Asher
Brian's voice in my head woke me up from a peaceful sleep with my mate safe in my arms. Eve was still sleeping on my naked chest. I slowly got off the bed and tucked her in.
I walked out her room and mind-linked Brian. 'What is it?' I asked.
It had to be an emergency or something because Brian has never mind-linked me since I've left him in charge of the pack. Whenever I checked in, it was mostly just everything running smoothly and no drama.
'We caught a few rogues,' Brian informed me.
'Do the usual procedures, then tell me what they say.'
'That's the problem,' Brian said sounding irritated. 'The guy won't talk. And the chick keeps repeating the same sentence.'
'Well what does she say?' I inquired.
'Where's the Alpha's Princess?'
I cut off our mind-link and walked to the living room. Shawn was there with a sleeping Matthew. I motioned for Shawn to come over to me. "What's up?" he asked.
"I gotta take care of some stuff. Watch over Eve for me," I said.
Shawn nodded, but stopped me when I tried walking past him. "You need a shirt," he stated.
"Why? I'm gonna shift anyway."
"There's kids in there." He nodded towards the living room. I peeked in, and Jordyn was there with Elise and other kids.
"My stuff is in there," Shawn said while pointing to the door next to me. "Just take a shirt and go. But don't shift with it on. I want it back."
I rolled my eyes and went to grab a shirt. I settled for a plain white one that was on his bed. I walked past Jordyn and the kids, then out the castle. I took off Shawn's shirt before shifting and holding it in my mouth.
*****
Half an hour later, I shifted back into human form and slid back on the shirt. Brian was waiting for me on the porch. He had two files in his hands along with a pair of shorts. He handed me the shorts, then the files.
"The guy didn't give us any information, but I still wrote up the report. The girl answered a few questions, then kept repeating the sentence" Brian said quickly.
I opened up the file and read it aloud. "Britney Walters. Age: 18. Rogue for 2 years. Ran away from her pack. Hasn't found a mate."
"Why was she on our land?" I asked Brian.
He shrugged. "That's when she started talking about Eve."
I nodded and we walked down to the cells together. The two rogues were the only ones in here. The guy had short raven black hair, he was knocked out, and he was well-built; but all werewolves are well-built. The girl had brown hair with lighter highlights that went down to her shoulders. Her eyes were brown, and they were staring right at me.
"Are you Britney?" I asked.
The girl just stared at me and sniffed the air. She kept sniffing and looking around the room. "Where is he?!" she shouted.
"Who? Where is who?" I questioned.
"Where's my mate?!"
I thought she said that she hasn't found her mate. "I don't know who your mate is," I said calmly.
"You're lying!" she yelled as she came as close to the bars as she could without touching them.
"Who is your mate?" Brian asked.
"I don't know," she said exasperated. "But I can smell him."
"He's probably part of my pack" I stated. "You might have smelt him when we opened the door."
Britney shook her head. "No. Its like he's in this room, but he's not."
"Britney," Brian said softly. "That makes no sense," he deadpanned.
She growled at him. "I can smell him!"
"What does he smell like?"
She took a long whiff while her eyes shut. "Like... Coconuts?" she said, but it sounded more like a question.
Coconuts. Who the hell smells like coconuts?
"Do you know anyone who smells like coconuts?" I asked Brian.
He shook his head. "I've never smelt anyone who smells like coconuts."
"That's what he smells like!" Britney insisted.
"We'll help you find you're mate. But for now, I need to know what you want with the princess," I said.
Britney shook her head. "Mate now. Princess later."
Knowing what it feels like not to find your mate, I agreed. I thought about everyone in the pack, but I don't remember anyone smelling like coconuts. "Who else came down here?" Brian asked.
"No one. Just you this morning, then you guys now," she answered.
"Is his scent still here?" I asked.
She nodded. "Its not moving, but its faint. Like someone else's scent is mixed with it,"
"What's the other scent?"
She sniffed. "Oranges and grass" she shuddered. "Such a weird combination," her face scrunched up in a disgusted manner.
'Ash,' Brian said through the mind-link. I glanced at him, waiting for him to say something. 'That's your scent. Citrus and grass is your scent,' he informed me.
"How is her mate's scent on me?" I asked aloud.
Britney growled. "I know you have him. Where is he?!"
"I swear that I don't have your mate" I said calmly. "How could someone's scent be mixed with mine?"
Brian shrugged. "It mixes when you use someone lotion, or perfume, or hug them, or wear their clothes."
I didn't use any lotion or perfume. I hugged Eve. But she's my mate and she doesn't smell like coconuts, so its not her. And I just got shorts from Brian, but they didn't smell like coconuts. And I have Shawn's- "I got it!" I exclaimed.
"Who is it?" Brian asked.
I took off my shirt and handed it to Britney through the bars. "Is that it?" I asked.
She nodded and continued to sniff the shirt. Honestly, she looks like a creepy ex-girlfriend who couldn't get over her boyfriend. So she stole his shirt to cuddle with it or something. Don't judge my weird imagination. "Who's is this?" she questioned.
"He's not from my pack," I stated. "I have to make a call."
*****
Shawn
"Asher?" I asked while picking up the phone.
"Have you found your mate?" Asher blurted.
"No," I said sadly. I'm 19 and mateless. I didn't go on a trip and look for my mate. I just let nature take its course and hoped that we would eventually bump into each other. "Why?" I questioned.
"I think I found her," Asher said. "Come to my pack house."
"What about Eve?" I asked. She was still sleeping, but I didn't want to leave her alone.
"I can watch over her," Jordyn offered. "Go get your mate."
Of course she would listen to my phone call. I smiled and mouthed 'thank you.' "Jordyn will watch Eve. I'll be there in half an hour," I said before hanging up.
I ran out the castle and shifted, not caring about my clothes. My mate is waiting for me, and that's all that matters. My wolf was all giddy and pushed me to go faster. I ran past trees and jumped over logs. My grey fur was blowing in the wind as I forced my legs to run faster.
My legs ached when I made it to Asher's pack house. He was waiting for me at the porch with a pair of shorts. I shifted and put on the shorts.
"Where is she?" I asked.
Asher put his hands up in surrender. "She's a rogue. She's in the cellar."
I held in a growl, knowing that he was following procedure. You're supposed to bring rogues into the cellar and question them- even if they look harmless. Looks can be very deceiving. "Why do you think she's my mate?" I inquired.
"She smelt your shirt," Asher informed me as we walked into the pack house. "She still has it by the way. I don't think you're gonna get that back," he said with a small chuckle.
He opened the door to the cellar, and I was hit with her scent. She smelt like rogue, but there was more. Like strawberries and cream. I inhaled as I walked closer to the cells. 'Mate,' my wolf growled.
"Mate," a girl mumbled from inside a cell. She had short brown hair with light colored highlights and she had big brown eyes.
"I'm Shawn," I introduced myself.
"Britney."
"Can you guys open the cell?" I asked Asher and Brian.
Asher gave me an apologetic smile as he shook his head. "We need some info," he said.
"She's my mate!" I exclaimed. "Can't you get info with her outside the cage?" I questioned.
"She was talking about Eve," Brian stated.
I looked at Britney who was now staring at the floor like its the new iPhone 7. I felt my heart drop. My mate wants something to do with Eve. My mate might be a danger to my princess, my best friend.
I nodded and Asher and Brian, then leaned against the wall while they began to question Britney. "What do you want with the princess?" Asher asked sternly. I wanted to growl, but he was doing what was needed. It would be hard to chose between my mate and Eve. My mate should come first; but at the moment, I know nothing about her. All we have between us is the bond. Eve and I have years of our friendship. I'll stick up for her even after I die and people bad mouth her in Heaven.
"A witch said that the princess can help me," Britney answered.
"Help you do what?"
"Find my sister," she said quietly. "Seleta ran away with me two years ago, but we got split up. I've been trying to find her ever since."
"Did the witch say how Eve can help you?" Brian asked.
Britney nodded. "My sister is her guardian."
"But guardians are angels," I piped in, confused.
"And angels are dead," Asher added.
Britney frowned. "I know," she said quietly.
"So your sister is dead," Brian said.
"Yeah," she said sadly.
'Mate is sad! Help mate!' my wolf shouted at me. It hurt us to see that she's sad. That she's hurting. I pushed myself off the wall. "Can you open the cell now?" I asked Brian and Asher.
They nodded and unlocked Britney's cell, but she didn't walk out. "What about Lloyd?" she asked.
"Who's Lloyd?" I growled.
Brian and Asher nodded towards the cell next to Britney's. A guy was knocked out on the floor. "He's like family," Britney whispered. "He took care of me and helped me find my sister."
"Why wasn't he talking?" Brian asked.
Britney smiled. "He has a thing about authority." Well, duh. That's probably why he's a rogue. We fell into an awkward silence, then Brian and Asher excused themselves. Britney cleared her throat and took a step out the cell. "So... What pack are you from?" she asked.
"The Royal Pack," I stated.
She nodded. "Are you close with the princess?"
"Yeah."
Britney looked down, then back up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Do you think she'll help me talk to Seleta?" she asked hesitantly.
"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. "She's never even mentioned a guardian; but I can talk to her about it," I offered.
Britney gave me a small smile and nodded.
"Come on, let's go home."