Unattainable Fruit

Chapter 4: Curiosities & Calls

James' POV

Before going over to Alex's house as planned, I decide to head towards the pack first, Cody's retreating figure in the distance, catching my attention as I go to turn towards the North west side of Kaulike.

  As hard as I try to entertain myself with other thoughts and ideas, my mind keep coming back to that weird feeling of connection, the faint spark I felt in the cafeteria.

  'Was it a spark or a little bit of indigestion?' Sloan remarks chuckling to himself.

   'Come on, Sloan you're telling me that you didn't feel it?' I ask my wolf as I walk down the street, passing by the bridge that leads towards the north part of the city where the Faerie Kingdom lies, out near the outskirts of the maze like city streets.

   'Sorry, but you're going to have to get someone else to entertain your delusion.' He tells me, nodding as if sympathetic but I scoff and ignore him. Ever since we were younger Sloan always gets a kick out of messing with me. I don't blame him though. If anything I'm grateful that he didn't hate me and pass on like some wolves do.

  I shake my head of the memories and the feelings they bring up, instead deciding to shift into my wolf form, hoping the run will quell my restless thoughts. I feel my limbs get longer and bones start to shift, the sound unsettling to new ears, though nothing but white noise for me as my fangs grow and hair erupts around my body. By the time I'm done shifting, I'm already moving, running through the last stretch of neighborhoods before the turn off for my pack comes, over 20 miles of woods surrounding both our pack and our Sister pack as well as around the entire eastern part of the city.

    I jog along the beaten path, the scents of other wolves entangled with the smell of oncoming rain in the evening. The quiet thumping of my paws hitting the earth comfort me and quiet the noise inside my head, though the image of curly hair and glasses can't seem to escape me.

   It's only take me five minutes to arrive at the pack house, the biggest and main house in the pack, half for business and the other for residence. It was built like a cabin, naturally with the woods we inhabited, and while the second and third floors were for pack meetings and all type of pack related business, on the higher floors, unmated, Scorned Mates and orphans live there. And of course the first floor and basements are all for both business and pleasure.

   Most Scorned wolves, those who were rejected by their Mate for an inject reason end up leaving the pack to join the rouges, grief, and anger driving them out, but the ones that choose to stay, come here. It was where Alex and Bri had been living here last year until Alex finally became old enough to take over the house that his family had built.

   I walk into the Pack House, greeting the other wolves as they call out their hellos to me, their smiles warm and genuine as I walk in, something I pride myself in.

   Not wanting to talk much, I hurry through the massive multipurpose room towards the stairs where I make my way up towards Zee's office. The first door on the left is open, the wolf biting the cap of a pen as she stares at the computer screen, mumbling to herself incoherently.

   Zee has been in my life longer than Alex himself. Just like Alpha and Beta positions, the Elders pass their knowledge and positions down to their heirs. The type is work and training it requires though is different, and since Zee is a year older than me and already graduated high school, we haven't seen much of each other. But when we were kids, we would spend most of the day complaining about and making fun or our families, annoyed with their expectations of perfection and power.

   We aren't as close now, and Heaven knows I wouldn't dare breath an ill word about my father here, but it's always nice to be around her. It feels comfortable. Like I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not. I don't even feel that way with Alex sometimes.