chapter 1

After everyone else had departed the pack meeting, Damon and Carson sat in the room in silence. Carson is an American man in his mid-forties and Damon in his late thirties . Although they have some age gap they are like sorn brothers. Damon has a hulk like frame which dwarfed his otherwise perfectly normal, average-sized friend Carson seated beside him. Damon with his short beard and long wavy hair, looked like he belongs in another time and place, maybe trapping furs and forging new frontiers through the Alaskan wilderness. Carson's buttoned-down appearance and glasses made him appear more at home in a modern, glass-walled office building.

Damon also happenes to be a werewolf.

Carson was enjoying the cool evening, but damon looked up and lost himself in the view of mountains in the distance. A few stars already shone above the treeline. The night would be clear for stargazing.

"Explain it to me again, because I don't see the logic," Carson asked.

" It's like this. The worst thing you can do for a young romance is encourage it. Having your parents tell you who you should find attractive is the worst. Sometimes young people want what they can't Damon answered in his deep, throaty voice .

"You should know all about that." He grinned at his friend.

Carson managed a smile at their private joke. In the thirty-plus years they'd known each other, only one thing had come close to terminating their friendship — an argument over the woman Carson would eventually marry. But that business had long since been settled. "Yeah, okay," he admitted.

"And Bella is feeling trapped here," Damon explained.

"She's headstrong. She gets that from you, you know. More'n likely, she'll go without your permission anyway. So, if she brings it up, let her go to California. Support her choice. See how it plays out for a while."

Truthfully, Damon admired Carson's daughter for her spirit and energy. Isabella was a force of nature. If he was a younger man... but Damon stopped his thoughts well before he wandered into fantasy. Everytime he sees her his desires becomes more prominent, it was good for him to stay away from her.

"You mean the scholarship she applied for without telling us and still thinks I don't know about," Carson said with irritation.

"What if she never comes back? What if she falls in love with someone there? Or gets pregnant or falls in with the wrong crowd? There's so many ways this could go wrong."

Damon laughed and shook his head. "Bella has always been responsible. Her outburst tonight... she had some good points. Forcing her to marry Connor --"

"I'd never force her. I just think she's not seeing the big picture. She's being selfish. And rude to Connor, quite frankly."

Damon huffed. "My nephew has looks, but he's kind of a moron when it comes to girls. I don't blame her for putting her foot down. Connor can win her over, in time. He just... needs to grow up a little."

Carson sighed. "Connor's fine. He's just young. So is she. All couples have to work at the relationship. They'd get used to each other if she just gave him a chance."

"She gave him a chance last year and he royally screwed it up," Damon laughed tiredly.He really don't want to Bella to became the wife of his scum nephew who cheated on her.

Carson said nothing. This part was true. He picked a piece of grass off of his pants and flicked it away.

Damon continued, "Besides, this is her home. And you're her family. She loves it here. She loves being outdoors, loves the animals, the trees, the fishing. She even likes snow. You think she'll be happy in a big city, and one that far south? Her whole goal is to work for the Pack Service. She'll be back. And in the meantime, I'll work on Connor."

He put a hand on Carson's shoulder. "She'll be okay. She will."

Carson just shook his head. Having his daughter leave home, to go so far away, to trust her to handle herself, and trust that she would return; it was a lot to ask. So much could happen to her. He peered at his friend,

"Since when did you become the smart one?"

"Maybe all your lecturing over the years finally sunk in," Damon answered with a grin. "Or cooling my ass in jail a few times actually did me some good."

"Damon, you should settle down now" Carson said hopelessly.. He has been urging him for almost 20 years. If not for him he should have been...

"Please don't start, it's not your fault " Damon laughed.

"Now get ready to say goodbye Bella for a bright future "

To be continued....

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***