Chapter 3 - I'm Home

[Sebastian’s POV]

I  pushed open the double-panel wooden door at the entrance of the pack house.

“I’m back!” I shouted.

“Good, good! ‘Bout time you came!” My dad took long strides from his office door to meet me halfway. “Now, you can travel to find your fated mate. Start with the neighboring packs first!” he added.

“Dad, I just arrived!” I was annoyed, so I stepped back to look at him sideways. “Can’t you at least give me a few months to adjust? I was away for four years! Geez!” I complained, but not disrespectfully.

“WATCH YOUR TONE, SEB!” he playfully scolded with a smirk across his wrinkled face. Dad slaps my shoulder with his calloused hand and drags me to his study. 

“This is not a negotiation, son! You wasted enough time goofing around with the humans. It’s high time to take on the responsibility. Your mom and I are getting old, you have to take over the pack and give us an heir!”

I raised my hands in the air in desperation, feeling defeated. “Alright, alright!” I turned to my right to go upstairs, tailing the Omegas, who carried three large suitcases to my room. 

Everything in the packhouse seemed different but the same. After staying in the University dorm for four years, it feels surreal to be back home. I miss my comfort zone and laid-back routines, but that has to change now. 

Although my father booked a large dorm room for me to ensure privacy and comfort, there’s no place like home. Dad even sent my driver, Arci, with me to have a little bit of a homey feeling away from home.

I missed the refreshing scent of the forest, the home-cooked food, the warrior’s training, my family, and shifting. I feel bad for my wolf being stuck with me in the libraries and dorm room with nearly zero downtime. 

For three years, I beat myself up to finish Business Management faster than its normal phase, taking advanced classes during summer breaks and volunteering as a teaching assistant to earn extra credits. I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a year to spare, if that even means anything among werewolves. But for humans, it’s a big thing. 

I spent my final year as an intern at a multinational corporation owned by humans to gain hands-on work experience. I planned to use the strategies in the Pack business, but Dad opposed it. 

‘Six,’ my wolf is ecstatic, jumping up and down in my head. The scent of freshly cut grass, damp soil, and the sea breeze carried by the occasional gust of wind means more than just home for him; it’s the taste of freedom. 

A faint scent of pine and a whiff of mangroves hit my nostrils. They are more than a scent. They bring back memories of childhood, friends, and family.

“Keep the windows open. I like the smell of the forest filling the room,” I instructed the omegas. They nodded and bowed their heads before exiting the room.

“Can we go for a run?” Six pleaded. I wanted to give in to his request, but I was too tired to move. All I wanted to do was to crash on my bed.

“Tomorrow, Six. I promised.”

I slumped on the bed without changing into sleepwear. 

That night, as if my mind was trying to close a chapter in my life, the memory of the last four years filled my consciousness as I lay idle. Perhaps the void in my heart and the lack of concrete plans for the future triggers the memory…

Four years was like hell for werewolves not to shift, and Six endured it for me. We didn't take risk shifting in the University. Humans are a complex species. They believe in so much bullshit from the tales fabricated by their ancestors. Every generation added their share of embellishments to make their stories more appealing but more distant from the truth. 

Humans don't know how to separate myths and facts. They were shrouded by blind faith and loyalty to faulty practices and beliefs being passed on from one generation to the next. Their distorted concept of beauty is so superficial, and werewolves don’t get the cut. If they see us? ……. They can be savage.

There was a campus story about a werewolf who shifted near the edge of the university campus a couple of years ago. The poor schmuck did not know of the hidden security cameras and heat sensors installed within tree trunks across campus. 

As the sensor detects body heat far higher or lower than normal human temperature, it sends a signal that triggers an automatic tranquilizer gun pointing to the exact coordinates of the heat or cold source. With four tranquilizers launched from different directions at once, the wolf was captured, savagely tortured, and brutally killed. 

Indeed, ignorance is bliss until it gets you killed.

For a few weeks, the news was on the front pages of the city's major newspapers and tabloids. It became a trending topic across social media platforms, igniting a debate about demonic creatures lurking around campuses in the guise of education. 

The wolf descends from a noble family on the West Coast and has a massive influence on the pack leadership. It only took a few hours for the pack to hack the university system, destroy the surveillance video of the wolf’s capture, and sue the university for defamation and false claims about werewolves they alternately call ‘beast’ and ‘monster.’

The pack released the video footage of the barbaric torture their member suffered at the hands of university officials.  It generated online heat on various social media platforms and news channels. The post reversed public opinion and permanently put the university on the werewolves’ black book. 

I understand that the pack crossed some lines when it threatened the university officials, but someone has to make a stand to protect our kind. 

The news didn’t scare us, but at least that story kept Six from going feral for not shifting.

*****

I spent the next six months visiting eight nearby packs. I roamed around each pack for two to three weeks before moving to the next destination. It was a complete waste of time. 

But the remaining six months in the human world balanced the wheel. I always enjoy the grandeur of human fashion, lifestyle, and independence. It's not that we do not wear the same clothes or eat the same food; it’s just different. 

Many humans are closely connected to their families, but the majority don’t follow specific traditions. From what I heard, Asians retain their customs and traditions but are flexible enough to blend in. 

Westerners enjoy the food and unique perspectives of other cultures, but they rarely compromise about their values and practices. 

Human governments are nothing like our pack. They have no control over their citizens. Too much emphasis on fake freedom through the concept of diversity, but we all know it’s for show. The minority population is still looked down upon when major decisions are involved. They just manipulate them for electoral support. Everything is about numbers. Numbers dictate power, and power is the magnet for money. 

Werewolves are better this way. We control the economy and safety. Pack warriors protect those who cannot fight for themselves… and we provide.

The timeline my father gave me to find my mate ends today. I am going home. 

My phone buzzed in, “Hello, Dad?” I answered. 

“Seb, what time are you coming? Get here, now!”