Chapter 5

It can't be.

That beautiful little she-wolf is mine?

The urge to drag Lee out of the gorge and kill him again for touching my mate, for hurting her, sends me into a blind rage, threatening to consume me with its intensity.

I told her to leave and never come back.

The only way I'll see her again is if I can track her down.

My muscles twitch as I consider shifting and plunging straight into the woods in pursuit. But my protective instincts are stronger than my desire to have her. I need to be certain I won't put her in danger before I chase after her.

Looking over the cliff at the lifeless body below, I curse.

I did this all wrong, and now I don't even know her name. \With Lee now dead, it's not like I can go to his pack and start asking questions.

While my brain attempts to settle on the best course of action, I return to the river to wash the blood from my skin, avoiding the tiny spot where she touched my arm. I need to speak to my mother and tell her I'm leaving, but I need to come up with a decent reason first.

It might be prudent not to mention the part where I murdered a rival alpha's son and let his mate escape, with the future heir to the pack in her belly.

My family is already convinced that I act too impulsively, this will not help.

The rain starts again as I step from the freezing water and shift. Hopefully, it will remove my scent from the scene of Lee's demise. Between that and the fact that I lied, that we're not really on Steel pack territory, maybe, I won't get myself killed over this. It takes every ounce of will power to turn and run the opposite direction from my mate, back toward home.

I'll empty my savings and spend every penny tracking her down. It is, after all, what I'm best at. A plan crystallises in my mind as I cross our boundary, back to the land of my forefathers, and approach the pack house. But I'll need to wait, a few days at least, to see if Lee's pack comes looking for him.

So that's exactly what I do. I wait. As hard as it is, I do nothing out of the ordinary. I stalk the alpha's office, lingering in hallways and faking interest in the boring discussions of territory, business deals, and pack visits. There is no mention of Lee or his missing mate. Nothing to suggest that anyone is searching in our part of the region for them.

A week later, with bags packed and ready to go, I've stayed here as long as I can. I'm about to go and say goodbye to my parents when the alarm goes up.

DAD: All warriors to the northern border, rogues have breached the territory

WARRIOR 1: They're flooding across the border. Assistance required!

WARRIOR 2: Fuck, they're practically feral. Be careful

DAD: Women and children to the pack house. Any wolves in the area, go to the Northern cabins.

The mind-links continue to come thick and fast, the situation deteriorating rapidly.

Unprepared for a massive blitz attack, our warriors scramble to get on top of the fight. Shifting immediately, I race down the stairs and hesitate near the safe room, catching Blake's eye as he ushers the vulnerable inside.

TYSON: Blake, get in as well.

I don't think he can pick my voice out of the chatter, it's deafening, and I can't get a mind-link through.

He's too young to be in the middle of a fight like this.

I need him to stay alive so I can go after my mate when this is all over.

But when I step outside, the scale of the attack becomes apparent. There are wolves fighting everywhere and dozens more flood across the lawn from the trees.

I've never seen this many rogues working together.

I launch myself into the fray, fighting side-by-side with the man who refuses to acknowledge me as his for the good of the pack, to protect those who can't protect themselves.

My mind drifts to my mate as I follow the sound of a whimpering pup into the trees. The stench of rogues assaults my senses as they close in all around me. I know it's a trap, using the pup to lure me away from the rest of the pack, but if I'm going to die, at least it will be doing something she'd be proud of.

And I'll take as many of them down with me as I can.