Fated for Two
Chapter 2

Farrah Hemmings packed the last of her clothes in her giant suitcase and zipped it up. She then set it on the floor next to her smaller case that held her toiletries and personal items. Heaving a sad sigh as she heard a sniffle from behind her, she turned toward her open door.

“Do you have to leave Farrah?” Mom asked softly, a tissue to her cheek as she wiped at the tears.

“Yes. We talked about this, Mom,” Farrah whispered as she moved to hug her mom. “I don’t plan to stay gone forever, but I feel like something is calling me to go. I know my mate is out there, and I need to replace him. I can feel his extreme sadness and his anger. Every day both grow stronger, and he needs his mate to calm his anger and to love his hurts away.”

“I fear he’s an alpha, baby girl. The way you speak of his anger…” Mom trailed off with a sigh.

“I know, Mom, but I’m the daughter of a beta. I’ll be alright,” Farrah comforted. “I’ll call you often, and hopefully, when I replace him, he’ll come with me to meet you.”

Mom snorted and turned to leave the room as she said, “If he’s an alpha, the last thing he’ll want to do is meet a rogue wolf. He definitely won’t leave his Pack behind to meet one.”

“Mom!” Farrah almost yelled, “I’m a rogue too, you know! If he accepts me, he’ll accept you.”

Mom just shook her head and headed for her room, closing the door.

Farrah felt like growling. Yes, they were rogues. She and her mom had been rogues since the Pack was destroyed in the pack wars. They weren’t rogues by choice, and surely her mate would understand that.

I hope my mate will understand. Her wolf whimpered. I’m young, only twenty-two, but I’ve dreamed of a mate since I was old enough to want one. Then I began having these bursts of feeling at odd times, and I know it’s my mate, I just know it. Even though I hate leaving Mom alone, I must replace him because I feel his desperation, and I know he needs me. I fear if I don’t replace him soon, he will do something to himself because of that desperation that will take him away from me before I even have him, and I can’t let that happen.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she picked up her bags and left her bedroom. She felt as if she had a deadline, so strong was her urge to hit the road. Giving her mom’s closed bedroom door one last look, she whispered, “I’ll see you soon, Mom.” Then she left the house and headed to her car. After loading her luggage into the trunk, she climbed into the driver’s seat and cranked up. It was time to head out and begin her journey into the unknown to replace her mate.

Brenton Phillips snarled in anger at his beta, Owen, as he turned from watching the pack warriors train, asking, “What do you mean patrol lost the rogue they were chasing? We needed him for information.”

Owen bowed his head in submission to his Alpha, barely holding back a whimper. “It was like it just disappeared into thin air, sir. We smelled it, then suddenly it was gone. I figured it headed into the city and was lost in the scents.”

Brenton clenched his hands and took a deep breath, his anger rolling over him like an angry ocean wave. He then angrily exclaimed, “I want that rogue found if it takes all night to replace him! He has the information I need on the rogue leader. Take five of the best trackers to the city and begin a grid search if you have to but replace him.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Owen said, bowing his head and leaving.

Brenton turned back to his warriors and found them watching him. He growled again before inquiring, “Did I tell you to take a break?”

They quickly began their training once more even though they were already exhausted.

Everard Steward paced the floor of his office at the pack-house as he yanked at his hair. He was worried about his Pack because they were slowly falling apart, and he had no clue how to save it. He thought maybe he should once more try to disband the Pack and send everyone out to other packs. That’s what he’d done before, but the few that had stay then stayed because they were loyal. They would probably just refuse again to leave him. They couldn’t keep on this way, though, not without some help; they would all starve to death.

Flopping down in his desk chair, he held back the tears as he thought, I’m not an alpha. I don’t know how to be an alpha; I’m failing my Pack and my dad and brother’s memory. I need help, and I need it soon! Moon Goddess, I need assistance, please!

Raising his head, he glanced out the window toward the south where the Pack of his once best friend, Brenton, was. “Oh, how I miss you, my friend, you and your knowledge. Oh, how I wish we could somehow figure out how to fix this rift between us,” he sadly muttered as he heard someone walk in. Turning, he saw his beta and gave him a sad smile. “What can I help you with, Morgan?”

“How did the meeting with the bank go about the loan?” Morgan asked quietly.

Everard sighed and shook his head as he said, “I’m too much of a risk because I don’t make enough working as a mechanic.”

“Oh,” Morgan said, his shoulders slumping. He then straightened and said, “Well, the roofing supplies are here for the pack-house. We should be able to get the rest of the roof fixed within the next couple of days. Once that is complete, more of those without homes can move in over the weekend.”

Everard nodded and stood up as he said, “Alright, I’ll be out in a moment to help. Just let me get out of this suit.”

“Yes, sir,” Morgan answered as he bowed his head respectfully and left.

Most of the Pack was moving into the pack-house; it would be cheaper than everyone living in their own homes. This was another way to downsize, hoping to keep the Pack safe because the rogues always seemed to know what packs were failing and targeted them relentlessly. Although we’ve been lucky so far, and they seem to be leaving us alone, he thought before shaking his head and moving toward his bathroom to change.

Something had to give, though, and soon because he couldn’t take much more stress, not without a mate by his side to help him. “Not that I’d wish my life right now on a mate,” he muttered sadly. “No time for pity parties, though; I have a pack-house roof to repair.”

Farrah was singing along with the radio, badly, as she left the large city of Atlanta, Georgia, behind her. She’d stopped, gassed up, and eaten lunch there. Although it was a nice enough city, as a wolf shifter, she preferred the country and hoped to replace what she was looking for soon so she could let her wolf out.

She’d been driving for three days now, stopping at almost every Pack she came to out of respect. Most of the Alpha’s had been polite, thanking her for stopping to let them know she was traveling through, but some were quick to tell her to move along since she was a rogue. Thankfully, the two of them hadn’t minded her staying in a motel for the night. They had even wished her luck in replaceing her mate.

Her small hometown in North Dakota was far behind her. So she felt as if her journey was almost at an end. The pull she felt toward her mate had steadily grown more assertive, and when she’d reached Georgia, she somehow knew he was closer than ever. She was so excited about finally replaceing him and wondered if he felt her as she drew closer to him.

The thing that had her puzzled, though, was his extreme emotions, they were odd, and she was apprehensive about him. This morning he started so angrily, but later, he was so sad that she wanted to cry. It had her wishing she was already with him so she could hug him and tell him it would be alright. She didn’t understand how his moods could fluctuate from one extreme to the other in a matter of moments.

Farrah sighed, rolling down the window as she grew slightly sleepy. She then muttered, “I’ll know soon enough because I know he’s close.”

Her wolf whined happily within just as her car made a strange sound. Glancing down at her dash, she saw all the lights flash as the auto shut down and smoke began to billow from under the hood. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, she twisted it, moving the car off the road and onto the grass as far as she could get it to go.

Suddenly, she was panting, a nervous sweat trickling down her back as a wave of nausea hit her. With a grunt, she opened her car door and lunged out of it to dry heave in the grass. Then, feeling dizzy, she lay down for a moment, but the feeling only grew worse, so staggering to her feet, she headed for the back of her car.

“Maybe I have something in my bag that will help, or maybe get a bottle of water,” she muttered even as the dizziness and nausea disappeared as if it had never been. Turning in circles, she then mumbled, “How odd, I’m perfectly fine now. Well, that’s a good thing considering I need to pop the hood and see what’s going on with my car. It would be a bit difficult to do if I feel like puking my guts out.”

Turning, she headed back to her open door, thinking to pop her hood, but as soon as she reached the door, nausea hit her again. Forcing it back, because she had no time for it, she popped her hood. Then she quickly moved forward toward the front of her car, and the feeling left her once more, leaving her sighing in relief.

Opening her hood, she waved her hand in front of her, moving the smoke. It smelled strongly of antifreeze, and she frowned. Does that mean my car has water, or it doesn’t have water? She vaguely remembered her dad talking about what antifreeze did for the car and that it was terrible for it not to have any.

“Where do I check it though,” she mumbled. She began to move from one side of the car to the other, looking at the engine. However, she had no clue what she was even looking at. “I have no clue what I’m looking for, so I suppose it’s time to call a tow truck.”

She stared at her open car door, wondering if nausea would return if she reached in to grab her purse, odd how that was the only place she felt nauseated. It was such a strange feeling to have, and she was puzzled about what would even cause such a thing. All she knew was that, right now, she needed her phone from her purse.

So, taking a deep breath, she moved quickly toward the open door, and fighting nausea that overtook her once more, she pulled her purse up from under her front seat. She then moved quickly to the back of her car. As suddenly as her nausea started, it faded. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out her phone. She quickly Googled a towing company and called.

“Hello, Randall’s Towing,” a man answered.

“Hi, my name is Farrah Hemmings, and my car has broken down,” she began. “I need someone to come and… do something to fix it.”

The man chuckled before saying, “I just need to know your location and a bit about what your car is doing.”

Farrah huffed and bit her lip as she once more made her way to the front of the car. “It’s smoking, and I smell antifreeze. That’s all I can tell you about that. Oh, and it shut off on me right before it began billowing smoke. As for my location, I’m headed east on the outskirts of town.”

There was a long pause before the man said, “You’re on the east side of town, and I’m on the west. It would probably be easier if you were to call someone closer. It would take me quite a bit of time to reach you.”

Farrah poked her lip out in a pout, even though he couldn’t see it, then as she said, “Yours was the only name that Google pulled up, though.”

Lifting her head at the sound of movement, she glanced behind her to replace a man with several wolves behind him standing at the edge of the woods. Hearing more movement, she turned her head the other way and saw another man with wolves behind him also.

It suddenly hit her, then why she felt so odd when she moved to the center of her car, she was straddling a borderline between two packs. If she was reading the expression correctly on the one man’s face, the two packs weren’t friendly with each other either.

She found herself hanging up her phone and moving toward the open door of her car again as the men moved further into the clearing.

The two men moved ever closer to her, but the wolves stayed back.

Farrah knew she wasn’t going anywhere in her car because it was dead, but she was a rogue wolf being approached by what she assumed was two alphas, and one looked angry enough to take her head off. She whimpered and moved further back, her wolf whining inside.

Suddenly nausea and dizziness hit her full force, and it was too much for her exhausted body to take. Then, for the first time in her life, she fainted.