LEON ADLER
I take a rest on the ground, resting my arms on my knees as I look down. My heart slowly beats, but my vision is still blurry. My mind replays the look of Ethan as he fought those hunters with ease. He also went to save me from being murdered by those hunters, and for that, I'm forever grateful. My heart swells from the thought that my mate still cares even though I treated like he was nothing.
It's too late, Leon.
What did he mean by that? There's a fear inside me that he's referring to us being mates, and that he doesn't want me anymore. I shut my eyes, calming myself as I'm close to having a panic attack. He can't mean that. I shake my head, not believing at what he said. He's not going to get rid of me that easily. I'll make him see that he needs me, and I need him, that we're mates.
I should have realized this sooner, and now my mate is running away from me because he thinks he's a danger to me, to the pack. What he doesn't realize is that he's part of the pack, and we will all stand by him no matter what.
If I could only talk to my past self and tell him about my idiocy, maybe it would be a good knock to get me some sense. I was so deluded at the idea of a perfect family – a father, a mother, and pups. In this delusion, I'm about to lose my mate, and that's fucking scary. It scares the shit out of me knowing that I'd never be with my mate.
Now, I'm only left with imagination. I wish I could wrap my arms around him while we're under the moon, looking at what we're building together – the pack and a family. I wish I could touch his neck with my lips, and let it wonder all over his body as if his body is a canvas and my lips are a brush. I would do anything just to be intimate with him; not just in a sexual way, but physically and emotionally, as if we're just one.
Roger and Daniel, along with Cory, go back to the Crescent Pack to tend Cory's wound. The silver weapon is a very dangerous thing for us werewolves, as it could do a lot of damage into our system. Somehow, the hunters have found a way to use that against us. A few shots of silver bullets into a regular werewolf would result in an instant death, so we have to be careful here. We may be dealing with the hunters, but there are rogues everywhere, and they could come at us from any direction. We have to be alert.
Shao waits for my instructions. I take a deep breath and open my eyes, looking at the wrapped vines that block the way. The string that connects Ethan and I are, again, faded but I can still feel him around. With his wound, he wouldn't be able to run faster than he used to. I've seen how hurt he is, which means the silver bullet has gotten into system, and he needs to be tended as soon as possible.
My heart breaks at the thought of my mate limping as he walks; he's in so much pain right now, but he never wants to come home due to him being extraordinary. I wish I could do anything to ease his pain. I wish I could have been there when he needed me, even though he wasn't asking for it. All this time, he needed help and I was too blind to see it. I was too blind to see him for who he is. I couldn't accept him, and now, I'm paying the price because of how selfish I've been.
"Shao, we need to cut down that vine." I tell him, standing up and gaining my strength. "We need to get him as soon as possible. Otherwise, he's going to be in a lot of trouble. He's hurt, and he needs immediate help. We're not going home until we find my mate. I hope all of you are okay with that."
"Of course, Leon." Shao tells me as he salutes. "We understand how important your mate is, and we'd be happy to help you on your quest to have your mate back. After all, two Alphas in one pack are better than none. Please know that your pack warriors are always here to help you, and the pack."
My mind loads at what he said. Two Alphas, huh. Our pack doesn't go into the traditional Alpha and Luna role. If the Alpha has a same-sex mate, he or she will be called an Alpha. I never thought that we'd have that setup in this pack, and it's quite exciting for me to know that.
"Thank you, Shao. I really appreciate that."
"You're most welcome, Leon. Warriors!"
Shao and the pack warriors start transforming into their werewolf form, then they go straight onto the vines and start ripping it. I watch them as they do it, and I pray to the Good Goddess to keep my mate safe. We're in the woods, and there are vicious monsters who want us dead. This journey is going to take all our strengths as we venture to the unknown to find my mate. Now that I've seen what my mate can do, I know he still has a few tricks up his sleeves to make sure we wouldn't be able to find him. But with the string connecting us, which I hope he doesn't take notice because I'm afraid he might be able to cut that, it would bring me back to him, and him back to me.
The moon is about to greet us as the sky is painted with an orange hue spreading across the horizon. Shao and the pack warriors are about to remove the vines, and the trees who have gotten closer to each other, would be quite a challenge. We would need to travel by our human form as the way has become too narrow.
I don't even know how Ethan did this.
A werewolf with some kind of godly magic.
Once the vines have been removed out of the way, Shao and the pack warriors transform back to their human form. Then we start walking towards the direction where the string is bringing us. I still feel weak, and I still feel Ethan's presence. Ethan's near; he's so close yet I can't even reach him. I can feel how weak he's getting as time goes by, but he refuses to take a rest. I fist my hand and clench my jaw, scared that something bad might happen to my mate.
"Keep your eyes open," I tell my pack warriors. "We're in the woods, and the moon is about to show, which means the werewolves are going to be at their strongest. I hope dad notified the near packs at the vicinity about our rendezvous. Otherwise, we're going to be in a big trouble for wondering into other packs' territory."
"Leon, the next pack is going to be another five miles away from here," Shao tells me as he nods his head to the north. "If you want, I can send in Devin there and notify the next pack that we might pass through their territory and let them know that we're on a quest."
"No, one who wonders alone in the woods at night is a death sentence." I respond, shaking my head. "At this point, we need to be together at all times. I can deal with them once we pass through. I can just tell them to contact the Alpha and let them know we don't mean harm. What's that pack in the north, anyway?"
"Comet Pack, Leon."
"Ah, okay, good thing we're in an alliance with them." I let out a sigh in relief. "Explaining things to them should be easy. Let's hope we don't venture into a pack that's not allied with us. Leon, I trust you on this. I actually refused to take geographic lesson with my dad about other packs' location. Do you know them?"
"Yes, 15 miles east is Blue Blood Pack, and 25 miles west is the Crimson Pack." Shao informs me as he thinks of the packs nearby. "About 40 or 50 miles north is the Eclipse Pack. We're not allied with them. Let's hope Alpha Ethan doesn't venture there."
"Ethan and I are not yet mated, yet you're already calling him an Alpha."
"Let's just say I have a strong faith that you will be mated to him, right, warriors?"
"Yes!" The pack warriors nod their head, and I almost laugh because they are walking naked. Imagine, a lot of dongs is facing me right now as we walk. Man, I wish they could have brought some extra clothes for themselves. Because honestly, they look funny.
The moon has already shown its elegancy into the night sky but we're still not able to find my mate. The red string connecting us is getting clearer and clearer as we continue to walk. Thank the Good Goddess we haven't passed any rogue or hunters, or encounter werewolves from other packs. Though we did get a few werewolves presence but they didn't attack us. I'm guessing my dad has already contacted the possible packs we might pass through.
I look at the ground, lean down, and see a trail of blood. I touch it with the tip of my fingers and study it. As soon as my fingers touch the blood, I hiss in pain. Silver. The blood is stained with silver, which means Ethan has crossed this path.
"Shit," I say under my breath. "We need to find him. He's losing a lot of blood."
I stare out a distance, my eyes squinting to get a better view of the road ahead of us. I see a few bloodstains, and all of us transform into our werewolves. We follow the bloodstains. The smell of blood makes me want to throw up, and the fact that it belongs to my mate makes me angry. Those hunters deserved to die. The hunters deserve to die. They hurt my mate, and now his life is in so much danger. Even though he's a direct descendant of the Goddess, he's mortally wounded. He can't fight well at his state.
The string becomes redder and redder as we run through the woods, our paws hitting the ground with a loud thud. I sniff the air, and smell a few werewolves and Apollo growls. This is no ordinary scent; it belongs to the rogues. Shao looks at me, and I nod at him. I let out a howl to let anyone know in the vicinity that an Alpha is here.
Strong wind gushes past my face, and the leaves crunch as we step on them. I feel unsettled; I can feel my mate being in danger. I run faster, pushing myself to go beyond the limit. No one can hurt my mate, and whoever does, I'll make sure to make them pay with their own blood.
"Leon, I can sense about 10 to 15 rogues. That's a lot." Shao tells me.
"We need to hurry up, then. I already feel them surrounding my mate."
My best guess is there are 13 rogues. My senses are heightened as the moon shines brightly. This is one of the perks of being an Alpha. An Alpha has greater sense at everything – sight, hearing, feeling, and strength. I can't say the same for the intelligence side because I fucked up bad. I let out another howl, wanting them to hear the warning in my howl.
Ethan then comes into view. He's surrounded by indeed, 13 rogues. Ethan is clutching his side, blood soaking his clothes. He's in a semi-werewolf form again, his eyes yellow as he lets out a growl at the rogues surrounding him. I can tell how weak he is, and how he is trying to hold himself up. His eyes are half-lidded, and there are beads of sweat running across his face.
I let out a bark, and Ethan turns around to face me.
He furrows his brows in confusion, then his eyes widen once he realizes that it's me. I howl again, and let Apollo take over. Ethan falls onto his knees, breathing heavily.
The rogues start to run towards our direction, and I immediately bite the rogue's neck who threw himself at me. What an idiotic move. Blood pours out and stains my muzzle. The pack warriors begin to battle the rogues. There are two rogues who try to overpower me, circling me, watching me as if they're waiting for the right moment to attack. I look at Ethan who's still on his knees, collecting himself. His hand is on the wounded part of his body, preventing the blood from leaking. His shoulders are slumped down, and he looks really tired.
The two rogues launch themselves at me. I block the first rogue, but the second rogue makes sure I get the hit. The second rogue slashes his pointed fingers across my skin on the side of my body, and I grit out in pain. I pull myself and attack them, making sure my claws land on their face. They howl in pain, blood pouring out of their eyes and I look at my work in satisfaction. Shao tackles the one, while the other pack member goes in for the throat.
Once the rogues have been defeated, I transform back to my human form, gritting in pain as I walk towards my mate. Ethan looks at me with a disappointed look, but I can see how sad he is. And it hurts me to see him this way. I kneel down in front of him.
"Why are you still following me, Leon?" he asks me through shaky breath.
I place my hand on his cheek, and he flinches. "Ethan, I'm not giving up on you. I told you, you're my mate. Please, come home with me."
"You don't understand, I can't go home, Leon. I can't be with you."
"Why the fuck not?" I ask him, glaring daggers at him. "I know you had the idea that I wasn't going to accept you, and believe me, you were right. But I realized I was being dumb. I can't be without my mate. There's a reason why you're my mate."
"Leon, I bring danger to you and the pack. Why can't you understand that?"
"Then we'll deal with it as a pack. You're part of the pack!" I shout, wanting to knock some sense into him. He's about to argue back when I put his forehead against his, our noses barely touching. "Please. I'm begging you. Give me a chance to be your mate. Ethan, come back home. Come back to me. I promise you, we'll seek help. You said you bring danger to the pack, well, we have help. From the Great Alpha and his pack. The Great Alpha is going to help us."
Tears pool up in Ethan's eyes and I hug him, finally soaking myself with his scent. I bury my face into his neck, smelling him and I sigh in relief and contentment. Ethan hugs me back, wrapping his arms around me. Then, he lets out a groan.
"Shit, I forgot you're wounded." He shakes his head. "We need to bring you back home. There's already a medic at home waiting for you. We need to get that silver bullet out of your system, otherwise, you'll get weaker and weaker."
"Thank you, Leon." I help him stand up. Our eyes meet. I want to lean down and let our lips touch, but that would be asking too much. We haven't even known each other yet but through the mate bond. "I really appreciate it. But you have to know, the danger I'm bringing is not just like an enemy the pack has faced. It's a demon wolf, Leon. A demon werewolf. That demon werewolf was the previous Great Alpha a long time ago. And he's stronger."
"Then I believe that the Great Alpha must hear this."
I transform back into my werewolf form, and nudge him to ride on my back. Ethan hesitantly climbs, then he clutches my fur gently. I look at him, and at the pack warriors, then nod my head. Together, we travel back to the Crescent Pack. But this time, I have my mate, and I'm bringing him home.