New Faces, Old Spaces

So, as you can already imagine, it was a very awkward walk home that night but what made it even more awkward was Malakai avoiding me at all costs. His cheeks were flushed pink and he was covering his nose while keeping a very safe 10 feet distance behind us. Aaron would toss a glance here and there to check on him and make sure he was still there as we walked but overall, everything was very quiet and still. The streetlights above us were so bright as we passed under each one on the walk home. The sidewalks were very clean and the road was well taken care of so there were no cracks or even dulled out paint. Being a member of a main community pack was like this though. Well kept, strict enforcement of our laws, beautiful homes and an emergency barter system if a wolf was low on coin. No wolf goes hungry or struggles, never in a pack.

The neighborhood resembled a human neighborhood, even down to the cute picket fences around some of the homes to make it look happier and warmer. Just because we were wolves doesn't mean were savages. It's also forbidden to turn wolf in certain areas as to keep tension down and prevent an unnecessary riot. The only places where you can turn are woodland parks where hunting fresh prey is always alright but you have to have a tag, in the arena, on your own property, used as self defense which was rare as no one really needed that here, and during events where being in wolf form was necessary to perform the actions like a wolf race or what not. We are admitted ten tags a month per household to catch fresh prey out in the woodland parks. My dad always ended up using them all in the first two weeks of every month but then again, he loves to hunt. He likes having our freezer stocked and he enjoys teaching some of the younger pups the ways of hunting.

Everyone learns the way of their wolf and how to properly shift at the age of 13 but I never seemed to master it until I was 15. That was almost two years ago but it still embarrasses me. I could only imagine how my parents felt knowing their daughter was such a failure. I looked up at the stars and smirked in a way that was really just defeated at this point. 'Were a happy little family of failures except mom.' I noticed the tall lantern lit statues of my house in the distance and sighed. After my dad was defeated, we were promptly cast out from the palace and moved into a mansion in the suburbs. It was nice and marble decorated the floors. The house was like a country club, really nice and the gardens out back were to die for. I spent a lot of time to myself tending those gardens as my dad was too ashamed to hire human maids or even servants. He just never felt worthy after that. I couldn't let such a lovely garden perish and go to waste away so I tended to it every chance I got. I patted my pocket feeling the Tamagotchi and smiled. At least when Aaron isn't around, I still have a little friend keeping me company.

After I was dropped off at my home, I said my goodbyes to Aaron and Malakai before heading inside. My phone dinged almost as soon as I had the front door closed behind me. It was Lillian: "I had a great time and I hope to hang out again soon! <3 :*" I chucked and smiled down at my phone. Even her messages were sweet and cute even. I held my phone to my chest and smiled up at the ceiling. I was completely vulnerable to this amazing feeling of finally having a female friend of my own. Not just a female friend but another friend in general. It had been so very long since I truly felt wanted around and she even knew about the fact that I was the former Alpha's daughter.

My smile faded and I stared blankly in realization. 'Wait...' I pondered, 'How does she know about me at all?' To my knowledge, other packs should not know much about the children of the Alpha's. Then again, it could have simply been curiosity. She may have even pitied me because of what conspired. I looked down at her message and began typing: "Hell yeah, sounds good. Let me know if you ever want to hang out again and I will be sure to make some time for ya." I hoped with all of my heart this wasn't a pity friendship. I squeezed my phone in my hand. I want this to be a real connection with someone. I longed for more, something true and strong. Aaron and I were close but not incredibly. We spent a lot of time together and he was the only friend I had but having another friend to spend time with when he wasn't around was always on my mind.

"Rosey!" a happy warm voice interrupted my thoughts and I felt all the breath leave my lungs as I was snatched off the floor and slung around like a ragdoll. "DAD, OH MY GOD STOP!" I wheezed out with whatever ounce of air was left in my poor little lungs. My body then hung limp in his deadly yet loving embrace. He pursed his lips and pouted, "Oh no, my dingy, frail daughter has died from affection. Guess I'll just go bury her in the yard- "I flung my arms around and panicked, "NO YOU WON'T EITHER!" His face lit up with amusement and he carefully set me on the floor. I huffed at him and fixed my crumpled clothes, "Were you waiting for me all this time?" He grinned and raised his eyebrows before extending his hand. I looked up and noticed he was giving me some sort of spray bottle. "Nah, I could smell you coming a mile away with all of those fresh pheromones. You might wanna start putting this on for a while until you get that under control. Wouldn't want a line of boys standing outside my doorstep now, would you?"

My entire face flushed a bright red and I snatched the bottle from his hand coating my body in its spray. "Oh my god, was it that bad??" I was completely frazzled. He held his gaze steady as he watched me spray myself down in the elixir. "Yeah, it was. But not as bad as that disgusting stink of Alpha all over you, too." I froze. My body felt heavy and my eyes stared wide-eyed. He was referring to Mason, had to be. But Mason hadn't touched me so how was that even possible? I looked up at my dad and my heart cropped into my stomach in fear. His eyes were glowing and he looked downright furious. "Dad... He never touched me. He introduced himself to me to be kind… I promise nothing hap- "He slammed his fist on the wall so hard it cracked it ever so slightly. I stared in terror where he punched as the walls were made of smooth marbled stone. "You are to stay away from this man, whoever he is. Do you understand me? I can tell he isn't from our pack and he has no right nor reason to come even a car's length to my daughter!" I cowered a bit at his thundering voice, my eyes now looking at me feet. "But dad, he isn't even the alpha yet… I just happened to run into him at the beach where I- "He cut me off and roared angrily, "Stay away from this boy, do I make myself clear?" I closed my eyes tight and nodded, "Yes, dad. I'm sorry."

The fury left his eyes and body and his eyes dimmed. He softly patted my head, "Go get you some food and get to bed. It's late and I want you to be well rested. Shower in the morning. Goodnight." I bowed respectfully to my dad and went straight to my room. I couldn't bring myself to eat after that fiasco. My stomach was in knots and I was so worried about my future with my newfound friend. How could I begin to tell her that my dad forbids me from being around her mate? If I hang out with her, what if Mason comes around? I don't want to lose my friend and I would hate to come off rude to her. I'll just keep it to myself for now. I will have to explain this to her at some point but now it definitely not the time.

After that, a few weeks had gone by and I was chatting with Lily almost daily now. We had a ridiculous number of things in common and it filled my heart with so much happiness. I was tending to my peonies in the garden out back with Aaron and I got a text. It was Lily: "I would love to meet your family and hang out at your place sometime! Can I? owo" I froze and began biting my nails nervously. How do I respond to that? I thought long and hard before responding: "You would hate it here, I assure you. I would rather hang out with you literally anywhere else than here." She responded almost immediately: "What? No way! I wanna come over! I wanna meet your family too lol. Are they not good to you or something? Should I be concerned??" I sighed heavily. There was no way I could get out of this without her thinking I have abusive parents or something and we can't have her thinking that. It would be a literal disaster considering her future status.

I looked over at Aaron as he whistled a tune as he pulled weeds from under the flowers and I dropped my weed bucket next to him. "Hey, gimme a minute, I'm gonna grab some water. Want one?" He smiled and nodded, "yeah that sounds really good actually. Thanks dude!" I winked at him cheekily and ran inside. I could hear a shuffle in the kitchen so I automatically assumed that's where my parents were. I walked in and as I thought, there they were. My mom was putting canned goods in the cabinets and my dad was dispersing meats into baggies to be frozen. I smiled and walked up to my dad and tapped my hand on the counter, "putting food away I see." He smiled at me and gave me a wink, "fresh caught this morning in fact." I tapped my chin and gave him a look, "You guys make food at home everyday but when's the last time you two went on a date?"

My mom froze and looked over at me. My dad wasn't fazed and continued bagging the meat, "Not for a while, how come?" I shrugged and raised an eyebrow at him, "Well you guys always go out of your way ensuring a delicious home cooked meal every night, so why not take the night off for once and go on a date?" My mom exchanged a look with my dad and her face lit up, "Oh, Alex that's a wonderful idea! Let's go to that new BBQ that just opened up! Oh, please?" She had a world's worth of excitement in her voice and my dad sighed heavy. "Caroline, how could I even possibly say no to that?" He turned to face her and gripped her waist lifting her up, "Let's have a date tonight, baby."

I stared in disbelief from how incredibly easy that was. I immediately opened my phone and started texting Lily back: "Wanna come over right now? I have like an hour or two to hang out!" She did not even hesitate to let me know she was on her way: "Oh that's great! I will be there in like 20min!" I squinted at the message and pondered to myself, 'Well that was fast.' My parents got ready in ten minutes and headed out the door. My dad peeked over at me, "There is leftover taco meat in the fridge if you get hungry so, please, help yourself, munchkin." I smiled and got on my toes to boop his nose, "Have a great time tonight, dad. You guys deserve a night to yourself." He kissed my forehead and closed the door. In ten more minutes, I would have a friend over! I was so fricken excited!

"Were you ever going to bring me that water, you dork?" Aaron's voice filled my ear and I turned my head to see him walking in sweating and now shirtless. My eyes widened and my cheeks became red hot as I tore my gaze from him, "I am so sorry! I completely forgot!" He sighed and chuckled, "what were you doing this whole time?" I ran my hand through my hair and avoided his gaze, "I got my parents to go out on a date so I could sneak my friend Lily over to hang out." He grabbed a water from the fridge and blinked in confusion at me as he cracked the cap open and took a sip. "Why would you have to sneak them out?" I rubbed my face and began explaining what happened after I got home from the beach that day.

His eyebrows raised and he rubbed his forehead, "Ah, well that's one hell of a predicament you got yourself in. She's probably going to be drenched in his scent and not to mention, how are you going to explain her scent in general being in the house? It doesn't just fade instantly when she leaves, ya know." I reached over and grabbed the Febreze bottle on the counter by the sink and lifted it, "I will shower this whole house with this shit if I have to. I will also talk to her about the issue later but I am way to concerned about how she will react honestly." He sucked his lips into his mouth and blew a few air raspberries, "Well she would understand if she's your friend and you properly explain it to her. Just be honest to her."

I hobbled into the kitchen and sat at the bar table putting my face in my hands, my frustration grew heavy but I easily distinguish it was just stress from it all and Aaron was not at fault. If anything, I hated how right he was. I had to be honest with her on this. Aaron and I spent some time in the kitchen discussing clean-up protocol after she had gone home and the doorbell rang. I hopped down from the stool and ran to the door. When I opened the door, a gust of sweetness filled my nostrils and I stared in complete happiness as Lily smiled back at me and hugged me super tight. "I am so happy I could finally come see you!" I laughed and held her tight, "Me too. I have been wanting to hang out so bad!" Aaron waved from the kitchen, "Yo, good to see you!"

Lily stared at Aaron in all his shirtless glory and then back at me before raising her eyebrows and gasping, "Oh my god, no way. Are you two...? Is that why you were so hesitant to have me over?" She raised her hands to her mouth, "Aaron is cheating on Malakai?!"

Aaron choked on his water and coughed hard and painful, my gaze locked onto Lily's mortified expression and I rubbed my nose bridge. "No, Lily, I am not having an affair with Aaron. He helps me with my garden out back and he got sweaty so took his shirt off. Plus, he doesn't even like women…" I furrowed my brow in frustration and looked away. Aaron wiped his mouth with a napkin and peered over at me somberly. It wasn't his fault he never liked me like that, it was just how it was and I was getting more and more okay with that. Lily let out a huge sigh of relief and rubbed her face, "Oh thank god, this would have been horrible had it been you guys really were doing that."

Aaron set his drink down and walked over to the kitchen sink turning the water on to wash his face. His gaze never left the cool running water as he spoke, "Lily, Sera has to tell you something and it has a lot to do with why she was being so coy with you coming over." I glared at him and growled. 'Way to put me on the spot, asshole.' Lily looked over at me and tilted her head in curiosity. My heart sank for a moment but I knew she needed to know. Plus, if this was going to make her leave, at least Aaron is here to comfort me. I held her hand in mine and lead her to the bar of the kitchen to sit. There, I explained what happened the night my dad lost his mind at me for just smelling the scent on me.

She tapped her chin and bit her lip. She seemed very deep in thought on the matter and mumbled something to herself I could not quite hear. I gave her a very worried look, "You don't hate me do you… Please… Please don't go..." Her gaze snapped away from her thoughts and she gave me a very warm look before hugging me tight. "Don't you worry, I won't be leaving you. I am very happy you told me this. I will make sure that when we make plans to shower first really good and make sure to stay away from Mason for that day. Gotta keep you safe!" Aaron patted his face dry with a towel and glanced over his shoulder at us with a very doubtful look, "Yeah? What about right now? Your Alpha boy's smell is everywhere right now and I assure you, that Febreze isn't going to mask it from a former Alpha's nose." I flashed him a look but I honestly could not argue with his logic. He wasn't wrong. My dad could smell a grain of rice in a pile of horse manure from a million miles away.

I rubbed my forehead and closed my eyes trying desperately to think of something, anything. Then it hit me. I grabbed my phone and googled 'nice hotels near me.' Aaron and Lily looked over my shoulders at my phone and Lily gave me a very questionable look, "A hotel? Mason's scent and mine is literally everywhere, us going to a hotel is not going to solve this." I grinned very big and tapped my finger on the nicest one I could find. I dialed their number and called over:

"Hello! Thank you for calling Mystix Mountain Hotel and Spa! How can I help you?"

"Hi, I would like to book the nicest suite you have, a honeymoon suite, if possible, for tonight."

"Of course! We have one left and it comes with- "

"I'll take it, how much?"

"Of course, that will come out to three gold coin."

I dug through my pocket and pulled out my savings card. Aaron and Lily stared at me and didn't question me, well, verbally anyway. I read off the numbers to the lady and she accepted the payment. "What is the name for the room owner for when they arrive to be checked in?" I smiled and replied, "Alexander and Caroline Hartt."

Aaron covered his mouth and turned away, Lily raised her eyebrows and looked over at Aaron. After the call had ended, I called over to my mom.

"Hello? Sera, what's going on?"

"Hi, mom! Sorry to disturb your time, but I knew how much you both needed some alone time so I decided to scrape up my savings from my allowances and I got you guys the honeymoon suite for tonight only at Mystix Mountain!"

"You did what?! That place is expensive! Isn't it like, two gold a night?"

"Nah, it was three. But that doesn't matter, you guys do. Please enjoy your evening and night. I love you both so much!"

"I love you too…You didn't have to do that, sweet pea. I will be sure to pay you back sometime for this. Have a good night, angel."

I hung up my phone and turned to face Aaron and Lily looking at me with very surprised and impressed faces. Aaron shook his head laughing, "that was a true mastermind move. You definitely caught me off guard with that one, dork." Lily smiled really big and laughed a bit herself, "impressive indeed. Well, the scent should be stale or even gone by morning so I would say this is a total win-win situation!"

I kicked off my shoes and hopped on the counter giving a super-hero pose and grinned at them, "Ah, yes, your lord and savior is here to rescue the evening and show Lady Lily to my room to see my collection of pretty trash." She busted out laughing and wiped her eyes, "Your 'pretty trash'?" I nodded and winked at her, "Oh yes, pretty trash and all of it's glory awaits." Aaron chuckled and put his nasty shirt back on, "Well I am definitely going to take that as my que to go about my business. I will check on you guys later, I have to go stop by Malakai's before it gets too dark out." He patted my head and leaned down to look me in the eyes, "You two be safe and make sure she gets home alright. Don't want you guys to get caught if she accidentally passes out here." My face flushed pink and I broke eye contact along with the tension it caused in my heart. His emerald gaze was captivating and I can't get all worked up right now. "Yeah, just get outta here nerd." He gave me a warm smirk and took his leave.

Lily approached me when he closed the door behind him and she rest her hand on my shoulder. "Sera?" I turned to look at her and she looked very surprised. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" I furrowed my brow at her and tilted my head in confusion. That's when I felt it. The warm tears dripping down my cheeks and onto my soil and grass-stained tank top. "Ah… yeah, I'm alright. Don't worry about it." She took a handkerchief out of her pocket and patted my eyes softly drying them. I was just embarrassed at this point. Crying over someone who never loved me to begin with, or at least not in the way I loved him. I gave a soft laugh and she cupped my cheeks forcing me to look at her, her eyes were glinting with curiosity and mischief, "Did you guys used to be a thing or?"

I shook my head and pulled away, "No. He is my only friend, now aside from you, that I had and I ended up falling for him but ended up getting slapped in the face with the realization he loved someone else." She gave me a very somber and sympathetic look, "are Aaron and I really your only friends?" I walked over to the window and looked at the sun setting off in the distance. "Yeah. Nobody wanted to be friends with the former Alpha's daughter. They saw my family as weak and without any honor left after we lost power. I was honestly surprised you saw me as your equal." She walked over to me and accompanied me in watching the sun set over the suburban area. "I have no alpha blood at all. I am simply a mate to one that does. Saying 'I see you as an equal' felt genuinely conceited for me to even say to you considering you have alpha blood. I am sorry for that, but please understand that your family creates powerful bloodlines and those are valuable." She looked over at me with a very stern look, "VERY valuable."

I offered her a half-hearted smile and looked ahead once more at the sun. "I wish more people thought that way." She shook her head and looked at me, "There's a lot of people who think that way. And the fact that you are a female with alpha blood makes you extremely desirable." I glanced over at her and squinted, "Desirable? To who?" Her cheeks flushed a bit and she looked away, "A lot of males would be drawn to you is all. Um..." She walked towards the stairs and pointed up them, "was your room this way? Did you wanna show me your collection?" She wasn't meeting my gaze and I paused for a moment before nodding and leading her up the stairs. Does she like me or something? I really hope not, I don't feel the same way and I really would not want to be the enemy of a soon-to-be alpha, especially with one of Mason's stature. He was truly... intimidating.

I ended up showing her my complete collection of shells, stones, crystals, sea glass and any other objects that caught my fancy. She was absolutely smitten with all of it and made sure to inspect every single piece with pure captivation and glee. It honestly made me feel very content and happy to see someone having as much fun as I do looking at and admiring little things like this that are in the world. She made me happy and I made her happy. It was safe to say that I could see this blossoming into a really perfect friendship.

This went on for weeks to months where I would sneak her into the back yard to spent time with her or send my parents on a date night every once in a while, so she could hang out in my room and we could do collection trades. The more time we spent together, the closer we seemed to get to where she would share stories from her pack and I shared the ones from ours. She passed out in my room only a handful of times but I always got her to the border in time. But things were changing and hangouts were becoming postponed. Fall was approaching and my dad was getting more and more antsy and on edge.

It was that time of year where we have a royal blood festival and debate which meant our family had to go. I was old enough to participate this year as I was 16 years of age. I would be turning 17 this winter and my mom was prepping for that. I will be a senior in high school next year as well but that concerned me the most. I had no idea what I wanted to do after school. I mean, sure I had talents but none of which I wanted to make a career out of. I could always be a florist but I don't know if my family would approve.

When the time came for the festival, I was dressed up in a fine Victorian ball gown with ribbons galore. If I were to be quite frank, I felt stupid. It was pretty and all but definitely was not me in the least. However, it is custom that female royals wear this frilly shit. I did little poses in the mirror and bit my lower lip at myself, "damn little mama, lookin' fine today, I see." A loud and deep laugh filled the room and I jolted upright to see my dad standing in the doorway, dressed to the nines and I turned to face him. I shot him a mischievous look and put out my hand for him to take. "Ah, yes, good gentleman. Would you do me the honors of courting me this fine evening?" He gasped dramatically and ripped his gaze away from me with full theatrical drama, "I cannot! For you see, there is another…" I gasped just as dramatic and covered my mouth. "Betrayal! Who is this harlot that you speak of?!"

My mom came around the corner in her beautifully sequined dress that hugged her body in all the right places and opened her fan in a scandalous fashion, "Me, bitch." I sucked my lips in my mouth trying with all my might not to laugh but it was to no avail. I cackled like a dying seal and my dad laughed with me. My mom fanned herself and posed, "You won't catch me dead wearing all of those lacey ribbons and god knows what else." I flashed her a look and crossed my arms. "Well, neither do I. I have been wearing this same damn dress since I was 14 and my tits are being crushed to death in this thing." She chuckled at me and motioned for me to follow, "Yes, I know. That's why I went dress shopping and got you a little something."

She led me into their master bedroom and pointed at the hanger on the door which held a very slimming and sexy black party dress that had cross hatches over where the breast area was. My ribs and back would be very visible in this dress and I gave her a very mischievous look. "Oh my, how lewd of you." My dad walked in and glared at the dress, "Caroline, isn't that your dress? I thought you bought it for you? There's no way in hell my baby is going dressed like that." She flashed him a look and glared hard, "OUR baby will wear what she chooses. Also, it's not okay for her to wear that but perfectly fine for people to stare at your WIFE in this? That's okay, right?" He squinted at her and took a step back, "This is a trap. I feel it in my jellies." He dashed out of the room obviously defeated and I gave my mom a very dramatic slow clap. "Wow mom, way to tame the beast." She grinned at me, "yeah well, I have had years of practice."

I got changed into the dress and my mom did my makeup and hair. She gave me a really alluring smokey eye look with crimson red lipstick and curled my snow, white hair up in big bodacious curls. I was living for it. I checked myself out in my mom's full body mirror and gave her a thumbs up. "Yep, I'll admit it. I'm total hot. Courtesy of Caroline Rosalina Hartt everybody." She gave a very dramatized bow and took my hand in hers. "Alright, alright. We have to get going. The limousine is probably here by now."

And indeed, it was. We made our way out and into the car and made our way to the palace. My parent's faces were very neutral yet I could see the concern in their eyes. My heart ached for them. I knew this was not something they were the most thrilled for but was inevitable. I actually had never met the new Alpha nor his family before so this would definitely be interesting. I had never been old enough to attend the debate itself so this would definitely be something new for me. We were now being treated as adults and it was important that I make a good impression on behalf of the Hartt Family.

As we pulled into the gate, I admired all of the flowers that I had helped our attendants tend to for the years that we lived here. They were all healthy and thriving and that put my heart and mind at ease. I wouldn't expect any less of the staff here at the palace. They were always good to us and some of them offered to go with us when we lost the throne but we formally declined as to not cut a rift between us and the newfound royals here. The only way you can challenge an alpha is to have the blood of an alpha in your veins. Getting challenged for the throne was very uncommon as there aren't typically any other alphas candidates in a pack. However, in our case, we rescued the surviving members of a fallen pack and their Alpha was one of the ones rescued. Their pack fell, not for any fault of their own, but as victims of a rogue vampiric tribe wanting to eradicate all wolves in the area. They were eventually killed off and all that remained of the Shadowborne Pack was a few stragglers and their royal family, the Clearwaters.

They did not end up liking how things were run here and had a diplomatic approach to the problem. Damien Clearwater, the previous alpha of the Shadowborne pack, requested that he be added to the Omega's of the Alpha as an Advisor but my dad was stubborn and turned him down. After a long and drawn-out debate and discussion, he realized how stubborn my dad really was and felt as if things were not going to be changing. And that's where it happened. He formally challenged my dad to a political debate which takes place in front of the city's people and they can choose who they want to be their Alpha. The loser can further challenge the winner in a battle in the arena for dominance and a second attempt at the political debate. If the loser wins, they can have another debate to try and win over the people of the city. If they lose again, they can try to challenge the winner again in the next five years. This all occurred three years ago and I really have no clue whether my dad every wanted to try again for the throne. I advised against it but he never gave a clear response as to what he wanted.

I always felt deep down that my dad regretted not hearing Damien out and things could have been much different had he listened. I would never tell my dad this but I really feel like Damien did indeed change everything here in LunarSun for the better. It was Damien after all who implemented the law of barter for the poor. If they have no money, they can barter and trade for what they need or want as long as both parties agree that the trade is fair. We all have solar panels now as well and our power is free. Water is also free but as long as you aren't filling up a pool every single day, you should be fine.

The car stopped in front of the palace and we stepped out of the car. I looked at the estate around me and spotted my favorite tea rose bush and made my way over to it. My parents made their way inside quietly. They were very withdrawn as usual with these events and I could hear the festival games and other fun attractions over the gate. I was so bummed that I couldn't go over there as that was for the city folk and the royals were to be inside the royal estate having their own festivities. However, none of the festivities in here would compare to all the super cool stuff going on out there. There weren't games that I was even remotely interested in going on inside these walls and I was burnt out on the hors d'oeuvres as we ate these all the time. The only thing I was looking forward to was the French silk pie at the banquet dinner when the debate had ended.

I sat on the fountain next to the roses I had loved and closed my eyes taking in a deep breath. The night air was really refreshing and I felt like I could melt into the atmosphere. "May I join you?" The voice was very deep yet smooth and refreshing. I turned to see who it could be and there standing next to me was a very tall and striking man with crimson red hair and glowing golden eyes. I didn't even hear him, or even smell him coming. I was so out of it and in my own head that it slipped my mind what was going on around me. "Ah! Yes, of course. Go ahead." I patted the spot next to me and he gave me a respectful bow before sitting next to me. His presence was very intimidating but very warm and approachable. He offered his hand to me, "It's nice to finally meet you. My name is Vincent Clearwater, son of Damien Clearwater and heir to the Alpha's seat."