Chase the Moon (On Hold)

Eighteen

New York City was a drastic change from Canada. Instead of trees, there were skyscrapers. Instead of rivers, there were roads. Instead of forests, there were people. Lots of people.

Nothing was natural here either. It was all man-made. Metal. There probably wasn't a tree for miles. It truly was a werewolf’s worst nightmare.

But that gut feeling that had been guiding me for months felt strong here. It felt right. It felt close. For that, I happily exchanged my familiar landscape for an unfamiliar cityscape. If my mate was in this city, then I would find her.

My wolf, for as much of a pain as he was, had been eerily cooperative these past few days. He hadn't been fighting me as much, and right now, he was helping me stay alert by enhancing my senses. I guess he wanted to meet her as badly as I did.

“Which way? Which way?” I muttered under my breath as I spun on the sidewalk, looking up at the gargantuan buildings looming over me.

I had become thoroughly lost after my first taxi ride. Those guys drove like maniacs.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a friendly looking young man smiling at me. “You look a little lost. Need help finding something?”

I must've looked like a tourist.

“Oh, uh. No. I'm meeting someone actually,” I said casually, a small smile on my lips as I tried to be polite.

“Gotcha,” the man said. “What do they look like? Maybe I can help you spot them?”

I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know what my mate looked like, let alone if she was even here. Without having any other words to describe her, I settled for, “She's the most beautiful person to ever step foot on this planet.”

The man chuckled a little and patted my shoulder, “I've lived here for ten years and I'm still trying to find one of those myself. I wish you luck, my friend.”

“Thanks,” I said as he continued on his way. With the sudden thought that he might be a pickpocket, I patted my pockets and checked my bag. Everything was still in its place. I let out a small sigh of relief as I started walking in a random direction, hoping to come across something that would lead me to her.

^^^°^^^

There was no mistaking rush hour in a big city. What I thought had been chaos before was a mere trickle when compared to this torrential downpour of people. I sometimes had to turn sideways to weave my way through the ocean of bodies.

This many people in one place at one time was way outside of my comfort zone. Lone hunters in the middle of the woods were bad enough, but if the moon were full while I was in the middle of this many people, there would be a massacre.

I looked left and right, but every time I moved my head, the entire scene changed. Too many people were on the move and too many vehicles were whizzing by each other on the streets.

Just when I thought I was going to lose all of my sanity, it hit me: the most intoxicatingly beautiful scent I had ever smelled. It was like lilacs and vanilla, with the subtle addition of fresh cotton, though not even that came close to describing it. I inhaled deeply and felt my stomach flutter. Malachi was pacing around in my mind, and I didn't have to lower the wall between us to know this was the scent of my mate.

Realizing I had stopped completely in the middle of all of these people, I opened my eyes and scanned desperately through the crowd. She was so close. Not only that, but she was real. She was here.

Fear clawed into my chest as her scent disappeared into the mix of so many others. I surged forward and pushed through the flow of bodies, desperate to catch a whiff of her intoxicating scent again.

I was so close. I couldn't lose her now.

The barest trace of lilac brushed past me, and I immediately turned to follow it.

It got stronger and stronger, and as I walked, I felt my heartbeat picking up speed.

Then, suddenly, I saw her.

She was waiting at a crosswalk to cross the street. He hair was as black as a moonless night, and was pulled up into a ponytail at the back of her head. She wore a black jacket and black jeans, with her hands thrust into her pockets. Purple earbuds shielded her ears from the outside world, and as she turned her head slightly, I saw they matched a purple streak in her short bangs.

I walked up and stood beside her. She was so close that I could reach out and touch her. I so desperately wanted to, but I couldn't. She was human.

Instead I settled for drinking in her face. It held an ethereal beauty, with lavender eyes, soft features, and pale pink lips.

"What are you staring at?"

Goddess, her voice was angelic. I couldn't even find the words to answer her, I was so struck by her beauty.

Frowning, she replaced her earbud followed the others across the crosswalk.

"Wait!" I called and grabbed her wrist.  The little tingles that danced up my arm drove me nuts, and all I wanted to do was pull her towards me and kiss her senseless. "I'm Mark. Marcus Young."

"Good for you," she said in a bored tone before pulling her arm out of my grasp. She started walking away, but I stopped her again.

"This is the part where you tell me your name."

My mate, my beautiful, perfect, incredible mate, frowned at me before relenting.

"Amelia. But everyone calls me Mia."

Amelia. It was perfect. I looked up to see her trying to walk away again, only the crosswalk now held the don't walk sign. I looked out and saw that one of the crazy taxi drivers was barreling forward just as my mate was about to step onto the road

In a panic, I ran forward and grabbed the back of her coat, yanking her backwards just as the taxi flew past.

Stumbling backwards, my foot caught on the lip of the pavement, and I fell backwards with Amelia in my arms.

She landed on top of me with a small sound of surprise. I looked up to see her face inches from mine, and I had to summon all of my will power to stop myself from kissing her.

"Can I take you out for coffee?" I asked quietly as my gaze settled on a small... nose piercing.

"Sorry, Babe," she rolled off of me and stood with an unprecedented grace. "You're not my type."

Type? She has a type? What if she was already with someone? The mere thought of it made me want to cry out in anguish.

I looked up only to realize she had disappeared. Her lilac scent lingered lightly in the air, but she was nowhere in sight.

Looking beside me, I found a lilac scented wallet on the sidewalk. I opened it up and saw her photo ID staring straight at me.

I looked over it and saw that her address was listed on the ID.

The least I could do was return it to her, right?