Never Leave, A Human Mate - (Book 2 The Mist Series)

~Chapter 2 - Mate!~

~Reece~

The morning had been a brutal symphony of sweat, strained muscles, and the relentless thump-thump-thump of furry bodies hitting the mats. Maddison Martinez. The name hung like a toxic fog over Mist, unspoken but ever-present, a reminder of the war brewing on the horizon. Her threat had jolted our sleepy town awake, transforming it into a frenzied hive of survival training.

New warriors were always a challenge. They arrived fuelled by raw power and a fierce desire to protect, but lacked the fine-tuned precision, control, and instinct forged over years of hard-won experience. And then there was Petra Ob. A whirlwind of blonde scruff, boundless spirit, and zero focus. After hours wrestling with her—trying to channel her chaotic energy into something resembling a passable fighting style—I was drained.

And the afternoon promised no respite. In fact, it promised a headache of epic proportions: The Alpha Summit. We were calling it that, all polished and official. A more accurate title would be: “A Gathering of Way Too Many Alphas in One Room with Way Too Many Opinions.”

Each pack was sending their Alpha and Beta. The imposing Alpha Hugo from Riverbend, resembling carved granite, would be present, accompanied by his taciturn Beta Kesly—a woman capable of lethal attacks. Alpha Zhan of the Hillside clan, a stoic strategist whose mind worked like a steel trap, would arrive with his Beta, Royce, a wiry wolf with a well-earned reputation for ruthless efficiency. Alpha Tyson, a shadow of his former self since the tragic passing of Luna Tiana, would come, accompanied by his loyal Beta, Gabriel. Alpha Joseph, our own leader, and Beta Tyrone were a given. Naturally, our powerful Luna Louise would attend.

The alpha summit’s goal was straightforward: to strengthen our alliance against Maddison and her deformed mutants. Simple didn’t equal easy. Each Alpha had their own pack’s concerns, strategies, and… crippling egos. Getting them to agree on a unified game plan would be like herding wolves. Angry territorial wolves… underwater.

The precarious stack of paperwork threatened to topple from the cardboard box in my arms as I navigated the creaky staircase toward Alpha Joseph’s office. Territory outlines, resource allocation, patrol routes… the sheer volume of logistics involved in coordinating multiple packs was staggering.

I adjusted the box, the rough cardboard biting into my forearms. Goddess, I needed a vacation. Or at least a bottle of something strong enough to numb the persistent throbbing behind my eyes. Possibly both, then solitary for a week.

I reached the landing when the tantalizing aroma of warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies assaulted my senses.

The box, the paperwork, the war-room logistics—all of it became insignificant as I threw my head back, and Donte howled. Not in my head, but a primal, visceral sound that ripped through my throat, vibrating in my very bones. My chest constricted, my groin tightened, and a wave of heat washed over me, starting in my toes and rushing upwards like a tidal wave. I gasped for air, desperately trying to identify the source of this internal upheaval, seeking to understand the scent that triggered it. It was familiar, comforting, like warm cookies. But beneath that simple sweetness lay something profound, a rich scent that reverberated within me, singing of connection, of purpose, of…

“Mate!” The word exploded from my lips, raw and guttural. It was a sound I hadn’t expected to make again. Ever.

“Mate!” Donte echoed in my mind. His voice was borderline hysterical, bordering on euphoric.

I shook my head, coaxing Donte, my giant white wolf, forward in my mind. His mesmerising steel eyes, bigger than ever, locked onto mine pleadingly. “But how is this possible, Donte? A second chance-mate…. After Layla? This isn’t right!”

“It is…” Donte whimpered, lowering his enormous white head in the mental landscape we shared. His fur twitched as he fought the building urge to take over, to succumb to the instinct. “We do…! I can sense it! Mate! A second chance, mate!”

“But, Layla…” The name was a ghost on my tongue, a constant ache in my heart.

“Layla is gone …” He reminded me with a shudder, his words sharper and blunter than I’d ever heard them. “I miss her wolf Quartz every day, but this is our second chance, Reece! Mate!”

“No!” I argued, pushing him back, trying to erect mental barriers between us. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Never.

It had been eighteen years since my first mate, Layla, died at the hands of a Celestial Moon warrior. She had been my true love, my anchor, my wife. And she had died two months after our daughter, Matilda, was born. Not a single day had passed since that horrific night that she hadn’t crossed my mind. Her laughter, her scent, the way her hand fit perfectly in mine… all etched into my soul. And since then, I had never felt that burning, undeniable desire, that desperate need to be with anyone… until now.

This sensation was as intense as it had been the moment I saw Layla. This unfamiliar scent, though different, was equally potent, equally undeniable. Fighting this feeling was an uphill battle. I could sense Donte was at his last reserves of willpower, barely able to resist the primal urge to claim our mate.

“Mate …” Donte howled, throwing his head back. “Go to her…”

“Dad?” My adult son, Kingston, peered out from his room, his white hair—the same as mine—falling over his face. He brushed it back, looking at me sympathetically. “Did you just say, mate?”

I turned to him, the floorboard of the second-floor landing creaking beneath me. “Yes, but–”

He stepped out of the room and cut me off. He stared at me with soft, kind eyes that reminded me of his mother daily. “If you sense your second chance mate, Dad, go to her…”

I glanced back at him in surprise. Donte paced in my head. “Are you serious, Kingston? What about your mother?”

Behind me, the landing was filling up. I could sense Alpha George and his mate, Ruth, running up the stairs. Gamma Archie and his mate, Madeline, followed close behind. News sure travelled fast around here. Werewolf hearing!

“It’s been eighteen years, Dad. Mum would understand…” Kingston said honestly. His mate, Agatha, the only witch in our pack, emerged behind him. He took her hand and then smiled back at me. “You can’t fight it… Remember? It’s a calling every wolf has…”

Donte was closer to the surface than ever. His continuous hounding was edging me closer towards the stairs, each step a painful reminder of Layla. “Mate… Mate…”

A hand landed on my shoulder and spun me around. The concerned face of Alpha George met mine. He eyed me closely, reading something in my being that most Alphas could sense. Even though he had given the reins of the Mist pack over to his son, Joseph, George was still the patriarch. His word was final, and his authority was absolute. And to me, as his Beta of twenty-odd years, I respected him above all.

He opened his mouth to speak when Gamma Archie interrupted.

“Reece,” Archie cleared his throat. “The girl you’re talking about—your mate… She’s human…”

“Human…” My hand flew to my head. “How had I not noticed that?” Donte stumbled backwards and lost his footing in my mind, crashing into my brain and causing an instant migraine.

Bringing a human that did not know of our kind into the packhouse was uncommon and never done. A few humans knew—We had humans in the werewolf-run school, Our Lady of Souls, and elders who had made packs with humans in government, but no humans were in our pack. This was a game-changer.

Archie gestured his pale face back down the staircase. “I saw her through the rumpus room window… She’s parked outside the packhouse. And I think her car broke down.”

“Hmm, I’ve never seen a human turn up here like this…” Luna Ruth added, her expression a mixture of shock and concern. She glanced at Alpha George. “What do we do?”

“We permit human mates…” Alpha George reminded us. “But it’s never been done in our pack. This will take some getting used to.”

“We can’t tell her what we are straight away…” Madeline warned softly. “You need to get to know her, see what she’s like before telling her…”

“It’s not that easy,” I groaned, rubbing my aching forehead. “I can’t fight the urges… And I don’t want to scare her off…”

Being mated to a human meant two things: first, unlike wolves, who share a deep connection, humans feel something but not as intensely. Second, most humans don’t know about our existence. Revealing our secret could send her spiralling into insanity or bring our world crashing down around us.

“I’m closer to humans than wolves,” Agatha added with a yawn. Their toddler daughter, my granddaughter, Anya, was most likely asleep. She had the uncanny ability to keep her parents awake at all hours. And it was apparent last night was no different. “And Kingston still won me over.”

“But you’re a witch,” Kingston reminded her, kissing her forehead. “That’s different.”

“Not really,” she argued with a smirk. “The only difference is that I knew about werewolves… Give her time, win her over, and she might surprise you.”

“Donte!” I called my wolf forward again. He was stung out and confused. “We have a human second chance mate. We need to win over!”

“It seems that way …”

“Well, what are you doing here?” Kingston’s grin was pure mischief, the kind that promised trouble. He gestured theatrically towards the grand staircase, its polished wood gleaming under the chandelier’s light. “Go to her… Win her over with the old White charm…”

My stomach did a slow roll. Years. It had been years since I’d even considered this.

I turned to Alpha George, feeling like a teenager facing his first crush, not a seasoned Beta about to meet his second chance. “It’s been years… I don’t even know how to approach a woman anymore…” The words sounded pathetic, even to my own ears.

Thank the Moon Goddess for Luna Ruth. She stepped forward. Her hand was a warm, grounding presence on my tense shoulder. “Beta Reece, just be yourself. From what I’ve learned from my son’s mate bond… you can’t mess with the Moon Goddesses’ plans. If She has chosen this woman as your mate, no one, not even an Alpha and Luna, can stand in the way.”

Archie, ever the pragmatist, nodded in agreement. “Ruth’s right. Take Louise, Joseph, and Tyrone for example. Few packs can say they are governed by an Alpha, Luna, and her second mate…” His voice trailed off, hinting at the complex tapestry of their lives.

They both had a point, a stark one. Human or not, second chance or not, this woman was my mate. And something primal inside me screamed. I couldn’t waste another second. My legs took over, leading the charge as I flew down the steps, skipping every other one in my haste. My heart hammered against my ribs, a wild, eager drumbeat urging me onward.

Just as I reached the front door, ready to burst outside, a gasp stopped me in my tracks.

“Beta Reece…” Luna Louise’s voice was laced with surprise. She sucked in a startled breath. “You scared me…”

I felt bad. Everyone had been on edge since declaring war against Maddison.

“Sorry, Luna Louise,” I mumbled, turning to see her framed in the doorway to the kitchen, cradling her toddler son, Carter, in her arms. Beta Tyrone and Alpha Joseph stood on either side of her, each holding a toddler daughter, Celeste, and Charlotte. The triplets, now two and a half years old, already radiated an aura of pack strength. The three of them had just returned from a visit to St Janie’s Hospital for the triplets’ checkup.

“Is everything all right?” she asked again, her sharp eyes narrowing, assessing me. “You look… different…” The new Luna, blessed with the soul of Faith Greystone, a werewolf of ancient lineage, possessed a rare combination of strength and compassion. She was the perfect Luna for the Mist Clan, and she saw straight through me.

“Mate…” the word was a raw, guttural sound, escaping my lips involuntarily. I backed towards the front door, my hand already fumbling with the handle. “Mate…”

Tyrone, ever the curious one, tilted his head, cradling Celeste closer. “That woman sitting by her car? We came through the back gates, but I saw her. I was about to see if she needed help.”

Alpha Joseph, his gaze thoughtful, shifted Charlotte gently against his chest. “She’s human… I don’t think we’ve had a human here in… well, a long time.” A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face.

“Yes…” I panted, fighting the urge to bolt. Donte, usually a cool customer, was clawing at the confines of my mind, a frenzied litany of mate, mate, mate echoing through my thoughts. “My second chance…”

“Then go to her,” Alpha Joseph insisted, a knowing wink in his eye. There was a hint of something deeper in his voice, perhaps a memory of his own tumultuous journey to finding happiness. “Don’t be a fool like I was… Go to her…”

Luna Louise offered a warm, encouraging smile. “Don’t miss it… Go…”

Without another word, I exploded out the door, not even bothering to close it behind me. The cool evening air hit my face, a welcome slap that cleared the cobwebs from my brain. Donte was in overdrive now, his primal instinct overwhelming. He repeated mate over and over in my head as we raced towards the imposing wrought-iron double gates, the boundary between the packhouse and the town.

And there she was. Perched on the hood of her battered hatchback, bathed in the ethereal glow of the fading sunlight. Her face was buried in a large sketchbook, her brow furrowed in concentration. I could see smears of grey graphite smudging the side of her cheek, a testament to her artistic passion. She was an artist. I could smell the subtle scent of lead and paper mingling with the far more enticing aroma of chocolate chip cookies. A strange, intoxicating combination that sent a shockwave through my senses.

“Mate… Our mate!” Donte cooed, a smooth purr replacing his earlier panic. His restlessness evaporated at the mere sight of her, replaced by a profound sense of belonging.

The gates, as if sensing my urgency, swung open, revealing the woman in all her captivating ordinariness. She glanced up, startled; her eyes were the darkest, richest brown I had ever seen. They were the colour of deep earth, filled with a weariness that tugged at something deep within me.

“Am I in the way?” she asked, clutching her sketchbook protectively to her chest. Her voice was soft, laced with a nervous tremor. “I’m so sorry if I am… But my car died, and my phone went flat. I think I’m… stranded.”

She offered me a hesitant, apologetic smile, a fleeting glimpse of vulnerability beneath the surface. It was a smile that ignited a fire within me, a protective instinct that burned brighter than anything I had felt in years. This human, covered in graphite and smelling of cookies, was my mate. And I would do anything to protect her.