New Territory

The Perfect Night (9)

Jericho's POV

I hear bones cracking and shuffling before the biggest and darkest black wolf I've ever seen jumps clean over the fence and lands on my chest as I fall to the ground. "Oof! You're huge!" The huge wolf licks my face, clearly happy to be meeting his mate face to face. "Oh yes, I'm happy to meet you as well. Although I just realized Jackson never told me your name. I will have to ask him later." I can't help but laugh as he lays his entire body on top of me, his large head on my chest. I can't resist as I pet his head, him pushing up into my hand, whining happily, his tail wagging. "Alright, alright. Get off me so I can change as well."

I walk behind the other fence and he follows me. "Oh no, you go sit over there and wait." He drops his head and slinks out of my sight so I can change. Once I come out Leia walks up to him and lays on the ground, rolling over to show obedience to him. He simply licks our face and pushes us over before beginning to prance off, looking back to make sure we're following. I get confused as he grabs some sort of pack from a pile I just noticed beside the house before taking off down the path. Desperate to keep up I dash off towards him. He jumps over me, from one side to the other. I'm not as graceful as him so I simply nudge his side. This continues until we stop in a clearing. I didn't get this far with the group earlier. 

The clearing is beautiful. Trees surround the area, a small river bubbles past, and a bunch of solar lights are set up around the area, obviously meant for people to come back here at night. Jackson moves behind a tree before I hear more shuffling and he comes out fully clothed in some basketball shorts and a tank top. I cock my head to the side, where did he get that?

"I left the pack I grabbed at the base of the tree. We have those ready for when we need to take off somewhere and have something to possibly change into later. Each one has two sets of clothes. They may be a bit big. You don't have to change if you don't want, but I figured we could hang out here for a little bit." Leia walks past him and rubs her head against his side in appreciation and we change back behind the tree. He was right, the clothes are kinda big, but it's not that bad. Some more baggy basketball shorts and a long sleeve shirt.

"Thanks, now we can actually talk to each other." We both laugh. "I meant to ask, what's your wolf's name? You know mine, so it's only fair."

"Sorry I forgot to tell you. His name is Bryn." I walk up next to him and he puts his arm over my shoulder and we walk to sit by the riverbank. 

"I like that name. It suits him. He's absolutely massive! Probably the biggest wolf I've ever seen. You must have great genes."

"About that... I actually have to tell you something. Before I found out you were my mate I didn't think it was a big deal to avoid telling you for a while because I didn't want to intimidate you, but now that we're together, I think you have a right to know."

"Um, okay... what is it? Is something wrong?" I start to get a nervous pit in my stomach.

"No! No. Nothing terrible. I just... well... I'm actually the reigning alpha's son..." 

I sit there processing what he just said, my breathing becoming erratic as nerves take over. If he's the reigning alpha's son then that means he'll become the alpha one day, and if he becomes the alpha one day and I'm his mate then that means I'll become... the luna of the pack.

"Woah woah hey it's okay. It's okay!" Jackson takes me into his arms and pulls me into his lap, running his fingers through my hair, cradling me. "I know that's big news, and I know what that means for you and your future, but it'll be okay. I will be here, with you, every single step of the way. This may not be what you asked for, but I hope this doesn't mean you'll reject me." I jerk back at that.