The Blood Rose pack

Finally found.

(Jace’s POV)

I woke up this morning thinking it would be a normal day. I took my shower, brushed my teeth and went down to have breakfast with the pack, or whoever was awake this early in the morning. My friend Ashton was sitting down eating pancakes and drinking his coffee. He had an empty chair next to him, so I took it and Judy set a plate of eggs and sausage in front of me with some juice.

" Have you found out who your mate is yet?" Ash looked up from his plate and had his amber eyes on me.

I shook my head and started eating the delicious food, "nope. I don't think I'll find her any time soon. I've been feeling like this for several days and haven't gotten close to finding her at all."

Ash leaned back in his chair and moved his dirty blonde hair out of his face while he seemed to be deep in thought with himself. He had found his mate months ago and they couldn't have been happier. I continued to eat my food and down the juice before Judy refilled the cup.

"Maybe she's from another pack?" he said, thinking aloud while carefully sipping his coffee.

I shook my head as I swallowed my food, "I don't think so dude. Most of the other pack's women have mates or are too young. My mate turned eighteen about a week ago. That's when I started feeling off. Like she’s close, but just beyond my reach."

He chuckled softly while continuing to sip his coffee, "maybe she's human. Why don't you go out and look around the town? There has to be someone out there for you.”

I lightly punched his shoulder while I shook my head, "I don't think she's human. That hasn't happened in hundreds of years and I highly doubt the moon goddess would let that happen."

She could. It’s happened once. Who's to say it won't happen again? Don’t doubt the fate provided by the moon goddess. Hunter, my wolf. Decided to speak and didn’t sound pleased with my comment.

Calm down Hunter, it was only a comment. It’s only happened once, as far as we know, and it didn’t end well from the stories I’ve heard and read.

Very well. But keep an open mind to any possibilities that could arise. His voice seemed calm, or as if he knew something I didn't.

I finished my food and put my plate to the side while getting deep in thought after the conversation with Hunter. A human? She can't be a human. That's impossible...right? I shook my head from the thought and started to walk out the dining room. Dad was standing at the front door talking to Beta Jackson. He looked over towards me and smiled as he walked over and ruffled my hair. Jackson closely followed and nodded his head to me, his brown eyes looked tired but he didn’t let any of it show with his posture.

"Hey Jace, I'm going out to get some stuff done. I have business matters I need to attend to. Do you want to come with me? Maybe you'll find that mate you've been hunting for." He had a slight chuckle as he spoke.

It's been nearly four years since I've come of age to find a mate. Wolves typically find their mates once they're eighteen or closer to that age. It's been hard on my father since he knows what it's like to run a pack without a Luna and he doesn't want me following that fate. It's especially hard on me because of the possibility of not continuing the Alpha bloodline.

I shook my head and adjusted my hair while glaring slightly, "No, someone's gotta watch the pack. Just make it quick, I have some stuff I need to talk to you about."

He seemed to smile and nod as he adjusted his shirt before going out and taking the SUV with Jackson. I just hope he isn't going to terrorize that poor family that's located on the other side of the forest. They had been living on the property since I was a small kid and my father decided to torment them as a way of payment for their stay.

After they left, I decided to go look for Ash. He was out back getting ready to go for a run with some of the other pack members. He was already shirtless and stretching. I walked over while I took off my shirt.

"Hey Ash, got room for one more? I need to get some stress off."

He chuckled and nodded while clapping his hand on my shoulder.

"Jace, since when did we not have enough room for you? We can have one of the girls bring something for you to change into when we're done."

He nodded to a few girls standing nearby, who were drooling over the other guys. They seemed to respond and basically fought each other to get to the door leading inside to get me a change of clothes. After a good laugh, we stretched, then started to walk off towards the woods. As we walked, our wolves took over and began to take control. A painful crunching of bones could be heard as we fell onto our hands. Our nails grew out as our fingers shortened and turned into claws. Once the morphing was done, we ran off straight into the woods. I can tell it was nice for Hunter to feel the wind in his fur after a good while of not coming out. We found a clearing and stopped for a short breather. Once we ran back to the house and changed, I put on a tee-shirt and jeans the girls had gotten for me, then looked over to Ash, who was making his way towards me.

"How's the run so far, Jace?" his golden eyes seemed to be looking at me with slight concern.

"It's nice. I've just been thinking about the whole mate situation. What if she is a human? What if they refuse me as a mate and I'm alone forever and the pack is without a Luna? It's already been hard on my dad since my mom died."

I was pacing back and forth while Ash started laughing slightly.

"What if your toes fall off and everyone becomes zombies? You're getting into your head. If your mate is a human, we will take her in as a pack member and teach her our ways before we transform her into a werewolf. If not, we can survive without a luna. I promise you. I've got faith in you."

His voice was calming and left me to relax slightly before we went inside for a quick drink. Dad was going to be back in a bit, and I needed to talk to him about the pack. After about an hour or so, we heard people rushing out the door and talking amongst themselves. I followed suit and noticed there were already numerous people near the driveway and the black SUV my father took was back.

"Go get him tiger."

Ash spoke before he went towards the crowd with his mate to figure out why they were all gathered around. It was unusual for the pack members to go to my father whenever he got home. I made my way over as well, but once I got close I got a sweet scent of lavender and roses, before I could figure out the source, I heard Hunter growl in my head.

Mate

What? Are you sure?

Yes, she's close.

My heart was thumping loudly in my ears. Did I find my Mate? Is she here? Where is she? Once I got to the car, my father was helping a girl out. A few of the men I ran with earlier were still wolves. They ran over as well. It caused her to hide behind Beta Jackson who was standing near my father. Once I got close, the scent was practically overwhelming.

"Where the hell have you been? You said you had business matters, but I see you have a girl! What's the meaning of this?"

As I yelled, the girl stepped out from behind Jackson. Once I saw her, it was as if a feeling inside of me was unlocked. I was suddenly hungry for her. I needed her. I craved her. I noticed Jackson kept a tight grip on her along with the sight of her puffy red eyes and red face stained with dried tears. My heart twinged at the sight, all I wanted to do was to hold her close and protect her.

I growled as I stepped close to her and grabbed her chin. Hunter was purring and howling as I was lost in this woman's scent and beauty.

"Why is she here?" I spoke aloud to nobody in particular.

I bent down to her height and looked deep into her pale blue eyes. Her long dark brown hair was to die for. The things I could do to her small body could leave her unable to walk properly. She was my perfect mate.

She’s perfect, except she’s human. I can't feel a wolf or any signs of one. Hunter spoke in a pained voice.

Impossible. Hunter, she can’t be human. I could smell her and felt the mate pull.

It’s not impossible, I told you earlier. She’s our mate, but not a werewolf. Yet.

Of course, he had to be the optimist in all of this. I was practically seething with the mate I was given.

"The Prince’s gave her to me as payment for the land. We can use her for the hunt. Unless you have other plans for her, that is."

My father spoke and gave me a small smirk as if he knew exactly what was going on. I glanced at the girl and shook my head before I acted on any deep feelings starting to rise. I gave him a small look of urgency before speaking.

"No, I will need to speak to you in your office as soon as possible."

After that, I quickly turned on my heel and made my way inside. To calm myself down. As the distance grew, I could feel Hunter wanting to go back and claim her. I managed to resist, despite Hunter's objections, as I went up the stairs.

Nearly two hours had passed since I found my mate. I paced in my bedroom as my thoughts and worries took over. I smelt the wonderful aroma of flowers towards the hallway. I could only assume it was my mate. I was about to go insane without having her in my arms.

I got up then walked over to my father's office. He was sitting in his chair in front of his desk. He glanced up at me from his papers and smirked.

"So, you've found your mate, eh? A human none the less. That's only happened once in history."

I growled at him while I massaged my temples, "You better not use her for that hunt. If I see my mate out there getting hunted, I'll never forgive you."

He gave me his usual s**t eating grin and leaned back in his chair like he was enjoying my actions, "Listen, if she is without a doubt your mate, you'll have to teach her the ways of the pack while we discuss her becoming one of us."

My heart dropped at the thought of having her become one of us. It's a painful process from what I’ve heard and I don't want to see her go through that.

"I know it's her, I smelt her, the craving for her. It's all that you and mom have taught me about mates. I just have to try and wrap my head around the fact she's a human. It’s not possible."

"Well, yes, but we know that it's happened before. I’ll look into it. In the meantime, you go and take a shower. You smell like you've been running all day."

I stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind me. I wanted to go to my room and just relax but I felt a tightening in my chest which pulled me to a room towards the end of the hall. Once I reached the door, two warriors were standing by guarding it.

"What’s going on here?" I asked calmly, hoping nobody was causing a fuss.

One of them looked at me and sighed, "The human is in there. Alpha Michael told us to guard the door since she apparently has a knack for trying to get away."

That's my girl. By the looks of her when she arrived, she had tried fighting Beta Jackson. She's definitely a fighter. Could she be any more perfect?

I needed to get in there since the pain in my chest got stronger. I shoved past the men who didn't bother stopping me and shut the door behind me. The room looked like all the others; one bed, dresser, and nightstands, some bags I could only assume were hers. Nothing too out of the ordinary. After I scanned the room, my eyes stopped at the bed. She was huddled under the sheets sniffling; she was asleep since she didn't react to me entering.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." I whispered under my breath.

I walked towards the bed to see her face all red, nose running, and her hair all ruffled. It was obvious she had been crying, it only made me feel worse. I thought about leaving to let her sleep, but Hunter insisted that I couldn't leave her here alone. I kicked off my shoes and shuffled into the bed under the sheets with her. Her labored breathing started to subside as she nuzzled her precious face into my chest. As we both got comfortable, I gently started to stroke her hair and pull the blankets over both of our bodies. I noticed something in her arms, then removed it, noticing it was a photo. There was a large brown horse with a man to the left of it holding the reigns and a woman to the right with her hand on a small child sitting on top of it. The girl had brown hair tied into two pigtails, her big innocent blue eyes were shining brightly in the photo. It must be my mate with her parents. I smiled at the adorable photo, then placed it on the nightstand behind me, then pulled her close. I started to slowly drift into sleep and passed out with her in my arms.

And for the first time in a long time, it was a restful sleep.