Alpha's Mate - Special Anniversary Extended Edition

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

The day dawned bright. Violet dressed and sneaked outside to have time away from Dmitry's family. He'd left the lodge early on pack business. She was used to spending all her time alone and liked going into the surrounding woods with her camera. Feeling overwhelmed by the people in the lodge, she needed to get away for a little while.

Later, Yelena and Alena continued to give her lessons on what it meant to be an Alpha's mate. It was all very interesting, but Violet couldn't wait for Illarion to come over after school. She liked to take him outside to play and explore the pack territory. She found the act of shape-shifting amazing, and Illarion liked to show off his skill. The temptation to take pictures of the act was overwhelming. But she promised Dmitry that she wouldn't for safety reasons. A rainbow of light would suddenly appear around the human form, and then when it dissipated, a wolf would be in its place. Violet had never seen Dmitry shift, but she became used to the wolves around her and the idea of shifting.

The pack was very close, and the males protective of their mates. There were only seven females still able to have children. Then there was Alena and herself, who were newly mated. Children were needed, and somehow, as Alpha female, she must encourage all the women to try and get pregnant. It was easy to understand why Dmitry could be so bossy one minute and so tender the next. The very existence of his pack was in jeopardy.

She also learned about pack dynamics. The Alpha was the leader. Under him were several strong alpha males as his seconds, or Betas. Those seconds also led a number of younger males under them, sometimes family members, and sometimes groups coming together to support each other.

Protecting pack territory and keeping its secrets was the pack's first goal. To this end, patrols were kept at all hours. If trespassers were found, they were escorted off pack lands. Pack members were forbidden to shift in front of a human and several pack members seemed nervous when Violet was around. Having a human Alpha female was new for all of them.

Violet visited with the school children and the elders who ran the school. The school was one of the few buildings that had electricity and a generator for back up. Alena accompanied her when she went out on pack business. There was so much to learn and understand that at times it seemed overwhelming. Violet saw several pack members turn away when she came past with Illarion. But she learned it was considered an insult to stare at the Alpha female's face.

She carried a basket of cookies and a blanket over her arm, taking Illarion on a picnic since school finished for the day. They wandered down to the river and found a sunny spot. She settled on the bank with her camera, while Illarion played in the water, his pants rolled up. Suddenly they both heard a mental scream.

HELP!

Violet and Illarion froze, staring at each other in shock.

"Violet?"came Dmitry's mind touch.

"It wasn't me, but it's close. Illarion and I are at the river."

"Don't move, lyubov moya, I am on my way."

Violet looked around as first one large wolf and then another came running past.

"Violet, what's going on?" Illarion asked, crawling up the bank and kneeling next to her.

"I'm not sure Illarion, but Dmitry said to stay right here, so here we stay," she said taking his hand. She wasn't sure who needed the reassurance more, her or Illarion.

Violet handed a cookie to the boy, hoping to distract him. Yelena ran up to them, her skirts flying around her ankles and her medicine bag in her hand.

"Illarion, I need you to go to your mother right now. Don't stop anywhere, go straight home," Yelena ordered.

Illarion looked at Violet, and she nodded. She handed him the basket of cookies and ruffled his hair. They both got up, and Violet picked up the blanket and folded it over her arm. Her camera lay forgotten on a strap around her neck.