Page 17 of Alpha Awakening
“It has its challenges, but our home is definitely worth it.”
“Everyone who has been here has been saying it’s gorgeous. I can’t wait to see it for myself,” Blake added.
“I wouldn’t do it justice if I tried to describe it.”
The rest of the drive Niev cuddled up closer to him, her eyes eagerly looking around. After a while the road ended by what seemed like a mine entrance with a metal gate guarding it.
Handing Blake a key, Kareem asked, “Would you mind opening it and locking it behind us again?”
“Of course not.”
The gate was heavy–at least for humans. If they’d tried to open it, they’d struggle. It was quite clever to hide the entrance to their village like this and it impressed Blake.
As he sat back down next to Niev, he curiously asked, “Do you get a lot of unwanted visitors?”
Before driving deeper into the dark tunnel, Kareem turned on the car’s headlights. “Very rarely. Over the years we’ve established that it is too dangerous to hike in these mountains and with us owning the land, the local guides and tourists’ attractions are far away.”
“Very similar to what we’ve done. Though we still have a few humans passing through our territory from time to time.”
“Has anyone ever seen a wolf though?” Niev had straightened her posture in anticipation of what laid ahead.
“We’ve had a few incidents, but no one believed them. The authorities usually just blame the spotter’s imagination. No one usually believes that they’ve seen a wolf that big.” Kareem seemed to find that amusing.
“It’s the same for us. Even if someone does believe them and wants to return to find the wolf, we own our property and won’t allow anyone to enter.”
Kareem slowed down and excitedly looked at them both. “Are you ready?”
Niev’s eyes started glowing and even Blake felt butterflies in his stomach. The end of the tunnel was flooded with sunlight and Blake squinted his eyes, wanting to see better. Niev leaned slightly forward, her heart racing.
As they drove into the opening, Blake couldn’t help but be astonished. It was nothing like what he’d expected. The mountains had created a crater in which a large lake had formed. Fed and nourished by the lake's water, grass covered the ground all the way to the mountain’s base. Houses were spread all over, with trees and gardens filling the spaces between them. A large tree decorated the end opposite them, reminding Blake of Selene’s tree back home.
“It’s gorgeous,” Niev exclaimed next to him.
“Now I know how you felt the first time I brought you home.”
“I’m glad you both like it,” Kareem chuckled.
He followed the road to a garage where he parked the truck.
As they climbed out, he heard a familiar excited scream. “Blake!! Niev!!”
He turned and saw Ann quickly walking toward them, her arms spread wide, her face full of joy.
Niev mirrored his sister and they both embraced each other in a hug. “Oh Ann, you said this place was gorgeous but that was such an understatement.”
“I’m so glad you like it! How was your drive?” Ann let go of Niev and reached for Blake, hugging him tightly.
“It was much better than expected, no traffic or anything.”
“You two must be exhausted. Let me show you to your house.”
Kareem was already grabbing their bags, so Blake jumped to help him. Walking next to Kareem, they followed behind Ann and Niev. Most of the village still seemed to be sleeping, with only a few people walking around. The houses were more spread out than Blake was used to, though they didn’t seem estranged.
“Does your whole pack live here?”
“Most do yes, though we have very few that prefer the mountain’s rough surroundings,” Kareem explained.
Blake looked around but couldn’t see a main house. “And your alpha?”