The Unwanted Wolf
The Hunted Wolf – Chapter 35

MARK

We expanded our area of patrol to see if the person scouting out the packhouse was still there, but we didn’t replace anyone. There was only the one scent, too, which I wasn’t sure what to make of it. There was no proof that the scent belonged to a person with malintent, but I knew that was the case. There was no other reason to scout out this territory if they weren’t planning anything. I needed to know who it was exactly and more about their plan.

After another hour of patrolling, we still didn’t replace any other clues about who this was or where they currently were. The next set of patrols arrived to take over, and part of me wanted to stay on patrol to keep looking, but I knew I needed to take a break and talk to others about what we had found.

I made it back to the pack house, and the first stop I made was to my room. I desperately needed to take a shower after hours of running and searching. I kept an eye out for Adira as I moved through the house. I wanted to say hi to her since she was still sleeping when I had left. I also wanted to let her know what was going on. Even though there were warriors everywhere right now, I wanted to make sure she was on high alert. She was strong, and I knew she could take care of herself in a fight.

I entered our room, and I still hadn’t seen Adira anywhere. I’m back from patrol. Do you want to get some food? I linked her.

I made my way to the bathroom after grabbing clean clothes while waiting for her response.

Give me fifteen minutes to finish up with Ginger, and then I’ll be free, she responded.

I felt calmer after hearing her voice. Excitement bubbled up inside of me, knowing I was going to see my mate soon. Every day it felt more difficult to see her and hold her, so I treasured every minute I could spend with her, even if it was only spent eating or sitting in silence. I was ready for all of this to be over with. We hadn’t had a chance to start our life together yet, at least not the way I wanted.

I was craving the monotony of a boring daily routine. I would be happy waking up to her every morning, eating breakfast, and then going about our daily chores, checking in as frequently at the end of the day. At the end of the day, we would sit in front of a fire, reading as she sat in my lap. It would be quiet, but as long as I was with Adira, I knew I didn’t need any outside excitement.

My shower was quick, and I rushed down to the kitchen to pack a picnic for the two of us. The dining room was constantly filled with hungry mouths, so I knew we would get no privacy there. I wanted to take advantage of the few minutes I had to spend some quality time with my mate.

I hurried upstairs, knowing Adira should be done soon. Knowing where Adira and Ginger were practicing, I went to that room and waited outside to make sure I didn’t disturb their training. I heard some noise inside followed by cheering. I loved hearing Adira shout in happiness. It seemed to be a much rarer occasion these days.

A moment later, the door opened, and Adira poured out. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and the next thing I knew, she jumped up, wrapping her arms around my neck. She planted a deep k**s on my lips, pressing into me. I could feel her energy buzzing, so I knew good things were happening.

Adira pulled back, the brightest smile filling her face. She still had her arms draped around my neck.

“What has you in such a brilliant mood?” I couldn’t help but feel happy, knowing Adira was happy.

“I did! It makes so much more sense now. Ginger helped me dig really deep, and something just clicked inside of me.” Adira wasn’t breathing as her words spilled out of her mouth.

“Slow down,” I laughed. “What did you do?”

She took a breath and smiled with a closed mouth. “I figured out magic.”

I raised my eyebrow, a little skeptical. “What do you mean?”

“I get it now. I knew magic was fueled by my emotions, but I didn’t know how to put them together exactly, but now I understand it. I figured out what makes magic powerful and dangerous but also what makes it beautiful and lovely. I still need to practice, of course. I want things to become second nature to me, and that’s not going to happen without some work, but Ginger says I’m a fast learner. I can do this. I can become someone who can protect the people I love.”

Adira was bouncing in my arms, and she was so cute with her eyes filled with wonder and possibilities.

“You’re amazing.” I leaned forward and kissed her again. “I still can’t believe you’re mine.”

Her facial features softened at my words. “I’m the lucky one here. You’ve always been so patient and caring.” She bit her l*p and looked at the ground. I could tell there was something on her mind. I brushed a piece of hair out of her face and moved her chin so she was looking at me.

“Why the sudden change of mood?” I grew worried as the bubbly energy shifted into something different.

“What do you have in your hand there?” she asked.

“Lunch. I thought we could slip away somewhere quiet and just spend some time together,” I said, slipping my hand onto her lower back. Sometimes I wished I could read her mind. She was so complicated at times, but it only made me want to learn everything about her.

“That sounds lovely,” she said, her smile returning again. She intertwined her fingers with mine and squeezed. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

I raised my eyebrow at her. “Should I be worried?”

She twisted her face. “I don’t think so.”

“That’s reassuring,” I laughed, trying to brush off my nerves.

She lifted up onto her toes and gave me a k**s. “Don’t be nervous. I love you.”

I grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for another k**s. It would have been easy to pick her up and take her to the bedroom and have my way with her, but that was a slippery slope. I wanted to make sure to spend quality time with my mate outside of the bedroom, even though just being with her sent my mind into a spiral.

Adira was the first to pull away, and based on the glint in her eye, her mind was on the same path as mine. She grabbed my hand and started leading me towards the stairs before anything else could happen.

When we turned to go down the stairs, we almost ran into Darian and Scythe.

“There you are, Alpha!” Scythe exclaimed. “We need to talk to you about the patrols.”

“Can it wait?” I asked. I finally had a moment with Adira, and I wasn’t ready for it to be cut short.

Darian looked between the two of us and frowned. “Unfortunately, no. It’s about what you found during your patrol.”

I let out a long sigh. This was too important to ignore. I looked over at Adira with apologetic eyes.

“Rain check?” she said before I could say anything. She smiled at me for reassurance, but I wondered how much of that was a fake facade.

“Are you sure?” I hated this. This was definitely the worst part about being alpha.

Adira leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Do what you have to. I’ll see you later.”

Adira grabbed the picnic basket from my hands and scurried down the stairs. I watched her leave, wishing I had taken her to the bedroom. It would have meant a few minutes of uninterrupted time with her at least.

–

ADIRA

I moved away from Mark with a heavy heart. I had grown much too excited to spend a few moments with him, but I should have known that something would have come up. I tried to not show my disappointment in front of Mark. I knew he didn’t want to leave me, so I didn’t want to make his job more difficult. I wanted to be the supportive mate, instead of making him feel guilty for doing what he needed to in order to protect the pack and myself.

I decided to take the sudden free time to attend one of the warrior training sessions. They were being held from sunrise to sundown every day to make sure everyone was up to snuff on their fighting skills. If this turned into a large battle, we wanted everyone to be as prepared as possible. I wanted to make sure I was included in that.

Mark had been working with me on my defensive skills before the chaos erupted, but it had been over a week since we had done one on one training. Even though I knew my magic would be one of the most powerful fighting skills I would have, I wanted to make sure I had hand to hand and weapon combat skills as well. It was impossible to predict what kind of situation we would end up in, so I wanted to be prepared for everything. I didn’t want to be a weak mate holding back the alpha because she couldn’t protect herself.

I walked out to the backyard, and it was easy to see where the training session was being held. The werewolves were working on leg sweeps currently. I looked around, trying to figure out who was hosting the training.

A whistle was blown, drawing everyone’s attention to the front. Reyland was standing in front of everyone, tall and proud. “Great job everyone. We are going to move onto the next technique. Do I have any volunteers for a demonstration?”

Everyone was quiet in response to the alpha’s request. His eyes searched over the crowd, and when they met mine, his demeanor shifted.

“Actually, work on dodging with each other for a moment. I’ll start the demonstration a little later,” Reyland said, keeping his eyes locked with mine.

When everyone broke off into pairs again, Reyland made his way directly over to me. I took a step back, thinking maybe I should join a different training session. I turned my back to leave, but Reyland’s voice cut through the air.

“Don’t go. Please.” His voice was almost desperate.

I stopped in my tracks, but I didn’t turn around. “I don’t think this is the training session for me.” My hands shook with nerves.

“Stay. Please. It’s important for you to sharpen your skills, and I will allow you to beat on me as much as you need to.”

I wasn’t sure if I had ever heard Reyland be so desperate. I turned around, finally facing him. I found myself actually considering his offer.

“You never wanted me to fight when I was younger.” I thought about how protective he was when growing up.

“I didn’t want my little girl to get hurt, but I realize that you would have been better off if I had trained you like a warrior. I have realized quite a few things. There’s a lot I want to say to you and make up for, but I won’t talk to you if you don’t want to. I just don’t want your training to suffer because of me.” Reyland stood tall and clasped his hands behind his back. He was nervous as he waited for my answer.

I looked around, knowing he had a point. I didn’t want to keep running every time I saw him either. I would only continue to feel on edge whenever I saw him. That was not the kind of life I wanted to have. I took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll stay.”