The Defiant Claim (The Claim: Book 2) LGBT

Chapter 17 - Mik (Part 2)

He threw Mik down on the floor, bashing his elbow and knee as he gasped for air.

"Not to mention, he's a terrible fighter," Nikki piped up. "I mean, if I wasn't supposed to bait him, I'd have his ass in a sling by now. Slow, poor form, hands were all over the place—"

"You're not helping, Nikki," Cameron growled.

She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced out the window. "Just saying. I did my job. Looks like I'm not getting laid anytime soon now either. Fuck. I'm so horny."

"The world doesn't fucking revolve around you."

"It would be nice if I could get some fucking dick! All the good ones are mated!"

"Boo-hoo. Get your ass up, Mik. We gotta go find Sam."

Mik was still trying to get enough air into his lungs. His chest burned, his stomach ached, and his neck and face hurt like a bitch. Damn, this male knew how to throw a punch! "Leave him. I fucked up. He won't want to see me. Probably won't want to see anyone."

"Yeah well, we can't do that. He's on suicide watch now."

"What?" Mik's eyes shot up to meet Cameron's glaring down at him.

"Oh, don't you know?" Cameron's voice had taken on a mocking tone. "Your mate has a history of suicidal tendencies. He can't be left alone now. If you were half the fucking mate you should be, you'd know that. Now get your ass up so we can get back to Sam before he does something he'll regret."

Clutching his stomach, Mik pushed himself up from the floor with a grimace. "Fuck."

"There's be none of that now," Cameron grunted. "Come on. Move your ass."

"Uh, guys..." Nikki said from her stance before the window. "Your boy went in the opposite direction of their cabin. He's already cleared the valley and I just saw him cut through the trees."Cameron swore as he strode to her side to peer out the window. "Where?"

"Southwest—over there," she pointed.

"Where the fuck is he going? Shit. Come on, Mik. We gotta hurry."

Anxiety tinted Cameron's scent as he brushed past Mik and out the door.

Still clutching his stomach, Mik dragged his sorry ass to the door before looking back once more at Nikki. He couldn't believe he fell for the bait. Nevertheless, he had to get the last word in. "I'm not a terrible fighter. I was going easy on you."

"Bitch, please," she retorted. "I'm one of the top warriors in this pack. I went easy on you. Best way to gain the upper hand is to mislead your opponent to inflate their ego. Hook, line, and sinker."

Before he could respond, Cameron shouted from the bottom of the stairs, "Come on, Mik!"

Grumbling, under his breath, Mik turned away from her and hurried down. Tap out. Find Sam.

Cameron was impatiently waiting for him, his arms crossed and his foot tapping on the ground. "Okay, so here's the deal. I don't know what's going on in Sam's head or where he's going. So if you give even one flying fuck about him, you'll work with me in finding him. But if you make a break for the border, the patrol wolves will hunt you down. They will crush you and they won't be as nice about it as I was when I took you down. Then they will drag your ass back to Alpha to deal with you—and if you think he'll go easy on you then, you got another thing coming. You hear me?"

Mik grunted. What choice did he have? One way or another, he knew he was going to have to face Noodin soon. His chance at having a peaceful discussion, however, was unlikely now.

"Alright, then. Let's go. Sam went that way," Cameron pointed to the southwest.

Wasting no time, Cameron stripped down and piled his clothes next to the door before shifting into his gray and white wolf and taking off across the valley. Mik followed his lead after stripping down and shifting into his silver-gray wolf.

They sprinted across the valley, Mik trying to keep up, as Cameron was surprisingly faster. Cameron broke through the treeline fifty yards ahead of him. Sam's scent lingered on the soil and the tips of bushes reaching out across a narrow worn path. His clothes were scattered as he stripped while running and shifting. Mik paused next to Sam's shirt and sniffed it. A whimper falling from his chest as an ache seized him from within.

Fuck.

Where are you going, Sam?

I'm sorry...

Cameron barked at him to keep up.

Tearing himself away, Mik picked up his paws and sprinted after Cameron, their noses to the ground and following Sam's lingering scent trail. Cameron was about a hundred yards ahead of him now. Mik couldn't see him but his scent was strong and fresh. He followed both through the forest, racing forward as fast as he could in hopes of catching up. All the while, Sam's face plagued his mind. The look of shock and betrayal was a short narrow blade repeatedly stabbing into his chest. Over and over, he saw Sam's face in his memory. All the smiles of gratitude, the deep blushing of his cheeks, his blue eyes finding the courage to meet his...

Sam deserved better. Mik knew he wasn't right for Sam. He knew he'd only hurt him.

Was he really a suicide risk? How could he be suicidal?

The very thought of Sam hurting himself or attempting to take his life... Mik couldn't believe it. Sam was a soft male, but he was strong. Stronger than Mik gave him credit. He put up with so much of Mik's shit. It didn't seem like Sam to try and kill himself. He was so full of life and... love.

And you don't deserve any of it, Mik growled to himself.

Losing sight of Cameron, Mik paused at a creek to lap some water, catch his breath, and sniff around for the trail. The mud on the bank on the other side held both sets of paw prints. After taking a few deep breaths to try and alleviate the pain in his chest, he sprang forward, following Sam and Cameron's trails.

A gradual incline in the forest made it that much harder for Mik to catch his breath. He'd been running at full-speed for almost half an hour. How much farther could Sam be? The earth was getting rockier. In some spots, his claws scraped against slabs of rock with gnarled tree roots curling above the dirt cracks between the slabs. He tripped over a few uneven rocks and roots, stumbling around and crashing against tree trunks, narrowly cracking his skull against the pointed trip of a rock jutting out of the ground.

The smell of water saturated the air and he pulled it greedily into his starving lungs. Panting, he looked ahead and saw the forest thinning as the earth grew rockier. As the trees fell away behind him, he saw Cameron ahead, shifting into his human form—with Sam standing, naked, at the top of the rocky hill a hundred and fifty yards away, his back to them.

Sam.

Pausing in his tracks, Mik swayed with exhaustion and relief at the sight of him. They found him. Everything would be okay. Mik was scared shitless about confronting Sam after being caught with Nikki—but they found him, he was okay, and that was all that mattered.

He heaved a sigh, his muscles quaking. What should he do now? What should he say to Sam? Would Sam even listen? Talk to him? How could Sam even look at him now?

Struck with the image of Sam's horrified face half an hour ago, Mik sank to the earth.

He'll never look at you the same way again.

You never deserved a mate as gentle and caring as him.

You selfish shithead.

"Sam!" Cameron cried out and when Mik looked up, Sam was gone.

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Dedicated to HeartStone Packmate: CJ_Brown_pen - Join us on Facebook!

Copyright Jo Lee Hunt ( Joflower ) 2019