Chapter 5

Remy loved being back in the woods with his family. He’d missed them, but he hadn’t realized just how damn much until he was in his shift and keeping pace with his dad and brother as they scouted for prey. He didn’t even care if they were successful, he was just happy he’d come back to town, even if it was only for the night.

It must be super weird for his parents, to know that soon enough their whole house would be empty. Once Kendall turned twenty-one and her Angel Mate nature kicked in, she and her sisters would head out to find their mates, and it wouldn’t be long before Lennox’s alpha nature demanded he find a pack of his own, too.

At least Alpha Jason was gracious enough to let them come back as guests. He wasn’t threatened by Remy or Lennox being alpha-powerful, because he was secure in his position and it wasn’t like Remy was looking to take over anyway. He just wanted his own pack and to get settled.

A scent caught him off guard and he skidded to a halt. Lifting his muzzle, he inhaled and sorted through the scents of earth and woods and animals.

Nothing.

He turned into the breeze and inhaled again, more slowly this time, and then he picked up a scent that didn’t belong. It was a little more wild, a little more sweet, than anything he’d ever smelled in the woods before. Like a late-blooming flower or the way the low-banked bonfire could smell sweet and smokey at the same time.

His father padded over to him, nudging him with a curious whine.

It would have been super handy to be able to talk in his shift, but he wasn’t sure what he’d say anyway.

Tilting his head, he listened intently, and in the distance he heard a few low howls and yips, which meant some pack members had found something fun to chase. But in the midst of those sounds was another one, like a warning from a cat. He remembered hearing that sound when Lyric had brought her mountain lion mates home. It was the sound of distress.

As far as he knew, there weren’t any mountain lions hanging with the pack tonight, which meant it might be a natural cat out in the woods, but that seemed a little unlikely since the territory smelled strongly of wolves.

His heart clenched and his wolf let out a worried howl in his head.

He wasn’t sure why, but he was very worried about whatever had made that sound.

Giving his dad and brother an encouraging follow me bark, he raced off in the direction of the scent he’d picked up, hearing the sounds of the pack on the trail of something.

He ducked under logs, leaped over shrubs and rocks, and made his way toward the far edge of the territory.

As he passed a huge oak, he caught up to a few of the slower pack members who were following a few young males. Ahead in the darkness but illuminated by the full moon, was a cornered animal, hissing and baring thick fangs.

It looked a little bit like a mountain lion, but smaller and fluffier, and seriously pissed and scared.

The moment the cat met his gaze with its cranberry red eyes, everything within him clicked into place.

That was no normal wild animal, that was a cat shifter.

And his truemate.

Letting out an unholy, furious howl, he charged through the males who were inching closer to his female, clawing and biting to fend them off, and putting himself between the female and the approaching males.

He loved that his dad and brother joined him without even needing to know why, they just stood shoulder to shoulder with him, warning the males to keep their distance.

The female was panting hard and making a curious, but wary sound.

Linus barked at the males, moving forward and sending them off to hunt something else.

Only when they were alone, did Remy relax enough to turn to face her.

She was…freaking adorable.

Her ears were down, her red eyes wide, and her whiskers twitching. She was smaller than him with tawny fur with faint stripes on her back, and a fluffy tail.

He sat on his haunches and whined, looking up at the sky and then lowering his head.

It was a little earlier than he wanted to be out of his shift, but he didn’t want to risk her taking off if she was still scared.

He let go of his shift, his human body returning. He rolled his neck and stretched, and then squatted down, twisting his body so he wasn’t flashing his junk at her.

“Hey, sweetheart. I’m Remy. You’re in the Tressel Pack territory, and those wolves were young and clearly didn’t know you were a shifter. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

She regarded him closely, then her mouth parted and he could hear her inhaling deeply. She purred softly and his heart skipped a beat at the sweet sound. Staring at him for a long moment, he saw her eyes change from cranberry to emerald, and then she ducked behind the tree and he could hear the sound of her shifting to human.

Glancing at his dad, he said, “Would one of you run to the house and bring some clothes for us?”

Lennox barked in understanding and loped off. Linus made a curious sound and Remy whispered, “She’s my truemate, Dad.”

Linus’s brows lifted and then he gave him a wolfy smile.

Remy chuckled, then said, “You okay back there?”

“Yep. Nothing like wandering into wolf territory and then running for my life.”

“Sorry about that.”

She peeked around the tree at him. It was still too dark for him to really see her well, but he felt the connection between them as truemates strengthen again as their gazes met.

“Not your fault. But thanks for coming to my rescue. You and your…friends?”

“My dad, Linus, and my younger brother, Lennox. He went to get clothes for us.”

“That’s awesome. I’m Thyme.”

“What kind of shifter are you?”

“Wildcat. I’m from Marin.”

He hummed. “Where is that? It’s not familiar.”

“Well, where am I?”

“Allen.”

“I’m still in Kentucky, right? I was running all over.”

“Yep,” he said. They discussed nearby towns and distances until they figured out that Marin was a half hour south of Allen.

“I didn’t know there was a wildcat pride in Kentucky,” he said.

“We keep to ourselves, and there aren’t a lot of wildcats in the states, most of our people are in Europe, but my family came here a couple generations ago and settled in Marin.”

Lennox appeared back in his human form, carrying a stack of clothes and shoes. “I borrowed these from Alpha Cades for her,” he said after introducing himself. “Do you want me and Dad to hang around?”

“Nah, we’re good,” Remy said.

Lennox nodded then looked at their dad. “Alpha Jason is out with a few of the other males, I’ll head back to the alpha’s house and stand guard with Crimson and Lindy.”

Linus barked in agreement and the two headed off. Remy set the clothes for Thyme near the tree and then dressed in his clothes and shoes.

He couldn’t believe that he’d gone for a run with his family and met his truemate. And he especially couldn’t believe that she’d been living a mere thirty minutes from him and he’d had no idea that his truemate was so close. He rubbed the space over his heart as he turned to face the tree where Thyme was dressing.

If he hadn’t come to Allen for Kash’s mating ceremony, he might never have met her.

“I have a confession to make, Remy,” Thyme said as she stepped from behind the tree and joined him.

He could see her a little better now that they were closer, the moonlight lending a soft blue glow to everything.

She had long, straight hair and she was petite, maybe a foot shorter than him, with curves that made his hands ache to hold her.

“What would that be?” he asked.

“I was looking for new hunting territory for my pride, because ours has run dry due to factory pollution. I wouldn’t have come here if things weren’t dire.” She smiled. “But it’s crazy that I came here looking for game and found my mate. I was just given an ultimatum about taking over the pride from the elders, and… damn, fate really works in mysterious ways.”

Immediately his wolf went on alert.

“What sort of ultimatum were you given?” he asked.

She gazed up at him and her eyes simmered with that beautiful, deep red of her cat. “I needed to find my mate or risk being killed.”