The Lost Wolf

The wrong mate.

*Some time later*

“She’s waking up!” The sound of my mums voice echoed through the room and I fluttered my eyes open to see my family and my alpha. To the right of me was Luna Hayley who lay motionless. “Is she okay?”

Alpha Hudson nodded. “Shes okay. You’re okay. How do you feel?”

We’re good.

That voice in my head that I’ve been longing to here since I first turned 18 made my face light up with joy. “She’s here. My wolf. Whatever happened has worked.”

“Do you, Saige Taylor, accept me, Jude Hudson, as your Alpha of Moon glade Pack?”

No.

I hesitated at the choice of words from my wolf, questioning her.

Just say yes.

“Yes.” I repeated, deciding that I’d discuss this with her later. “I accept you.” I knew lying to him was a terrible crime, but I needed to figure out my own head first.

The room erupted with cheering and laughter from each person, except one. Luna Avery’s furrowed eyebrows and daring eyes watched me intently. She knew.

And then it happened. I felt my entire world slip out from under beneath me and suddenly I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. I locked eyes with him and my wolf screamed mate before I even had a chance to register what she had said.

My body flooded with emotions, pain, anger, betrayal, love and l**t. He felt it too as he took a huge step back and his bottom lip began to tremble. I watched as our hearts broke in unison as we knew something was terribly wrong, or that we had been matched incorrectly and would have to reject each other. The pain in knowing that we would hate each other after the rejection and the chances of finding a second chance mate were slim to none was enough to kill a person.

He turned on his heels and fled out of the room. My parents jolted up and my dad followed him out of the room.

“Luke? Son, where are you going?”

***

Once I got home, I was finally alone I was able to question my wolf.

“Whats your name?”

Ecko.

“Why did you say no when Alpha Hudson asked me to accept him?”

He’s not my alpha.

“What do you mean your alpha? Aren’t we a package deal? This doesn’t make any sense to me. Please you need to help me understand.”

Theres a lot I can’t say and a lot I don’t know. Just play along with everyone, and it will all be okay.

“Play along with everyone? Even my brother that you decided to mate with?”

I didn’t decide anything. He’s my… he’s our mate.

“He’s my brother!”

I can’t help who I mate with. It’s fated.

“I have to reject him. As he will reject me.”

NO! She roared. MATE.

“BROTHER.” I found myself having a back and forth argument inside my head with my wolf.

Don’t reject him. Just ignore for a while. We have a lot to do.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at my bedroom door. My mum was standing there with a sweet smile on her face and I moved over a little and patted the bed beside me.

“Now how do you really feel?” She asked as she lay beside me and gripped my hand in hers.

I didn’t really know how to answer this question and I hated lying to my mum. She would never and has never lied to me before… that I know of. “I’m okay. I’m glad whatever worked and I found my wolf.”

“I’m glad too honey. We’ve got some of the pack coming over tonight to celebrate, and we will take you on your first run under the full moon.”

Now I didn’t have to lie, I’ve been longing for my first run. “I can’t wait.”

She kissed my forehead and stood up. “Come on then, help me get some food platters ready.”

Reluctant to face some of my family members yet, I followed her downstairs to where everyone was gathered in the kitchen. I made sure not to engage in eye contact with him so that I couldn’t feel the flood of emotions that made me sick to even feel.

“There she is. My baby girl, all grown up now.” Dad pulled me in for a hug. “Come on, Luke. Give your sister some love.”

His name made my heart drop and flip all at once because of the mate bond. He listened and picked me up, lifting me off the air before placing me down and ruffling my hair with his finger tips. “You’re still a baby to me.” He didn’t make eye contact either, but the touching of our skin electrified throughout my body. I just knew that Ecko was doing flips while I tried to stop myself from gagging at these uncontrollable feelings. I cursed her, she cursed back. Damn my wolf was fiery.

I assisted my mum with preparing some food for our guests for a while before deciding I needed a breather. I sat out on the back porch, trying to piece together what was going on and why this could have happened and how I’m going to deal with it.

His scent was stronger than ever and before I knew I was engulfed in it as he took a seat on the step beside me. I didn’t turn around, we sat in an awkward silence for a minute before he broke it.

“Somethings not right, Saige.” His voice was sad, however monotone and quite serious. He knew what was going to happen if we rejected each other. “This is not right.”

For the first time since my wolf mated with him, I turned around and locked eyes with my brother. The boy who had the same eyes and nose as me, the boy who shares the same blood, genetics and parents as me and the boy who my wolf is mated to for life.

“Have you ever heard of this happening? I can’t understand why. Is there something Mum and Dad aren’t telling us? Are we not related? What if we reject each other and we can still live as brother and sister who love each other?”

He didn’t break my gaze, pondering over what had just been said. “We can’t tell anyone. We have to try and figure it out on our own. You know how we will be treated if anybody found out.”

Tears began streaming down my face and it dawned on me that we couldn’t break this bond easily.

“Cheer up, sis.” He muttered as he stood up and ruffled my hair again before disappearing back into the house.

For years I had dreamed about the first moment of meeting your mate, the flood of emotions that people feel, the longing to just grab that person and hold them as close as possible for as long as possible. The l**t and the need to rip their clothes off and lay n***d for hours and just be in each other’s presence because the love is so intense. The long runs in the night-time, chasing each other and letting the other catch up because you want to be tackled under the moonlight.

I would never feel that.

Let’s run.

Well well, look who it is. What do you think you’re doing back in my mind at this moment? Do you realise how much I despise you.

I didn’t say let’s be friends, I said let’s run.

The full moon is not complete yet, we can’t shift yet.

We can. And we’re about to, so you’d better hurry to the woods.

I didn’t even get a chance to respond before I felt claws poke through the tips of my fingers and I knew that I’d better get out of sight quickly. I jumped off the porch and ran as fast as my legs would take me, ignoring the calls from my family asking what I was doing or where I was going.

The air was cool on my face and the shift was almost instantaneous. I always imagined pain as that’s what I had been told about, but in this moment, all I felt was freedom. I swiftly dodged trees and jumped over logs without even realising that I was doing it. I stopped at the lake and paused in front of it, leaning forward so I could get a glimpse of what my wolf looked like.

She was chocolate brown with long fur, and her claws were much longer than I expected, she was muscular and tall, she stood on her back legs easily. Her brown eyes bore deep into my soul. She was different to other werewolves, but I guess I am different. I felt liberated, but at the same time I felt even more alone and confused. Why can I shift when there is no full moon and why don’t I look like other werewolves?

I decided that I am just special and figured I better find at least one thing about my coming of age that I’m okay with.

Ecko took over my body movements now, she was in charge and she sure as hell was going to let me know.

She turned swiftly and leapt off into the forest with some fierce and ferociousness I wasn’t sure that I would ever stop. We ran for what seemed like 5 seconds, but all the smells were different now and I knew I wasn’t near my home any longer.

A ruffle in the trees behind us caused Ecko to hunch down in defence. We crawled behind some large shrubs and scanned the area intently, slowly creeping to try and see what was about.

“I know you’re there. Come out so I can see you.” The male voice was firm, warm and unfamiliar. “I won’t bite. Hard.”

Ecko crept out with a snarl, still slightly hunched and ready to pounce if necessary.

“Can you shift back? I’m not going to hurt you, but I feel on edge with you in that form and me not knowing who you are.”

Ecko fought me, but I was able to follow his direction and shift back to human form. “Who are you?”

A man stepped out from behind a tree and looked me up and down, I did the same. He was beautiful, his dark brown hair and dark skin made his bright blue eyes shine. He was tall and muscular, probably in his early twenties. “My name is Alex.”

“Saige. What are you?”

He chuckled and took a step closer. “Hi Saige. That’s not really the friendliest introduction is it? What are you? Well, I am what you are silly.”

He’s a werewolf too. “What pack are you from?”

He laughed again and began to speak before voices erupted from the distance but before I knew it, I was surrounded by 4 other men.

My heart began to race and my stomach dropped. I had nowhere to turn. “Please don’t hurt me. Its my first run. I wandered too far.”

“Who are you.” A man questioned, he sounded kind, and Ecko seemed to trust him. “There’s no other clans like us around here that I know of. Are you on your own? Do you need shelter?”

I instantly felt at ease for some reason. “I-Im okay.” I didn’t want to say too much incase there was a reason why they hadn’t heard about my pack. “I just need to go.”

“Come with us, and you can tell us all about where you came from.”

I felt like this was not a question, I simply nodded and then found myself back in shape form and following these men through the woods, in the complete opposite direction of my home.

The scenery was incredible, the crystal clear lakes, the mountains in the distance, the beautiful oak trees, there was nothing that felt like this.

As we neared a village, the men shifted back to human while running, and began cheering and high fiving each other as their run turned in a walk. Mine wasn’t so smooth, as I tried to shift back, I kicked a stumped and flipped myself, rolling at least 10 times before I landed flat on my back, facing the sky.

“You weren’t wrong, this is your first run.” Alex laughed and held out a hand, pulling me to my feet. “Come inside, my mum is cooking a roast.”

Silently, I followed Alex into a large home along with the men trailing closely behind.

“Welcome back, boys.” A gorgeous women with long brown hair, bright blue and warm smile turned to greet us. She would definitely have to be Alex’s mum, their similar features were uncanny. “And who might you be?” She smiled sweetly at me.

“Her name is Saige. We found her alone in the woods.” Alex spoke for me.

Her eyebrows furrowed and fear melted through her eyes, she swept passed me and grabbed one of the older men, dragging him away.

“Don’t mind her, she worries about anything new that could bring danger. But I can sense you’re okay.” Alex smiled at me and led me to a table where he pulled out a chair for me to sit on.

“Why are you so trusting and kind toward me?”

“We are kind to everyone. Trust will come in time. But with us, you’re innocent until proven guilty.” He smiled. “Besides, your scent is familiar. I mean, it was familiar when you were in form. It’s a little different now, so that intrigues me. Anyway. Eat up!”

This felt wrong, but also right. I was never one to willingly engage with strangers but for some reason, these people didn’t feel so strange.

“Al!” A girls voice boomed from behind us, and a girl with long brown hair ran towards Alex, who stopped to lift her body up in his arms and engulf her in a hug. “You’re back!” Again, would have to be another member of their family, they definitely have strong genes. Minus the bright blue eyes, hers with large and brown, they literally glistened from the light.

She turned to me, confused. “Who are you?”

“Essie this is Saige. Saige this is my little sister Esmerelda.” He sat her down on the chair in between us before starting to fill his plate.

Ecko was doing flips inside my head, she was excited for some reason. I decided to shut her out, she’s done enough damage for now.

“Hi Esmerelda.” I nodded at her. “I like your dress.”

“Thank you, Alex bought it as an early birthday present. I’m 18 next month.. And you can call me Essie.”

“Oh wow, happy birthday for then and he’s got good taste.” I found myself slyly winking at Alex and had to catch myself.

“Where do you come from?”

“I come from…” I stopped myself. “Around.”

“Is my brother trying to seduce you?” Her eyes darted to Alex who almost choked on the mouthful of food he had just shovelled.

“No, we just met. I’m just Saige.”

“Well just Saige. It’s nice to meet you.”

She was cute and I liked her. “You too.”

She smiled and filled her plate.

I took a moment to scan the room, so many unfamiliar faces yet I felt like I was one of them. Everybody laughed and chattered, not one person was eyeing me off or worried about my presence. I wondered what everybody at home was thinking, probably stressing about my whereabouts, maybe even out looking for me.

“Guess what, Essie?” Alex began. “Saige had her first run today. That will be you soon.”

Essie grinned with excitement. “What was it like? I heard it’s amazing.”

“You heard correctly. I’ve never felt freer.”

Dinner went by quickly and after the table was cleared up, the vibe of the room turned a little bit more serious.

“Saige, although we have already welcomed you with open arms, we need you to tell us where you’re from and how you found yourself in our neck of the woods. It’s not often a stranger appears around here. My name is Daniel.” The large man who had spoken to me earlier looked at me intently from across the table.

“Hi Daniel. As I mentioned before, It was my first run. I wasn’t meaning to stray so far, my wolf took control and I ended up here. I’m very sorry if I have caused any inconveniences.”

He laughed. “Yes, we have all experienced our new wolves trying to take the lead. Yours led you here, that’s what has me confused.”

“Oh trust me, you’re not the only one.”

“So please, indulge us. Where are you from, Miss Saige?”

“I come from—. “ I was cut off by a large door that squeaked as it opened.

A young girl around my age rushed in, apologising for being late. She skipped over and planted a peck on Alex’s forehead before sitting down beside him, I heard Essie growl under her breath. “What did I miss?”

She was stunning, Victoria’s Secret stunning, her hair was strawberry blonde, a few red freckles on her face and teeth whiter than my future, and although she had a smile with her perfect dimples on her face, she made me feel uneasy.

“Well, Saige here—.” Daniel began to speak until I cut him off.

“I’m so sorry, to all of you, I am feeling really overwhelmed and It’s time for me to leave. I hope you can all understand I am truly sorry for trespassing, and I hope you will let me leave respectfully.” I stood up and placed my napkin on the table.

Daniel waved his arms. “It’s not a jail, Saige. You can go. I know we will see you again one day. There was a reason why your wolf led you here.”

“Uh, yes. Thank you for the food.” With that, I turned on my heels and swiftly exited the building.

Before I reached the forest, I turned to have one last glance at this beautiful place, only to run headfirst into a body.

“You think you can get away that easily?” Alex looked down upon me, our chests were inches apart. “Without saying goodbye?”

“Oh uh, sorry! Goodbye.” I manoeuvred around him.

“I’ll see you soon, Saige. I was meant to find you, and I will find you again.” His voice was warm, beautiful and comforting. I could have easily stopped and stayed with him in that moment, but I knew I had to get home.

I began to run and his voice echoed behind me. “Don’t trip this time!”