The Rogue Mate

Chapter 14 - "Stay With Me"

Kate’s pov:
My mother and I enter the woods on our own. We hardly say anything as we keep our eyes peeled in every direction. I’m hoping to sense something about Blake, but I don’t. An hour passes and there’s still nothing. It’s starting to weigh me down as what I felt earlier was of such magnitude that it was impossible to ignore. I just have a feeling that time is of the essence and we need to find him fast.

- Don’t you sense anything?

My mother asks me after a while. I shake my head. As I’m about to speak, we sense something in the bushes. We’re both looking at each other, both turning wary as a wolf makes its way through the bushes, and to my surprise, I know it far too well.

- Gray?

I barely manage to let out as he turns back to his human-form. To say that I’m surprised to see him is an understatement. My mother looks just as confused as I do.

- What are you doing in the woods?

I ask before my mother has a chance to. I can see something in his eyes that I’ve barely believed before – regret.

- I…I thought I’d try to find your mate and bring him back. Seeing you so angry and hurt made me question everything I’ve done the last couple of days. At the same time, something didn’t seem right with those rogue-hunters.

- Why?

I find myself asking, still not giving him any credit for actually trying to fix this.

- I’ve caught their scents along with someone that I met with earlier, someone that I actually talked to the night before the rogue-hunters arrived. That guy went straight to them, as if the three of them were after Blake particularly. When I thought about it, I really started to wonder about whether or not they were actual rogue-hunters or if they just portrayed themselves that way. What are you two doing in the woods at this hour?

He then asks as if it isn’t obvious enough.

- I’m trying to find, Blake. I’m convinced of his innocence and I need to find him. I smelled something like blood earlier and I’m scared he’s been attacked or…

I can’t say the rest as I sense my mother placing her hand on my shoulder.

- I’ve caught the scent of that as well, but the wind is so shifty that I can’t tell where it’s coming from.

He answers as I come to realize that I need his help. I look up at my mother who nods at me slightly, as if she knows what I’m thinking.

- Where is Blake most likely to go in these woods?

She then asks me.

- There’s a clearing not too far from here…it’s where…where dad and his brother died. There’s also a pond further in with a cave just nearby. That’s where he’s been living for the last three years.

I answer in a shaky breath as I sense my mother is getting tense too. Hearing about the place her own mate died really hits her. Gray only takes a deep breath and stands put where he is even though I know he wants to give us both a hug for comfort.

- If time is of the essence, which I can tell it is by the smell of blood, it would serve us better to split up.

He suggests and we both agree.

- Why don’t you get to the pond further in? Kate and I will investigate the nearby areas as well as the clearing…

She answers as Gray turns into his wolf and disappears through the bushes.