The Unmated Love

CHAPTER 6

[Leyla’s POV]

I froze at the mentioning of Caleb’s name. The memories, which I just barely managed to push back to the back of my mind, once again flooded my brain. Caleb Blackwood was back…

Goosebumps scattered all over my body, as I remembered the fear connected to that name. I had to close my eyes for a second to collect myself.

“In what way?” I finally asked in a low voice.

Ben decided to join the conversation. “They found their guards murdered. One of them with a note from Caleb.” He was speaking quietly, obviously afraid of my reaction to this news.

I shifted my gaze between the two of them, getting increasingly more frustrated with every second passing. They were both staring at the table, reluctant to look at me or inform me of this news.

“Guys… Tell me everything. I can handle it. What did the note say?”

[Jonathan’s POV]

“Guys… Tell me everything. I can handle it. What did the note say?”

She did say that with more strength in her voice, but I could see her clenching and opening her fists underneath the table. She was shaking.

However, she deserved to know, and I needed my beta to know everything about a situation this dire. A situation in which her help and knowledge was absolutely vital for my pack’s survival. “We don’t know much yet. All we know is that the guards were flayed or ripped to shreds, one of them with a note hammered to his chest with the words: “I’m coming for you all”, signed by Caleb. They haven’t been able to track him down yet. Apparently, they haven’t even left a scent.”

Leyla went silent with that, picking at her food, lost in her thoughts. Ben and I exchanged worried glances, as she didn’t answer right away. We picked at our food, waiting for her response.  

Several minutes later, she finally broke the silence. She slammed the fork down and looked up with a very determined look.

“You have to send me down there.”

Ben’s mouth gaped open, bigger than ever, as he slammed his fist into the table, which drew the attention of all the people in the room. “Hell no! You’re not going anywhere near that bastard.”

Leyla stared at Ben with a fierce look in her eyes. That was the look she got, when she had made up her mind, and she never budged. This wasn’t good.

“I’m the best damn tracker, you have. It would be f*****g wrong not to send me!” She exclaimed loudly.

I groaned, pinching the back of my nose. I suddenly felt tired. “Leyla, we are not deciding on anything yet, and I am not convinced that it is for the best to send you as help. Not yet, at least. You might not think straight and might act rashly, if you actually managed to find them.”

Leyla clenched her jaw, before she pushed back her chair. “I’m going for a run.”

Before any of us could answer, she rushed out of the room.

All eyes in the lunchroom followed her out, and when she left, their eyes turned back to me and Ben. I released a low growl. “The show is over. There’s nothing to see here.” Everyone averted their eyes in an instant. None of them wanted to piss me off even more, than I already was.

Ben and I looked at each other. Ben made a face, though we both had to admit that Leyla’s reaction was better than expected.

“You can’t send her down there,” Ben said with a firm voice, which made me raise as eyebrow. I didn’t want to hear that tone.

“I don’t want to, but we have to admit that she’s right. She is a brilliant tracker. The best we’ve got.”

Ben huffed in defiance. “It would ruin her.”

I didn’t answer that. I wasn’t sure it would, but I was certainly scared that it was a possibility. She had already suffered enough, but as a beta she also had a responsibility for the pack, and so did I as an alpha. It was our duty to protect them, and the faster we located Caleb, the better the chances to crush him. Even if that meant sacrificing our life or our wit.

[Leyla’s POV] (Trigger warning: r**e).

The feeling of my muscles stretching and the wind blowing against my face, as I raced through the woods, cleared my mind. Being in my wolf form always made problems and worries seem smaller. As if I was able to see them at a distance and with a more objective view.

I wanted to go. I could feel the thirst for revenge, though fear was also mixed in there. It made me angry. I hated feeling scared; weak and vulnerable. I wanted to make him suffer for all the pain he and his father caused. But the intensity of my feelings also made me realize that Jon was right. I wouldn’t be able to think straight, if I managed to find them. Not that I would admit that.

I had never felt frustration and anger this intense before. The mere mention of Caleb’s name provoked flashbacks from Lucifer’s attack on my pack 9 years ago. The memories of the vicious sneers and the rough handling of my mother and myself, made my stomach turn. I shifted back to my human form in an instant, just before I emptied my stomach, a hand on my belly and the other against a tree for stability.

I had been able to keep the uncomfortable memories locked away for quite a few years, but Kane’s assault and the mention of Caleb brought me right back into the trauma. I was 16 years old again. Standing in the living room behind my mother, when the wolves barged in through the door. My mom tried to fight them off. To protect her daughter, but they were too strong, too many. They beat my mom to a pulp, before they r***d her. As I screamed and cried for my mother, one of the males grabbed me, threw me on their couch and r***d me. Afterwards, they took turns, until all of them were satisfied. My mother died on that floor, but I survived.

I survived…

I emptied my stomach once again, before I fell down on all four. Suddenly, tears began to stain the earth. I hadn’t even noticed that I was crying. I heaved for her breath. Full on sobbing for a while, before I calmed myself down by focusing on my breathing. I couldn’t break down. Not now. I was prepared for this. I had been relentless with my training. I was a completely different person by now.

You are not 10 years old anymore. You survived, and you’re stronger than ever. You can do this.

With a deep inhale, I rose to my feet. I shifted back to my wolf, running around aimlessly for a while, before I caught the scent of a deer. A kill would do me good.

I slowed down and began crawling, when I saw the deer in a clearing nearby. I stayed close to the ground, as I slowly and silently neared my pray. The deer didn’t notice anything, before I jumped at it.

I grabbed the deer’s hind back with my front claws, by which the deer fell to the ground with a terrified scream. As soon as the deer hit the ground, I threw myself at its neck, digging deep and shaking it back and forth, making sure that it died fast. It didn’t have to suffer more than necessary. It wasn’t Caleb…

I ate, until I was full, before I turned back towards the packhouse, where the alpha-meeting was being held. It wasn’t until I arrived at the front door, seeing the male guards, that I realized my mistake. I had ruined my clothes in the hurry to shift and escape the confinement of walls, and I hadn’t prepared any spare clothes to change into.

I sighed, which in her wolf form sounded mostly like a huff, before I mind-linked Jon.

Can you bring some clothes to the front door?

It didn’t take long for Jon to respond.

Yeah. Coming.

The guards looked at her curiously, but I just rolled my eyes at them. If I had been at my own packhouse, I would have shifted instantly – with or without spare clothes, but here… Hell no. Especially not after last night’s incidence with Alpha Kane.

Suddenly, the huge front door opened, and Jon stepped outside with a pair of clothes in his hands. He took one look at me and raised an eyebrow. I could see my reflection in his eyes. My wolf was beautiful. Huge for a female wolf with a warm brown color that sparkled in the sunlight. However, I was covered in blood. Like a lot of blood…

You’re a mess.

I huffed, annoyed by the situation, and rolled my eyes once again.

Jon took a second look at me, looked down at the clothes in his hands and looked back at me with a slight smirk on his face.

You know… I didn’t want to look in your clothes, so I took my own, but... I’m not sure, I want it smeared with deer blood.

I was not in the mood. I growled, which only made Jon laugh. I shifted back to my human form, standing in front of him. Naked. With blood all over. Jon jumped in front of me to shield her body from hungry eyes.

“Leyla, damnit! You can’t be naked here!” he exclaimed with wide eyes.

I snorted, as I reached out for the clothes. “Just give me these!”

As I began to dress, a window in the party room was opened, and a loud whistle was heard, followed by laughter. Jon shook his head, but I didn’t react at all.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.

I stood up straight, now wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt of his. She looked like a child with her small frame in his big clothes, but something about waring his clothes made me feel good. Safe.  I met his worried gaze.  

“I’m fine, Jon.”

I went past him and through the front door. The guards followed my every move, checking me out, until a low growl from Jon made them flinch and stare straight ahead once again.

I couldn’t help but smile at my protective alpha. He was a great alpha. He took his job very seriously and did all in his power to protect and take care of every single member of his pack. He was a good one. My Jon.

[Jonathan’s POV]

Just like the night before, the day was ended with a party. All the attending werewolves were present in the party room, everyone with a beer in their hand – even Leyla.

I stood in a corner of the room, watching Leyla and Ben, who were sitting next to each other at the table, bickering like the siblings they practically were. They were both drunk but seemed to be having fun. Every lingering problem and threat were forgotten for now. Alcohol could sometimes be a bliss.

A throat was cleared to my left. I turned my gaze towards the sound and found Alpha Zack. “Jonathan.”

“Zack.”

Zack followed my previous line of sight and spotted both Leyla and Ben.

“How are they? How did they take the news?”

I knew that Zack was mostly concerned about Leyla. Benjamin was the carefree kind of guy. He of course mourned the loss of his father, but he also found pride in the fact that his father lost his life, fighting for the greater good. Leyla, on the other hand, was still and would always be traumatized by the horrific events, she witnessed and lived through. Zack was a first-hand witness to the damage done to her. His father was the one, who found her, lying in the living room, next to her dead mother, barely breathing and covered in blood. The memory of her in the arms of his father still haunted him.

I shook my head. “I’m not sure, Zack. She seems off.”

Zack kept his gaze steadily locked on Leyla, who for the moment seemed happy and carefree. “Can anyone blame her? We all lived through the war, but few of us witnessed and lived through, what she did.”

I slowly nodded. “Her first reaction to the news was to demand, that she should be send down to your pack. To help in the search for Caleb.”

Zack shifted his gaze to me. He was quiet for a moment, as his mind processed my words and the meaning of them. Jon cared for Leyla, more than he himself realized, that much was obvious to Zack. He had to choose his words carefully, knowing that this subject was a sensitive one.

“I can imagine, how you feel about that, but I have to agree with her. She is one of the best trackers, I’ve ever seen. If not the best. She could be vital in the search.”

Zack watched carefully, as my hand slightly crushed the can of beer, I was holding. I was usually able to keep my cool and hide my emotions without trying, but when it came to Leyla, it was different. My entire body visibly tensed up, and my gaze turned to Leyla once again, resting there for a moment, before I looked back at Zack. I took a deep breath and put down the can.

“I know, Zack. It’s just…” I pushed his fingers through my hair with a clearly frustrated look on my face. “She’s usually a tough motherfucker, but I’m afraid this might break her. You know the saying; what doesn’t bend, will break. I know, we can’t protect her from all of it. She sure as hell wouldn’t accept that either, but I think, we should wait. See how the search goes.”

Zack nodded slowly. “We can wait a few weeks, but if nothing comes up, I would really appreciate, if she could join the search. It would increase our chances of victory, if we find the monster sooner rather than later.”

I inhaled deeply, my shoulders relaxing, as I exhaled. Zack caught a flash of defeat across Jon’s face, but he quickly regained his composure.

“I will make sure that she joins the search when needed. Though, I doubt, she will complain about it. Ben will probably be the biggest challenge in all of this.”

Zack couldn’t help but laugh at that. Ben would probably break havoc, at the thought of Leyla joining the front lines in this war. He was very protective of her.

Zack put a hand on my shoulder. “You’re a good alpha, Jon. I know, this is a tough situation for all of us. Hard decisions must be made for the greater good. We have to sacrifice ourselves to save ALL of our packs. I do not doubt that Leyla will come through. She is, as you say, a tough motherfucker.” Zack smiled reassuringly, before he let go of my shoulder and moved on.

I was left with a knot in my stomach, at the thought of Leyla being close to this Caleb.  I understood, where she was coming from. I also sympathized with Ben, as I too wanted to keep her locked away from all of this, just like Ben did. I also knew, that as alpha, beta and gamma, it was their duty to protect the pack. Even if it cost them their life. All I could do, was hope that Zack’s scouts found a trace, a scent, something, in the next couple of weeks.