The Wolf Games

Crescent Moon

Erik POV

I decided to get up early and get some training in before going to Crescent Moon. I didn't sleep much last night, constantly thinking about how I'm going to approach Alpha James about his fated mate. 

Alpha James and I get along, but it's not like I can just come out and say 'hey Alpha, tell me about the mate you rejected'. 

It's only a ten-minute drive to Crescent moon and once I arrive I see Alpha James training his warriors next to the packhouse.  Alpha James is in amazing shape. I think he is the only Alpha who is in his forties who has a body of a 21-year-old. He turns around and sees me and gives me a nod of recognition. I hear him tell his warriors to continue their training and he jogs over to me.

"Erik, it's nice to see you. Are you here to see Naomi?" giving me a nudge between the ribs with a big grin on his face

"Um, sure, yeah...is she around?" I ask, knowing full well that she's not here because I hid from here this morning whilst trying to leave Red Moon.

"I saw her leave early this morning saying to her Dad she was going to find you. You love birds must have missed each other" he chuckles

"yep, seems like it," I say looking out across the field trying to work out how I'm going to approach the subject

"Are the rumors true that you'll be announcing Naomi as your Luna soon?" giving me another nudge of excitement

"Well, it was always the plan if I never found my mate, but I believe I have found her Alpha, and once the games are over I'll be able to confirm it," I say, waiting for the disappointment to show on his face. I know how much he wants me to take over.

"So you have found your mate! Congratulations, I'm surprised your mother hasn't called me with the good news. I mean, I would have loved to have joined packs but this is amazing news Erik. Tell me who is the lucky girl?"

"Well, that's the thing, I smelt her in Rome and lost her scent but I believe there is a chance she's one of the competitors in this year's Wolf Games. Every time I touch her I feel the electric feeling everyone talks about but because we both took the masking tablet I won't know for another three weeks. I won't tell my parents until it's confirmed" I replied.

"I pray that the moon goddess will bring you both together. Never give up on finding her Erik, no other love will compare to the love of your mate. What I would do to see my mate again and feel those sparks just one more time" he sighs and I can see the sadness in his eyes. 

"Tell me about her," I ask, praying that he'll open up and give me some kind of information that could help. He takes a deep breath and starts walking towards the forest and I follow him.

"Her name was Isabel, and we were inseparable. Before we knew we were mates we would spend almost every moment together. Back then women weren't allowed to learn how to fight, but because I was learning to be the future Alpha and I had to train 8 hours a day, I would secretly teach her how to fight just so we could spend every moment together. She was my everything but when we found out we were fated mates on her birthday my father made me reject her because he had already promised me to another" I can hear the pain in his voice and we stop by a huge oak tree and he leans against it. 

"My father said if I didn't reject her he would kill her and her family. My father was a cruel man and I believe he would have done it, so I thought the best thing to do would be to reject her, then run away with her and her family. I had money saved up and we could start a new life somewhere far away. I could have marked her afterward and the bond would be restored. My father locked me up in the cell that night, probably knowing I would have given up my title to be with her, so when I went to find her the next day she had already run away. Even after I married I still thought about Isabel every minute of every day. I would spend any spare moment I had searching for her. I spent so much money on trackers to find her but it's like she just vanished after that night" he recalls

"Do you think there is any chance she is still alive?" I ask, hoping his answer is yes

"I know she is!"

"What? How do you know? Isn't it impossible for anyone to survive an alpha's rejection?"I questioned, shocked by his response

"I can still feel her. I don't know how, but I can feel her emotions still. She's been very anxious lately and I can feel that she is slowly dying... her heart is getting weaker and I don't know why after so many years it's now giving up. I just wish I knew where she was so I could save her" he grieved

"How about her family? Could they know where she is?" I ask hopefully

"Not once did she try. I have used my Alpha command many times to tell me if she had made contact with them and she never did. I just wish it could have been different" he sighs. 

I want to tell him about Sasha but I think it's best for him to see her in person. They say that wolf parents can scent their children. I don't know if it's true but it's worth a try.  I just need to get him to see her compete and see if he has the same reaction as my mum. Imagine if it is his daughter how happy they will both be. Then she can take him to her mum and they can be together again.