Convalesce (Book 2 in the Wolfen Brethren Series)

Back to Black

8 years later

Jana lay on her bed, her feet dangling off the edges as she listened to her sister rambling on. Her foot was swishing about as she patiently waited for her sister to quieten down. Her hair was splayed over the bed as she lay on her back, picking at random strands of curls and pulling at any split ends. When she had thoroughly examined her whole head of hair, she started placing random plaits in the strands.

Her niece Reina was still yapping away, her arms creating shadows as she spoke, her hands making erratic gestures. When Jana became bored with the task of managing her hair, she started mentally preparing her outfit. She wasn't sure if she was going to wear her black dress with lace, or stick to her favourite black jumpsuit.

She now had a whole wardrobe of black clothes, thanks to her father. He was the only one in her blasted family who actually understood why she still wore the dismal colour. Like her niece Reina who was wasting her breath lecturing her, her sister Neema and all her nephews who doubled over into her brothers had given her hell for still wearing it.

It had been 2 years since she had chosen to wear black in memory of her beloved husband Jeremy. No one in her family understood why she continued to mourn him for so long. Sometimes Jana didn't know why either. She had only had him for such a brief moment. He was in her life for just over 1 year and she had been married to him for even less, but in that short period of time he had changed her irrevocably. He had brought such joy to her life.

For years she had been on the mating mart, attending soirees and being introduced to too many wolves to remember. Since 14 years old that had been her life, she had spent countless of hours getting pretty for the next batch of wolves she would meet. It was Neema's way of making sure she could be acquainted with her future mate, instead of being blindsided like she had been by her mate khan.

When Jana had met Jeremy at 20 she had counted down the months until she turned 21 and would be able to pick her own partner. It was the obligation of all human females aged 16 to 21 to attend mating gatherings every year so they could find a mate. For Jana she did not really have a choice. She could have said no but being the adopted daughter of  such an influential wolf leader she'd had no choice, there was just no way she could avoid interaction with the species.

So she had continued to attend them even when after her 18th birthday it became abundantly clear to her that she just was not meant to have a mate. That was the case with some humans, her DNA was probably not compatible or whatever the case. Her dad, Khan was adamant that she would though, he had said 'your sister has given me so many strong pups, I'm sure you would do the same'.

Her dad wasn't one who showed a lot of affection unless it was with his wife and mate Neema. All of his children were loved and protected by their fathers strength and loyalty. Neema though, had his undivided love and attention, she was his world.

Jana could not help but feel that she was never going to encounter that earth shattering, world colliding love. By the time she reached 18 she had felt such disappointment with her circumstance that she gad begun to become withdrawn from her family and the society she lived in.

She came from a family of strong men and women so she had always thought that her partner would have to be the same to survive. When Jeremy had entered her life her perception had completely altered. They were complete opposites, but he was the Ying to her Yang. They made sense together. Jana was a loud and boisterous female and Jeremy was a calm and studious man and together they were perfect. One of her favourite things that they had done was going into the forest, she would climb trees or swim in the lake while he would observe the plants. Doodling and making notes in his book about nature.