His Oblivious Mate

Chapter 10 : Caleb

He left the packhouse, walking till he was well into the woods, then he stripped out of his clothes, hiding them in one of the trees, hollowed out for this purpose. He called on his wolf, and felt his canines grow, protruding from behind his lips. His chin disappeared, his nose and mouth elongated into a snout. Sharp claws replaced his nails, fur sprouted out of his skin and his bones broke and rearanged themselves into his wolf's form. He went down on all fours, and where a man just stood less than two seconds prior, a huge black wolf with golden eyes was in his place. He took off running through the woods, and reached old man Johnson's ground. Or what used to be his. As an Alpha, he had supernatural speed.

When he came to the cabin, he padded to where he saw the huge owl perched in the tree. "Good evening Owen" he greeted. "Evening Alpha. Welcome back" Owen answered. "Where is she?". "Sleeping, Alpha" came the reply. "Can you see her from there?" he asked, a tinge of jealousy at the thought of another man gazing upon what he thinks might be his mate. "No Alpha" Owen answered. "It didn't feel right looking at her when she doesn't know I am here" he answered, peering down at the wolf with big yellow eyes. "I chose this branch because I can keep watch from here, and hear what is going in the cabin, but it gives her privacy". "That is thoughtful. Thank you. Any suspicious activity or signs of danger?". He was briefed by Duncan about the rogue that Owen killed a few days ago. "Nothing so far, Alpha". "Take the night off, I will stay here till dawn" he commanded. "As you wish Alpha" and with that Owen spread his wings and took off, disappearing into the night sky.

He watched the owl fly away, then he padded around the cabin. He saw her car and trotted towards it. Her scent still lingered and he smelt the most amazing scent of peaches and cream. He stood breathing it in, following it to the door. He was badly tempted to shift and open the door, just to see if he could get a glimpse of her. But the possibility of her waking up and catching him, a naked stranger in her house ogling her, did not sound like a very good first impression. He did not want her to ever view him in a negative light. He waited for his mate for so long, he could wait one more night. He was thirty. Most wolves met their mates from the age of eighteen. He thanked the moon goddess for finally blessing him with his other half.

He lay down in front of her door, curling his tail around his body. He perked his ears when he heard heavy footsteps in the woods. They didn't come closer. He immediately knew who it was. "What are you doing Bert?" he sent through the link. "Just patrolling Alpha" came the reply. "Thank you. Let me know if you find anything that isn't supposed to be here". "Will do Alpha" came the reply, before the footsteps faded away.

He stayed alert till well after the new dawn coloured the sky in golden hues. When he heard movement from within the cabin, he rose quietly, disappearing into the trees. He looked back at the cabin longingly, waiting to see if she might come outside, or look out the window, but there was no sign of her. Sighing, he ran back to the packhouse, requesting his third in command, Leon, to patrol and guard Cathy.

"Do you think you can arrange a meeting between us?" he asked Cass later at the breakfast table. "I need to confirm that she is my mate". "I will think of a reason for us to drop by her place Alpha. When do you want to go?" she asked, sipping her coffee. "This afternoon, if it is possible Cass. I just need a little rest first" he answered. "No problem. I will text her and see what I can arrange" she smiled. He was satisfied. He got up from the table and took his plate and cup to the kitchen. Then he went to his room and took a warm shower. Dressed in boxers, he flopped down on his bed,crossing his arms behind his head. Looking at the blue sky outside the window, he tried imagining what she looked like, how her voice would sound, what type of person she was. He already questioned Duncan, Owen, Cass, Bert and Athena, and from what he could gather from them, she sounded like an absolute lovely person, inside out. With thoughts of her on his mind, he fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, it was noon. He felt refreshed, and dressed quickly. He pulled on his jeans, a warm top and running shoes. He splashed cold water on his face, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair. He felt as nervous as a teenager on his first date. "Get a grip Caleb. You are going to frighten her away and she doesn't even know you yet" he scolded himself. Shaking his head, he left his room.

He went downstairs and found Cass and Duncan in front of the tv. "She is busy painting the inside of her cabin. I volunteered all of our help" she answered the unasked question. Grinning from ear to ear he said "You are a genius Cass. Thank you, I owe you". "Oh, I know. I will collect my favour sooner or later" she said, smirking. "Now that sounds dangerous" Duncan remarked with a lopsided grin, causing Cass to slap his arm. "Bert and Owen are on their way, we can leave when you are ready" she said, getting up and stretching.

Cathy was balancing on the step ladder, humming to Queen playing in the background, painting the wall above the kitchen cupboard. She rolled the roller with the pastel blue evenly over the wall, being careful not to get paint on the cupboards. She cursed herself for forgetting to buy broad masking tape. She asked Cass to bring some when she came over. She heard a vehicle driving up to the cabin, so she got down from the ladder and placed the tray and roller on the counter. She wiped her hands on the handtowel and opened the door, waiting to greet her guests.

Cass, Duncan, Bert and Owen were walking up the path. And with them was the most handsome man she ever laid eyes on. He was even taller than Owen, had jet black hair, dark brown eyes and a gorgeous smile. He had a sharp nose and strong jaw. And he was well built. She could make out the outline of muscles on his arms and legs through his clothing. He looked deep into her eyes, when he stopped in front of her. Holding out his hand he said "Hi, I am Caleb". His voice was deep and made her think of dark chocolate. Shaking the thought away, she took the offered hand, and felt tingles from where they touched. "I am Cathy, pleased to meet you". She felt herself blushing and pulled her hand from his, greeting the others, that watched the exchange with open curiosity.

A million thought raced through his mind. She is his mate, was the most important one. She is human, she doesn't know about shifters. How would she react if she found out. He will have to tell her, but how. He wondered briefly if he could google how to tell this beautiful human woman that he is a shifter. A creature viewed by human folklore as a monster. She is more beautiful than he imagined. He could get lost for days in her green eyes. And he wanted to touch her hair to see if it felt as soft as it looked. He even wondered what their pups would look like, and then crushed that thought. First things first, he had to get to know her, so he could figure out how to win her heart. He made her a mental promise to never force her to be with him. In his culture, a shifter took his mate with him when he found her. But his mate is human, and he will have to do things in a human way.

Not showing any sign of the battle within, he followed the others inside. Cathy made them hot chocolate, and then they got to work. He stole glances of her whenever he could. She caught him staring a few times, blushing and looking away quickly. This made him want to hug her tight against him and kiss her on her cute button nose. "She is the one, isn't she?" Duncan asked in mind link. "Yes. She is my mate and your future luna. She just doesn't know it yet. And I have no idea how to tell her" he confided to his beta, and best friend. "We will figure it out. But till we do, one day at a time". He smiled gratefully at Duncan. He heard Cass squeal, and when he turned around he saw that she had a paint stripe on her cheek, and Cathy was laughing. Cass lunged at Cathy playfully, brandishing a loaded brush like a sword. Cathy ran, hiding behind him, and before he could do a thing, he was caught in the middle of a paint war.

He tried to get out from between the two women, but he ended up with a blue stripe across his face and a purple one on his arm. So he did what any normal person would do. He grabbed his roller with yellow paint, and chased them. Grabbing Cass by the arm, he decorated her chin with a dab of paint, and then turned to Cathy. She was laughing, and when he tried to grab her, she slipped past him and ran to the door. She flung it open and ran outside. When the door opened, his face became serious. The wind carried a foul stench over. Rogues.