Leader of the Pack!

"Wolves need structure, and we respect strength. Only the strongest is allowed to lead the pack because only the strongest can protect the pack. Only Alpha wolves, the strongest, most dominant wolves, can lead a pack. The role we each perform in the pack is based on our abilities and our preferences. I lead this pack of mostly women wolves because we want the same things—less fighting amongst the packs and generally better welfare. I lead, but we all work in different ways to support the pack. It doesn't have to happen right now, but I want you to be part of this pack someday, Violet, because I love you."

Violet nodded. This was so illogical. But she was going for it. She wanted to see it through, even if it was some strange fever dream.

"I guess that makes sense; everything is so strange, though...." Violet really didn't know. But she didn't want to leave. She sat there now, waiting for more. Violet was waiting for whatever the Fates had in store.

"Violet, I need you. You are everything I have been searching for my whole life. I can't bear the thought of being without you. I'm gay, Violet. I have a huge crush on you. I'd love it if you'd move in with me. You'll be more than just my girlfriend; I can hire you as my secretary now that you don't have a job in Scottsbluff. We can be together. We can be a couple." said Rowan, not knowing where that spout of courage had sprung from.

"No...I just can't deal with this...lesbian---gay---werewolf. I either died in the car accident, or your town is playing some trick on me. We could have been great together...if you hadn't messed it all up like this. I'm leaving...I don't know where I'm going, but I'm getting out of here." yelled Violet to Rowan.

Violet struggled to get up. It was painful. She knew she'd need some pain medication to make it out of this town. Nothing serious. Devastated at what had happened, Violet ran downhill to the clinic. But it was locked, so Violet had no choice but to cry her bitter tears outside. It was so cold.

Suddenly, Violet heard a car coming up the hill. It was an XKE. At long last, Cordelia and Lara had come home with their tails between their legs. The West Coast hadn't been for them, even Northern California with its vast redwood forests..Corrie wasn't as good of a drag racer as West Coast racers. It had been too expensive, rainy and hot. Not an ideal environment for two werewolves.

"Violet..right?" questioned Lara. So the mortal woman was still here. But what was she doing outside the clinic in this freezing weather? Snow flurries were starting to fall, for Heaven's sake!

Violet nodded. She was upset, perplexed and cold. She had only questions and doubts. How could her Rowan lie to her like that? She'd honestly loved Rowan, but Rowan had put a spell on her and made her feel false things. A woman shouldn't love a woman!

A torrent of tears fell from Violet's eyes. She shivered in the cold wind. Violet felt betrayed and alone.

"I remember you...you're the one who raced Marc! This is all your fault! If you hadn't raced Marc, I'd never have come here. I'd never have fallen under Rowan's spell." Violet angrily yelled at Corrie.

Cordelia stood there and blinked at the mortal woman. She was glad that Violet was still alive, but she had so many questions. Violet apparently knew Antelope Hill was full of werewolves, but what did she mean by "Rowan's spell"? As usual, Cordelia was blunt and to the point.

"Rowan's spell? What do you mean by spell? Werewolves don't cast spells." Cordelia said, looking at the mortal woman whose eyes were streaked red with tears and had dirt on her clothes.

"Don't lie! She put a spell on me! She made me feel things I've never felt before, and we did things that I would have NEVER done with Marc...she...she...." Violet was too hysterical to say more. She was beyond words. Violet just dissolved into further tears.

How could Rowan have done those things to her? She'd liked doing these things, but SHE loved Rowan, and it hadn't been real. It had been some spell. Violet didn't have words for how violated she felt.

It was a lot for Cordelia to take in. The thought that her Alpha was gay stunned her for a moment. But it would explain why she hadn't found her true mate after all these eons. Maybe now, Alpha would accept Cordila and Lara's relationship. At least Cordila hoped so. She loved Lara, but how could Cordelia explain that werewolves were just like humans to this mortal woman?

Cordelia was at odds about what to do. Still, she supposed Rowan deserved to feel the love of a true mate. The same love she felt for Lara.

"It's too much." Violet cried. "It's just too much."

"What is?" Corrie asked gently, not knowing how to cope with this situation.

"All these feelings!" Violet sobbed. "I barely know Rowan; we've only known each other for a few months. I don't even know if I like her very much at the moment, but I can't stand that she's not here with me. I want her with all my heart, body and soul. I'm all alone, and I feel like I'm going crazy. Why do I have to feel like this? Aren't I supposed to have some choice over who I ..." Violet trailed off, not ready to finish the sentence. She felt so betrayed by this spell of Rowan.

"Who you love." Corrie finished softly for her.

Violet couldn't deny it to herself any longer; she really was in love with Rowan. The more time she spent with her, the more she felt she understood the concept of a soulmate.

"It's too fast; isn't love supposed to take time to grow?" Violet questioned, wiping away tears.

"Maybe between humans," Corrie said, trying to be comforting.

"It's different for us, werewolves. We know from being pups that one day, we'll meet the person we're meant to be with and that we'll love each other unconditionally. Finding your true mate is one of the happiest days of a werewolf's life." Corrie knew she was putting this badly, but uncertainty continued.

"Al..p...Rowan has been waiting for you her entire life. She expected that when she did find her mate, it would be another wolf...and a male...and it would be simple. They would simply find each other, and then they would be together...forever...for the rest of their lives. Having a human mate is very rare...I've never heard of lesbian wolves before...other than me and Lara. We thought that would be frowned upon. When Lara and I realized we were true mates, we left town. I remember her claiming in the backseat of that XKE...I've been in a lot of races...but Lara and I in the backseat of that car...well." Corrie began to smile as the memory of becoming joined with Lara washed over her.

"Just waiting till we were out of town was unbearable; we wanted nothing more than to be bonded...now we're together. She's mine, and I'm her's." Corrie grabbed Lara, who had been lingering nearby, and kissed her.

Violet could see how deeply in love the couple were. They were happy. Violet wanted that kind of happiness in her life. Rowan was the only person who'd brought her true joy. Suddenly, it didn't matter that Rowan was a werewolf. She was still Rowan, and all couples had their difficulties. Corrie was a foolhardy daredevil, and Lara was stern and cautious, yet they both put up with one another and loved each other.

Violet smiled and started running up the street. She was running towards Rowan. She and Rowan met in the middle and embraced each other. The true mates had found each other at long last. It didn't matter to Roawan that her whole pack was watching her and Violet. It didn't matter that a fierce autumn gale had sprung up. She just wanted Violet.

Violet, eager to be with Rowan and show her love, turned towards Rowan and caught her plump lip in hers. They fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Though Violet didn't hold her anywhere else, Rowan felt stuck to her as the lovers stumbled their way up to Rowan's house.

Rowan let Violet draw her forward onto her breast as Rowan's hands came up to clasp her head the better to work at that dizzying, amazingly responsive mouth training; it signed she abandoned herself to feeling nothing else at home at last with those silky lips. Rowan was glad that Violet was in her arms for now. She was astonished that Violet was safe in her arms and hadn't run.

Rowan finally fitted her own arm and slid around Violet's neck, quivering fingers sinking into her cinnamon hair, the palm of her other hand coming to rest on the smooth brown skin at the base of her throat; this time, she didn't hurry. Rowan wanted to savour her and Violet being together. She just wanted to belong to Violet in there here and now. They would be true mates. True lovers together.

Violet looked at Rowan through teary eyes. She came to the realization that it wasn't a spell. It couldn't be a spell. She and Rowan had shared too much. They were lovers! Violet kissed Rowan's head; she kissed her cheeks. She made her way to Rowan's lips and pushed Rowan onto the bed. They were together. They were lovers.

*

(This is an entry for Halloween Story Contest 2023. Please rate and comment!)