Samuel sighed and leaned on the door frame.
"Da I hate to say it, really I do, but we're all better off without Leah around and you know it. You know that you can control your wolf, if there is a problem just think of your little granddaughter and let her be the your help to stay in control."
Bran listened to what his son had to say and had to admit he was right, SeoHyun was as good a reason as any to keep control of the beast he could become. He didn't want her to ever see the berserker, she would likely never trust him again after that and that would kill Bran to lose her trust. Bran then left to deal with the old, age crazy werewolf.
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Anna noticed the faint injuries healing away as SeoHyun and Charles entered the house. She ran up and hugged SeoHyun tightly.
Charles went to plan the route they would take for their hike, he wanted to show her every inch of the land that he grew up exploring so that meant they would take a different route than they had the year before.
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Bran sighed as he left the house of the old wolf that had attacked SeoHyun. He had been very upset about what he had done but there was more to the story that SeoHyun hadn't known. Leah had been involved in the attack more than SeoHyun had known. Leah had been the reason for the attack because of her hatred of Anna and Charles. Bran hadn't been looking forward to banishing his former mate but now he was wondering if she should even be allowed to remain alive after using an old wolf to attack SeoHyun.
"Tell that poor little wolf I'm sorry for attacking her, if I could have stopped myself I would have." He said.
"I'll let her know." Bran told him as he left the house
Bran arrived at his son's home just as SeoHyun and Charles sat down to plan their hike which had been expanded to be a 5 day trip ending on the day before her birthday so they could have a party with the pack on her actual birthday.
"Looks like you two have everything planned out." Bran said with a proud smile as he noticed that they had already begun to packs their to leave on the trip. Their sleeping bags were already rolled up and ready to go along with their backpacks that we're read to be filled with clothing and freeze-dried meals for the trip. They had some plans to hunt during the trip the freeze-dried meals were plan B if the hunts weren't as fruitful as Charles expected them to be or they needed a snack in between hunts as they planned to hunt at night and eat their kills as their evening meals.
"I've been planning this trip for several weeks." Charles said to his father.
"Then I'm sure SeoHyun will enjoy the gift I brought," Bran said placing a neatly wrapped gift on the table. She opened it to fi d a brand new pair of hiking boots.
"Thank you, grandda." SeoHyun said hugging her grandfather around the neck.
"Your welcome, little wolf." Bran replied hugging SeoHyun close.
Charles was looking the boots over as he tried to figure out how his da knew SeoHyun needed new boots as she had outgrown hers. He also wondered how he knew what size SeoHyun needed. Sure he and Anna knew but he had yet to tell his da. The plan was for him and SeoHyun to go to Missoula the next day to get her some boots and other supplies before the trip the day after that. They would still need to go to Missoula for supplies but that took one thing off the list of necessities for the trip.
The next day was spent picking up supplies that they were running short of for the trip.
They were in the middle of the store when they felt the tie to Leah break. SeoHyun had to grab Charles' arm to keep from falling to her knees from the pain of the tie breaking.
He took her to a spot to sit down and regain her composure the severed tie always hit submissive wolves the hardest and even his father didn't completely understand why it did they just knew it did.
"Just think with Leah gone you can spend next weekend with Da like you wanted."
"Yeah, but I wish it didn't have to be like this." She replied.
"I know, but this is best for everyone, just ask my brother if you don't believe me." Charles replied hugging her close.
"I know, Da, but that doesn't make it any easier." SeoHyun sighed.
"Just focus on our trip tomorrow." Charles instructed her as they continued their shopping.
SeoHyun was excited about the trip with Charles to camp. She loved getting to spend time with him away from the distractions of his job with the pack. He enjoyed hearing about her life out in the woods where she wasn't afraid to speak freely and getting to see the things that were so familiar to him through her eyes where it was all brand new and wonderful.
They returned home and began to pack up the last of their supplies so they would be ready to go in the morning when they start on the trip.
"Da, what do you think we'll see out there this week?" She asked.
"A lot... We'll have to wait until we're out there to know for sure." Charles replied as he helped her distribute things in her pack to make it easier to carry.
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That night SeoHyun found sleep to be very illusive, she was far too excited about the trip . The last time she looked at the clock before sleep overtook her it read 12:30am and the plan was for them to wake at 5 in the morning.
Charles figured when he had to go wake SeoHyun because she slept through her alarm she had not slept well. He wasn't sure if it was due to the recent events or the excitement of spending almost an entire week in the wilderness with him.
He still didn't understand why, but she always looked forward to spending even the smallest of moments with him and he had a bad feeling she would have a had time leaving Aspen Creek for college due to that fact. Even though she would be welcomed back for every holiday and breaks she got, he would even fly her home himself if he had to and she knew that. He still feared that she would have difficulty leaving and he didn't want to think about how hard the banishment ceremony would be on her and his da.
She got up and was showered and ready within an hour. They ate a hearty breakfast and were on their way by 7:30 am.
Anna watched happily as her husband and daughter drove away. She loved that they had such a close bond. She knew it had hurt SeoHyun to lose her parents and she was glad SeoHyun was able to open herself up for that bond and Charles was willing to let her past his iron clad defenses, but then she figured he couldn't keep the little submissive out when he saw her as so needy, his dominant instincts wouldn't allow it.
Charles looked over his shoulder at SeoHyun as she dozed in the passenger seat as he drove to their starting point of their trek into the Montana wilderness. He marveled at the level of trust she gave him. So many feared him but from the first moment she trusted him with her life. She had trusted him to keep her safe from her former pack and perceived threats from the Marrok's pack, he had planned their trip and she was willing to go along with little question to his judgement. He had found she wasn't big on technical climbing but she enjoyed their hikes together. He figured because these hikes were more relaxed and allowed her the opportunity to just be free of her problems and enjoy time with him.
They started into the woods and SeoHyun couldn't help think that it was going to be a fun week.
They had walked several miles in when Charles notice SeoHyun take a few sips of water without so much as a single break in her stride. This wasn't her first trip into the wilderness and it showed.
She stopped beside him "This is beautiful, da, why would anyone want to destroy it?" She wondered.
"I wish I could understand it, but I don't, little wolf." Charles replied.
"It's a shame more people don't get to see this the way we do, maybe if they did, more people would want to protect all of this for the future." She sighed a sad edge to her voice.
"I don't know, some people just don't understand how important places like this are and... They don't want to either." He sighed.
A sudden snap pulled Charles from his thoughts to a mindset of a dominate wolf with a submissive to protect. Brother wolf had been quiet up to that point became alert
To Be Continued...