Chapter 10

LEON ADLER

We reach the territory of Blood Pearl pack.

Everyone is looking at us. Most of them sensing that I'm an Alpha, and that Ethan is my mate. They bow their heads and I hear Jacob scoff. I choose to ignore him even though Apollo wants to rip his throat out. That would surely teach him a lesson. The pack members seem respectful enough, except for the Beta that's going to ascend soon once Klein retires.

"We can continue our conversation in my office," Klein says as he leads us to a small building that's quite a bit old. The paints are starting to peel off, and some windows are wrecked. "I'm sorry about the look. This is going to be renovated within this month, but it's really not a priority as we're putting a lot of our resources into a more valuable investment. This building can wait."

"I agree, members come first." I tell him and Klein beams.

We enter a set of double doors. There's a round table placed at the center, books lined up in the shelves. Even though the outside of the building is old, this room is the opposite; it's well-kept. The room is well ventilated, and there are rows of seats. Rather than the traditional Alpha office, just like what we have back in the Crescent Pack, this one is more of a meeting type room.

Klein motions for us to take a seat, and Ethan sits beside me. Jacob and the others sit across us. Ethan loops his arm around mine, and I give him a smile. Jacob is looking at us intently, curiosity etched on his face. I wonder if they have an idea that Klein's son is alive and is living somewhere Canada.

"Do you need anything? Water, coffee?" Klein asks us as he grabs a few documents sitting on the table and putting it on the nearest shelf.

"Water would be fine," Ethan responds.

"Miriam, can you go grab us some water, please?" Klein tells to the petite woman standing near the door. The woman nods her head and gets out of the room to get some water for us. "All right, back to these shrines you are referring to, Ethan. What about it?"

Now, I know we just met these people, and I know we shouldn't be even telling them about this in the first place. We don't know if they are really an ally, but something tells me that these werewolves are pure and good, that they don't really mean no harm to us and that they would only like to help us. Ethan seems to have felt that, too, considering how he immediately nods his head and begins telling them about the shrines we are looking for.

"Well, for one, these shrines were built in the first place when the werewolves had just been created by the Good Goddess," Ethan takes a deep breath, his hands trembling a bit. I grab his hand, giving it a light squeeze, and smile at him. "There were supposed to be protectors of the shrines as they were very sacred. Before my parents died, which I clearly remember, I believed they were trying to go to one of the shrines as we would be most likely safe there. But they were killed. Rogues found us. And I'm not sure how they found us considering my parents were being careful. They outnumbered us, and even though my parents were powerful werewolves, they just couldn't keep fighting. I have to find these shrines so I can get some answers about me and what I really am."

Everyone, even me, is shocked to hear his story.

I just remember that Ethan has the ability to remember almost everything, and the murder of his parents are still fresh in his mind. I'm beginning to think if him being powerful is a blessing or a curse. But despite being able to remember that part, he remains strong and good. If I were in his position, I would have definitely lost my mind. I would have lashed out. I would have been angry at the world, at the Goddess, for giving me such ability.

Clearly, Ethan Kennedy doesn't deserve everything that has happened to me. But I'm glad he didn't let his fear to decide for his life. I'm glad that he still chose me and accepted me as his mate.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Klein says.

"That's okay," My mate smiles, shaking his head. "It's been a long time. I'm glad that I remember my mom and dad's face, although I wish I could remember it in a different circumstance. Anyway, I have a strong feeling that one of the shrines is located here at Kesagami."

"That's impossible," Jacob says as he clasps his hands, leaning closer. "Kesagami has been part of our territory, and although the place is quite big for us to handle, we made sure to explore every part of it. We have been roaming around the area countless of years, for two decades, and we have not found a single shrine."

"What Jacob said is true," Klein agrees, nodding his head. "Throughout my Alpha years, I never once encountered a shrine located here. We've basically mapped out every corner of Kesagami, and there has been no one who saw a shrine. Otherwise, it would have been reported already."

"The shrine is hidden, so I doubt anyone would be able to find it," Ethan chuckles.

"So how are you supposed to find it?"

"I guess I would be able to sense it," Ethan seems not sure, but I just give his hand another squeeze to let him know that I believe him and that I will support him no matter what. Even if we have to search all over the world to find these shrines, I will always be with him to help him and as his mate. "Since this is your territory, I would like to ask your permission to search this place just to find this shrine."

"Of course," Klein nods his head, leaning back. "If you also want my men to accompany you, we can do that. If this would result to us finding the shrine and stopping the hunters, then I'm already in."

"Thank you. We really appreciate your help." My mate gives them a small smile.

"May I know your pack's name, though?"

"It's Crescent Pack. Located near the Silver Water," I tell Klein.

"You've travelled far," Klein props his elbows on the table and looks at me and Ethan. "You can stay here however you like. And we can continue looking for this shrine tomorrow morning, by dawn. That should give us a few troubles. Normally, hunters are less in the morning. We've tried locating them, check to see if we could find their hideout, but we couldn't track them down just to them having no scent."

"Hopefully, we'd have some answer once we find the shrine."

"All right," Klein stands up from his seat. Miriam comes back with glasses of water, and we all thank her. Miriam is the type of woman who seems very genuine. Despite her old age, I can still see how strong she is. "Miriam, please show our guests their room. Everyone, what we've talked about here, stays only in this room."

"Yes, Alpha." Everyone agrees.

I thank Klein once again, and Miriam leads us to our room for the day. We go back to the field, passing through a couple of werewolves who are training. As soon as we walk past them, they hang their head low in submission. Ethan smiles at them, and some girls blush when they look at Ethan.

My jealousy kicks in. I wrap my arm around his waist, pulling him close. I kiss his temple to make sure that these werewolves could only look at him, and that this boy is mine. They look away almost immediately. Ethan clicks his tongue and I smirk at him, pressing my lips on his temple once again as we follow Miriam.

Miriam leads us to another building, but this building is more modern and newer. When we get inside, the things are organized. There's a long hallway that leads to another room, but across the hall on each side are doors with numbers carved on it. This looks like a hotel. Miriam motions at the door with 78 carved on it. She gives us the keys to the room, and we thank her. She turns on her heels without saying much anything and we watch her retreating figure.

Unlocking the door, the keys jiggle in my hands and it takes a couple of tries before the door opens successfully. I let out a sigh, and Ethan laughs at me. We head inside the room and nod in satisfaction. The walls are painted white, and there's an empty rack of shelf attached on the wall. The room only has a single window that overlooks the greenery, a thick white curtain pulled to the side. There's a single queen-sized bed in the center, big enough to fit us. On the either side of the bed is a nightstand, with one lamp placed on one. There's also a small cabinet in the corner of the room.

What's surprising is the smell. The room smells like tangerine and lemon, somehow combined, and it's really good. Ethan sits on the bed, feeling how soft it is, and he laughs as he lets himself fall.

I walk towards him, then crawl on top of him, and when we're face to face, I press my mouth to his. Ethan locks his fingers in my curls, giving it a little tug, and I let out a moan as he wraps his legs around my waist, pulling me close. Even though we haven't showered in a while, Ethan still smells damn good and I can't get enough of him. I nibble on his lower lip, making him gasp, and I take that as an opportunity to shove my tongue inside his mouth, tasting every inch and corner of him. Our tongues fight for dominance, and Ethan is surprisingly putting up a fight. I jerk my hips, which is a stupid thing of me to do, and Ethan pants. Now, I'm fucking hard.

There's a knock on the door.

"Sirs, we've prepared lunch everyone." A man says.

"All right!" I yell. I can practically hear the man running away and Ethan glares at me, hitting my arm lightly. I pout at him, leaning down to kiss his lips once more. Ethan's face softens, then I pull away. "We'll continue this later." Jerking my hips once more, he lets out another loud moan and gives me a cold stare. I wink at him, laughing.

I pull away from Ethan, and he looks at with me pure irritation. Laughing, I wrap my arms around him and kiss his cheek. We stay like that for a moment before Ethan turns around and buries his face in my chest. I play with his hair, loving how it feels against my fingertips, and Ethan lets out a sigh. I kiss his forehead, then we decide that we should eat.

Their cafeteria is open. There are tents setup around, and each tent has a mini table inside. Everyone is chattering as they eat, and when they notice our presence, they immediately hang their head low. Klein is among the crowd, and when he sees us, he motions for us to come closer.

Klein hands us our food, which is a medium cooked steak. The woman beside Klein, who I assume is his mate, tells me that we can still get food if we're still hungry. Klein's mate has a long, blonde hair, and despite her age, she still looks beautiful. The only way that gives out her age is the crinkles on the edge of her eyes, and she looks tired. But nonetheless, she still looks like that one particular Luna who can still kick asses despite her age. I later learn that her name is Joanna.

We enter one of the empty tents and take a seat on the trimmed grass. Ethan and I eat, thankful for the food. Ethan watches Joanna and Klein, smiling as he eats. Ethan nibbles on the steak with class while I eat like a pig, and I feel ashamed for a moment until Ethan laughs and wipes away a small piece of steak stuck on the corner of my lips.

"Why are you looking at them?" I ask my mate.

"I can tell how sad they are from losing their only son," Ethan says as he looks down on his plate. I watch Joanna and can tell that indeed, she looks sad. She's currently tending on Jacob, and I can tell how deep their relationship even if Jacob is supposed to be a Beta only. "But at the same time, I'm quite happy that in the upcoming months, they'd see their son. I don't know how I can see it, but Jacob and that missing son will have an interesting story. I can't really foresee the entire thing, and sometimes, my future telling is quite limited." He chuckles.

"Have you foreseen that I was going to follow you?" I ask him, grinning.

"No, I actually have not." Ethan laughs, running a hand through his hair, pushing it back. He continues to nibble on his steak. "And I think it's good that I can't foresee our future. I want to experience everything with you. I want to have unexpected kisses and hugs, and I want to be surprised by you, and that can't happen if I can see our future."

"How long do you think they'd find out their son is alive?"

"Give it a month or two,"

"But Jacob is going to have a hard time adjusting,"

"Yeah, I can see that." I tell him, watching Jacob as he talks with Joanne. They are smiling, and I can see how Joanna loves Jacob so much, treating him as if he's her son by blood. "Imagine being trained to be an Alpha someday, but then someone has to take the position rather than him because he's the rightful heir and has an Alpha blood. That sucks. I can almost imagine his reactions would be, and trust me, it does not look good."

"He will have a lot of things to work out,"

"Do you know where the Alpha is?"

Ethan shakes his head, laughing. "No, I don't." I cut Ethan's steak using my claw, and Ethan gives me a playful glare. "But even if I do, I can't really tell them. This is their destiny, and I just can't go telling them about it. It has to be in accordance with the way it's planned. Otherwise, it'd just bring utter chaos."

"Well, I'm just hoping that Alpha can put up with his craziness." I chuckle.

Later that night, as we're in the room, Ethan seems tired. We have already washed ourselves. Klein has lent us a few clothes we can wear while we're hear. Having a shower felt nice, and I can tell how thankful my Ethan is for getting to know them.

As he lies down on the bed, he rolls over, and I can see on his face how uncomfortable is. Worries fill my inner soul and I immediately reach out to him. I take a seat beside him, the bed dipping as I do so. Ethan looks at me, reaching out and grabbing my hand. I look at our entangled hands and a smile tugs on my lips.

Ethan props himself up, sitting into Indian-style, and runs a hand through his hair, messing it up a bit. His hair is still a bit wet from the shower and is sticking up in every direction, his eyes drooped a little. Ethan Kennedy looks really cute and adorable that I can't sometimes handle it.

"How are you feeling?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"I'm just tired, and my head hurts."

Ethan watches me as I turn, going behind him. I stretch my fingers, making them pop, before putting them on his temple, massaging it. He lets out a sigh and shuts his eyes. I lean down, kissing his shoulders, putting butterfly kisses until my lips reach his jaw. Ethan keeps himself in place, letting me do whatever I want to do. I nibble on the lobe of his ear, which earns me a moan. My hands freely roam around his body, going inside his shirt and feeling him. His skin is hot against my palms as if he's burning. I continue to kiss his neck gently. Ethan moans my name, and I suddenly get hard. I feel him through the fabric of the short he's wearing, and he lets out a small gasp.

I lay him down, me getting on top of him, and kiss him on the lips. I continue to grind on him, jerking my pelvis against his, and Ethan lets out a small whimper as he kisses me back, his arms locking around my neck as he jerks his hips back.

"Are you feeling better now?" I ask him, my voice husky.

"No... keep going."

My wolf, Apollo, resurfaces, wanting to take over. I keep him at bay. This is not the right place to mate with my mate and it's not the right time. As much as I want to do it now, I respect my mate. I know he has other things to take care of, and I'm willing to wait for him. I can wait for the right moment.

I continue to rock against him, grabbing a handful of his hair as he throws his head back in pleasure. I begin kissing neck, making him feel how hard I am for him. Ethan is rock-hard for me, too, and I wonder how it would feel like in my mouth. I've never had these thoughts before, but as that idea crosses my head, I just got a lot harder. My thrusting quickens, and our breathing becomes ragged and needy, as if we're catching our breath. Ethan moans out loud as he comes, and I come afterwards. I rest on top of him, chuckling.

"Now we have to ask for another pair of shorts,"

Ethan is mortified. "No, we can just... um, wash it and sleep naked. It'd dry out."

"Let's sleep naked then."