CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER2

LUCAS

I woke up alone.

He'd left in the night and even though it hurt, I couldn't blame him. I was utterly overjoyed that I'd finally found my mate, but it unfortunately happened to be on the night of the full moon, when I can't control the shift.

The moment my wolf smelt him and recognized his mate, the pull was impossible to resist. I was completely unable to stop what was going to happen, it's all instinctual.

Thankfully, being an alpha meant I have more control than most.

I was able to keep my wolf in check throughout our mating so that he didn't get over excited and accidentally hurt him. Our mate was human, which made him more delicate and I'd never forgive myself if I marred his perfect body, aside from my mark of claiming of course.

He's also absolutely gorgeous. I've never seen a more attractive man in my life. He had perfect, soft alabaster skin that glowed under the moonlight. It contrasted beautifully with his dark ashy hair. I couldn't quite see his eye colour in the low light but they were pale, I could see that much.

And his body, it was the stuff wet dreams were made of. He wasn't bulky like me but he was strong, with long lean muscles. I couldn't wait to get my human hands on him, to properly feel how soft his skin really is.

The mating had been everything I'd ever dreamed. After his initial shock had worn off, he melted under my touch. Feeling his body beneath mine and his tightness wrapped around my cock had been the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced. I also loved licking my bite on his neck afterward and feeling him shudder with pleasure as he came apart for me again.

I now understood what the other wolves in my pack had been telling me all these years. When you find your mate, nothing else compares.

I'd considered mentally communicating with him after I'd bitten and claimed him but, with him pinned to me on my knot, I didn't want to risk him panicking and hurting himself.

I was planning to wait until I had shifted back to my human form in the morning, to talk to him and explain, but my mate was far more clever than I gave him credit for.

I'm both proud and frustrated about it. It also means that unfortunately I don't know his name, which will make finding him more challenging, but also more rewarding when I do.

The hunt is on and I couldn't be more excited. My mate probably thought he didn't have to worry about me finding him but he was completely oblivious to the ways of the wolf and their mates.

I'm coming for him.

Thanks to the bond we formed after I bit him, I was able to sense him, and that will make it easier to find him. When I do, I'm going to mate him all over again in my human form, reminding him exactly who he belongs to.

I sent a mental message out to Drew, my beta and second in command.

"Drew, I found my mate last night."

"Seriously?! That's amazing! Congratulations Alpha. Who is she?"

"He. He's a human and I don't know his name yet. He snuck away in the night after the mating so I'm going on the hunt to find him. I'll be back in a couple days."

Drew chuckled in my head. "He must be worthy if he evaded you that easily," he taunted.

"He is. And when I find him, I'm going to remind him why it's a bad idea to run from a wolf."

"Have fun," Drew chuckled. " I'll keep things under control while you're gone."

"Thank you."

I walked to one of our pack huts and found some jeans and a t shirt. I got dressed then made my way out toward Nick's. He's a member of my pack with a mechanic workshop on the outside edge of our pack lands. I'd dropped off my bike for servicing a couple days ago and hopefully he'd finished.

Thankfully he had. He handed over my keys and wished me luck in finding my mate.

Our pack was located between two small townships but my senses were telling me to go toward the one that was north.

It was an instinctual feeling, when I thought of my mate, that was the direction my body wanted to go in. I started the engine and took off.

When I got to the town, I saw a small diner that looked cute. I was ravenous after the shift and exertion of the mating.

I walked in and took a seat at a small booth. A sweet young woman approached me, she looked fresh out of high school, full of enthusiasm and energy.

"Hi, what can I get for you this morning?"

"Hi, I'll have the big breakfast and a coffee, white no sugar please."

"Sure, coming right up," she replied, sounding far too bubbly for such an early hour.

I pondered my mate while I waited. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties so he's likely lived here a while. This isn't the type of town people in their twenties move to, it's the town people grow up in and either say in or move out of in their twenties.

I was surprised I hadn't come across his scent before now if he lives here, since we come into town to do business on a regular basis.

A father and son in my pack build beautiful carved wooden furniture that we sell to a local shop and we also have some beehives and sell the honey to the local grocer too. There are a couple other small business projects that pack members have which brings us into the local towns too. The work provides the resources we use but also brings income into the pack with the extra product we produce.

I was reminiscing about how utterly gorgeous and perfect my mate is when I was interrupted.

"Here you go, enjoy your breakfast. Let me know if you need anything else," the lovely girl said.

I looked at her nametag which read ‘Kate'.

"Thanks Kate," I said with a smile.

I quickly devoured my meal after having worked up such an appetite from last night and waved Kate over for the bill.

"How was everything?"

"It was delicious, thank you."

"You're welcome. We haven't seen you here before, are you new to town?" Kate asked me.

"No, but I live quite rurally so, my family and I only travel here occasionally."

"I see, that makes sense. Well, hopefully we'll see you here again on your next visit," she said with a sweet smile.

"You sure will. Say, Kate, I don't suppose you know of a local guy who's around six feet tall, mid-twenties with ashy hair who likes to hike, do you?"

I really didn't have much information to go on and couldn't give her a better description.

"No, I don't sorry. There's an outdoor supply store a few blocks down the road, you might find someone there who knows the guy you're looking for," she offered, trying to be helpful.

"Thank you, I'll try there next."

I knew the chances were slim but worth a try. I paid for my breakfast and went on my way.

And that's basically how the rest of my day went. Going into local businesses, starting up a conversation with people, about a young man with short, ashy hair who was hiking yesterday, then being told they couldn't think of anyone who fit that description.

Everyone would ask me for more details about him but I didn't have anything that would help. Telling them he's handsome, has a delicious cock and makes the sweetest sounding moans when I fuck him wasn't going to help.

I tried to follow my senses first but my mate was proving to be a real challenge to find. It was almost like he was purposely hiding from me. I had a slight sense of him direction wise, but it wasn't enough and I did not catch even a slight whiff of his scent, not even once.

After a long day of wandering around, trying to pick up his scent and asking locals about him but getting nowhere, I finally got a bit of luck.

I went to the local post shop and spoke to a young man named Felix who worked there. He was cute. He didn't hold a candle to my mate in my eyes but I could see that we was an attractive young man. Flirty too.

He batted his lashes at me. "Hey there lovely, how can I help you?"

I smirked at him and gave him my usual spiel which I had repeated far too many times for my liking today.

"Why are you looking for him, if you don't mind my asking?" Felix asked, looking me up and down with more than a hint of desire.

"I bumped into him on his hike and need to return something," I lied. Well not a complete lie, I need to return my cock to him… preferably in his ass.

"I think that might be a friend of mine, he said something about going for a hike on the weekend. He works in the local book shop," Felix explained.

"That's very helpful, thank you Felix."

He nodded and smiled. "Okay, well hopefully he's the guy you're looking for."

I left the post shop with directions from Felix. He said the bookshop was located in a basement underneath a café a few blocks away.

No wonder he's been hard to find!

His scent would be very well hidden if it's practically underground and behind the various food and coffee smells coming from the café above it.

I walked the few blocks and found the café. I saw the sign on the path saying ‘The Book Nook' with an arrow pointing toward some stairs to the side of the café.

I descended the steps, hoping that it is in fact my mate, working inside. The moment I reached the door, his scent hit me and I knew it was him.