The Cruel Mate

2. Intruders near the border

I woke up to the sound of my mother’s voice, comforting me yet again from another nightmare. I silently cried in her arms, I just wish the dreams would go away, it’s been 5 years since I escaped him.

“How was patrol?” My mother asked, attempting to steer my away from my thoughts.

“Boring as always, no one ever comes to these mountains. Well maybe except wild animals.”

“I don’t want to scare you Ash but..” My mother paused with worry in her sea blue eyes.

“What mom? Please don’t pause like that.” I could feel my heart beat quicken with the look on her face.

“One of the warriors told Alpha Sam he could smell a few wolves near the border, but they didn’t smell like rogues. They seem to be testing the border or looking for someone.” She looked at me with fear in her eyes.

“S-s-uu-rely it can’t be him. It’s been 5 years! I cried out, I could hear Ice whine in my head. She was just as scared as I was.

“We don’t know for sure, but for the time being we will carry on as normal. It’s probably just some wolves passing through. I am meeting with alpha sam today to talk about it.”

“It’s been 5 years!” I said again. “Im sure he has forgotten about me.”

My mom sighed. “The thing about the mate bond, it never lets you forget your mate. Your dad died 10 years ago and I will think about him every day. A part of me died that day with him. It hurts to be away from him.” I knew she was right, there’s no way he has forgotten about me. He was probably just upset I was no longer under his control or his toy to play with. I shivered at the thought of him.

“Let’s eat breakfast, you have patrol to get to. Please just be safe.” We ate in silence until it was time for me to leave. I shifted and ran over to the border and relived the guard. He said nothing happened and he hasn’t smelt any other wolves. I felt a weight get lifted off my shoulders. Maybe they truly were just passing through. I just couldn’t get this knawing feeling out of my gut.

As I walked through the snowy forest, I felt a set of eyes watching me with every step. “Do you feel that?” Ice whined in my head. I looked around and kept trying to find the source with no luck. I walked back to the station a few hours later to get relived from my shift, but I still felt the eyes watching me. I hurried home, running past the snowy huts. I walked inside and shut the door behind me, sliding down the door. I finally felt like I could breathe. What the h*** was that? It couldn’t be him? Could it? I shrunk down on the floor and held my knees as I calmed down my breathing. I felt a knock at the door and I felt my body freeze in place.

“Ash, it’s Alpha Sam.” I jumped to my feet and opened the door.

“Hi Alpha Sam, how can I help you?”

“Your mother told me about the nightmares you have been having.” He looked at me with pity in his eyes. I hated that, I hated that look everyone gave when they found out.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said. “It’s just hard to process everything.”

“I understand but if you want to talk i’m here” I thanked him and quickly shut the door. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Unable to fall asleep due to my thoughts. I was grateful everyone was worried about me but I hated to be a burden. Everyone was always checking on me, but that’s to be expected of a pack so small. Everyone knew everyone. My mate was not always so bad, that’s what I was having a hard time with. When he first met he was so loving, it’s like a switched flipped and he turned to a monster. A part of me missed him, and I felt crazy for feeling that way. But he was my mate after all.