The Unlikely Mate

Chapter 9

When Jennifer returned to the table, dessert had already been served. Jennifer was only able to take a few bites, because her mind and eyes kept wandering back in the direction of the scent she had noticed by the bar. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out what was going on. The scent had been strong and alluring, even her wolf had noticed it and wanted her to follow it. But she couldn't rationally determine a reason why that would make sense or why she should abandon her date in order to follow someone, simply because she enjoyed their scent.

Her wolf was suggesting to her it that it could be a second-chance mate, but she quickly extinguished that idea. If it had been a mate, wouldn't he have noticed her scent and come to find her, she rationalized to herself. She was nobody anyway, no great lineage and nothing special enough to warrant the Moon Goddess offering her a second chance. She had no intention of letting her emotions get carried away with a silly fairytale notion.

"You don't like it?" William asked Jennifer, pointing to the dessert.

"Oh," she blinked as she responded, realizing that she had no idea how long she had been ignoring William. "It's good, maybe a little too sweet" she hazarded, hoping that was a satisfactory response, since she couldn't actually remember tasting the dessert and had no idea if it was any good or not. "And dinner was so delicious, I'm actually getting pretty full" she followed up.

"It is pretty rich" William said, eyeing her closely, obviously aware that she was suddenly very distracted.

"Let's get out of here" William said, as he stood up from the table.

Jennifer then realized that William had already paid the check, and she had no idea how long she had been distractedly letting her mind wander, and actually felt a little guilty about her behavior toward William.

"Do you have to get right home?" he asked, once they were in the car together. "I want to show you something."

Jennifer wanted to be alone. She wanted to think about that scent and what it could be even though she was actively fighting every thought that came up and the last thing she wanted at this point was to prolong her date with William. But she felt like she had been pretty rude and that she ought to at least finish the date politely. She also felt incredibly foolish for having gotten herself into a position where she was being disrespectful to someone as powerful as William, and again she replayed the warning from Jackson to be careful.

"I can stay out a little longer" was the only response she could muster.

A few minutes later, and they had pulled into a parking lot outside of the city, but at a higher elevation. The woods surrounded them, but in front of them was a view even more spectacular than the one they had been able to see from the restaurant. The city lights spread out below, the dark trees surrounded them, and the stars in the sky sparkled above them. If her mind hadn't been wandering, this would have been an incredibly romantic way to end a date.

"Have you been here before?" Jennifer asked William, after a few silent moments of looking out over the lights in the valley.

"Yes, but it's been a long time" William responded, as he moved behind Jennifer and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"What brought you out this way before?" she asked him, her heartrate beginning to increase at his touch.

"What do you really know about the Werewolf Council?" he finally asked her after a long pause.

"Just what we're taught growing up" she responded. "Werewolf Council was established centuries ago, as a way to oversee the various packs and keep everyone in line. Powerful werewolves endowed by the Moon Goddess to do what needs to be done. But it kind of always seemed like a glorified fairytale for trying to keep younger wolves in line and not to disrespect their Alphas. I guess I just kind of always thought of them as a distant governing authority that is too far away to really have any impact on day to day life."

William chuckled at Jennifer's response.

"I supposed we have been too far removed to have any real impact for most packs, but we actually have a much more integral role" William said to her.

"Which is what?" Jennifer asked curiously, after William hadn't continued speaking.

"Well, you're correct in that we were established by the Moon Goddess, but not specifically as some boogeyman for naughty young wolves. Werewolves are supposed to protect mankind, but not all wolves have taken that seriously, and furthermore there are those who have tried to control men. Then there's the whole situation with Rogues who are a threat to men as well as to wolves. So the Werewolf Council was established to keep the powerful in line. Misguided and power hungry Alphas as well as Rogues can pose quite a threat to mankind in general, so the Council is in place to maintain peace and punish those who threaten the necessary balance."

"Interesting" Jennifer mused. "I never really gave it much thought before I guess. Especially growing up and living in packs my entire life up to this point, it never really even occurred to me how difficult it could be to keep peace among everyone."

"Most humans don't even know we exist" William said to her knowingly. "That's just another element of the whole picture that makes things even more difficult. There are obviously powerful humans in business and political circles who know, because we have to work with them to maintain cooperation and safety for everyone, but secrecy is vital to our harmonious survival with humans. So the Werewolf Council has to make sure that wolves, especially the most powerful ones, aren't doing anything to compromise or disrupt that balance."

"It sounds tedious and exhausting" said Jennifer, as she continued to think about the different things that William had just told her. All things that made sense, but she had never spent much time thinking about, having lived such a sheltered life within the packs.

"Anyway" William continued after a minute. "I was here about 25 years ago, dealing with some rogue problems. The place has changed a lot, but this spot is nearly the same. I'm glad it hasn't been developed. Obviously the city is larger since then, so the city lights have expanded, but the magnificence of the view and the glory of the open sky haven't changed much. The company is much better this time around though" he said and then gently nuzzled his face into Jennifer's neck, taking in her scent.

"Wait..." Jennifer paused, "25 years ago? How old are you?"

"Yeah... about that..." William sighed and then turned Jennifer around in his arms to face him. "I'm 112 years old. Part of being chosen as a member of the Council means extended life. It's a perk and a detriment."

"It sounds lonely" Jennifer said, looking at him with a completely new perspective, especially the part about him believing that his mate was dead.

"So, I understand if that freaks you out a little bit. And I wanted to tell you sooner, but I wanted to get at least one date in with you, before you found out I'm so old."

"Well, I think I'd be open to at least a few more" Jennifer said as she smiled at him. A new feeling of intrigue and curiosity about him compelling her to get to know him better and spend more time with him.

"I'll take what I can get" William said as he pulled her closer into his arms and kissed her gently on the forehead.