With an Open Heart (Book 2, sequel to "His Mate's Tears")

Acceptance Part II

Sabella POV

I remember being younger about 4 years old when my mother used to read to me each night. I'd have a stack of books but there was always that one book that I wanted her to read to me every night. She'd asked why I loved that book. I told her because wolves were my favorite animals. She always smiled when I told her that. At that time I had no idea werewolves existed but I loved wolves. 

At nights I'd look outside and see wolves near to the house, they always mesmorised me. I had told my parents about it and they seemed shocked and came up with an excuse to say they were probably wondering too far from their habitat. The next night I laid by the window and I never saw a single wolf. I cried so hard my parents came rushing into the room. They had asked me what was wrong. I told them something happened to the wolves and now they're not coming back. I asked them if I was a bad girl so God was punishing me by not letting them come back. My father hugged me tight and my mother pointed outside to show a brown and white wolf. It looked up at me and I laughed and called it a good doggy. My father couldn't stop laughing. And let me tell you his laugh was rowdy and loud. The wolf ran into the dark and I started smiling. It was a few years later when my dad finally told me it was Uncle Maxwell, his second-in-command. I laughed hard. It was then I realized why he was always a bit hesitant and peeved to even show his wolf while around me.

 I loved the stories my mom used to tell me about wolves and how they mated; and interacted in the wild. I guess you're wondering what book it was right. You're gonna laugh but it was an encyclopedia. Yeah, a four year old loved hearing her mom read the encyclopedia but it was n't the entire book just the one about wolves. 

I sat up into the pillows and listened to my mom as she finished reading Beauty and the Beast to me.

"Read the story about the wolves now Mummy, please," I bounced up and down the bed in anticipation. 

"Ok," she laughed, "gimme a minute while I get the book." She got off the bed and went to my book shelf and pulled out the encyclopedia I had gotten from my Uncle Max, at my request for my birthday a couple months ago. 

She told to the part of the book that had the information on wolves, she sat on the bed and started reading.

"Wolves are highly social animals that live in packs. A pack is an extended family group comprised of a breeding (alpha) male and female and their subordinate offspring from one or more years. The alpha wolves decide when the pack will travel and hunt, and normally are the first to eat at a kill.

Generally, only the male and female alphas of the pack will mate. Wolf packs typically have one litter of pups per year unless the younger females also breed. Mating typically occurs between January and March.

Wolves begin breeding between 2 and 3 years of age and are believed to mate for life. Once sexually mature, most wolves leave their birth pack to search for a new territory or to join an existing pack. Dispersing wolves roam 40 to 70 miles on average, and sometimes more than 100 miles, depending on gender, available habitat, and presence of other packs.

Wolf pups are born blind and deaf in an underground den after a 63-day gestation period. Litter size averages 4 to 6 pups. During the first 3 weeks, pups nurse every 4 to 6 hours and need help regulating their body temperatures. The mother usually stays with her young in the den, eating food brought to her by other members of the pack.

Wolf pups are weaned at about 8 weeks of age once they have begun eating semi-solid food, regurgitated by the mother or others members of the pack. As pups begin eating more solids, they are moved to one or more "rendezvous sites," where they spend the remainder of the summer learning proper pack behavior and etiquette. At 6 to 8 months, the pups begin to travel with the pack and join in hunts. Fewer than half of wolf pups born in the wild survive to adulthood. Survival rates are affected by disease, malnutrition and predation.

Few wolves live more than 5 years in the wild, but with ideal conditions can reach 15 years of age. Wolf populations are naturally regulated by prey density and territorial disputes among wolves. In many areas, numbers are mainly limited by human-related factors, including illegal killing, control efforts to address livestock depredation and car accidents. As wolves return to Washington and expand their range in Idaho, it is expected that pack sizes will be similar to those found in the Northern Rockies, which average 5 to 10 animals. In areas with abundant prey, packs can have 20 or more members."

She took a breathe. 

"Come on, Mom get to the mating part!" I said excitedly. I was always happy to hear how they mated. It seemed really cool.

"Ok, baby," she laughed. She skipped a few pages and got to the good stuff.

"Mating season can be anywhere from January to April with the alpha female having only five to seven days of oestrus. During this time, the alpha pair may move out of the pack temporarily to prevent interruption from other pack members. Also the alpha pair is almost always the only pair to mate, to avoid over population.

  When the two are about to mate, they bond, sleeping close and touching each other more and more. They will approach each other making quiet whining sounds, mouth each others muzzles, touch noses, and bump there bodies together. There may be mutual grooming and nibbling of each other's coats and the two may walk pressed close together. The Male may bow to the female, toss and tilt his head, and lay his legs over her neck in what could only be described as a flirting manner. The two may even sleep side by side. As the courtship progresses, the male will smell the genital region of the female to determine her readiness to mate, his tongue flicking in and out, testing the air for traces of her sex hormones, If she is not sexually receptive, she will repel the male with growls and snaps of her jaws. "

She closed the book. I knew why too. I was too young to hear the other parts of it. I laid down. She pulled the sheet up to my chin.

"I wanna be a wolf, Mummy. I wanna mate  and be an Alpha female and command every wolf."

"Think about it in your dreams, baby." She kissed my forehead. Pity I never knew I was a wolf and would soon be an Alpha and have an Alpha mate.

I sprung up off my bed. Its time to pay that mate of mine a visit and complete this bond. 

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Finally!!!!!! The mating is going to commence. Been a long time coming. Ravic will be brought back in the next chapter.