Maze of Trees

The Inevitable

    Suddenly that stupid, god-awful, heavenly scent hit me, and boy was it strong. How could it be this strong when there were so many other smells that competed together for attention? The strength of it told me that he was close this time, but with the crowds of people, most of whom were taller than me, I couldn’t find him right away and that put me on edge. I had always dreaded meeting my mate, hoping that I would be strong enough to hold to my wants and dreams over the mate bond. Now, that time had finally come, where I would get to find out how strong I could really be! But, try as I might, my eyes couldn’t find him. He had to be here somewhere and, dammit, if I was curious who he was, what he looked like. if he was.......

    “Earth to A,” Clarke’s hand waved in front of my face disrupting my thoughts. “This some mind of werewolf-y thing or are you that in love with this place?” She asked looking curious, but I also noted a hint of concern in her question as well.

    “A wolf-y thing. I think my mate is here, and he’s pretty close." I said, my eyes still scanning the crowd. and I heard her gasp, one of her hands coming up to grab at my forearm.

    “Mate? You mean the one that takes over your whole world. Who you won’t be able to live without? The one you put everything on Hold for, move in with them and their pack. and adhere to their laws and rules without question?” she looked at me uneasily? I understood her fear. I Had explained to Her about the werewolf mate bond and what I had been told about it. Truthfully. I was as uneasy as she was. And both of us were afraid that we would lose something because of that bond. I feared losing myself, and she feared losing me.

    "C, you know that I won’t let that happen, I’m not ready so I won't allow myself to be swayed away from my hopes, my dreams, my life, and my friends. Not for anything.” I assured her. Clarke had become more than just a friend, she was all that I really had in this world anymore. So, to hell with this mate bond, and this mate, and anything or anyone who tried to separate us or get in-between us. She nodded, reassured, linking her am through mine, and I could tell she was already over and done with that negative train of thought!

“Let's go take a picture with that bronze pig !” A tradition of ours every time we visited the market. We always load to take a picture with Rachel the Piggybank. “And let’s see if those fishermen miss any of the fish that get thrown their way!” She giggled! We always enjoyed the show that the Pike Place Fish guys put on whenever anyone placed an order, or sometimes just for fun! It was the perfect place to start our walk as both were located right below the clock and was a main gathering area for most tourists. So starting here early would be ideal before the tourist rush appeared and made it impossible to get pictures.

We walked along the uneven road, past the first Starbucks store, and to Rachel. After taking our photo with her we ooh’ed and ahh’ed with the best of them as the Pike Place Fish guys tossed fish effortlessly through the air. Clapping at the false blunders that made everyone catch their breath. How they did it I will never know, but it was a position I would ever want to be in because I would mess it up terribly no doubt. As we worked our way down through the market, taking free samples of fresh fruit from the fruit stall vendors, we enjoyed taking our time to really look in the little curio shops that were on either side of the halls under the top floor of the market. We finally got down to the bottom of the market and waited by the Parking Squid, a large giant squid sculpture that also served as a bike rack for travelers, for the right time to cross! As we waited, we heard a long, loud, horn blast coining from our left. We both looked at each other and knew we had had the same thought!

    “Pier 52 here we come!” I half shouted excitedly, grabbing Clarkes arm to pull her across the street faster. I loved the ferry boats and the routes they took, even the short ones, were always enjoyable for me. Clarke liked them too, but I think she liked them for the fact that it gave her a break from keeping up with my fast pace. We jogged past the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Great Wheel, Ye Old Curiosity Shop, and arrived at the ticket booth. This would be the hard part, deciding which route we would choose to tame. Suddenly Mefitis broke through, having had enough of holding her tongue. I had been wondering when she would get tired of my ignoring the obvious.

    He’s still here! Why are you ignoring him, and I know you are so don't even pretend that you haven't been aware of him this whole time!” She almost sounded a little snobbish. and honestly quite disgruntled. I had been so busy trying to block her out while having fun I hadn’t noticed that my mate’s scent had stayed constant the entire time. Never getting weaker and never getting stronger. This meant he was following but keeping himself at a distance and unknown. I must admit this did intrigue me slightly. “You need to find hint! Screw your stupid boat, this is much more important!” If I could have punched her I would have. our trips to the market were sacred, and nothing was more important than our time with Clarke here.

    “If he follows us onto the ferry then I will try and find him for you. it shouldn’t be too hard as there won‘t be anywhere for him to go.” I growled. That would make it much faster and less painful to try and search him out. “Deal?”

    “Deal!” she practically purred. She sounded like she had the smile of a satisfied cat who had just fallen into the milk pail and drank it all.

    Clarke and I surveyed the destinations. We chose not to take the Bremerton ferry route as that could take an hour and a half just one way. We didn’t want something too long, just something that would be a nice rest and a good length of time for us to eat lunch and enjoy the sights and nice weather. We chose to go the Bainbridge island route, a half hour shorter each way, and the perfect length of time. We purchased our tickets, waited in line, and boarded the ferry via their walkway. The clunking of tires as cars drove over the metal gang plank below us.

    “He’s here.' He followed us!” My wolf practically crowed! I almost checked to make sure no one had heard her, she had been so loud in my head!

    “Would you stop your fan-girling and pipe down; the boat hasn’t even left yet. He could still be on the pier and just watching us but not coming with.” A statement that I hoped to the goddess would be true!

    “humph, spoil sport ” was the only response that I got. Boy oh boy was my wolf in a mood today!

    Clarke was too preoccupied staring out across the water from the deck of the ferry to notice me having an inner war with myself. From where we stood, we could see Seacrest Park to the south and the busy harbor coast, lined with cranes that I had always called the giant's chairs, as well as the top of century link field. If we looked north, we could see the aquarium pier jutting out into the sound as well as the great wheel. The breeze blowing in from the sound, the sound of seagulls, and the waves hitting the boat. The pier truly was an amazing thing for the senses to take in. If not for the sound of the engine and the noise from traffic and crowds of people you could almost imagine yourself on a pacific northwest vacation at a secluded beach cabin.

I turned away from the rail and leaned back against it. Studying the faces around us carefully making sure not to linger on any specific one but not to skip over anyone either. No one stood out, yet. But there were still the decks on the other side of the boat as well as the seating on the inside. I jumped as the horn blared, I had been too preoccupied with studying faces that I hadn't noticed we had begun to push away from the dock. 15 minutes later and I groaned inwardly.

    "I’m not going to say I told you so, but I told! you so! " She sounded so triumphant. “now , get your back off that railing and let’s go, Amberleigh , and get us our mate!” I felt like a teenager who had been sent off to clean their room. I was, admittedly, curious but I also was not looking forward to this whole process of hide and seek.

    “He followed us onto the ferry C.” I spoke quietly and her eyes widened ever so slightly.

    "Well, I assume your going to go and see who it is?” she said knowing she didn‘t really need to ask that question. I’II go inside and grab us some food and a table near the window. When you’ re done looking just come find me. With, or without, your mate.” she patted my butt like you would see a footballer do to their team mate.

    I scrunched up my nose and headed off. His smell was unmistakable, and I just wanted to get this over and done with. I walked slowly, even though I was starting to get excited, feeding off of my wolfs energy that seemed to know no bounds. 

    “Just keep walking, Just. keep sniffing, just keep looking looking looking looking!!” She breathed out,

sounding in awe. And boy was she right. A man stood from his seat and turned to face us. He was big, well over six feet. and muscular. His green eyes were sharp and looked me over from head to toe. Assessing me the same way that I was him. My heart seemed to speed up while everything around we slowed, the sound of thunder roaring in my ears. If this was my mate, at least I didn’t mind how he looked. That much was for damn sure. My wolf had never been so excited, once she had gotten over her own shock of seeing our irate for the first time. I felt like my stomach was full of bouncing, or was it fluttering, butterflies times ten.

    "So, you finally decided to investigate? I was wondering when you’d get curious enough.” He said with a half-smile that showed his slight amusement. His voice was smooth, rich. and deep. I felt a sense of security immediately and an internal tug telling me I should go to him. I knew we both immediately felt attraction for the other, but this is what I wanted, no, needed to fight. I squared up my shoulders, straightened my back, picked up my jaw which had practically hit the floor, and holding my head high I cleared my throat.

    "Well you weren't making the effort, so you forced my hand. Unless you want to dance in circles for awhile longer? I'll gladly turn around and go back about my business." I said pointing over my shoulder with my thumb and starting to turn around. His eye brow ticked slightly and smirked again but I knew that I had gotten to him. Did he think that just because we were mates I'd turn into a simpering love-struck pup who would obey his every command as though under a spell? If he did then he was very very wrong. Oh, this was going to be fun.