Absent Imprint
"Imprinting is real?" I asked, somewhat shocked.
I was still in the forest with the rest of the pack, talking about the gifts we have as wolves and about the responsibilities it carries.
"Yes, but it´s not as strong as they say. We can choose whether or not we want to be with that person fate decided is our soul mate" Paul explained.
"I imprinted on my fiancée Kate" John said, as an image appeared in my head of Kate.
"The nurse" I said as I realized it was the nurse that had been talking with John the day I had gone to the doctors.
"Yes, she told us to keep an eye out for you because Sandra, a retired she-wolf, started having stomachaches before she phased just like you. Your stomach hurts because your period is being stopped" John continued to explain.
"I won´t be able to have children?" I asked.
"Yes, you will but in order to do that you´ll have to be at least a year without phasing so that your metabolism can go back to normal" John said.
"And what´s up with this Sandra chick? Who is she?" I asked.
"Before us, there were many other packs. They were all much smaller, ours is the biggest they´ve seen yet. Sandra was one of the components of the pack before ours. It was composed of Sandra, Dean, Marshall, Jakeand me. They are now retired wolves. I was barley fourteen when I phased. They formed families and I ranked up to alpha of the pack." John continued to explain.
"Did Sandra imprint?" I asked.
"No. Girl wolves can´t imprint" John said.
I didn´t know how to feel about that. I thought the imprint thing was king of forced so I was a bit happy about the fact that I couldn´t imprint.
"Imprint isn´t forced. I could´ve chosen not to be with Kate, but I realized that I couldn´t live without her even if I tried" John said.
"Yeah, just like Sandra and Jake. Jake imprinted on Sandra but they didn´t feel that way about each other so, they each fell in love with someone else and they live happily ever after with their own families. Jake only feels the need to make sure Sandra is happy and safe. Their families know about it and understand the fact that they need to be in contact." Isaac explained.
"So, only you´ve imprinted?" I asked John.
"Yes" He answered "You´ll have to start doing patrols, it´s all part of being a wolf" John continued.
"What will I tell my parents?" I asked, laying my head on top of my paws.
"The truth, but I think it´s best if you stay with me and Kate at least for a few days until you learn how to control yourself" John said " Also Camille, there´s another thing you should know, when I said I was ranked up to alpha, I meant that I was actually beta before the others retired. You see, the first pack was composed of your great- great-great grandfather, Paul´s and mine. They were the alpha´s of their pack. There were no differences between them and they took the decisions together. " John said as he looked at Paul. "But, a generation of the Baker´s refused to be wolves, so there was a pack in which there were no Bakers, thus, the eldest between the Kings and Masons have acquired the duties of the pack leader"
"So that means that I´m…?" I asked, not fully understanding my place in the pack.
"That means that you´re beta and that when I retire you´ll be alpha because it is your place" John explained.
Me beta? I just learned that I could turn into an effing fur ball!
"I can´t handle being beta" I said.
"I understand. Then you´ll go to be third in command. Paul will take your place until you´re ready" John said.
I nodded my big white furry head.
"Also, you have to be careful not to think about ever leaving the pack because if you do so, you´ll cut all ties with us and you will become alpha of a separate pack" John warned.
I nodded again.
"Well, we should get to the house, I´m sure you´re hungry and I'd like you to meet Kate. She´ll be happy to have a girl to talk with" John said.
"Am I the only girl in the pack?" I asked, really not wanting it to be true.
"For now yes, but we are keeping our eye on a girl called Elisa Phillips" John explained as we ran towards Kate and John´s house and an image of an orange-blonde haired girl with white skin and gray eyes appeared in our minds.
We arrived to a small clearing where we were at the top of a hill. There was only grass, no more trees. I was a bit taken a back.
"What if someone sees us?" I asked, already ready to go back to the forest.
"Don´t worry Camille, we´re safe here" Daniel soothed me, pushing me with his nuzzle.
"If you say so" I said a bit unsure. We made our way down the hill and between two hills, right in the middle of a beautiful valley I had never been in my entire life, there was a beautiful cottage.
"Wow" I couldn't help exclaim.
"I said the same thing" Daniel said laughing.
We made our way to the front of the house. John phased first and put his pants on. Just then I realized that I didn´t have any clothes and I starting screaming bloody murder.
"Camille! Calm the fuck down!" Lucas exclaimed.
"Luke, take it easy" Paul warned.
"Sorry" I said sheepishly.
"Don´t worry, if I were a girl I wouldn´t want some dudes seeing me naked either" Michael said.
"Bet ya it isn´t hard for you to imagine yourself in a girls place" Paul joked.
"Dick" I commented as Michael scowled.
Kate came out of the cottage with John. Thankfully Kate had clothes with her.
"Breathe Camille" Lucas said mockingly.
"Bite me" I said.
"I wouldn´t do that, who knows where you´ve been" Lucas retorted.
"In better places than you that´s for sure "I said growling and getting ready to attack.
"Camille, you can go to the back of the house, Kate ´ll take the clothes there" John said as he kissed Kate on the cheek.
I went to the back of the house keeping my eyes on Lucas. Kate came shortly after with a wide smile. She had light brown hair slightly longer than her shoulders, white skin and blue-green eyes.
"Here you go" Kate said as she laid the clothes on a chair there was nearby and she re-entered the cottage. I was just about to phase back when a voice entered my mind.
"Camille! You don´t know how to phase!" Paul said.
"I´ve seen you guys do it, why should it be so different?" I asked.
"Try" He said.
And that´s what I did. I let myself be at peace. Reliving memories of when I was happiest. Images of Abigail, Hannah and me at the private park in San Sebastian, right next to the ocean. With the willow above our heads and us laying on the grass with the sun hitting us softly, the ocean breeze flowing through our hair…
Before I knew it I had phased back.
I went towards the chair and grabbed the clothes. A pair of short-shorts, a red and white patterned blouse which probably belonged to John due to the size and a brand new set of bra and knickers which made me think that they were expecting me and probably hadn´t had time to but the rest of clothes necessary for a girl.
I put my underwear on and then the blouse which looked enormous on me and the shorts which were really short. You could see all my now toned legs. I sighed as I entered the cottage through the sky-blue back door. I entered and I found myself in a laundry. There was a washing machine and a basket which I deduced was full of dirty clothes on the left. On the right there was a dryer and brooms and mops. In front was a door. I was just about to open it when it opened.
"Hi, I´m Kate, It´s a pleasure to meet you Camille" Kate said.
"Same here" I said, somewhat shy.
"Well, my house is your house. Come on in. You´re a part of the family now Camille" Kate said as she grabbed my hand gave it a small squeeze and took me to the living room.
The pack was sitting at a table stuffing their faces. Kate sat me at the seat between Paul and Isaac.
It was pretty awkward. Everyone was eating and Kate was looking at me from John´s lap expectantly as if I had to say something.
"So… how did you guys take this?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"I completely freaked out, I mean, everyone thought these dudes were some lunatics that were on drugs and suddenly… I can hear them in my mind and they´re telling me I can phase into a wolf. Not particularly one of my best moments" Daniel said, laughing along with the others.
"But once you calm down it´s pretty good" Isaac said.
"yeah" Lucas agreed " I mean, you have to be in the minds of these idiots but apart from that it´s pretty okay" Lucas said as Michael hit him on the head.
"You lose friends, that´s true, but you gain much more, a good retirement as a matter of fact" Michael said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, as Michael served me a bit of spaghetti.
"Well, you see, when two of the wolves of the first pack that there as ever been, were on patrol, they came across a village. There was a bridge which separated the village in two but, one side of the village was completely empty. By what they described, it was virgin land. Everything was green. There was a well and a few trees and so much space in which to build houses. It seemed like paradise. So, the… elders as you could call them, invested loads of money in order to purchase and build in those lands. Now, when a wolf retires he has the opportunity to go and live there. A house is built and he becomes one more. They form families there. Usually, wolves go and live their lives first, exploring the world and stuff and then, when they want to settle down, they go to ´The village`" Paul explained.
"As I was saying , You gain family, friends and something to do in your spare time. Besides, you realize the friends you had before weren´t really friends" Michael said.
"Speak for yourself" Daniel grumbled.
I looked at him questioning him with my eyes. He sighed.
"Remember the day you were eavesdropping on our conversation with another two guys?" He asked.
I nodded blushing slightly.
"Well, those are my two best friends: Gabriel and Samuel. They hate me because they think I´ve become one of the druggies and the thing is I can´t tell them the truth just yet because they´re going to phase too. The three of us have been friends since we could walk because our mothers are English and they met in the hospital when they were pregnant with us. They thought: wow, what a coincidence, another two English women here in Spain and pregnant just like me! Now the thing is, the fathers of Gabriel, Samuel and I are cousin. So the three of us have the gene."
"What gene?" I asked.
"The gene which permits us to be able to phase into a wolf" Michael explained.
"We inherit it from one of our parents, seeing as all of us have at least one English parent, we can deduce that this gene we´ve inherited is from an English tribe" John explained.
"So Camille, I´m guessing it was your dad who gave you, right?" John asked.
"I wouldn´t know, I never met him" I mumbled.
"Oh, and do you know any way in which we could contact him?" John asked.
"He´s dead" I said.
All of the wolves stopped eating and looked at me.
"I didn´t know, I´m sorry" John said.
"Why would you?" I asked.
"Well, your grandfather never mentioned any of it, I´m not even sure if he knew" John continued.
"My grandfather?" I asked, perplexed.
"Yes, you see, your grandfather was also a wolf" John said.
"Is he still alive?" I asked, sincerely hoping that I might have at least someone that could talk to me about my father.
"He died, six years ago and a few months after you grandmother, I´m deeply sorry" It was Kate who answered this time.
"But you do have an aunt." Daniel said. "Her name is Isabel and she´s Michael´s mom, which makes you his cousin"
"Your my cousin?" I asked Michael, completely shocked.
"Yup" Michael answered smiling at me.
"Cool" I said sincerely, digging into my spaghetti. It would be nice to have family that knows about this and whom I can talk to in case of need.
"Cheers to the new member of our family!" John said as the rest of us at the table lifted our glasses and made contact with each other.
I felt a feeling of completeness and nervousness due to the fact of the things that I still had to face. I had a new family, friends & a place I could call home. I can only describe the feeling I felt as happiness.