That Bastard! My own father keeping me from finding my mate who was out in the woods, alone, maybe scared, wondering why her mate was not coming to find her. She must have smelled me at the campsite Rumulus said as he was getting stronger and stronger by the minute. The night was coming and I felt him having more and more power over my thoughts, my emotions and finally... my body. He shifted in his own skin and started scratching at the walls, howling at the bars.
His sensitive ears picked up the howling of other wolves, wolves from our pack, he knew them. My dad being one of them. Just as he wanted to howl again another howl pierced through the air. Fainter than the others, farther away, being carried by the wind. A deathly howl, Rumulus' fur spiked up and a shiver ran up his spine violently. The howl was so petrifying that he stood in the cell for a while, realizing this howl came from a wolf in our territory, probably close to his mate, he grew more and more angry, scratching at the walls, howling again and again, wanting to tell his mate to come here, not to be scared. Please! I think of you, every day I thought about you! Every night I longed for you! Please he whined and continued fighting the cell.
The night was long, Rumulus fought hard, just to be interrupted every few hours by the deathly howl of that stray wolf. A howl full of hatred and wrath, a howl raspy and uneven, piercing through the night, making the pack in the town centre move closer together. Rumulus had pushed into the pack link to listen to what was happening outside. The pack had moved together apart from a few young ones being dealt with by warriors who seemed to have enough control or wolves with a better sense of judgement. The howl sounded even worse through their ears, so loud, it must come from a massive wolf. That tiny second in command will never be able to keep that beast away Rumulus said and feared for his mate once more.
He didn't give up, he kept fighting the cage again and again, not once giving up. I have to find her! He chanted over and over, biting at the bars, hurting himself while scratching the cell walls. Never in my life had a full moon night been this long, this agonizing and exhausting.
It felt like years until the sun began to rise and I felt Rumulus mighty power decrease, but he wouldn't have me take over, he fought until two warriors came down, opening my cell. Rumulus pushed the rest of the way open and pushed the men out of his way, pushing past everyone, squeezing through the doorframe, scratching himself, but not caring enough to stop. He bolted out of the house and into the woods, howling and calling his mate. The air was full of smells, mostly from the pack which had spent the night outside, their feelings lingering in the air. Rumulus ran toward the forest, toward the area where he found her camp the last time. Not caring about his own exhaustion he pushed forward faster and faster, sniffing the air here and there until...
Until the stench of blood hit his nose hard. Blood smelling so sweet, so alluring, so perfect. He whimpered as he walked closer to the source, seeing drops of blood here and there. By the smell of it, it was clear it was our mates'. No he hushed as he came to an opening, it wasn't the same one in which we found the camp, but her blood was splashed across a patch of grass. Rumulus lowered his snout into the grass and cautiously sniffed the blood. The same tingling sensation ran through his body making clear it was her blood. A howl escaped his throat as he tried to pick up her scent and he did, it was so dominant here. I will find her he screamed and sprinted through the woods, always following the scent which was lingering in the air.
It took almost all day to follow every path our mate had walked, to check everywhere for the scent or more. Rumulus didn't find more blood which reassured him, the amount of blood on the clearing was not deathly for a werewolf and the smell of blood vanished in the tracks, indicating our mate had healed. Rumulus body was exhausted as he trotted along yet another track of hers, we came to another section of the river flowing through the forest, the stream was deeper here, being able to hold a whole werewolf inside. The scent ended right there at the river, not leaving it on the other side nor anywhere else. Another howl escaped Rumulus, we had lost her again.
The next day was a haze, it was a Sunday and our day off from training. I wanted to ask Tae what happened in the woods, wanted to ask about those agonizing howls, about my mate. Wanted to see whether she might remember the scent, remember seeing a hurt wolf, but Tae was nowhere to be seen. My dad said not to worry "she has her day off too you know" he said, still grim. Maybe the fact what a lousy father he was had finally caught up to him.
My friends tried to cheer me up with loads of good food, it didn't really work. The pancakes and bacon for breakfast tasted like dirt and sitting there eating and then snuggling into my bed to get some sleep felt wrong. How could I be laying here when she was somewhere out there? "You don't do anyone any good if you exhaust yourself" Clemens said while guiding my tired body to my room "need to find her" I mumbled again, just like I had done a million times already.
"You will, we will help you" he assured me as he pushed me into my room and helped me, since I was too sore to do anything on my own. I didn't want to sleep, I didn't want to waste time, I didn't want to be in this huge bed alone, didn't want to let my body relax while she could be in danger. But my eyes closed and darkness consumed me quickly, leaving time for my body to heal and my mind to wander around. I saw images of different female wolves, saw us meeting just to have her vanish as soon as I reached her.
The dreams kept my mind so busy, I still felt tired as I woke up, but most of my wounds from the night had healed already. I sniffed the air, still hoping to find her scent in it. I found the smell of a roast instead, my mouth watering with sudden cravings for massive portions of food. Tae had had us on a strict diet over the week in order to keep our bodies "as healthy as possible to grow muscle fast and heal quicker" she had said. Oatmeal for breakfast every day, fruit in breaks, loads of vegetables and starches, large portions of rice and peas, nuts, lentils, grains with meat. No milk products in anything, she said it would harm our bodies since milk was for baby cows, not humans or wolves. It was too fatty and not meant to build anything in a body like ours. Kind of made sense, was still the first time I heard it...
My friends turned their heads as I walked into the dining room. The room was crowded, pack members sitting along large tables, on the sofas, standing and chatting while a few female and male members started setting down huge dishes on the tables. "Come on man" they shouted and I took a seat within my group. The atmosphere changed as a warrior pack came into the room. It was unusual for so many of them to eat here on Sundays, they normally ate with their families in individual houses on our land. I eyed them as they took seats on a different table, talking among themselves.
"Have you seen the destruction in the woods?" one asked in a hushed voice "yeah, we even found a few bodies" the other added, just I wanted to jump up he said "all rogues from what I could tell, maybe drawn in by their bloodlust". Relief flooded through me, not my mate.
As we continued eating I listened into the conversation of different members of my pack. None of them had seen anything last night, most had been scared out of their minds and had not dared to look into the forest.
"Did any of you see anything?" I asked my friends, only then remembering how many times I had asked them already. "No man, I'm sorry, but no one saw her" Mark said and looked into my eyes, grief filling his own. They understood how I felt, they could feel through the mind-link. I sighed and stood up, leaving my plate as it was, someone will come and clear it away, they always did. I felt tired again, maybe a food coma or maybe just mental exhaustion this time. I returned to my room to lay down again when I heard something from the room across from me. The shower was on, water running and I could make out some movement in the attached bathroom. I waited and heard the shower being turned off, ruffling of a towel and steps out of the bathroom, the door being shut and steps inside the room.
I knew I should have waited, I knew I should have thought about giving her time to get dressed, but I couldn't wait, what if she just vanished again?! I knocked on her door sternly, suddenly wide awake. More ruffling of fabric, I knocked again. Light steps toward the door, the lock clicked into place and before me stood the second in command of the Star Warrior Pack. Dressed in the same clothes as always, but shoes and socks missing and her shirt hanging over her trousers. The usual fabric covering the bottom half of her face as she looked at me, her eyes slightly droopy. "T... Sir" I started, for the first time addressing her the way I was supposed to, wanting to be on her best side for once.
"You were on patrol last night, I was wondering if you..." "no" she said before I could finish. My eyes widened "but you didn't..." "I did not have to" she interrupted me again "you've been asking around for your mate everywhere" she added, annoyance in her voice. "Maybe you missed a..." "no" she interrupted me again. She didn't doom me worthy of another glance before she shut the door right in my face. That bitch I thought as I knocked on her door again, but her room remained silent, just as it had always been. The anger died down as I walked into my own room, collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep, drifting off into numbness this time.