A Trip To Love - 4. Chapter 3

Jon’s Point of View

The boys tried to get me to talk to mom last night when I called them. I was still too raw from what had happened to be able to talk to her without getting upset. Besides I didn’t think that she had changed her opinion in just a few hours.

I needed to find some wooded area so that I could go for a run. I could feel my inner bear wanting to get out.

I contacted the Clan leader, Collin Jackson, in this small town. Leader Jackson informed me that there is also a wolf pack here called the Pacific Northwest Pack and gave me the information for the Alpha. Courtesy required that I inform him of my presence and request his permission to be on their lands.

I decided to give him a call and make sure that I would be able to go for a run without any problems. It is always good to stay in good graces with other shifters. You never knew when you might need their help.

“Good morning, Alpha Remington. My name is Jon Blumer and I travelled into your area last night. I just wanted to touch base and let you know that I am in the area, as well as to get your permission to go for a run in the woods,” I requested over the phone.

“Good morning, Mr. Blumer, may I call you Jon?” he asked.

“Of course, sir, I would be honored,” I replied.

“Alright Jon, Mr. Jackson called and let me know that you were here and if it is ok with you, I would like to meet you. I just like to get to know other shifters before giving an open invitation onto our land. We have had issues in the past. I don’t want you to think that this is because of you,” he replied.

“That’s fine with me, I would be honored to meet with you,” I responded.

“I understand that you have been searching for your mate. That seems to be going around. One of my friends from Virginia, his son is coming out this way to find his mate as well. Why don’t you come over around ten o’clock and we can get acquainted and let you have a run through the woods.”

“Yes, sir, I have been searching for the past eight years but I’m not giving up. Ten o’clock sounds good to me that gives me time to get some breakfast.”

“Alright, than I will see you then. Do you need directions?”

“No, sir, Mr. Jackson gave me directions to your pack lands last night. Good bye, sir.”

“Good bye Jon.”

After I hung up, I took a shower, dressed, packed my luggage into my SUV, and headed to the cafe’ down the street to get something to eat and kill time before heading to the pack house.

When I walked in the diner, I could tell that there were other shifters there. I tried to look as non-threatening as I possibly could. It was hard just because I am so big.

I took a seat at the counter and looked at the menu.

“Good morning, my name is Tiffany, and I will be your server. What can I get ya?” asked the waitress.

“Good morning, Tiffany. I would love some coffee, pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and fruit cup, please.”

“Alright, sweetie, will have that out to you quickly,” she said as she walked away.

She came back and placed my coffee on the counter, “Do you need any cream?”

“No, ma’am, black is just fine for me.”

She left but came back a few minutes later with my breakfast. Once she set everything down, I dug in and started to eat. The food smelled wonderful, I just knew that it was going to be a little on the greasy side but that was half the fun of eating in a fifties style diner.

I looked at my watch and saw that I only had a half hour before I was to meet with Alpha Remington. I asked for the check and paid my bill before heading back outside.

I reached the pack house about twenty minutes later. I went up to the door and knocked. Soon the door swung open and there was a young man, about twenty two standing there.

“You must be the bear shifter coming to see the Alpha. Please come in,” he said as he stepped out of the way and let me into the house.

I looked around as he was showing me to the Alpha’s office down the hallway.

When he knocked on the door there was a gruff response, “Come in.”

“Alpha, there is a shifter here to see you,” the young man stated before turning around and leaving the closing the door on his way out.

“Good morning, you must be Jon, I’m Alpha Remington but please call me Jeff,” stated the man behind the desk as he held his hand out for me to shake.

“Good morning, Alpha Jeff, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I replied.

“Please have a seat. Would you care for any coffee or something else to drink?”

“No, thank you sir, I am fine.”

“Now, you’ve been looking for your mate for about eight years correct?”

“Yes sir, I have travelled to different clans throughout the United States but have so far, drawn a blank. I know he’s out there I just haven’t found him yet,” I stated and then realized exactly what I had said.

I looked at him and waited to see if he caught what I had said and what his reaction would be if he had.

“Don’t worry, I completely understand. I know that some people can be cruel and hateful but you won’t find that here,” he stated as there was a knock on the door. “Come in, James,” he said.

“Hey babe, is this a bad time?” the man who came in asked.

“No, it’s fine. James, I would like you to meet Jon Blumer, he’s a bear shifter that is passing through and is looking for his mate. Jon, this is my mate James.”

I knew that I had a surprised look on my face when Alpha Jeff started chuckling.

“Yes, my mate is a man, so as I said you have no worries in that regard. Have you thought that maybe your mate isn’t a bear?” he asked.

“Until recently I had always assumed he would be a bear or human. If he is another type of shifter my mom will have a fit. For her, it’s bad enough that I’m gay. She has pushed every eligible female bear in my direction every time I go home,” I replied.

“Well, you are welcome to stay here for a few days and see if maybe your mate is here. You can stay here in the pack house and take some time to get to know everyone,” offered Alpha Jeff.

“That would be wonderful, thank you sir.”

“Why don’t we get you settled in and then you can go for your run?”

“Ok, sounds like a plan to me.”

The three of us headed out to my SUV and got my suitcases and laptop bag. I followed Alpha Jeff and James up to the second floor of the pack house and they stopped in front of the second door on the right.

“This will be your room for as long as you are here,” stated Alpha Jeff.

“Thank you, Alpha Jeff, you have been so kind.”

My luggage was brought in and set on the bed so that I could unpack at my leisure.

“Would it be possible for me to go on my run?”

“Sure, do you want some company or would you rather be by yourself?”

“Well, I need to do some thinking, so I would prefer to go by myself.”

“Not a problem, I will send a message over the pack link that we have a bear shifter in the woods and to leave you be. Will you be joining us for dinner?”

“Actually, I was going to go to the diner that I ate at this morning and then go see a movie.”

“Ok, well we will see you later then. Enjoy your run,” Alpha Jeff said before heading back downstairs.

I changed into some sport shorts, t-shirt and sandals before heading outside and into the woods. Once I was far enough in, I found a hollowed out tree log, stripped down, placed my clothes in the log and shifted into my bear.

I took off and lumbered through the woods, I came across several of the pack wolves but they let me be and didn’t bother me. As I was running I found a small stream that I stopped at to get a drink and do some fishing.

The stream was ice cold but tasted so refreshing. I only caught a couple of fish because I didn’t want to deplete the supply. This is something that I loved to do and it gives me plenty of time to think about all that has happened over the past couple of days.

The field surrounding the stream was ripe with wildflowers with just about every color imaginable. It was so peaceful that I laid in the sun and just relaxed, which caused me to doze off.

When I woke up after a several hours, I noticed that the sun was beginning to set. I have always loved watching sunsets with the pinks, oranges, and other colors that were evident in the sky.

I decided that it was time to head back to where I had left my clothes, get washed up, and head in to the diner for dinner. I don’t know why but I felt that I needed to eat dinner there tonight.

Once I was cleaned up and dressed, I headed downstairs to my suburban and drove to the diner for dinner. This time when I went in I sat at one of the booths in the corner so that I could see people as they came and went.

I was eating my dinner when I heard the bell over the door chime, I didn’t think much of it until I heard the customer give his order to the waitress. Something about his voice called to me, a reaction that I have never before had. I looked up to see who had made the melodious sound.

I looked over and was shocked to see a well-built man, approximately two hundred pounds with the clearest blue eyes that I had ever seen. It was as if I was looking into a crystal lake and I knew without a doubt that this man was my mate.

Tim’s Point of View

I awoke when my alarm went off at seven in the morning. I knew that I had awhile before we had to leave for the airport but I wanted to spend as much time with my dad as I could. It’s a two hour drive from our house to Reagan International Airport and from there it was going to be a six hour flight with a few different layovers along the way.

I went downstairs and found dad already in the kitchen making breakfast, I guess he had the same idea of spending as much time as possible together.

“Morning, Dad, what’s the plan for this morning?”

“Well, I thought we could have breakfast and then go for a run together before you got cleaned up and ready to go.”

“Sounds good to me, I miss running with you and the rest of the pack.”

Dad finished cooking breakfast and we sat down to eat. As soon as we were done, dad loaded our dishes into the dishwasher and then we headed out for our run.

“Son, let’s go down to the stream and into the meadow,” Dad said through mind link.

“Alright, Dad, lead the way,” I replied following him into the woods.

We ran for about a half hour before we came to the stream, on the other side of it laid a meadow of wildflowers blowing in the wind. Before mom died this was her favorite spot, when she died we had her and my sister buried here.

When we shifted we tied our shorts to a leg, when we got to the headstones we shifted back to our human forms and slid the shorts on.

“Hey, Lizzie, it’s Jasper and Tim. Tim is leaving today to head back out and look for his mate. You would be so proud of the young man that he has become. I wish you were here to share this with,” Dad said with tears streaming down his face.

“Hi, Mom and Tina, it’s me. I am heading out to Washington to see if my mate is there. I know that you are watching over me but I miss you guys,” I stated with my hand on her headstone and tears in my eyes.

Dad and I just sat there for a little while before he said, “It’s time to head back to the house so that you can get cleaned up and the car loaded with your bags.”

We stripped, tied our shorts to our legs, and shifted back into our wolf forms.

We made it back to the house, shifted back, and pulled on the shorts before heading inside.

“Alright, let’s go get cleaned up we have about an hour before we have to absolutely leave,” stated Dad.

“Ok. Dad,” I replied as I headed upstairs to my bathroom to get cleaned up.

After my shower, I got dressed, made sure that I had everything, and took my suitcases, plus my computer bag downstairs. I could hear Dad moving around in the kitchen so I went in to make sure that he was ready, only to find him making us some sandwiches.

“Sit down and eat your sandwich so we can get on the road.”

We quickly ate the sandwiches before loading up the car and heading to the airport.

All too soon dad had parked in the short term parking and helped me get my bags out of the trunk. We walked into the airport and got me checked in. Since dad couldn’t go past the security area to the gate area, we stopped there to say our goodbyes.

Dad handed me an envelope and said, “Don’t open this until you’re in your rental car. Please be safe and call me when you land.”

“Ok, I will, Dad,” I replied as I took the envelope and placed it in my computer bag before giving him a hug.

When we pulled apart we both had some tears in our eyes but we knew that this would just be a short goodbye and not forever.

“Bye, Dad.”

“Bye, Tim.”

With our goodbyes said, I turned, went through the metal detector, turned to wave before heading to my departure gate. I got to the gate and saw that I still had some time before we were going to start boarding, so I sat down, pulled out my e-reader, and started to read a book.

I got so wrapped up in the book that I almost missed the boarding call for my flight. I stood up and went to the gate with my ticket in hand to stand in line before boarding the plane.

Once boarded, I took out my e-reader and MP3 player, put my computer bag up and sat in my seat. Thankfully, I had the window seat, so I wouldn’t have to move every time the person next to me needed to go to the bathroom.

With my size, I was sincerely hoping that all three seats would not be filled so that I would have some room to breathe.

I waited until we were in the air and I was allowed to turn on an electrical device before turning on my e-reader, plugging in my headphones, opening the music application, and continuing my book.

Once again I got so caught up in my book that I didn’t hear the announcement to put away all electrical devices until the stewardess came and got my attention. I turned everything off and got ready for landing in the first of my layovers.

This developed into a routine for the rest of my trip. Soon we were descending into Seattle, Washington.

I waited for my chance to grab my computer bag out of the overhead compartment so that I could exit the plane. Once I was able to grab my belongings, I exited the plane and headed to the baggage claim to wait for my luggage to come around on the carousel.

After I retrieved my suitcases I headed to the car rental kiosk to pick up my car and head out to the Pacific Northwest Pack in Moses Lake, Washington, about halfway between Seattle and Spokane.

I got my car, put my luggage in the trunk, except for my computer bag, which I put in the passenger seat next to me after getting behind the wheel. I pulled out the envelope that my dad had given me before I left.

When I opened the envelope, I just about died because not only had he had included the address for the pack house but also about a thousand dollars with a note.

“Son,

This is to help pay your expenses while you travel. Let me know if you need more and I will gladly send it to you. Please be safe and call as often as you possibly can. I will miss you while you are gone but I look forward to the day that you introduce me to your mate.

Love Always,

Dad

I could not believe his generosity. He has already paid my expenses as I travelled along the East Coast, now he was paying my expenses here.

This was the best time to call him.

“Hello,” came his voice over the phone.

“Hey, Dad, wanted to let you know that I arrived in Seattle safely and that I have gotten my rental car. Thank you for the money and all the support that you have given me over the last two years.”

“Hi, Tim, I am glad that you made it safely, don’t worry about the money because your happiness means everything to me and I would do anything to make sure of it. What time is it out there?”

“It’s about four thirty here, I gained a few hours coming west.”

“Alright, call and let me know how Alpha Remington is doing and that you arrived at the pack house safely.”

“Ok, Dad, I will. I’m probably going to stop somewhere between here and Moses Lake to get something to eat but will call after I meet with Alpha Remington. Love you, Dad, bye.”

“Love you too, Son, bye.”

I hung up with dad and looked at the pack information again. I decided to call Alpha Remington when I am closer to their pack lands. I plugged in the directions into the GPS console and headed towards Moses Lake.

About three hours later I came to the town limits of Moses Lake. I found a quaint little diner and decided to stop there and have dinner.

After I pulled into a parking spot, I pulled out the contact information for Alpha Remington and decided to go ahead and give him a call before going into the diner.

“Hello,” said the person who answered the phone.

“Hi, may I speak with Alpha Remington, please?” I asked.

“May I ask who is calling?” responded the voice on the other end of the phone line.

“Yes, this is Tim Collins, I believe he is expecting my call,” I replied.

“Ok, just a moment.”

After a short time I heard, “This is Alpha Remington.”

“Good evening, Alpha, this is Tim Collins; Jasper Collins’ son. I wanted to let you know that I have arrived in Moses Lake but have stopped at the diner for dinner.”

“Well, good evening, Tim. I am glad to hear from you and glad that you have made it safely. We will see you when you get here,” replied Alpha Remington before hanging up the phone.

I hung up and got out of the car to head into the diner. I no sooner had walked into the diner when this amazing smell of pine and wildflowers hit my nose. I walked to a corner booth and sat in the far right hand corner of the diner so that I could look around the restaurant.

The waitress came and took my order. Once my order was placed I started scanning the other diner. As I looked into the corner opposite me I was met with a silvery grey gaze that made my heart stop.

All it took was looking into the big man’s eyes and I heard my wolf say, “Mate.”