The wolf in exile

The loud beeping of my phone roused me from sleep, I shut the alarm and snuggled under the covers for a few more minutes. I usually take time in waking up, so I have set an early alarm. I finally dragged myself out of the bed and quickly got into my daily routine. I am an architect, at 24, I am one of the youngest employees of Barton & Tom, one of the leading Construction firms in London. Grabbing my coffee, I walked onto the train. I always keep my headphones on because I can hear everything. I mean, literally, everything. I have extraordinary senses because I am not normal. I have extraordinary speed, agility, and strength.  No, I am not some superhero, I am a werewolf, however, unlike most werewolves, I do not live in a pack. No, I am not a rogue wolf either. I belong to one of the most powerful packs of North America, 'The Jade moon pack'. I am very much in touch with my older brother the Alpha of the pack, Rick Anderson and the pack Beta, Bobby. My father's beta, Thomas Jackson, and his lovely wife Martha. I even visit my pack annually during Christmas. However, I prefer living independently. Rather, I have got used to this lifestyle. There is a reason why I live away. When I was 9, I had accompanied my parents to New York City for some inter-werewolf conference, I was overly excited about the trip. As we were staying right in front of Central Park. But things did not turn out as expected. I do not remember much, but my father died trying to protect me from the rogues and other packs. Werewolves are violent and territorial. They fight over the littlest of things. My father died in a were war. My mother died soon after due to a broken heart. They were mates. That is one of the reasons I want to avoid finding my mate. The mated wolves are like two halves of a soul. They either die or turn mad with grief if their mate is lost. Very few wolves manage to survive the ordeal of losing their mates. I want to avoid being one of them. Though my wolf has been searching for her mate ever since I hit puberty and shifted for the first time. After my mother's death, I was sent off to Australia, to live with my aunt. Aunt Flora is a keeper. Keepers are humans who are aware of werewolves and other supernatural beings. You see, werewolves are very secretive and stay hidden from humans. There might be a werewolf living right next to you, and you would never know it. However, living among humans require some amount of human interactions for example tax filing, property dealings and various legal stuff. Keepers are such humans who know about us and help us. My mother was also a keeper until she met my father, and they discovered they were mates. I did not live in Australia for long, as soon I shifted for the first time, my aunt moved to Europe. You see there are no wolves in Australia, hence no werewolf packs. If I were accidentally spotted by someone while out for a run, it would be hard to explain the presence of a wolf in the country. The UK does not have any wild wolves either. They were all hunted down by the end of the 17th century.  Most of the werewolf packs migrated to the New World to avoid prosecution back in Europe. Hence, very few packs remained in Europe and none in the UK. They thrived in North America, soon adapting to the vast tracks of land and the wildernesses. I have got control of my wolf now. I rarely shift unless I am in total isolation. I like being human. "Alice! How was your weekend?"  Elsa, my pretty redhead colleague asked me as soon as I had reached my cubicle. "Nothing much, I visited aunt Flora, how about you?" I asked while shoving my bag in the drawer. "Well, just the usual clubbing.  I missed you, you should join me next week with Mark, of course." Elsa grinned at me. I just laughed it off. Mark Barton, the heir to the Barton & Tom is my boyfriend. "When is he coming back from his business trip?"  "Middle of this week, hopefully," I replied. Mark and I have been together for the last two years, he hit on me right after I joined his company. I am used to getting male attention. I am not tall, I am an average 5'4 tall, but I have a slim body, dark hair and hazel eyes. Everyone says I look like my mother. She was beautiful, perhaps, I did inherit some of her good looks. Initially, I avoided Mark because dating the heir of the company I worked for would have been unprofessional.  But Mark was very persuasive, not to mention sweet, and kind. Unlike wolves, who are very protective and possessive. I cannot stand obsessive partners. Another reason why I do not want a mate! Mark is a human and, like everyone else in the office and my friend circle, he has no idea that I am a werewolf. I have successfully kept my wolf concealed all these years, and I plan to keep it that way. However, someday I would have to reveal my true nature to him. I do not know how he would react. I have been avoiding that situation so far. The day went on uneventfully, boring to be precise. I like boring because my life back in the US was extraordinary.  I had just entered my 1-bedroom flat when my phone rang. It was Emma, Beta Thomas's daughter and one of my best friends.  I turned on the video call and smiled at her. Like most werewolves of our age, she had found her mate. Bobby, her mate was my brother's Beta. "Hi, Emma, what's up?" I asked. Emma with her golden locks smiled from the other side. "I can't wait to meet you. You are coming for the Christmas vacation, right?" "Only if you promise not to force me to meet other alphas," I replied. Emma and everyone else who were close to me did not approve of my human boyfriend. Not because he was a human, but because he was not my mate. For werewolves, finding their mate is the most crucial aspect of their life. They were baffled by the fact that I was disinterested in finding my mate. It is hard to explain. I just do not want to end up like my mother or that mad wolf in my pack who killed himself after losing his mate. She sighed," I know you prefer not to find your mate, but you can't fight fate. If something has to happen, it will happen. Ok?" "Yeah, whatever," I rolled my eyes. "So, how are things back home?" I asked while collapsing on the sofa. "Your brother is being an ass as usual. He has increased the training routine for all the young wolves. So, they are all crabby these days." "Sounds like Rick," I chuckled. My brother had to take over the pack at the age of 17, after my father's death. Rick is eight years older than me. He was lucky to find his mate Linda at the age of 21. She is the sweetest person ever and helped him find balance and peace in his life.  I finished my conversation with Emma and took off my clothes to prepare for the night. I shifted into my brown wolf, Lana. I cannot go out in the city for a run, but my wolf understands. I let her run around and have fun at aunt Flora's estate. Curling onto my bed, I slept off in my wolf form.