Finding A Mate

I watch as he walks away wordlessly and feel my heart clench. My jaw flutters as I fight back stupid, unreasonable tears. Instead I go up to my office. My safe place. My sanctuary. After the attack, when I didn't know what to do or what to say, I would be in here. Working keeps my mind active and so long as its active, I can't cry. I shut the door, locking it behind me, before taking my place at my desk and shuffling through paperwork. With the influx of new arrivals, I haven't taken the time review their paperwork or reply to any other alpha. I toss my hair up into a pineapple on the top of my head before switching my computer on. I pull up the roster of where each new member is staying and begin looking through the papers, ensuring that my members are safe. The lock turns in the door and I close my eyes, biting back a growl. Ashton comes in and locks it behind him. "You know if you just apologize, everything will be fine," he says. This time I do growl, clenching my fists. "Apologize for what? That implies I regret it and I don't. She needs to learn her place. If he wants to take her side and defend her, he can go be her mate. But I will not apologize." My tone comes out sharper than intended but so be it. I will not apologize. Ashton sighs but we both stiffen when we hear snarling outside and bolt out the office door. I dart down the stairs and all but wrench the front door off the hinges. When I get outside, it takes a moment before I register what's happening. I see two of my guards put cuffs on a young woman with flaming hair and caramel skin as she thrashes in their grip. Vlad comes around a nearby corner and stops in his track. I watch as his dark eyes widen, locking on the new red head. I hear his heart speed up and feel a sick sense of satisfaction. She's his mate. His true mate. "Get two of your guards to restrain him. Otherwise he'll attack those two," I order softly. Ashton nods, whistling loudly. Two guards seemingly materialize from nowhere and grab Vlad just as he prepares to launch himself at the others. "I can see your happiness. Why so excited," Ashton mutters. I grab his wrist and pull him into the house and back into my office.

"She's his mate." My words hold no emotion, my tone implying nothing as I close the door. "Call me a bitch, but I get some sick satisfaction knowing he'll either reject her and break both his and her hearts, or he'll leave his human. Either way someone gets their heart broken," I say. He sighs and shakes his head. "D, she isn't even the same human he left you for." I shrug nonchalantly and sit behind my desk. "She's still human. It would have happened one day or another." He sighs and shakes his head, but doesn't say anything. A knock at the door interrupts whatever he was about to say. I look behind him to see Bear coming in. "Can we talk," he asks softly. My body tenses but I nod anyway. He comes in, Ashton slipping past him and closing the door. I raise an eyebrow as he sits down slowly and looks at me. He sighs and looks at me. "I'm not apologizing to her," I say firmly, my mouth set in a thin line.

His eyes flash as he looks at me. "I'm not going to ask you to. But you need to at least learn to control that temper and not threaten other women." I growl, feeling my body tense up slowly "I would have threatened her even if she was a male. Gender had nothing to do with it. Her lack of respect for me as an alpha and your mate had everything to do with it. Her lack of respect for my pack, both past and present, had everything to do with it. Rogues like her are the ones that attack packs for shits and giggles in their spare time. They're bitter and have a superiority complex. I will not apologize to her. If she wishes to leave, so be it. Regardless of her choice, my priority is and has always been my pack." His jaw ticks as he tries to reign in his wolf. He closes his eyes for a minute before he gets up, coming around the desk to crouch down in front of me.

"Fine. I won't ask you to apologize. But will you at least be nice? At least until this is all over and then you can kick her out for all I care." I narrow my gaze at him, searching his eyes for any hint of a lie, before sighing and nodding. "She disrespects me again though and I'll put her down. And even you won't be able to stop me." My words come out calmly and coolly but I can feel Wynter stewing in her own anger that our mate is defending this other female. He looks at me wearily, and I know it's my lack of concern for putting another wolf down that worries him. But I can't afford to allow some Rogue to damage my pack when they're already restless as it is. "Now, about Vlad's mate," he says.

I growl softly. "You're on thin ice as it is, Alpha Bear. Choose your next words carefully." He raises his head and meets my eyes carelessly. "You have them both locked up. Why," he demands. I put both palms flat on my desktop and stand up, glaring at him. "This is my pack. I will do as I see fit. As for the girl, I intend to interview the soldiers that restrained her and inquire after what happened. They're not in the habit of cuffing people for shits and giggles." He quirks an eyebrow but nods after a moment, getting up. "You can't hold them forever, Dawn. Either execute them or let them go. That's pack law and you know it even better than I do," he says before turning and walking out of the office. I snarl after him and close my laptop, kicking my boots off and rushing down the stairs and to the wall. One of the guards in the tower pokes his head out and grins. "Good afternoon, alpha. What can we do for you," he calls down. I force my tone to sound calm as I reply. "Let me out. I'm going for a run." He sends me a lazy salute and suddenly the wall opens in front of me just enough that I can slip through. Once I hear the wall boom shut again, I take my clothes off, tucking them into a nearby tree, and shifting.

It's an incredibly painful process in general, I mean come on your bones are breaking and reshaping among other things. But I bite back a scream and wait for it to be over. Once it is, I shake out my fur and stretch. Bliss fills me as i feel my muscles stretch and pull as I let Wynter out for the first time in weeks. We take off bolting through the woods, everything seeming so much clearer. My vision is heightened so much I can see every little thing, my hearing so sharp I can hear the heartbeat of an animal at least a quarter of a mile away. I relish the feeling of the earth between my claws as I run, not slowing down for anything. When we come across a stream I stop and step into it, shivering when it soaks through my fur. It's been so long since I left the safety inside the wall I'd forgotten the stream me and my siblings used to play in. We'd worked hard to suppress those memories honestly. But coming here, feeling the water, brings back flashes of laughter and excited screams. I stretch out on the bank along the stream, feeling the glorious Texas sun on my fur warming me. Slowly, i drift off for a nap. I snap awake when I feel a familiar presence. I stand up, shifting and getting dressed. I wander further into the woods in what seems to be a random direction. Walking through the woods, it's so silent even the dead would be unnerved. Everybody knows there's something out here. Something lurking. It isn't common knowledge, but my entire pack knows the truth. The creature responsible for this destruction, this slaughter, still lurks within these trees. He prowls in the dead of night, preying on any wolf unfortunate enough to cross his path. But he never kills children. They come home traumatized, but physically never harmed. Our pack territory is isolated, something my family chose intentionally. But with that isolation comes dangers. Dangers mema and papa weren't prepared for. Werewolves aren't the worst thing one can face, and there are few things we fear, but the things in the surrounding areas are one of them. Nobody sees them until they're dead. When the children came back, they couldn't say what they saw. Some never spoke again, and some just didn't see it. One minute mommy and daddy are playing and the next they won't wake up and they're bleeding a lot. I end up at a familiar large oak and can't help but walk towards it. I sit with my back against the trunk like I did in my memory, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. A low rumbling growl has my eyes snapping open and looking around. "You've grown into a strong alpha, Little Red." His voice has changed over the years, but not so much I don't recognize it. "Hello, Mr. Wolf," I reply. "It's been many years since last we spoke, little one." I chuckle quietly to myself. "Having to rebuild one's pack on one's own tends to be a bit time consuming. I apologize if you waited for me." This time he barks out a true laugh and it draws my eyes upwards. Still though, much like in my childhood, I can't see him. I frown slightly when I can't detect a scent either.

"Why have you never let me see you," I question. He falls silent for a few moments before replying, almost like he was considering his words. "I am not someone you want to see, Little Red. I doubt you remember but as a child you asked the same question. But people, creatures, like me are not meant to be seen. To see us means to confirm the existence of an unnatural creature within our already supernatural world." I scrunch my eyebrows, trying to reach into the furthest part of my memories, but I can't seem to find any of that particular question. "I am not a normal wolf. Most would seek to destroy me for simply existing." A shudder runs down my spine at his words. "If you don't want to show me yourself, I will respect that. But will you answer something for me?" I get a grunt that I take as an affirmation before I continue. "The Bleeding Seasons when I was little, that was you. Wasn't it? That's why you always said I should stay home?" He sighs from his perch above me. "It was. My wolf and I tend to have disagreements and sometimes I lose control of him. Bleeding Seasons, as you call them, were always the same time of year because that was always when he would be a little angrier. But never so angry he would hurt a child, much less you." I nod thoughtfully, jumping when my phone buzzes in my back pocket.

Where are you?

Visiting an old friend.

You need to come home soon. The sun is going down and there are too many Ferals out and about.

I know. I'll be home soon.

Good. Your alpha mate is going nuts.

Let him.

I press the power button to put my phone to sleep, sighing softly. "I have to go," I say sadly. A low chuckle rings in my ear. "To be an alpha means to have responsibilities. I'm always here if you want to talk, Little Red." I smile fondly, getting up and brushing my jeans off before walking away. But not without glancing back to see if I can see him coming down. I don't. I smile to myself and head home, feeling eyes on me the whole time.