My Mate's Touch

Chapter 12 - Luca

Aspen and I had discovered a bustling town after walking through the vast forest environment of No Man's Land. When we got close enough to see it, we both stopped in our tracks. I stared at the town and then at her, her eyes being as wide as mine.

"The Shadowclaw pack is really isolated compared to other packs. There aren't any other civilizations for miles," Aspen said, her eyes still focused on the town. "We must've gone further out than we thought."

Her comment reminded me of when I ran away from my town. I ran for what felt like forever, and even then, I never reached the Shadowclaw pack. I fell asleep when Xander and Aspen took me there, too, so I don't even have any idea of how close I was to it.

"Should we check it out or go back?" I asked her.

She pursed her lips. "We should check it out. Well, we probably shouldn't, but we've made it this far. Let's go!"

She grabbed my hand and dragged me all the way to the front gate of the town. We stopped there to find out where we were and we read the sign, which had the town's name on it.

"Timbers Cross," Aspen read aloud, her face contorted in thought. After a moment, her eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh, I've heard of this place before!"

"Really?" From what I could see, Timbers Cross looked notably smaller than the Shadowclaw pack and probably even smaller than my hometown.

"Yes, Timbers Cross is like a little district inside of the Shadowclaw pack," She explained. "Head alpha Felix technically overrules this little town, if you will. But they control themselves. We literally never have to deal with them. It's the first time I've ever been here."

I tilted my head slightly, amazed at the complexity of pack societies. My hometown wasn't really a pack. Werewolves made up the majority of the town, but we lived as if we were humans and rarely used our wolf abilities. "Werewolf packs have... districts?"

"Yep, kind of like human societies. The head alpha lives and rules primarily at the main pack, but they also have control over smaller territories like this one. I'm sure alpha Felix is ruling several other towns, too."

An image of Felix popped into my mind. I frowned a bit. He really did have a lot on his shoulders. He was the young and new alpha of such an elite pack, to know that he somewhat governed other territories too seemed overwhelming. I shook my head slightly as not to linger on him for too long.

"Ready?" Aspen said.

"Sure. Let's go."

We entered the city. It had many buildings of various sizes and colors, but nothing too overwhelming. It was almost like a village. There were always people in sight but it wasn't crowded. It was a nice little society, but the people seemed a bit distant.

Aspen and I walked around for a bit, not going anywhere specific. Many people were on the front porches of their homes, sitting and doing laundry or some other chore. I tried not to stare at this foreign place, but I couldn't help it. As I was taking it all in, I accidentally bumped my shoulder into someone.

"I'm sor—"

"I'm sorry!" The person blushed in embarrassment, spewing an apology before I could finish mine.

It was a boy about my age, but his face was more child-like. He had dark brown hair, naturally big eyes and peachy lips. After a moment of awkward silence, Aspen put her hand on my shoulder and spoke.

"Luca," she said discreetly. "I think we should leave soon. It's starting to get dark."

I looked up. She was right. The setting sun was tinting the previously bright blue sky into a mix of soft oranges and rich purples. It was setting pretty fast.

"Um, are you not from here?" The boy interrupted shyly. "Where are you going?"

"We're from the Shadowclaw pack," Aspen answered honestly. "We were walking through No Man's Land and spotted this place."

"The Shadowclaw pack? I've always wanted to visit," the boy said, a smile growing on his face.

"Yeah, I'm a warrior there, too," Aspen added in shamelessly, twirling a piece of her hair in an attempt to seem humble.

The boy's eyes seemed to sparkle. "That's so cool!" His smile lessened as he returned to the topic at hand. "The Shadowclaw pack is so far from here, you won't make it before nightfall, even in your wolf form. Y-You could stay with me if you'd like," he added, tapping his pointer fingers together in a nervous gesture.

Aspen and I looked at each other. I gave her a look that said he seems nice, to which she responded by giving me a look saying this doesn't seem like a good idea.

"It's just one night, Aspen. I'm sure we can both agree that we're tired. Do you really feel like carrying me all the way back to the pack?"

She sighed, pinching the space in between her eyebrows with her fingers. "You're insufferable, Luca! Fine, one night and we're leaving first thing in the morning."

I smiled in amusement. I felt bad, but Aspen always seemed to do what I wanted, even if she was reluctant. It was kind of nice, though.

"Um ok, follow me then," the boy smiled.

"Wait," Aspen said, making the boy stop in his tracks. "What's your name?"

He stood still for a moment and then his cheeks flushed again. "I'm so sorry, I should've introduced myself from the start! My name is Elias. What are yours?"

"I'm Aspen, and this is Luca," Aspen said, introducing us.

"It's nice to meet you both, Aspen and Luca," Elias smiled.

After a while of walking in silence, Elias began to slow down. I assumed we were nearing his house since we had made it in to a nice neighborhood.

"Um, my parents won't really like me bringing you home," he admitted quietly.

"You say that now? I told you this wasn't a good idea," Aspen muttered to me.

"No! I promised I would let you stay here. We'll just have to go through my bedroom window."

When we got to Elias' house, we went around to the back and he lifted up his window. He struggled a bit, so Aspen and I stepped in to help.

"Thank you guys," he blushed. "I rarely open this window, and I don't think I ever have without my parents' help. It's nice to have some werewolves around."

Aspen and I glanced at each other and I hesitantly spoke, my voice laced with concern. "Are you... human?"

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This entire chapter: "EliAs SmiLeD aNd BluShEd tEeHeE" 😳👉👈 Ignore that... ANYWAYS, a new character has been introduced! Can he be trusted? If you're enjoying the story so far, please don't forget to vote and comment what you think could happen next! Thanks for reading so far ♡ - D