Chapter 1 - Us, again!
June
Sitting in my office, on the fifth and top floor of the pack house, I observe the landscape through the window. The large bay window overlooks the street below.
My parents built so much...from nothing.
Just this pack house, which began as just a small building, is today the headquarters of a small urban empire.
The building opposite is also ours. It’s divided into several sections including my parents' house, my sister and I's apartments, and those of many members of our community.
On the ground floor, the Angelo’s. Our legendary restaurant has expanded, but is no longer a business.
It has helped the pack grow in the past but his main mission now is to provide everyone with shared meals in a warm place in exchange for a service rendered to the pack, depending on skills or knowledge from everyone.
Everything works here today in the same way as a traditional pack. A united and organized community. We look after each other and all share our contribution, everyone contributes in their own way.
The Drift has remained the party and fun place we all need. The pack house is above.
As Nonno thought at the time, we merged several floors to make it.
The ground floor is a large space open to the mezzanine floors which overlook it. Everything is open and connected, the facades are entirely glazed to fully let light invade the space.
No one is truly isolated, except in the bosses' offices or bedrooms.
Everything is in light wood and soberly decorated with soft colors. My mother wanted to make this place bright and calming. To contrast with my father and Nonno's house at the time they met, which she found dark and sad.
Nonno hasn't worked for a long time. He is getting old, tired and fragile. He has his quarters here, to always be with us. Our elders all live at the pack house so we can all watch over them.
Grandpa William passed away shortly after the death of my Grandma Isadora a few years ago.
He could not bear the loss of his partner. He was too old to recover, unlike Nonno who experienced this tragedy young enough to survive it, even if he remained seriously damaged.
Mom had a hard time going through this ordeal. She couldn't stay away from my father for even an hour or two for several months. But, Dad was happy to be able to bring her comfort, just by staying close to her.
Alpha or not, a wolf remains devoted to his mate above all, and happy to be so.
Chiara and I work in our parents' offices. They are identical and next to each other. The partition that separates them retracts if desired. Chiara likes to leave her door open, but I more often seek solitude. Sometimes I need to think in my own little corner... like today.
We don't have the Alpha title yet.
Our parents still judge us to be too young and inexperienced, which I concede. So we are learning alongside them. They give us freedom on the maneuver, while supervising. We have to prove ourselves.
I love this role.
My sister and I have always believed that we were made to get it and share it. As if our genes had spoken before us.
We have never created competition between us, there has never been any question of one of us appropriating exclusively our father's inheritance.
We are twins and closely related, but we don't really look alike. Chiara inherited everything from Dad. As for me, I look like my mother.
She wears her hair long, straight and black. And I have light brown hair, like Mom, with curls to boot.
We consider ourselves to be perfectly complementary. Between us, we act as a single unit with multiple skills.
This is why it was a little difficult for me, at first, not to feel erased by her mate.
Fortunately, quite quickly, this fear was dissipated by studying Nathan. He is a good person who knew how to find his place in our family, asserting himself as a bonus, and not as a usurper.
Mom and Dad like him. This is a very good indicator.
If my parents like someone, I can be sure that it is justified. I trust their instincts.
And then... he is my sister's mate, the actions of the Goddess are always beneficial.
Therefore, even if I am impatient to find mine, who has still not decided to appear in my life... I am confident.
Back to the pack.
The free forest is always free, we have not tried to monopolize it. People are simply used to encountering wolves there.
My sister and I often enjoy it together. Her wolf is entirely black, when I tell you that she inherited everything from my father... Mine is brown and sand on the legs and tail.
The advantage is that fur like mine is rarer, I am easily recognized, even before my smell reminds my famous family.
I say “advantage” because if someone recognizes me, they won’t bother me, well, in general.
Lone wolves remain on the lookout for young females without mates, and try their luck. It’s what happens to me when I wander in the forests of allied packs.
Sometimes I'm in a playful mood and agree to a brief romance. But often, they are heavy-handed, too enterprising, and only seek to dominate.
I'm an Alpha, yes, but precisely. Some males are even more captivated by the challenge of domination, and that pisses me off...
I'm not a fragile little thing even if I seem like one when I'm human. They then learn it at their expense.
In any case, those who only approach me to prove something don't last long. They are always surprised by my ability to kick their ass, me as a wolf or woman.
Our vampire gammas trained us from a very young age and continue to do so. Although I feel that they would like to pass the baton.
Wolves often replace them at Bartolomeo to give them more free time, but I know they want a well-deserved retirement, just like Dad.
It remains to find good replacements.
Lots of wolves are good candidates... But I want a beast for this role, a mega-expert in busting, and I haven't found him yet.
My father, Antonio and Luigi were great mentors, I owe them a lot. The next generation must be up to the task, including me.
We have almost all trades in our ranks. Schools have been set up at the end of the street, near our small dispensary.
My mother's old office is still functional with our team of legal guardians.
One of our wolves is also part of the municipal council in order to always be transparent and involved in the life of the city.
Besides, I have to organize my next visits to the Bormur infrastructures.
I decide to get back to my paperwork when I hear a knock at the door.
...I perceive a small familiar being about to open...
Goddess, is it really him?
He slowly opens the door, and I see his little face that I haven't seen for almost a year.
“Oh, my little kitten!
Come quickly into my arms!!”
My four-year-old nephew runs up to me and hugs me...
I'm always afraid that my nephews and nieces will forget me since we don't see each other very often... But our bonds are so strong and anchored, that they are always happy to see us again.
I hold back my tears because I am so moved to feel this adored little one in my arms...
“Hello, Auntie June!”
“Hello, my baby! How have you grown so fast!”
“Hey, I'm not a baby anymore!”
“Oh, that's right… Four years! You are a big boy, my Reese... How happy I am to see you!!
But...
Where is Dad?”
