Nathan
I knew we didn't have long before we would be found. But I didn't care right now. All that mattered was that I had my Cole in my arms. Here. With me.
And this was exactly why I didn't accept my my mate before. You see now, I should have been helping out. Checking if everyone was ok, which I was pretty sure wasn't the case, and doing what I could to assist with catching those who were responsible.
But instead, here I was, self indulging. Breathing in the scent of my mate and relishing the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around me.
And boy, did it feel good. And now I'd done it, now I had finally given into the pull, I knew that there was nothing I could do to change a damn thing.
Because right now, I didn't even care about the rest of my pack. I only cared about the most precious thing to me in the world. The boy in my arms.
And that made me both angry and relieved at the same time. Relieved that I had finally stopped fighting this. But angry that I was weaker than I thought.
"Are you ok?" came a small voice from somewhere in my chest.
I gently pulled Cole back by his shoulders to look at his beautiful multi colored eyes.
"Of course I am. It's you I'm worried about."
Cole tipped his head slightly to one side as his eyes seemed to scrutinise my face. It was both adorable and unnerving in equal measure.
"You're tense," he replied.
I took note of my muscles, and yes, he was right, I was tense. I forced my body to relax, then shot Cole a smile.
"Better?"
He frowned, although the corners of his mouth tugged up a little.
"It would be better if you'd tell me what was bothering you," he said.
I turned my face away from his stare and started to get up, forcing Cole to climb off my lap. As soon as we broke contact I regretted it. I felt empty and alone, like a raft adrift at sea, and Cole was my anchor.
But I had to get up, because my body was suddenly full of this nervous tension, which meant that I needed to move to try to release some of it.
"I told you, I'm fine," I said, while poking at the ground with my foot.
I was not fine. I was far from fine. Part of me was screaming to grab hold of Cole again and never let him go, part of me was itching to change into my wolf and just run off all this pent up nervous energy, and another part of me wanted to prove that having a mate would not stop me from doing my duties, and go and find the rest of the group to see what needed to be done.
I looked up at Cole and saw such a look of sadness in his eyes that I quickly closed the distance between us and pulled him back into my chest.
I immediately heard him let out a sigh of relief. Did he think I was going to reject him again?
The sound of footsteps getting closer caused me to pull away, but I kept one arm around Cole, not wanting to break the contact again.
A police officer suddenly appeared through the trees. She took one look at us, then put two fingers in her mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle, before yelling, "I've found him, he's over here!"
Just seconds later, footsteps seemed to be coming from every direction and then we were surrounded by police.
The crowd seemed to part as one guy stepped through and before I knew it, Cole was pulled out of my arms and into his.
I was about to reach out to pull him back, when I realised I recognised the man. It was Cole's dad.
He wasn't wearing full uniform like the other officers but he was wearing black combat pants, and a black collared t-shirt with a police logo on it.
"Oh my god Cole, what were you doing?" he chastised, all the while gripping him tightly into his chest.
He didn't wait for Cole to answer, but just bombarded him with more questions.
"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you at all? What were you even doing there?"
He pulled Cole back to look at him, brushing over his face with his hand, checking for any marks.
"I'm fine dad," Cole replied, looking anything but.
"Come on, let's get you home," he said, putting his arm around Cole and starting to maneuver him away.
My heart sped up rapidly at the thought of him being taken away from me again. It didn't matter that this time he would be safe. All that mattered was that I wouldn't be there with him.
After just a few steps, Cole suddenly rooted his feet to the ground, causing him and his dad to come to an abrupt stop.
Cole's dad looked down at him questioningly.
"Dad, can Nathan come with us?" he asked.
I quickly stepped forward as Cole's dad spun round to look at me.
His gaze cast over me, and although there wasn't much change in his expression, I knew he wasn't too happy with the idea.
"Cole, you need to get home and rest. I'm sure you can see Nathan some other time," he said, gently trying to lead Cole away.
But Cole wasn't having any of it.
"But Dad, I really want Nathan to come with me."
"And I told you, not now," Cole's dad replied, his voice getting firmer.
"But Dad.."
"Cole, I'm not having this argument with you now!"
"But I really.."
I stepped back.
"Cole, it's ok," I said. "Go with your dad."
Cole looked me straight in the eye, and I did my best to keep my face devoid of emotion. I didn't want Cole to get in trouble with his father. And I understood why he would want to take Cole home, where he would be safe. But I also felt anxious about having to be apart from Cole again. And sad. Very sad.
"Nathan," Cole said softly, his eyes full of emotions I couldn't quite read.
"I'm fine Cole, just go," I said, trying the best to hide the pain in my voice.
"No Nathan! You're not fine! I feel it.....here!" he said, hitting his chest roughly.
Cole's eyes glistened in the light, and I suddenly realised that the emotion I saw in them was not Cole's at all. It was mine. He could feel what I felt.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cole's dad's jaw slacken slightly, as he looked back and forth between us both.
We held our gaze, neither of us able to look away.
"Ok, come on then," Cole's dad said, before pulling on Cole's arm, making him break eye contact with me.
Cole took a step away from me, before turning to look behind him, and holding out his hand towards me.
Without even thinking about it, my body moved forwards, my hand instantly slotting around his.
We followed wordlessly until we reached what I assumed was Cole's dad's car.
Cole opened the back door for me and I climbed in, then scooted across allowing Cole to slide in beside me,
"Seatbelts on," came the order from the front, and we slid apart to belt up.
As soon as the car pulled onto the main road, Cole's hand slipped into the space between us and I reached out and laced my fingers with his.
The journey was silent apart from the gentle hum of the car's engine. The silence wasn't awkward, but it left me with too much time with my own thoughts.
Like, what was going to happen now? Would Cole's dad not approve of our relationship? And would he try and separate us? Or not allow Cole to see me? How could we even begin to explain what was going on without letting him know I was a werewolf?
I felt my stomach start to clench itself into knots, and the car suddenly felt too small and stuffy.
A small tug on my hand made me turn to look at Cole.
When my eyes met his, he smiled at me and I felt his thumb brush gently against my hand.
I knew he was trying to calm me down, but it wasn't working. Because all he was doing was reminding me of how much I loved him, and how much the idea of being separated from him again terrified me.
I didn't want to fight his dad. But looking at Cole right now, I knew I would do whatever it took to never leave his side again.