The picture above is Nick Bateman, who seems to most resemble what I think Clause would look like.
I decided that Clause is pretty much a main character at this point and deserves a body to go with my descriptions.
I'm also thinking about doing a spin-off with Clause and Drake together, so why not give him a more permanent role in the story.
Hope you enjoy the chapter ☺
~HarleyVB
Finn's POV
The world around me seemed to slip through my fingertips, sliding right from my hands as I tried to get a grasp on reality. My skin went cold, heart pumping loudly in my ears and forcing me to press both hands to my head to suppress the pounds. I nearly screamed out in frustration when my vision got blurry, toppling over to the ground and clinging to the grass.
Heavy footsteps echoed in my head, the sound disappearing in seconds as well as Adrian's scent. I couldn't react fast enough, turning around to see the empty forest where my mate once was.
"Dammit," I said, clawing at the skin on my arms while I looked all around me, trying to spot my mate. "God fucking dammit!" I yelled, hitting my fists against the ground as I panted heavily.
He had screamed.
I heard it.
I had to have heard it.
Gritting my teeth together, I kept darting through the woods, fear taking over my body like some rogue parasite. I couldn't help the tears on my face as I recalled images of my dead parents, my old pack burning down and Jasper covered in blood as I tore him away from the hunters.
I killed the hunters. I had to kill them. They would've taken Jasper away from me if I hadn't.
"Adrian!" I shouted, my voice echoing off of the floor as I kept remembering his audible cry for help. "Please, oh god, please."
I tried to focus, listening for any signs that the captor was still around. I was met with unbearable silence, my fists clenching and pain pounding in my head.
It could have been a rogue, or maybe a hunter.
I shook my head, pressing my hands against my eyes while I cried profusely. My hands felt tied against my back, emotions swirling in my head while I attempted to search for a solution with little information to go off of.
So fucking weak.
Couldn't save my parents, now I can't even save my own mate.
My breathing was heavy while I turned in circles, gripping my hair harshly between my fingers as I nearly ripped a clump out. I could barely catch my breath as panic started to set in.
His scent was everywhere, most likely from our hide and seek game, but I didn't detect any blood so that was good. I had to try and remain positive.
He's not hurt. For now, at least.
I could hear my wolf growling lowly in the back of my mind, his spirit very present unlike usual. He usually slept while out of control, but sometimes he remained alert in the corner of my mind, watching through my eyes and throwing snide comments at me.
Our wolves are a big part of us, though they almost always stay in wolf form and don't shift like humans. It's somewhat complicated at times, but my wolf is as entitled as I am to be with our mate. It's not fair for me to always be in control.
Maybe he went back to the house.
"No," I said out loud, not caring that I sounded crazy talking to myself. "I can't leave. Not without Adrian." my fists clenched as I finally caught on to an unfamiliar scent.
There was a scrap of cloth laying on the dirty ground, a pungent smell coming off of it and making me scrunch my nose up. It was covered in different scents, one of which was obviously my mate's, the other was nearly unrecognizable.
Sniffing harshly, I detected the smell of something acidic and deadly.
Chloroform,
The scent was all too familiar to me. It was something the hunters had used previously to try and knock out their victims, though it only worked on weaker werewolves or kids.
They had to have known that Adrian was human. Unless it isn't the hunters.
I delicately picked up the fabric, sniffing out the area for any trace of hunters, or even rogues. Right away I could tell that it wasn't either of them. Hunters had a very distinct smell. They were always covered in metal, mostly from their bullets, and more importantly, wolves bane.
It was a human.Maybe someone else who remembered him from the news.
After our encounter with a suspicious human at the mall, I made sure to send some of Clauses men to pay off the local news channel. Adrian had been deemed found and returned back home. The case was closed and the police were quickly called off of the scene, though it took a lot of reasoning and bribery to do. For some reason his father didn't notice and never called the search for his son back on. Though from the way Adrian described his father, it didn't seem like he would even care too much about the absence of his son.
Keeping my mate protected from his past was my main focus. I thought that he would always be safe with me, but somewhere inside of me I knew that it would eventually catch up to him.
I tried to calm my fast paced breathing, though I knew it was useless to even try as I pressed my sweating hands to my face.
It felt like I was backed into a corner as I looked all around me, trying to increase my senses in a blind attempt to scent my mate. Something great about being the Alpha was having control, but in that moment I knew that I had none. The situation was completely out of my hands.
"He's gone." I said, panic audible in my wavering voice. "Oh god, he's gone. I couldn't protect him." my hands shook as I clenched them into a tight fist, pushing away my fear.
Having a melt down in the middle of the woods won't help either of us.
My mind was racing, but I was determined as the rag in my hand reminded me of my missing mate.
Drake was startled when I barged into the cabin, his eyes widening as I kept a domineering stance. My instincts were to shout at him, but I knew it wasn't the right way to handle the situation and instead inhaled slowly.
In the past I had always solved my problems with anger, punching several holes in the cabin walls, but Adrian took all of that frustration out of me. He always brought out a better side of me, the side that everyone else liked. When I was around him I couldn't help but smile and feel as if I was floating. I wasn't a scary werewolf, or even the guy whose parents died when he was a kid. I was just Finn, or Finny, and that meant the most to me.
"Finn?" Drake said, reaching for my arm as he set down the bottle in his hand. "Are you alright?" he looked behind me at the shut door. "Where's Adrian?"
The reminder of my mate only brought out the need to order my pack members around. I opted for a calmer reaction, though it certainly didn't change my attitude.
"He's gone." I muttered, trying not to growl at the mention of it. "Someone took him."
"W-What?" Drake looked as horrified as I felt, his eyes starting to fill with tears. "W-We have to get Clause, he'll know what to do."
His reaction slightly caught me off guard. I knew that the he and Adrian had started to form a bond, but I was still sure that there was bad blood between them after everything that happened. The tears on Drake's face only disproved my theory as he took a seat on the couch, swiftly taking the phone out of his pocket to call Clause.
"C-Can you please come over here?" Drake said, the remorse in his tone very prominent as he tried to keep himself together. "Yes, I'm okay. Something happened..."
The fact that Drake felt the need to call someone else to solve our problem only seemed to stick me down further in the hole I was burying my self in. I was the Alpha, but I still couldn't protect my pack.
I didn't notice Drake getting off of the phone until I felt his arms around me, trying to give me some comfort. My arms stayed firmly planted at my sides while the smaller boy hugged me. Though his embrace did little to make me feel better, it was a kind gesture on his part.
"We'll figure this out." he said, one of his hands reaching for my cheek, a touch that felt too intimate as I turned my head in refusal.
"Drake-" I started, but he just released me and shook his head.
"I know, Finn. I'm with Clause now and you have a mate. All of that is behind me." Drake gave me a small smile. "I'd like to believe that, considering everything that happened, we're still friends."
I tried to shoot him a friendly smile, but I didn't have the strength, so I patted his back instead.
"We're still friends."
My wolf was quiet, stirring in the back of my mind as he tried to assess the precarious situation we had gotten into. He was always better at making these tough decisions, though he has been known to be rash. I trusted him to do what was best for the pack. He's as much an Alpha as me.
"Can you try to mind link him Finn?" Drake asked, putting a slump in my shoulders. "I know they'll probably drug him and it won't work, but it's worth a shot-"
"We never finished the mating process." I said, discomfort leaking out in my tone. "I only marked him, we didn't...go all the way."
Mind linking was something that came with being a werewolf. When you're shifted you can't exactly communicate with words, so instead we're able to link each other and talk through thoughts, sort of like telepathy. I knew that I should have mated with Adrian sooner. He would officially be part of the pack and could use the mind link then. But I understood that he was nervous and I wanted to wait until he was ready. I would never force him to do anything like that before he wanted to.
"It's alright, Finn. We'll find another way." Drake said, his voice barely audible against the rapid pulse thumping in my head.
My legs shook as I sat down on the couch, forcing my face into my hands to try and calm myself down a little. I wasn't used to showing this much weakness. I was supposed to be the strong one in the pack, but still I continued to fall into pieces.
I couldn't help but feel responsible. I was supposed to be there to protect Adrian, I promised him I would. And he believed me, even after being hurt before by those he was close to.
Clause came as soon as possible, but his presence seemed to calm Drake more than me.
"I'll send my warriors out to look for him." Clause said, Drake pressed firmly at his side as the smaller man tried to contain his tears. "We'll find him Finn, I promise you." I felt like a small child being coddled by their parent. "Do you have anything with his scent on it? It'll really help when we go into town to track him."
I nodded my head and tossed him Adrian's sweatshirt that I had been clutching tightly since that morning. His sweet smell lingered on the thick fabric, it had been one of his favorite shirts to slip on and snuggle with. I shuddered when the fabric slipped from my fingers, reminding me all too well of my taken mate.
"He'll be okay, right?" Drake asked his lover, insisting on a tender hug.
Clause smiled softly and brushed the boy's silver hair down, trying to comfort him as I did my own mate.
"It'll be alright, angel." he mumbled, using a tone that I barely recognized as it came from his mouth.
He was known as a brutal man that had an unstoppable pack, a good number of them trained fighters and warriors. I knew that he had a more gentle side to him, but I rarely got to see it.
"Do you have to leave right now?" Drake questioned, tears still trailing down his face.
Clause let out a sigh and nodded his head. "Yes. We should start looking as soon as we can."
I stood up at the mention of this, standing beside Clause as he was still firmly holding the smaller male. There was little I could do to separate them, so I just waited for Drake to pull away.
"I love you." Clause whispered, a painful laugh coming from Drake. "I'll be back later to have some fun."
The two finally broke the hug, a couple smiles being exchanged before Clause turned to me.
"Let's go find your mate." he said, looking almost as determined as I felt.
And with those words, the search for my missing mate began.
(Posted 8/5/17)