Seven mates for seven brothers

46 - Build me a fire

In spite of Conrad’s urgency; the trip he had planned to take with William to the elder who could help him find his mate kept on being postponed.  First with Brian’s honeymoon because he had stepped up to fill his shoes; then again when Alex decided to take some time out of his schedule and spend some time with Cassy.  They did not go away; they were just unavailable.

Eventually, a whole month and a half later, he and his dad hit the road; taking turns in driving so that they could reach their destination that much sooner.  Conrad also used the time to talk about his mother when his dad could not escape.  A nasty trick from his side, but all his brothers felt that it would be a lot healthier for Will to start talking about her.

So; after a long four day trip and many discussions later, they arrived at the pack ground where the old man lived.  William stopped at the pack house first to introduce Conrad and to ask permission for them to approach the old man with their request.  To his surprise, the alpha was expecting them, and so was the old man.  Apparently he had heard them speaking about seeking his help in a dream.

They were invited to stay over at the pack house until the next evening when Conrad would have to go and look for the old man alone.  If he found the old man; he could ask his questions, if not, he would have to leave.

The next day Conrad woke up late because he could not fall asleep; he was too worried about whether he would be able to find the old man or not.  The whole day through he thought of nothing other than going out right now to look for the old man.  That night a huge fire was lit at sunset and it was kept blazing until the moon rose in all it’s splendor.

A loud howling brought the meeting to a start.

“Tonight we have a seeker in our midst.  He comes to seek the wise old man for wisdom or truth.”  The alpha spoke with a quiet dignity that rang throughout the clearing.  When he stopped speaking, more howling filled the air and the sound made Conrad edgy.  He was eager to get this over and done with.

“Let the seeker stand before me!” 

Conrad got up from where he had been sitting next to his father and walked over to the alpha.  During the previous evening and the whole day, not one single person had asked him or his father why he wanted to see the old man.  These were the first words spoken about it since they arrived.

He came to a standstill before the alpha and looked down into his compelling eyes.  He managed to contain the smile at the thought that this was the shortest alpha he had ever seen.

“You came here to seek the truth or wisdom of the old man’s words?”

“Yes.”  Conrad answered in a clear voice.

The alpha smiled gently at him when he heard the slight impatience in Conrad’s voice.

“Truth is only revealed after a long search and wisdom is found with time.  But those that seek and find the old man, may ask one question of the old man.  He will then go forth and seek for the answer to that question by going on a wolf journey accompanied by the seeker so that they might find the truth together.  Where their journey will take them no one could possibly guess.  They may find their way by moonlight, fire or lightning; or they may not find their way at all.  Sometimes answers are hidden like a puzzle or a riddle.  Sometimes no answers are found.”

The last sentence made Conrad shudder.  He really, really needed to find her.  The last four days he had been having the weirdest dreams when he slept.  He could never remember what it was about or what had happened; he only remembered the anxiety and the dread and he could not help but think that it was related to his mate.  It felt like a time bomb was ticking inside of him.