I know I added Henry Cavill's picture as to how I imagined Xavier but then I decided I'd rather let you guys decided how you want to imagine the characters. So, I'm not imagining Shawn Mendes as anyone. I might just keep adding pictures of all the celebs that I admire ð.
Shawn Mendes and his songs are peace for me â¤ï¸.
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"...if we could put this behind us and move one"
The huge black wolf ran through the forest along with the slightly smaller one. They just dodged the trees left and right as they raced back to the packhouse.
Aiden was happy and his wolf was ecstatic to be back in its homeland. The youngest child of the Martinez family appreciated any time he could spend with his family.
He was the youngest of four siblings. His eldest brother, Xavier, was being trained to be the alpha so most of his time went there. His twin sisters, Ileana and Evelyn, tried to include him. But as twins, they had a different bond and Aiden often felt left out.
It wasn't that his family treated him bad, but he had always been a bit more sensitive than the others and these things often hurt him.
Xavier was the first one to notice how affected Aiden used to get. He had also noticed how the twins shared a completely different bond, so the then future alpha made sure to include Aiden with him and Ryan so that he didn't feel left out.
Aiden had been much happier since then and the fact that he was a fun guy to hang out with was also a plus.
Aiden sprinted across the forest, hoping to outrun his older brother which actually looked impossible to him. However, at one point he stopped abruptly. Xavier was already ahead of him and he hadn't still realised that Aiden had stopped.
The greyish-white wolf sniffed around the area hoping to get another whiff of the heavenly scent that stopped him in his tracks. But, it was like the scent had completely vanished. There was no sign of it.
Xavier was ahead of Aiden so he didn't realize when the latter had stopped. The alpha's wolf was extremely happy to get his brother back. The alpha wolf was very protective of his little brother because of his sensitive nature.
When Xavier felt the absence of Aiden, he turned back and started running. He hadn't smelt any rogues so he knows that that's not what stopped Aiden, and even if that was, Aiden was strong enough to defend himself.
But, all these weren't enough to stop Xavier from worrying about him. So when he reached where Aiden was sniffing around the ground looking confused, the alpha tilted his head to the side and observed his behaviour.
Aiden too sensed Xavier and looked up.
'I thought I saw something but it's nothing,' Xavier nodded his head and Aiden started sprinting again.
He could hear the younger wolf chuckle in his head and Xavier too pushed after him. His brother was one of the most important people to him.
Aiden never really held any secrets from his brother and he didn't really mean to keep this one as well. So they never really had their mind links closed. As an immediate family, it was very easy for werewolves to know what is bothering someone close to them or how they are feeling.
Hence, Xavier knew that someone's scent was bothering his brother, but he didn't sense any danger. The alpha then didn't pry into his mind, if it wasn't anything putting him in danger, then Xavier will wait until his brother tells him what's the matter.
When the two brothers reached the packhouse, Xavier had beaten Aiden by a very little distance, and Aiden was proud of how he had gained speed.
When they entered the packhouse, the warriors were all lounging in the lobby downstairs, so the two boys ran up the stair and entered straight into the parents' room. The boys could smell all of the family in there so they didn't knock on the door.
When Xavier and Aiden walked in, all drenched in sweat from running for so long, Selena looked at him with didn't let any expression come to her face.
"So how was it?" Damien, Xavier's father asked.
"We scanned the area. No signs of rogues and the warriors were all very actively patrolling. All's good, dad, don't worry." Xavier fell on the bed just beside Selena as his mother sat on the opposite side of it too. Both Selena and Adriana, his mother, furrowed their eyebrows, but Selena spoke first.
"You're all sweaty. At least take a shower before jumping on the bed," she rolled her eyes subtly. Adriana smiled but quickly hid it.
Damien and Xavier both looked at their mates respectively. Xavier raised his eyebrow because his mate just sounded a lot like his mother and Damien had caught the subtle approval for Selena in her eyes.
Adriana was a tough character to impress. Her children were all the most precious beings to her. Ileana finding her mate was not tough as they knew Ryan since he was a child. But the mates of her other children were in for a very hard test.
"Selena was just helping us catch up," Damien smiled.
"Mr. Martinez, I..."
"Please dear, call me Damien."
"Damien," Selena said, trying to ignore the memories of hearing that name in her father's voice, "This pack was the closest to us, we called for help. But they never came."
Damien's eyes dimmed slightly, "We did, but what we received was a very frantic call from who was supposed to be the future beta of that pack. He had rambled about needing help and his pack being under attack when the call had disconnected. We came as soon as we heard."
Selena stilled. Jayce Leven, her beta, her best friend since she understood what the term meant. Her emotions were going to take over if she didn't block them again, and she did, but another distant memory resurfaced.
Hadn't she asked Lila to call Ferocious Shadows for help?
She could feel Izzy's anger rising.
'Maybe she got attacked before she got to...' Selena tried to defend but Izzy wasn't having any of it.
'We would have felt it, the loss of the connection, we didn't.'
Izzy had already closed the connection; the wolf never enjoyed talking about her lost pack.
"Selena?"
Xavier was now directly in front of her. Selena smiled but the sadness was very clear in her eyes.
"I'm okay."
Xavier tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and he wished he could believe that, but the pain in her eyes was too raw and possible. He didn't bring it up.
The conversation flew from there as Aiden took it upon himself to cheer up the atmosphere.
It had been a week since Selena had known the full Martinez family, and in the back of her mind, she couldn't get over the fact of how similar Aiden was to Jayce. They were both wolves with these happy personality traits who were loved by all.
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Three days later, everyone was downstairs while Selena stayed up in her room. The memories of her parents were too hard to push back today.
Selena sat looking out the window when she heard a knock on the door. It opened Adriana walked in. Selena smiled but stayed quiet, she was here to say something and she could feel it.
She had already had a conversation with her mate about this, Adriana is extremely protective of her children, and it made sense. She remembered how her mother would also get when she felt like anything could cause pain to her children.
Adriana reminded Selena of her own mom, strict and loving.
"Selena..."
"I know."
Adriana looked at her stunned.
She smiled, "I know that you are worried about Xavier. You knew my parents but you never knew me. I went through a lot and you are scared that I can bring pain to your son."
"I don't mean to be rude but I hope you understand where I am coming from," she whispered lightly.
Selena didn't say anything, she just smiled and looked away, it hurt to look at her. Her mate's parents reminded her of her own. When she spoke, she said everything she knew her mother would feel in the given situation.
The pain was radiating off her in waves, and it hit Adriana like a Tsunami.
Damien had told Adriana to go easy on her, she had gone through a lot, but Adriana was far more concerned about her own children than their mates when they barely knew her. She felt guilty for not thinking about this girl left all alone.
'It's not too late to begin now,' Adriana's wolf whispered to her human.
Adriana took a deep breath and sat beside Selena. Surprised, she turned to look at the elder werewolf.
"I know in this past week I wasn't very nice to you."
"You weren't rude either," Selena shrugged,
"But I didn't behave with you like your mate's mother should either." Adriana held Selena's hand and felt how cold they were. "I don't think you will bring pain to him. Yes, you went through a lot, and yet you are giving him a chance and not pushing him away, and that shows how much strength and character you have."
Selena was confused, she couldn't derive where this conversation was going.
"I know I was a bit hard on you," Adriana continued, "and I am no one to judge the goddess's choice for my son. But I couldn't help it. I observed you a lot this week, and I also noticed how my family seems to like you, even Aiden. So I was thinking if we could put this behind us and move on."
Selena looked shocked but she was happy. The smile which soon took over her face made it very clear how much she appreciated Adriana's effort.
Adriana could feel the change in the atmosphere, and the previous Luna could feel that she would have a wonderful relationship with his son's mate.
Hours later, Adriana had dragged Selena down after they chatted a bit upstairs. Adriana had seen how sad the girl seemed and she wasn't gonna let her get consumed by sadness.
Right now, Selena's whole attention was on Aiden. The boy sat by the window, staring out like he was just dying to go out.
Selena, after a while of just observing the boy, went to stand beside him. Aiden smiled when he felt Selena beside him. He knew what she was thinking.
"I had a scent, a few days ago while I was out running with Xavier. I had this amazing scent of a werewolf. I am sure that is my mate."
Selena's eyes widened, "Aiden! That is a good thing, right?"
Aiden shook his head.
"I know every wolf here and it definitely wasn't someone from this pack, and it was vague. So I don't know whether he is a rogue or just a lone wolf. If he is either, he will run away if he feels any wolf near him."
Selena took a moment to answer, "You smelt him means that he is somewhere close and you will meet him soon."
Aiden was silent. He didn't know how Selena would react to him referring to his mate as he. Xavier too was listening to the conversation as he and Ryan were also standing close by. The alpha knew that this was his brother's subtle try to see how Selena reacts to it.
Selena however, hadn't thought that much about it. She was still thinking about what Aiden had said, it hurt her to see Aiden so sad.
"There is also a possibility that your mate passed by that road a while before you did and he didn't know that you were there. There's no reason to lose hope, Aiden."
Xavier and Ryan too had joined in the conversation after that. They had successfully shifted the conversation to other topics as they settled on the seats away from the window. Damien had then approached Selena.
"How are you doing?" he asked as he sat beside her.
"I'm fine," she smiled but Damien could see right through them.
"You know, your mother, for some reason, loved weddings. Robert had gone out of the werewolf customs just to make sure that his mate got one for herself."
The others were silenced when they heard the topic. Adriana's eyes dimmed as she smiled sadly in the memory of her dear friends.
"You know," she muttered as she played with her fingers on her lap.
Damien nodded, it was her parents' anniversary today.
Xavier took a seat on the other side of Selena and put an arm around her. Selena too rested her head on his shoulders and tried to let go of the pain. She would like to believe that her parents are together wherever they are and that they are watching over her.
She has this now, this family who are treating her as their own and she would rather cherish this now than drown in the pain of what she lost.
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