My Mate's Touch

Chapter 43 - Luca

"Alright," I said with a confident huff. "We need to follow that trail."

"Roger that!" Aspen's enthusiasm was more than evident in her determined tone.

To be honest, I was a little shocked that she agreed with me to just follow the trail. If we were being completely responsible, we probably should have contacted Felix or Xander as soon as we saw the pawprints. At the same time, I understood that Aspen's curiosity usually overruled her ability to be practical. Especially in this case, I wanted to find Elias as fast as possible, no matter the risk.

Step by step, the two of us trekked further into No Man's Land. The trail lasted for a while and we lost sight of the pawprints a few times due to the mild changes in terrain, but it never took us long to find it again. After what felt like half an hour, Aspen and I found the end of the trail, which had led us to a small moor in the forest surrounded by trees.

Aspen scratched the back of her head, disheveling her red hair. "Um, is this it?"

"I guess so," I responded.

It was a bit anticlimactic, which made me lose some of the confidence that I initially had. The area seemed vacant, the only movement being the grass and leaves swaying gently in the calm breeze. I was about to turn around to see if there were any clues behind us when I caught a flash of motion from the corner of my eye.

"Elias?"

No response. When I called his name, Aspen looked over at me with hope and slight concern. I just shook my head, making her sigh.

"I saw some movement. I thought it was Elias, but it was just the trees."

"He could still be here," Aspen said. "Elias! Elias!"

We both called his name a few more times and waited for a response that never came. After standing around for a moment, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye again. This time it was closer, and Aspen saw it, too. We turned our heads to see a tall man emerging from underground. The two of us quickly became on high alert of the suspicious male.

"Aww, you don't have to do that," the man said in mock offense, eyeing Aspen and I's defensive stances in mild amusement. "I don't bite."

He walked a few steps closer, and when he saw that we only responded by taking a few steps back, he stopped.

Aspen took on a serious tone, her brow furrowed deeply. "Who are you?"

"The name's Ryland," he said with a cocky smirk. "Yours?"

I looked over to Aspen, a little shocked to see that her naturally friendly demeanor was still covered by her suspicion and wariness. "We're from the Shadowclaw pack."

Ryland scoffed. "Thanks so much for answering my question," he replied, the harsh sarcasm leaving an uneasy feeling in my gut. "Well, Ginger and Pinecone, you're kind of in my space right now so I'd appreciate it if you left."

Did he really just refer to me as "Pinecone"? I was almost positive that he could've come up with something else that was more suiting. The nickname made me pout, and he looked over from Aspen to me. The smirk on his face grew, much to my chagrin.

"Everywhere is public property in No Man's Land," Aspen said with no hint of amusement whatsoever.

When Aspen was completely serious, it was scary. It was as if she was a completely different person. The drastic personality change didn't happen often, which probably added significantly to the fear factor.

"I beg to differ," Ryland responded, his nonchalant tone unfazed by Aspen's sharp tongue. "When you're a rogue like I am, you learn where other rogues live and respect their space. I suggest you do the same."

At this, Aspen's face reddened in an expression of angry annoyance. Before she completely had an outburst, I jumped into the conversation.

"Um, we're actually looking for someone," I said hesitantly. "Have you seen a boy with dark brown hair and eyes, and pale skin, a little shorter than me?"

Ryland looked at me, putting a hand under his chin in a pensive gesture. "Hmm, I'm not sure..."

"Cut the crap!" I flinched at Aspen's sharp tone. "I know you're the rogue that was edging around the Shadowclaw territory a few weeks ago. Where is Elias?"

Ryland's arrogant facade faded quickly, and his tone became dark. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you," he said, his lips contorting into a smile. "He's in my bunker."

Before Aspen and I could process his words, Ryland was lunging towards us. He quickly shifted into his wolf, Aspen barely dodging the clamp of his powerful jaws. As Ryland got his bearings, Aspen quickly shifted into her wolf as well, her reddish brown fur pricking up.

She snarled and they ran towards each other, the animosity evident in their eyes. I stood still in fear, taking a step back from the vicious wolves fighting in front of me. I realized that my eyes were glued to them and shook my head to break my trance.

Looking over my shoulder, I noticed a big metal door on the ground and a metaphorical lightbulb illuminated in my head. Elias is in there. Without a second thought, I ran past Aspen and Ryland towards the bunker. When I reached it, I looked down inside and yelled with anxiety and desperation.

"Elias? Elias, are you here?"

"Luca!"

I gasped at the sound of my friend's voice and immediately jumped into the bunker. It was dark and muggy, the metal walls occasionally creaking as I walked. Squinting my eyes to see around the dark bunker, I saw Elias sitting in a chair. I rushed to him, my eyes widening when I saw that he was strapped down to it by his wrists and ankles.

"Luca! I knew you'd come," he said softly, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.

"I'm so glad we found you." With some effort, I was able to remove the rope from Elias and he immediately stood up and hugged me. I returned his embrace, gripping him tightly as tears pricked my eyes.

"I missed you," he said into my shoulder.

"I missed you, too. Come on, let's get out of here."

I climbed up out of the bunker and pulled Elias up right after. We both stood up and brushed our pants off, and I looked towards Aspen.

"Aspen, I've got Elias!"

My excitement soon faded when I saw how neck-and-neck her and Ryland were. Whenever she seemed to have the upper hand, he would attack her and put them both on even ground. Aspen swiped a paw towards Ryland and barely scratched his snout. He huffed and used his head to ram her side, throwing her balance off slightly.

Elias and I stood back, our faces contorted in worry for our struggling friend. Ryland growled and swiped at Aspen's leg, but she narrowly evaded the attack. Even though she was a strong warrior and had a notable amount of agility, I could tell that Ryland had more stamina.

Elias cupped his hands around his mouth and began to shout. "You can do it, Aspen!"

At this, Aspen growled in approval and Ryland's ears twitched. Ryland stood still and turned his head towards Elias and I, making Aspen stop mid-attack. After what felt like forever, Ryland bolted towards us, his eyes set on Elias. Once he got close enough, he lunged with his mouth wide open, bearing his razor-like fangs.

"No!"

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This is probably the best cliffhanger I've written so far, muahaha. I hope you guys liked the action in this chapter, too! There will definitely be more of that.

I also want to thank you all SO much for being so patient with me! If you didn't know, I have finished writing MMT! As of this chapter, updates will be posted every 3 days until all of the book is posted.

Happy Valentine's Day, too! Hopefully you're not on Wattpad today, but let's be honest with ourselves here 😭 If you liked this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment what you think is going to happen next! - D ♡