The Runaway Luna's Daughter

Found My Mate

Luca's POV

That was it. I knew. I knew my father would go ahead with his promise. I hadn't found a mate. At least to the best of his knowledge.

The bed creaked as I lowered myself into it, tired and frustrated. I had to go find her—the girl that I had saved in the woods that night. My mate.

But I needed to rest. My whole body ached. My eyes burned from staying awake all night.

But sleep eluded me. I tossed around in my bed restlessly. My eyes stared at the clock.

2:08 P.M. When did it get so late?

“We should go look for her. Now.”

It was my wolf, Zak.

“Remember how you didn't want her? Because she had no wolf?” I reminded him.

“How do you think your father would have liked her if you had brought her home that night?” he purred in my head.

He was right. My father would have been against it. He wouldn't hear of it. His only son and heir mated to a wolf-less girl. But right now, I had no choice. I had to show him I had a mate. I had been mated to a wolfless girl and I needed him to see for himself. Maybe that'd make him lay off me.

I sprang up from my bed, slipped into a shirt. My mind was made up. I had to go find her. Elisha's help would have come in handy in times like this. He loved these types of things. He was good at it. But I didn't want to bother him. I had to do this alone.

I looked at myself in the mirror, my bag pack slung over my shoulder. I had stuffed some clothes into it. I would need it if I was going to shift and very likely, I was.

I could hear my father's voice—faint and low—as I walked down the long hallway of the pack house.

“Yes. They couldn't make it today. They'd be here by tomorrow,” I heard him say.

Who exactly would be here by tomorrow? He didn't take any visitors immediately after the Bloodrink festival and yet, he had said “they couldn't make it today.” Whoever it was he expected the very morning of the festival would be important. But who?

“Luca,” I heard him call through the mind link.

What now?

I pushed the door open into his room. Karl was there with him at the study. It all made sense now. Karl must've scented me and told him. His sharp nose could scent anything. Or maybe, my father had heard me. His sharp ears was one edge he had over all the wolves in the pack. Maybe I wasn't as good at this stealth thing as I thought. Elisha had offered to teach me. At a price of course. Maybe it was time I reconsidered his offer.

The Alpha's eyes surveyed me, resting on my backpack briefly. His eyes squinted. His mouth quivered like he had something to say about it but let it go.

“We're expecting visitors tomorrow,” he said instead. “Important visitors.”

“Okay,” I said flatly. I was running out of time.

“You have to be there, Luca.”

“Okay.” I said again.

I caught Karl's look—the squinted-eyed look. The suspicious look.

“Is that everything, Alpha?” I asked.

“Go on Luca. Get the hell outta here.”

I bowed very deeply before turning to the door. I saw their brows raise as they glanced at each other. My actions were intentional. If he could decide to mate me with a she-wolf of his own choosing without caring about what I wanted, he was better off as my Alpha than my father.

The door thudded behind me as I walked hurriedly out the pack house heading for the gates. I headed towards the Blood-rink.

Some of the pack warriors were there waiting on the omegas as they tidied up the rink. I approached them. If anyone saw anything, it would be them.

“Gregor,” I called as I approached them.

I hadn't seen him at the pack house gates. It was safe to assume he was here.

“Warren, sire,” a wolf replied. “Gregor isn't here.”

“You were on guard during the festival?”

He nodded.

“Did you notice anything strange? Someone leaving before the festival ended… a she-wolf?”

I saw his eyebrows raise a little.

“Not at all, sire.”

“Are you sure about that?” My eyes burned into his. His face remained calm and expressionless.

“I'm sure.”

I saw the other wolves exchange glances. I didn't know if he was telling the truth. His eyes said something else but his heartbeat remained steady. This wasn't going as I'd planned.

I turned around, my eyes surveying the woods. Where the hell would I start from? Better start from somewhere than go home without doing nothing.

And so I plunged myself into the trees, eyes darting. I had to find her. I had no choice.

I was well deep into the woods when I got something. A faint scent. It was her. I was close. I could feel it.

I stashed my backpack on a tree before shifting. I'd need something to wear later.

Zak raced towards the scent, my heart pounding hard against my chest. I was finally going to see her. Going to see my mate.

Her scent led to the cliff. The cliff where I had stood the day I'd found out about Noah's death. How did she know about that place?

I found her there at the edge of the cliff, curled into herself, naked! What the hell happened here?

The same protective instinct that I had felt the first time I'd seen her kicked in again—the strong, raw need to keep her safe.

I shifted back. The scent still hovered around her. Seeing my mate naked, it took all the willpower I could muster to not claim her. I wasn't going to do it. She was passed out. I had to get her to safety first.

The warm evening sun grazed against her exposed skin as I bent to pick her up. Just then, my eyes caught something else. Another girl curled up by the side. She was naked too. Her hair looked familiar. The curves of her body… I'd seen them before. Felt them before. They looked older now. More defined. More feminine.

I walked up to her, turning her face around. It was her. It was Laura.