My Past, My Alpha

The Mate

I made my way into the woods, the moon was bright and it helped me scan the area around me. Nothing looked familiar. I smelled the air, nothing. I knew I had ran far, but not into unfamiliar territory. I slowly moved into the woods and sniffed in all directions. Nothing smelled familiar!

There should have been a scent from my territory. We made sure to put our scent in the area to mark it. I kept moving forward, there had to be something. Panic started to slowly set in, my pace quickened. I was running at full speed trying to see or smell anything. Nothing! I couldn't think anymore, I was just running wildly through the woods. I was lost! I kept looking in all directions trying to focus. I felt my tears again, I was crying.

Faster and faster I ran, the forest seemed so different. I heard something to my right, as I turned my head, my leg tripped in a hole and I stumbled forward. The speed mixed with the fall sent me straight into a low hanging branch. I laid on the ground in pain, panting and whimpering. My head was spinning and my sight was blurry. My eyes shut and my wolf slowly shifted back to human form. I was hurt, bad.

I was in and out of consciousness as my body tried to heal. My eyes fluttered open and I saw a dark figure above me. I could not focus, all I saw was darkness. The figure got down on one knee by my side.

I felt him inhale the scent of me deeply. I could feel his arms underneath my back and my knees. He picked me up with ease. He pulled me close to his body and inhaled me deeply again.

"Mate." he whispered softly.

The scent of the sea and driftwood filled my nostrils. A warmth took over my body and I moved my head under his neck. He smelled so good, tiny tingles coursed through my body. It felt like an electric shock, my body was alive!

"Mate." I whispered, as I put my nose into his neck. My body fell limp as I passed out in his arms.

I woke up, my eyes blinked rapidly as they tried to adjust. I was in a cabin laying in a small bed. The blanket that covered my body was bear fur. My body still ached and there was some pain in my face. My eye was swollen and my mouth cut. I remembered I was running through the woods when I hit my face. I rubbed my hand over the area that was still a little tender.

I was healing, but it was slow. I would be alright. I was alone in the cabin, but the smell of driftwood lingered in the air and it smelled amazing. The cabin was one room. There was a fire in the fireplace. A table with two chairs was against the wall under a window. There were shelves with different items and clay containers. There were two windows, one on each side of the front door. There was another chair next to the fireplace. It was cozy.

I slowly sat up and saw my clothes were laying on the back of the chair by the fireplace. Someone took my clothes off! I looked at the fabric that I was wearing. It reminded me of a nightgown my great-great grandmother might have worn. I was not sure how I got to this cabin or how I got into this nightgown, but it felt safe. I felt no threat here.

My stomach growled. I was starving. I was not sure how many hours or days had passed. I had no sense of time being in the cave. I looked around the room and saw a loaf of bread on the table. I tore myself off some and sat in the chair by the fireplace. The events that happened replayed in my mind and I was flooded with anger.

My mother was gone and I had no idea if my father knew I was alive. I wondered how many people escaped safely. I couldn't believe that my mother was dead. I thought I would have had forever with her. We didn't have any enemies. I remembered when we had heard stories of the new were-creatures. Were-bears were rumored to be in our area. My father sent word to their Alpha, but got no response.

The only thing that we could do was double our defenses on the border that was close to theirs. No one had seen a bear, not until that night. The memory of the man flooded my head. The wicked smile on his face as he killed my mother. I was going to kill that man bear. I would avenge my mother. He would look at me in my face as I cut his throat. I would have the same smile on my lips!

I gripped the arms of the chair so tightly I could hear the wood creak under my hands. If I didn't calm down I would break the chair and this wasn't my house.

I hadn't realized how fast I ate the bread because of my anger, but the hunger wasn't there anymore. I knew that I would be hungry again.

The door opened slowly and I ran back to the bed. I covered my body as the smell of driftwood filled the air. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. I knew that smell!

The man that walked through the door was tall. His muscular body took up the entire door frame. His skin was brown, like the color of a deer. His jet black hair was pulled tightly back into a braid that fell on the right side of his shoulder. He was wearing pants and shoes that look like moccasins.

He stepped forward into the light revealing full lips, a perfect nose, and eyes that were as ice blue as.............mine.

I watched him as he moved into the room and shut the door. He looked at me kindly.

"Mate. Please, do not be afraid." His voice was soft.

"Mate." That was the only word that I could say. Amaya was howling inside. She knew that this man was our mate. Mate! Mate! Mate! She kept repeating.

He moved closer to me. He leaned in to see my face and I inhaled his scent. My eyes closed while I was taking him in and all I could think of was one thing. Kiss!

I leaned into his face and put my lips gently on his. The kiss was innocent, but the electricity was amazing. Bolts ran all over my body, my senses heightened and my body awoke to him. I felt him press harder like he was drinking me in. I felt like our bodies would melt together. I pulled back slowly and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"No, do not be sorry. I wanted to kiss you, too." He said. He wanted to kiss me, too? I had no idea why I couldn't think about anything when he was near me. I was not sure if I could remember my own name. He moved his hand over my cheek and rested it under my chin. We stared in each other's eyes. I felt like when I looked into his eyes I could see his soul. I saw my other half. He broke the eye contact and I could see he was looking at my face and examining my wound.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"I hurt just a little, but I am better, now." I smiled at him. I could see a crooked smile formed on his perfect lips.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No, not at the moment. I had some of the bread that was on the table." I replied. He sat on the floor at my feet, still close to me.

"Where am I?" I asked him.

"You are with my pack, the Blackwater pack. I found you in the woods. I was patrolling and heard a crash. I followed it and I came upon you. You had an accident and I picked you up and brought you back to my home." he said.

"My pack was attacked by bears. I just ran like my mother told me to do and I found a cave that I hid in. I found my way out and I got lost in the woods. I guess in my panic I stumbled and hurt myself." I explained.

"Your pack was attacked by bears? A wolf pack should have an easy time taking down bears. We are stronger, smarter. They are dumb and fat." he looked puzzled.

"No, these weren't regular bears. These were shifting bears. They were a new creature to our area. They were massive. I had never seen anything quite as large as they were." I told him. He still looked at me strangely.

"I am sorry, I have never heard of shifting bears. You said you hid in a cave. There are no caves in the area either. You must have taken a really hard fall." he said as his hand stroked the side of my face.

"I remembered going into the cave. I slept on a small ledge and when I woke up, I found my way out and into the woods." I said, feeling my body move closer to his hand. His touch was soft but I felt the calluses that were on his palm.

"When you feel better we will explore and you can show me the cave." he said gently.

"I think I need to lay down again, my head seems to be cloudy." I laid down. He helped me get comfortable and covered me with fur. There was one thing that came to my mind. If this was his house and this was his bed, where would he sleep tonight? There wasn't enough room for two people in the bed and I knew that he was my mate, but we couldn't share a bed.

He seemed to have read my mind, he walked over to the door and latched the lock that he had made. He walked over to a box next to the fireplace and pulled out another blanket. He laid it on the floor next to the bed. He went to the fire and threw a couple of logs on. He was preparing us for bed. My mate! I found my mate and he was amazing! I was laying on my side watching his every move. He laid on his back, his hands were behind his head. My mate was right next to me on the floor.

"Mate?" he asked,"what is your name?"

"My name is Rain." I replied.

"Rain," he repeated, "my name is Adriel."

"Adriel, that is a beautiful name." I said to him.

"Not as beautiful as Rain." I felt his hand over mine. This had to be a dream. I knew I would be awake soon. My eyes shut and I fell asleep. Sometime during the night I woke and heard his soft breathing while he slept. My face still hurt, but now my body ached, too.

I was thirsty. I sat up and inched my way to the end of the bed. I tried to be as quiet as possible. I did not want to wake him up. There was a bucket with a ladle in it on the table.

I tiptoed towards it and drank the cool water. Some of the water spilled onto the nightgown from the corner of my mouth that was busted. I was really thirsty and dipped the ladle back into the water again.

I walked slowly towards one of the windows by the front door. I looked out and there were many cabins around. There were some fires outside to light different walkways. There were some pack members patrolling. The men had the same physique as Adriel. Some did not wear shirts and others were wearing a kind of vest.

I felt safer with men patrolling. The bears would not attack here.

I walked back to the bed and laid down. There were howls in the distance. The wolves were communicating. This was common. Adriel shifted to his side and I pretended to close my eyes. He sat up to check on me. I made my breathing sound like I was asleep.

He moved a strand of hair from my face. He looked intently at me. He was looking at the bruising. He gently placed his lips on my forehead and kissed me softly. He pulled the blanket to cover me.

"I will protect you, my love." he whispered.