriented; it didn't have a free development because you didn't shift when you were old enough; right now, the beast is confused.”I was the one who was con
IanI felt like I was going to die until the black wolf of my dreams drove the killer wolf away from me.In horror, I watched the fight of my vision unfold in front of my eyes.The brown wolf was trying, unsuccessfully, to bite Archer's paws but found it impossible due to the fact that Archer was not only larger in size but seemed to be much more practical and violent.I decided I wasn't going to stand idly by, so I carefully got up and looked for something I could hit the brown wolf with to help Archer. I walked to the edge of the river and found a piece of rotten trammel.“I hope this one will do,” I said with trepidation.I was not aggressive; I avoided fights at all costs; however, when bullying began to brew at the high school where I studied, my father took me to self-defense classes when he saw that I did not react.In that class, I learned that the rule of life is to attack to defend yourself.The problem with that philosophy is that not only was I at a disadvantage, but when