The Tethered Chronicles

Elijah and Stela - First Meeting

STELA

"It's still flourishing, thank goodness!"

Stela smiled as Olwen accepted the bromeliad, her eyes filled with relief and gratitude. After three months of having to deal with that unreasonable brat of a future Luna, seeing her closest friend again was like returning home. Ironic since she had left the only home she had known until now.

"Yeah...Kylie wanted it gone since Aaron bought it for you and she slapped Jessie over it." Stela said, recalling how Kylie had looked angrily standing over the poor omega. Her blood still boiled at the thought - had she not controlled herself, she might have shifted into Starr and attacked the woman for hitting her own attendant over something so trivial.

"Kylie did what?"

Stela saw the way Olwen's face morphed into concern from her words, and she sighed, knowing she had a lot more to explain to her now that they were reunited. And that was excluding the matter of whether she and her mother and brother would be allowed to remain in the Moon River Pack.

"It's a...long story. I'll tell you in a bit..."

The she-wolf was just about to ask more questions about how Olwen was doing in her new pack when a faint scent caught her attention.

Starr arose within Stela, sniffing at the new fragrance. Crackling firewood with a hint of cologne...ironically a combination one would not wish to bring near to one another in real life.

But the science of it all was not important now. The scent was placing Starr on high alert and quickly pulling Stela into a kind of trance. Her wolf was almost wanting to drag her towards wherever the scent was coming from, but Stela forced herself to stay put.

Stela...Starr whined.

"Wait..." Stela blinked and shook her head, trying to bring herself out of the strange haze.

She already had an inkling of what it could be, but it couldn't...

"What's that-"

"Mrs, Miss and Mr Anderson." Alpha Landon, the leader of the Moon River Pack, incidentally spoke before she could say anything else. "This is my second-in-command, Beta Elijah."

As the man in question appeared from behind his Alpha, the firewood and cologne fragrance was suddenly carrying out a full assault on Stela's senses. It took all of her willpower to not pounce at him.

Simultaneously, Starr leapt to her paws and howled in a way Stela had never heard her howl before.

Mate!

ELIJAH

Even before he had arrived in front of the newcomers, Elijah had started to feel slightly unnerved thanks to the skittish behaviour of his wolf.

Elijah...something's happening...

There was a whole tangle of scents ahead, but one drifted towards him, sweet but revitalising.

 Blackberries with just a hint of lemon. Elijah barely ate blackberries but suddenly it felt like they were all he wanted to taste.

His heart beat faster. He knew straightaway what this meant: his mate was near.

Mate! His wolf was wagging his tail eagerly, already wanting to seize control of his human's body.

Calm down, Ellis. Now is not the time to go all beserk and scare away whoever it is. Just focus on the task at hand, it is more important after all.

Keeping his eyes carefully averted from where the scent was coming from, Elijah approached his Alpha first, bowing respectfully and trying to keep himself controlled and in the moment.