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"This changes everything."

The proud woman in front of me scowls heavily. She paces back and forth in front of me a couple of times and runs her leather-gloved hand through her straight black hair. Suddenly, she stops and turns to me, making me jump.

"Can I come in, please? We have a lot to discuss."

My mind is still reeling from what I have just read in my mother's diary. Her extensive letter explained everything that she never did in person. I thought she was crazy when I read the first paragraph, but after the ninth, the things she was saying made sense. They felt familiar, almost. Like something from a past life that I had forgotten.

I step aside to let the woman -Satura- into the house. This is the lady that my mother has written about it a lot. From what I can gather from my mother's entries, they were not on the best terms.

"You knew my mother," I state the obvious as Satura takes a seat on one of the armchairs, gracefully making herself comfortable.

I catch a mixture of emotions before she slips on a poker face. One of them was guilt; it's easy to recognise. I take a seat on the sofa and it's quiet for a moment as I wait for her to respond. The cup of tea I made before starting the letter is still slowly steaming on the coffee table, so I pick it up and nestle it in my lap. The warmth is comforting.

She clasps her hands together on top of her knees, her ankles tucked together to one side. She takes a deep breath before beginning, "Yes, I knew your mother. I don't know what you read in those...diaries, but we didn't have the easiest of relationships. I am alpha, that makes me your mother's boss so-to-speak, and your mother was never a fan of authority."

I nod as I listen, my expression thoughtful. "I read about this...The alpha is the leader of the pack and is elected by the elders."

"You have been doing your reading," she comments dryly. "Yes, and the previous alpha gets a say, too. They help decide who is going to take over their role."

She sits back in the chair, getting more comfortable. I get the feeling that this isn't going to be a short conversation.

"There are certain laws in our pack, the main being the Lex Vetera, the old law. This states that we cannot reveal our nature to humans, and we are bound by oath to our Goddess not to do so. Your mother found a loophole by writing all of this down."

"I don't understand why she couldn't just tell me, I'm her daughter, surely this means I'm not fully human?"

Satura purses her lips and exhales out of her nose. "No, you're not fully human but you're not exactly one of us, either. You were raised a human by your mother's choosing, therefore you class as a human to the pack. All of the pack members you have met recognised you as a human instantly, you have a different smell to our kind."

That makes me uncomfortable. "Smell? What do I smell like?"

Her nose turns up which doesn't make me feel any better. "I guess you would describe it as more of a clinical smell. Not unpleasant, but wolves smell more natural and earthy."

So, I smell like soap and not soil? I'll take it.

"Has your mother told you anything about her job?" She enquires.

"Yes, she said that she became a scout when I was younger."

"She did. At any one time, a member of the pack volunteers to be a scout. They usually only hold the position between five to ten years, sometimes less. Your mother opted to be one because I refused to let her back on the territory."

"What exactly does a scout do?"

"The scout acts as a go-between for other packs and our own. They travel around the world, meeting up with other packs and maintaining allies. It's dangerous for us to be around humans so we tend to avoid contact. Having a scout limits the amount of risk a pack has to take to maintain communication. I imagine your mother was away a lot when you were a child."

"She was," I begrudgingly admit.

"Scouts are meant to travel to other packs, swap information and secretly track groups of hunters because, unfortunately, some do exist." She shows emotion, letting her face become guilt-ridden and pained again. "Your mother was killed by a hunter who had discovered her identity when she was tracking him."

My eyebrows draw together in confusion. "My mother died in a car crash."

"That's what we wanted the world to believe. She was killed by the hunter, who was later tracked down and killed by some members of my pack under my orders."

The news that my mother's death was not accidental is a shock to me. I wrap my hands around the mug of tea on my lap, drawing strength from the heat.

"I can't imagine how confusing this has been for you, it must be such a shock and you probably would like some time to take it all in fully," Satura says, sounding strangely sympathetic.

"It is a lot, yeah," I reply, coughing to clear my throat. My voice sounds thick with emotion.

"You know, we have a word for our kind when they pass on to the afterlife. They become mānēs, departed spirits who never really leave us. Your mother looked after you the best she knew how. I might not have agreed with her choices, but she thought that giving you a human life would be a better option."

I feel comforted by her words. Even though this is stirring up a lot of memories and sad feelings for me, I haven't felt this close to my mother since her passing. Finding out all of this stuff about her, it answers so many questions I had about who she was, she was always so secretive, even with me.

"What happens now?" I ask Satura. "Now that I know your secret."

Satura sighs heavily and shakes her head. "This is the hard part. This is an unprecedented situation for me, I've not encountered it before as alpha. Normally, we would swear you to secrecy and get you to sign something similar to a non-disclosure agreement."

I sense the word without her saying it. "But?"

She smiles ruefully. "But, indeed. There are certain...factors at play that mean that I am reluctant for you to leave. It was different when you knew nothing, I was going to try and ease you into this over time...but now, it's all been fast-tracked."

Out of everything we have been talking about for the last five minutes, this is the part that is confusing me the most.

"What factors are you referring to?"

She grimaces, hesitating on what to say. "Did your mother explain soulmates in her diaries?"

That part was explained briefly in one short paragraph. Mostly, it was focussed on how she and my father were not mates. I got the gist of it, though. Mates are a big deal to wolves.

"Yeah, a little."

"Well, all wolves have mates and the majority meet them in their life. Your mother wasn't so lucky. But I believe that yours-"

"Is in this town?" I blurt out, cutting her off rudely.

I don't mean to be rude, I'm just shocked and a little excited. It's not every day you are told that you could meet your soulmate. My tea, long gone cold, is jostled on my lap by my outburst and I quickly put it on the coffee table before I can spill any more.

She hesitates again. "Potentially. Have you been having any strange dreams lately? Ones that you've never had before, but keep recurring night after night?"

I nod quickly. "Yes and, actually, you were in them, telling me to fix something."

Her eyes widen. "Fix them," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "I asked you to fix them."

"You've been dreaming of this, too?" I ask her, screwing up my face in confusion. "I'm sorry, but we can't be mates, I'm not interested in you like that."

Satura bursts out laughing. Her light, tinkling laugh fills the room and breaks the sombre atmosphere in a refreshing way. I feel relieved that she has reacted in an amused way to my declaration.

"Oh, no, I know we're not mates," she says through laughter, eventually collecting herself. "My mate..." Her face grows sad. "I lost him very shortly after meeting him, we were not meant to be together in this life. I'll see him again someday, I hope."

"I'm sorry for your loss," I tell her, truly meaning it now that I know the importance of mates to her kind.

"Thank you." She clears her throat and blinks away the gathering tears. "Anyway, what you experienced in your dream is called astral projection. In a way, I was dreaming about the situation too. My wolf, or rather, the animal spirit that is bonded with mine, projected itself into your dream to ask you to fix something that has been going on for years."

In her pocket, her phone starts ringing. I'm still trying to process what she is telling me as she takes out her device.

"Fix something? Fix what?" I ask her as she scans the phone screen.

"I'm so sorry, I have to take this. Please, excuse me."

She stands from the chair and answers the call.

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