My Mate's Touch

Chapter 46 - Elias

I was terrified at the sight in front of me, but all I could do was watch. Aspen and Luca fought off Ryland as best as they could, barely winning even though it was two against one. They can't get hurt anymore, I thought. Not like this. Not because of me.

As much as I wanted to yell out to Luca and Aspen, I knew that I couldn't. The last thing I wanted to do was distract them and give Ryland the ideal chance to attack. I was stuck on the sidelines in a battle that they shouldn't have even been fighting right now. Luca and Aspen even went out into the dangers of No Man's Land to look for me. I didn't deserve either of them.

I couldn't scream but I couldn't look away. I stood in silence, tears streaming down my cheeks at a steady pace as I sniffled and cried. I watched as Ryland went to claw at Aspen and Luca, and I shuddered every time he came too close. My mind repeated the moments when Ryland's sharp claws sliced into Aspen's shoulder, when Ryland threw Luca to the ground and made him slide across the dirt like he weighed nothing.

My tears streamed down my cheeks at a faster rate when I thought of Luca jumping in front of me to shield me from Ryland's attack. He could have died. I was the one who brought this mess to Luca, but he jumped in front of me like it was second nature.

I caught motion out of the corner of my eye, breaking me out of my intrusive thoughts. I gasped and backed away further when I saw the sight: two other wolves were running towards Luca, Aspen and Ryland. More wolves joining the fight was the last thing that needed to happen. I wanted so badly to scream, but my voice wouldn't come out.

Luckily, the three of them spotted the two wolves before they got too close. One of the wolves was completely black, exuding dominance and pride. The other had a mix of white and black fur across its body, an expression of pure fury lacing its features as it bared its fangs and growled at Ryland.

I mentally panicked and whimpered in fear, not for myself but for my friends who were fighting for me. As I trembled in place, I noticed that the black and white wolf folded its ears down slightly and stopped growling. It locked eyes with me and took an eager but hesitant step forward, almost as if it was apologizing for its aggression. My tears stopped and I calmed down a bit. Maybe this wolf wouldn't hurt me, but I still didn't know if it would hurt Luca and Aspen.

After I calmed down a bit and my tears faded to small sniffles, I saw the black and white wolf charge towards Ryland, its animosity and rage returning with full force as if it hadn't been calm mere seconds ago. The wolf growled ferociously as it reached its target, slashing Ryland on his muzzle and making him snarl in pain. As the wolf clawed relentlessly at Ryland, Aspen stepped out of the way and nudged Luca to come with her.

The two of them panted and scampered towards me, taking a quick breather before shifting back into their human forms. I grimaced at the sound of their bones reforming but was relieved to see their human faces again. Before I could hug them, Aspen pushed me back.

"Not yet," She said, shaking her head.

I looked further down and, though Luca and Aspen were modestly covering themselves as best as they could in their crouched positions, they were both naked.

"S-Sorry! I forgot werewolves do that!" I blushed in embarrassment, turning my head away.

As I did, the two wolves from earlier made their way towards the three of us. This time, they had packs thrown across their backs, and Aspen emptied their contents.

"Thanks, Eris, Wren."

The two wolves tilted their heads down as if they were nodding and then walked back to where they stood previously. I looked to see that Eris and Wren had brought some clothes for Aspen and Luca to throw on.

"That feels much better," Luca sighed, standing up slowly and then stretching his arms out. "I'm definitely more used to my human form."

Aspen shook his shoulder almost violently and a wide grin was plastered on her face. "You did amazing, Luca! I couldn't imagine having to actually fight when I first shifted. You did really well."

"Thanks," Luca smiled earnestly and then turned towards me. "Are you alright, Elias? How the hell did that rogue get to you?"

"Well," I began, but my sentence was cut short by a nasty thud, and the three of us turned our gaze towards the fight to see that Ryland had been thrown to the ground by the other wolf. "It's a long story, but I promise I'll tell you everything later."

Luca and Aspen nodded in understanding, rubbing my back in consolation before heading to rest under the shade of the surrounding oak trees. I was overjoyed that my two best friends were safe, but my eyes were drawn to the savage brawl taking place in front of me. Both Ryland and the other wolf had eyes full of bloodthirst, hungry to shred the other apart like paper. This time though, unlike with Aspen and Luca, Ryland was faltering to this new wolf.

It didn't seem like Luca and Aspen had tired him out all that much, so I was in shock watching the other wolf's strength and agility. As gruesome of a sight that the battle was, it was more than satisfying to see someone beat the everloving snot out of Ryland. As the black and white wolf went in for another vicious slash, Ryland evaded the attack and locked his fangs on the wolf's neck, making it tense up slightly in pain.

The black wolf that stood off to the side began to run forward to help, but the black and white wolf growled at it through clenched teeth, making the black wolf stop reluctantly. After a moment that felt like forever, Ryland threw the other wolf to the side and licked the blood from his own wound as the other wolf struggled to get back up. Once it did, the wolf and Ryland fought neck and neck once again, neither of them stopping as they suffered countless deep cuts and bruises.

As Ryland went in for a final blow, the other wolf quickly lunged and bit down on the space between Ryland's neck and shoulder, its jagged fangs piercing easily through Ryland's fur and skin. The wolf grunted as it threw Ryland to the ground and gave him even more injuries for good measure. The black and white wolf finally stopped when it saw that Ryland was a twitching heap on the ground, surrounded by his own crimson blood.

I watched wide eyed at the scene in front of me. It's over. It's all over. As I stared, the black and white wolf turned its head slowly in my direction, returning my gaze and making me shake from intimidation.

Slowly, it walked over towards me and I backed away slowly before seeing how tired and worn out it was. I noticed the deep bite mark on the wolf's neck as it neared closer, the fresh gashes across its body, and its fur matted with dried blood. Once the wolf was close enough, I saw that it had a hairless slit over its eye. It was an old scar, but it didn't look any less painful from the other wounds it was currently bearing.

The wolf slinked over to me in exhaustion as I sat down on the ground. It took me a moment before I registered everything. I could tell that the wolf was being gentler towards me earlier, I thought, but that scar looks familiar.

I gasped in realization. It couldn't be.

"Xander?"

The wolf wagged its tail weakly in affirmation, slowly coming forward to nuzzle my neck and cheek. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stroked Xander's fur, my mate's fur. I clung onto him as I sobbed, leaning my head on him and holding him close. He did come for me after all.

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THIS CHAPTER MAKES ME SO EMOTIONAL FRICK 😭 this was a difficult chapter to write because I wanted to make sure I did this scene justice. Also Ryland got his butt handed to him 😌 If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote and comment your thoughts! ♡ - D