The Other Part of Me
Chapter 2

Braden

Braden Hunter felt weary and tired. After a long week of handling business ventures and checking in on smaller wolfpacks closer to San Francisco, he was happy to start the drive back home to all those that have become his family, the Bloodstone Pack.

Home.

Where he could feel rejuvenated with his surroundings. He hated to leave his lands, but he knew he had to do so every few months; it was of utter importance that he meet with other packs and offer assistance to them when needed. His aim was to strengthen relations and make them allies of his pack.

Something else he aimed to do was head to different media stores to get a sense of new technology out in the human world; not only to see if there was something that would benefit his pack as whole but he wanted to make sure the younger generation was on top of new trends as well. If history were to repeat itself and the pack was unable to lift itself from the ashes of another rogue attack-- if other packs didn't accept his pack members, he wanted them to have means of caring for themselves in the human world instead of turning rogue.

As their Alpha, he wanted to protect, provide and guide all the pack pups as best he could, even long after Atropos cut his life thread. That was the legacy he wanted to leave them. Be smart. Think about your future. Be ready for anything. Naturally, he wanted the pack to exist forever, but history taught him that wasn't always possible. He sighed as he thought about the ones that came before. They could not keep the pack safe. The Alpha could not keep himself safe; the Beta thought he could do better but was clearly out of his depth. Even the Elders with all their combined wisdom could not advise the self-appointed Alpha how to win the war that destroyed them.

He sighed as he thought about the Elders and their antiquated way of thinking.

They would probably consider him a radical for teaching the pack about technology, and exile him as they had tried to do to the Alpha before him.

Maybe Moon Goddess had a hand in the Bloodstone Pack starting all over again from nothing; maybe she always meant for him to become the Alpha, even if it was not in his bloodline's destiny, neither by his father before him, nor by an heir since Moon Goddess had neglected to mate him.

Not that a mate was important for him at this juncture of his life. His destiny was to restore the Bloodstone Pack, which he had done by the grace of his deity. He would always be thankful for the opportunity that allowed him to rebuild with what few pack members survived the attack, as well as others that joined the pack after replaceing themselves members of extinct packs.

It was his hope that the new pack could be stronger and along with him, bring in a new age with changes to their lifestyle that could help them adapt to the future instead of being stuck in archaic times.

Braden tried to stifle a yawn but failed. "We'll just fill the tank one more time," he told his inner wolf, Andrei, "and that tank will get us home."

"Grab coffee." Andrei advised.

"And grab coffee," Braden agreed. "A lot of coffee." His mind wandered to the seemingly, never-ending stretch of barren road that would get him home in three hours. No sooner the thought completed in his mind he was given a brief but spectacular lightning show with roaring thunderclap to boot.

Then the torrential downpour began.

He pulled over to the side of the road and looked at the angry heavens. "For fuck's sake!" Braden growled. Even his wolf had neither sensed nor smelled this oncoming storm as he usually did. Had Braden known this was coming, he would have headed home hours ago.

As with the rest of this trip, Andrei said nothing. Braden would have felt less alone if Andrei had at least shared in his frustration with the weather but in retrospect, he suddenly noticed Andrei had been quieter than usual-- which was very unlike him.

Ah, but he felt how restless Andrei had become, especially over the course of the last twenty-four hours.

He didn't blame him. Being cooped up in a vehicle and being around unknown surroundings had this effect on him as well. "I'll let you go for a nice, long run on our land as soon as we get home." He promised.

The sooner they arrived the better, which was why he had planned to drive all night, rain be damned. Time spent on sleep tonight, he considered a wasted precious resource since he had no more business to handle away from home. "Thanks be to Moon Goddess, there's a gas station," he said more to himself than to Andrei when he noticed the lonely, dimly lit business a few hundred feet away. One task destination down and one to go.

In a matter of seconds, Braden pulled up next to a gas pump, and exited his vehicle. He swiftly ran his credit card on the pump's self-service card machine; as soon as the transaction was approved, he started filling the tank.

He gave his watch a quick glance. It was just past 8:00 PM. His eyes traveled to the road, standing free and clear. Of course, at this hour it would be. Although he estimated this storm just added an extra forty-five minutes to his drive since it was clearly going to slow him down.

He had to replace coffee; it was not an option any longer. Businesses were few and far between on these desolate roads but if there was a coffee shop or diner within a one-mile radius, he would be able to smell it.

He breathed-in deeply.

At once, he was able to locate where the smell of coffee was coming from, but beyond that, there was a separate scent that made his heart stop. An intoxicating smell of honey and vanilla with just the slightest notes of lavender. He inhaled it like his life depended on it.

And then his eyes widened.

Suddenly he heard Andrei come to life with renewed energy. "Go! Now!" He demanded.

Forgetting about the rain and his desire to be home, Braden took off running like his life depended on it.

All this time he doubted Moon Goddess gave him a mate.

All this time he had been wrong.