The Unmated Love

CHAPTER 10

When Jonas arrived with a huge part of their search team, they were met with a horrible sight. A total of six wolves were lying around, seemingly dead, two of which were their own. Blood, chunks of flesh and fur were spread everywhere around them.

Jonas went straight for their own. With a single look upon Mack, it was clear that he did not survive the fight. He ran to Leyla, followed closely by Simon, who had arrived at the camp, out of breath and eyes full of terror. Luckily, close to the entire search team had already made it back to the camp, which made it possible to leave in a single moment. However, he was afraid that it was too late.

As they closed in on Leyla’s body, he could see her belly moving up and down in sync with her breathing. Relief flushed through his body, and he tuned in on her heartbeat, which was still going strong, so she wasn’t in evident danger. However, she looked like s**t. She was bloody from several slashes and teeth marks, which went deep into her skin, but her wolf would help her regenerate faster than a normal human, though her wounds would still take a few days to heal.

He made room for the medic, who shooed him away, so he had space to work. He pulled out a syringe with wolfsbane, which he injected into her neck, making her shift back to her human form, even though she was unconscious. She looked in even worse shape, when her body wasn’t covered up in fur.

Simon came forward, holding a blanket, ready to cover her up, as soon as the medic was done with the first aid. When she was covered up, Jonas’ shifted into his wolf, and she was gently placed upon his back. Mack was kept in his wolf form, but his body was also placed on Simon’s back. He deserved a proper funeral.

Jonas sent out a team of ten to search for the rest of the attackers. They had received clear orders not to engage in combat, but to go straight back to camp, if they located the enemy. The chances of finding them was probably slim, as despite the fur, blood and flesh lying around, the only smells meeting their noses, were those of Mack and Leyla’s.

Zack and Batch were waiting for them back at the camp. They had been informed about the attack and had left immediately, racing towards camp and arrived no less than 45 minutes later. A drive that usually took hours.

Their faces went grey at the sight of both Mack and Leyla, who looked absolutely terrible. Both of them were placed in a car each, which left immediately for the pack house. Jonas had to stay behind at camp, though his mind was currently elsewhere. He hoped Leyla would wake up soon. They desperately needed the information, she had obtained in the encounter, though of course his first concern was her wellbeing.

A couple of hours later, the cars pulled up in front of the pack house. Zack immediately went to his office to call and inform Jon, leaving Batch to take care of Leyla, and Mack’s body.

Mack’s body was placed in their chapel, in which the body was kept cool, until his family was able to say their goodbyes.

Leyla was placed in one of the suites in the mansion. She was placed in the bed with supervision, so that they would know, the minute she woke up.

As the phone rang, Zack thought about, how to break the news to Jon. The feelings he had for Leyla was obvious. The glow in his eyes, when he looked at her, was pretty difficult to miss. Leyla shared his feelings, though she was much better at hiding it. Jon was an open book compared to her.

“What’s up, Zack?”

His voice was clear in the phone, but Zack hesitated.

“Zack?” Jon’s voice revealed a slight uncertainty, as the other end of the line kept silent.

Zack took in a deep breath.

“We made contact today.”

Jon sounded excited at the news. “That’s good news. I hope, the group that encountered them is doing all right.”

It was phrased more like a question, than anything else. Zack sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“It’s Leyla, Jon.”

The other end went completely silent, before Jon’s voice broke through once again. This time full of fear for the answer to come. “What about her, Zack?”

“She’s in bad shape. She’ll be fine, but she’s unconscious for the moment. Mack died though.”

Jon’s answer came immediately. “I’ll be there in a day.” Then he hung up.

Zack sighed, though he was glad that Jon was joining them. The encounter with the enemy meant that a bigger fight was coming. They didn’t know, how Caleb was going to act upon the news of them drawing closer, but he feared the worst.

_-..-_

Leyla woke up hours later. She woke up with alert painting her face. She sat up immediately, confused as to her whereabouts, but a woman sitting in a chair next to her bed, rose as soon as she heard the commotion.

“Miss Leyla, are you okay? How are you feeling?” she said with genuine concern in her voice.

The question made Leyla focus on the state of her body, which immediately made her groan in discomfort. She fell back on to the bed. Her body was sore with pain, and when she looked under the duvet, she looked terrible with deep gashes and teeth marks all over.

“I’m all right,” she said and turned her attention towards the woman at her side. “Where’s alpha Zack?”

The woman smiled gently. “Spoken like a true beta. I’ll send for him immediately. Please remember to drink. There’s water on the table and painkillers, if you need them.”

The woman hurried out the door to tell Zack that Leyla was awake.

Leyla sat back up in the bed, leaning against the headboard. She reached for the painkillers and swallowed them with water. She definitely wasn’t too proud to use drugs, when her body was in this condition.

It didn’t take long for Zack to arrive. Concern was written all over his face.

“I’m okay Zack. It’ll heal.” She went straight down to business, well aware that with every minute passing, her information would be of lesser value to the search team. Every second counted.

“We were attacked by ten wolves in total. No scent or sound made. Only the movement of one of them charging at me, made us realize, they were present. We managed to kill off four of them, before Mack lost his life in the fight, and I was pinned to the ground by four other wolves. Caleb was there. You can’t miss him. He looks exactly like his father and his wolf is huge. Black, of course. When they heard the signal made by Jonas, they ran off to the west, so their main forces should be west to the area, in which we fought.”

Batch listened intensely, while scribbling down in his notebook. Both he and Zack were quiet, as they let her tell the story in her own time.

She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, which made both Zack and Batch look at her with concern. She seemed rattled, but a moment later she opened her eyes once more, though she kept her gaze down, as she continued.

“We do have an advantage though…”

Once again, she paused. Zack was eager to hear, what possible advantage, they could have against an opponent like Caleb, but he didn’t want to pressure her. She looked like s**t. Fragile, and he didn’t want to break her.

She sighed, before she made eye contact with Zack. Her eyes were full of sorrow, which made Zack tense.

“I think, he’s my mate…” she said, in a very low voice.

Batch dropped his pen to the floor, which made quite a bang on a floor made of wood. Or maybe the sound amplified, as the rest of the room went totally quiet. Both Zack and Batch stared at her in disbelief, their eyes huge and their minds overheating.

It took a few moments for Zack to gather himself. He cleared his throat.

“You… Think?” he asked carefully, not wanting to push this too far. He did not expect this turn of events.

Leyla nodded. “I’m not sure. It’s not like, I’ve experienced the mate bond before. None of my friends have either.” After a short pause, she added: “He called me his mate though…”

Suddenly, Batch joined in. He took a step forward, looking at Leyla with gentle eyes. “How does it feel?”

Batch was the only one in the room, who had actually found his mate by now. He was the only one, who could tell for sure.

Leyla sighed deeply, thinking back to the pull towards him, which she felt in the woods. “It feels like… Something is physically trying to pull me towards him. It’s really uncomfortable actually, but the feeling stopped, when he touched me.” She paused, before she continued in a low and ashamed voice. “Even though I fear him, and I wanted nothing but to rip out his throat, I still felt this… Warmth, when he called me his mate.”

She felt, like she was about to puke. It made her sick, that he – of all the f*****g males in the world – was her mate. She looked in the opposite direction of Batch and Zack, ashamed of herself.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head, finding Batch right next to her with a gentle and encouraging smile.

“I’m afraid, it is the mate bond, but you have to remember, that you don’t choose your mate yourself. There is nothing wrong with you. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”

Leyla could feel tears welling up at his words. It was exactly, what she needed to hear. She returned his smile thankfully.

Zack stood in the back, crossing his arms. “I do have to admit, that it concerns me, that you’re his mate. I don’t expect him to accept, that you’re fighting for the other side, and we really don’t want to lose you.” He said, as he stared into the ground with narrowed eyes and eyebrows pulling together. He was obviously thinking hard.

Leyla had to agree. “If he didn’t want me, he would’ve killed me by now. That, I’m certain of.”   

Batch squeezed her shoulder to comfort her. She was more than thankful of him.

Zack made a face, when he suddenly remembered Jon.

“Jon’s coming tomorrow.”

Leyla’s eyes went wide with horror. “WHAT?!”

Zack looked at her apologetically. “I’m really sorry, but I had to call him, when we found you injured.”

Leyla groaned loudly. “He’s going to freak.”

Zack couldn’t do anything but agree.

“Well… No matter what, we’re not going to let him take you, Leyla.”

Leyla smiled at Zack, grateful that she had the support of her comrades.

Batch stepped back and looked at Leyla with a stern look on his face. “Now, you should rest and focus on getting better. You lost a lot of blood, and you’re too pale. You should get some sleep.”

Zack nodded. “We’ll take care of things.”

Leyla nodded slowly. Though she hated being tied to the bed, she had to agree with them. She felt like s**t. She needed to rest.  

Zack and Batch left the room, sharing a look of surprise at this new turn of events.

“I did not see that coming,” Batch said, as they walked towards the office.

None of them said a word after that.

_-..-_

Jon arrived the next day with Ben in the passenger seat. Zack was there to greet them, when they pulled up the driveway.

Jon noticed, how Zack was tapping his finger against his thigh, which was a clear sign that Zack was nervous.

“I’ll take you to Leyla, but first we need to talk to you. Batch is waiting for us in the office. Also, she’s sleeping, and I think, we should let her rest for now.”

Jon just wanted to go straight to Leyla, but Zack seemed determined, so he didn’t want to argue with him. He would see her soon enough. At least, that’s what he told himself to calm the itch to run straight to her.

Jon and Ben followed Zack into the office, where Batch was studying a map on the desk.

“Batch, will you tell Jon and Ben, what we’ve found so far?” Zack asked. Batch looked at Zack with an annoyed look on his face, which surprised Jon. He had never seen those two in anything that resembled a fight, but this time, Batch was clearly not happy about something.

Batch sighed, before he briefed them about the current situation.

“You know, what happened up until Leyla’s arrival. We moved our search to Alleria the day after she, Mack and Simon arrived. Nothing was found, until Leyla and her team encountered the enemy, just as they were on their way back to camp.”

Ben and Jon tensed at the mention of the encounter, which left Leyla injured and cost Mack his life, but both remained silent.

“Leyla sent Simon back to get help, while she and Mack held back the attackers. Unfortunately, they were heavily outnumbered. The enemy counted 11 wolves in total. One of which was Caleb.”

A low growl erupted to Jon’s left. It was Ben, who had clenched his fists tightly at the mention of Caleb. Jon’s eyes flashed red. He couldn’t believe that Leyla had been in an encounter with Caleb. That was just their damn f*****g luck… Batch continued without pause.

“They managed to take down four of them, but Mack died in the fight. Leyla was immobilized, but Jonas’ howl should have made them flee, leaving Leyla injured but alive. She was unconscious, when Jonas arrived.”

Batch pointed to a spot on the map. “This is where the encounter took place. From what Leyla has told us, Caleb and his followers escaped in this direction. We are currently searching for their whereabouts, but it is difficult without any scent or tracks to follow.”

Jon groaned. “So, in simple words, we have absolutely nothing.”

Batch looked to Zack, hesitant to continue. In all honesty, he was actually a little scared of telling Jon about Leyla being Caleb’s mate. He didn’t want to be the target of any reaction; this news was very likely to provoke. Zack noticed the pleading look in Batch’s eyes and continued in his place.

“That’s not exactly true.” He sighed deeply, before he made eye contact with Jon. Steeling himself for his reaction. “We do have an advantage, though this advantage might also become a serious problem.” He too hesitated, but after a moment of silence, he continued. “Leyla and Caleb are mates.”

Ben and Jon both froze in pure shock of the news. Ben was the first to regain his composure.

“You gotta be f*****g kidding me…” He said, his voice tired.

Jon on the other hand reacted totally differently. Much calmer than Zack and Batch had though he would, but that made it a whole lot scarier. Jon always sounded unbelievably calm, when he was truly furious, ready to kill. His body composure gave his feelings away though. His body tensed, his muscles and veins popping, his teeth gritted. His body began shaking in pure contained rage. He turned around and left the room, leaving Zack, Ben and Batch behind, who happily stayed behind, staring at his back.

Ben sighed. “I apologize in advance for the wreckage, he’s going to leave behind.”