Wayfarer

Chapter 4

Max

I saw a flash of brown fur take off in front of me. The sweet aroma of fresh cut grass kicked up into my face there was no doubt it was her. MATE, Marrok roared as my claws instinctively ripped into the ground to chase after her. Why is she running Marrok yelped in my head, ‘wait, stop, please’ I called after her. But she didn’t. She was so delicate for a werewolf, half my size and twice as agile because of it. She darted easily through ferns and undergrowth, leaving me and my Alpha dimensions to try and barge through them or find a way around. I was in instant awe of her and I needed to catch up to her, it wasn’t an option.

‘What is it?’ I heard the others instantly interested in the chase. MATE, Marrok bellowed through the link. The responses from the team as they shifted and ran to catch up were just noise in my mind I was trying desperately to focus on where she was and anticipate where she was headed to catch up to her. She must have been darting in and out in front of my path, her exhilarating scent was everywhere and I had no idea which direction she was in. I pricked my ears hoping to hear her footsteps but all I could hear was my own heart thundering in my chest. I started to panic. I needed to find her. I couldn’t let her slip through my fingers, she was my Mate why was she running, did she not want me? The thought caused me physical pain in my chest and I paused in agony.

The others caught up to where I was, ‘Where is she?’

‘I don’t know I’ve lost her’, I couldn’t help my voice catching as I said it but the team said nothing, they knew how serious this was, they all had felt the intoxicating draw of their mates and knew they would have moved mountains to get to them.

‘Spread out’ Ned ordered, and they all fanned out to search immediately. I was glad he was taking charge my mind was fogged with desperation.

The search seemed to take ages and yet I only ran northwards for another 10 mins with her scent still strong in my nose. The undergrowth finally thinned and feeling confident that I would reach her now I picked up the pace to full speed. Suddenly the forest opened out onto the bank of a huge lake and I had to slam on the brakes. As I slid to a halt at the water’s edge I noticed small wolf prints dented the soft sandy earth slowly being lapped away by the waves washing up on the shore. She had gone into the water.

Marrok howled in despair louder than I had ever heard and I anxiously paced the bank nose in the air trying to work out where she had gone. Is she still in the water? Marrok snorted as we scanned the lake for any hint of a ripple. There was nothing. Why would this happen? We had found our Mate but she had run from us? Why? I could feel my chest searing with heat and anxiety at not knowing where she was. I had never felt this before and all I wanted was to see her and know she was safe.

The others found me quickly, drawn in by Marrok’s howl. ‘What is it?’ Ned asked just as concerned for me as I was.

‘She went in the lake, I cant smell her anymore’. The lake was too vast to patrol or even hazard a guess at where she had come out. My patrol tried as best they could to find a vantage point or pick up her scent but she had gone. I slumped to the bank. What do we do now? I didn’t answer Marrok as I scanned the water, every wave and ripple a mirage of my little brown wolf.

Unknown

As I struck out diagonally across the lake I knew it would slow him down further. Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear him? Mate!

 I tried to block Aphinya out as she willed us to turn around. I had heard him scream MATE as I ran past him but that couldn’t be right. ‘Surely I would have been drawn to his scent Aphinya? I didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary’, You didn’t stop to see. The wind blew our scent to him, we should have stopped.

 ‘And risk being torn apart by an Alpha and his team?’ I shot back, ‘When have we been accepted by any pack, we are Rogue and nothing can change that’. Mate can.

‘If he is our Mate, which I doubt, he looks like an Alpha. What Alpha is going to take a Rogue in as his mate?’.

I clawed my way up a steep bank a short way around the lake and shook off the water weighing me down. I could feel that Aphinya had retreated at my last retort to the back of my consciousness. As I edged cautiously up the bank, there was a sudden heart breaking howl from across the water. It stopped me in my tracks and my chest felt as though it had taken a heavy blow.

I turned for a moment, maybe he was our Mate. However, I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind as I saw his pack join him. Even if he was our Mate, survival had to be my main priority. ‘I’m sorry Aphinya’ I thought as I lowered my head and headed off quietly through the bushes.