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Chapter 4 - Kaleem
It didn’t snow often in Wolfcreek. Even during winter, we’d get snow for a week max, and then it would melt, but for a few days now, the temperature kept dropping. Even during the bonfire party three days ago, it had been cold, although wolves were unbothered by a bit of chill.
Throughout the town, species who couldn’t handle the cold were in layers, trying to keep warm, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it started snowing soon.
The last time it had snowed, the forest had been a frosty paradise. The trees covered in white, the crunch of the snow beneath my feet, had been tranquil. Of course, after a while, I missed the greenery and smell of the earth, but a change was good sometimes.
Since the sun was setting, the cold was being invited in more than during the daytime, and I decided to take a walk through the town with my groceries in hand.
Wolfcreek was a place of unity, and I’d never felt the need to leave. The streets were lined with tall trees, now leafless but still beautiful. I understood others wanting to branch out and see the rest of the world, and I’d done that multiple times. I even encouraged my pack members to see the world, but nowhere could compare to Wolfcreek, not to me.
There was a sense of peace here, like a paranormal force spreading only peace through the town. It wasn’t perfect here, and we’ve had our fair share of accidents and fights, but those were few compared to the number of good days.
“Kaleem!” Someone yelled from across the street.
I stopped and turned to find a Gorgon waving at me, the snakes atop her head hidden under a scarf, but there were patches of scales on her cheeks and arms.
“Hey, Julie,” I called back and waved.
“We’re having a party tomorrow night,” she pointed at the café she owned behind her. “You should come!”
A bus drove by, blocking my view of her, and when it passed, I gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll be there! I’ll tell the rest of the pack!”
“Thanks! See you!” She waved and made her way inside the café, and I continued walking.
Here people understood that there was no point in fighting each other for a slice of the world that was more than big enough to hold us all. That was the beauty of this remote town. Everyone cared for each other, helped each other, and offered support when needed.
The joy of peace was far greater than the aches of war.
Ever since I spoke to Nazanin about Diana and I got that strange phone call, I hadn’t been able to get Diana off my mind. I usually thought of her daily, and I’d been doing so since she left, but now, I couldn’t think of anything but her.
There were moments we’d spent together that I’d pushed so far down I forgot them, and now I was remembering them. Like the glances we’d stolen during joint pack meetings and whenever we saw each other in town.
Our secret mate bond had been hard to keep from others but also exhilarating.
When the wind blew by me, I stopped in my tracks, and my nostrils flared. A familiar scent that I hadn’t smelt in years was perfuming the air. It was faint, but it was there and not something I was imagining.
I took two steps back, and it grew stronger, so I turned to walk back the way I’d come.
The scent was the strongest before an alleyway darkening by the second while the sun continued to leave us. Moving my bag of groceries from one hand to the next, I tried to ignore my wolf howling in my head for me to enter the alley.
When I did so, within seconds, I came face to face with Diana as if she was waiting for me. I’d known it was her, but a part of me hadn’t wanted it to be.
I held my breath in an attempt to ground myself. If she was here, her pack was too, and so was Colin, if he was still their alpha. Neither of us spoke nor looked away from each other for a second.
Memories from our past came flooding back, and my wolf whimpered. There was a time when I’d feel our mate bond snap like a whip the very second I saw her. Now there was only pain and a black hole where we were once connected.
“Diana,” I said low, and she combed her hair back from her face.
It was longer than the last time I’d seen her, and she was also a lot smaller, too small, in fact. But her cold stare was all I could focus on, I deserved it. I earned the hatred I could see in her gaze.
“Kaleem,” she replied drily, and I placed my groceries on the ground by my feet.
“Is Colin here?” I asked, and she looked away, the skin between her brows creasing. “If the pack has returned this time, being chased from the town won’t be the resolve. Colin and anyone that follows him will be killed.”
I was being cold by not even asking how she was doing, but I couldn’t think of myself right now and the joy of seeing her… my beautiful mate. Her pack was problematic and a problem Wolfcreek didn’t need. Diana wasn’t the issue. Colin was.
“He’s not here,” she growled. “He sent me to speak with you.”
