Mates of a Human

Part Six. Chapter Seven. Michael

As I walked up the gravelled road, my eyes flittered about, noting each tree, each lamp post and identifying a memory that coincided with it.  But I didn't feel any nostalgia and my wolf did not feel the need to mark these trees that he once counted as his own.   As the first rooftops peeked through the trees, this did not change, even though I'd once played with the kid that lived in that house and that house belonged to the granny, who knew everyone's business whether they wanted her too or not.

I noticed a few individuals sniffing the air as I got nearer to them.  The younger ones were curious.  To them, I might as well have been a stranger.  Those that were my age were cautious, I don't know what my father told them about why I left the pack, I doubted it was in my favour from the way many turned away from me.  It wasn't long before a familiar face came running towards me.

"You shouldn't have come," Gabriel said beneath his breath as he reached me.  He sent sharp glances to any wolves seeking to linger, but one by one they cast their eyes downward and walked away.

"I couldn't delay this forever," I drawled.  He held my mate hostage after all.  My wolf had been clawing inside of me, for the past forty eight hours, desperate to be released so he could free our mate.  Eric's condition was not much better than mine, but he had stayed upon the Pride lands to ensure a few things were in place.  Then I doubted that the Gods themselves could keep him from trespassing on pack lands.

"So have you figured out why our father invited Elves to the pack?" I asked, although we had already figured out the answers to that by yesterday morning.  Or rather, we suspected, but we couldn't be 100% certain our theory was correct.

Gabriel flinched.  "Adriel claims that they are going to try and break your bond with your mates," he answered with a frustrated sigh.  "I tried to talk him out of it, tried to make him see what a bad idea it is, but he just won't listen to reason!"  I could only nod as I agreed with his statements as well as ask my wolf to send a message to Eric that it was as we'd assumed. 

"He is trying to marry me off to some girl from another pack who wants to be Luna," I stated.

"You knew?" Gabriel asked, adding a curse beneath his breath.  "I still don't understand why he feels the need to do this.  The pack isn't so destitute that he needs to do this, to sell his own son for money!"

I shrugged, desperation makes people do strange things.  Likely my father just does it want to admit his failures to his pack, trying protecting his image and his pride.  Like I said, he's an idiot.  "What I don't understand is why he believes that I will just let this all happen, just let my mates be torn away from me and then accept some bitch to my bed instead."

Gabriel hesitated glancing up at the pack house that was now just a hundred feet in front of us.  "I heard there might be modifications to the spell..." he clamped his mouth shut before he could say what those 'modifications' could be.  The old man had just walked out of the pack house.  His black hair was peppered grey now and his face was more lined than I remembered.  He still stood straight, his hands behind his back and still had that damn smug expression upon his face.  Arrogant bastard. Beside him stood his Beta's; Giles, Glenn's father and Shaun, my father's friend from childhood.

"Son, welcome home," he greeted me as if I had just been on a stroll for a while. "You are just in time for dinner!"

My wolf and I began to growl.  We refused to recognise the blood relationship between him and I.  His black wolf at least had the decency to look a little ashamed, but the man was clearly unrepentant.  "Where is my mate?!" My voice was deep and gravelly, revealing that my wolf and I were currently of one mind.

His eyes narrowed, burrowed by a frown, his thick brows nearly hiding his eyes. And then he smiled as if that angered face was an illusion. "So eager to meet her," he said, "don't worry. Your bride to be will arrive shortly."