My wolf tore from me before I’d even made it to the woods. He was pissed and needed to run. Carly was going on a date – and it wasn’t with me. I was losing my shit fast.
Paul
Jensen called me through the pack link. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, so I ignored him.
Paul, you can’t ignore me – you know this.
I stopped running, finding myself at the edge of the waterfall. Shifting out of my wolf, I sat down on the bank of the creek, watching the crystal blue waters fall from the sky into the pond below.
“Did you think you could hide from me?” Jensen emerged from the tree line, sitting down next to me on the bank.
“Shouldn’t you be with Dylan?”
“Funny – I could ask you the same thing.”
Jensen studied me for a few minutes, neither of us speaking for a few minutes. Finally, he sighed breaking the silence.
“Look, man, I know you don’t want to hear this – but you have to stop denying what you feel. Your wolf is starting to lose control. Hell, your eyes are glowing right now, Paul.”
I knew he was right, I was beginning to feel more beast than man each day that I denied my true mate.
“You know she loves you right?”
Jensen searched my face for a reaction, one I knew I couldn’t hide. I knew she loved me – hell the whole pack knew. She’d spent the last three years alone, waiting for me to make a move. And now, she was done waiting – my chance gone.
“She’s moving on.”
“Bullshit! You know she is just doing this to get to you. Man up, Paul. Don’t make me have to put you down because you were too stubborn to take what is right in front of you – willing to be yours, might I add.”
“So, you want me to interfere with whatever she has going on now? Don’t you think that would be worse of me? All this time I ignored her – and now that she has moved on you want me to tell her I love her?”
“I KNEW IT. You do love her – what the fuck man. You are going to lose something that is worth giving your life for. Paul – having a destined mate is unlike anything you could ever experience. Even your wolf knows it’s meant to be – he’s trying to take over just to claim her, am I wrong?”
“No – I have to fight for control every time she is near me.”
Thinking about what he was saying… Carly was meant to be mine – the fates had deemed it so, yet here I was being an ass. Shaking my head, I smiled.
“Fine, I’ll see,” glancing around, I remembered the weird smell I’d tracked to her dorm, “I almost forgot to tell you. The other day I tracked a strange scent from the back of the house to Carly’s dorm. Someone was following her. I just couldn’t place the scent. It smelled like a rogue wolf, but not completely.”
Jensen stood, scanning the area, “Fuck Paul – you should have said something as soon as you scented it. Let’s go back to the house and call a pack meeting. We need to see if anyone else has seen or smelled anything.”
I stood, dusting myself off as I followed Jensen back to the house. I couldn’t help but think about Carly on her date, the mere thought of it cause a growl to irrupt from my gut.
“And you best tell her soon… that wolf of yours gets pissed just thinking about her, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, the thought of her with another man isn’t sitting well with either of us.”
“I’d rip man or beast apart if they touched Dylan… So, I get it, completely. Just tell her what you’re thinking. She’s a responsible person Paul, and who or how she loves should be her choice…”
“I just don’t want her to throw away her life on me.”
“Damn Paul,” Jensen and I came out of the woods, “You’re worth more than you give yourself credit for. You’re a hell of a catch, dude.”
“Thanks, I think,” I hit him on the arm as we walked up the steps together, “I mean… you aren’t hitting on me, are you?”
“Fuck you, Paul,” Jensen gave me a slight shove.
“What’s so funny boys?” Dylan pulled Jensen in for a hug.
“Your man is hitting on me, that’s what’s up.”
“You wish Paul. Hey,” Jensen leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, “maybe that’s the problem. Is Carly not your type?”
“Ha, Ha… real funny. No, she’s my type – I just…” rubbing my forehead, I just couldn’t say it out loud.
“You’re just a pussy,” Dylan said matter of fact.
“Babe, I called a pack meeting – Paul picked up on a possible rogue or something weird in the woods. I want to let everyone about it, in case something is going on, just to be on the safe side.”
A few minutes later, the crew had arrived. The pack was made up of about forty people, but Jensen, Dylan, Carter, Joe, Mike, Chris, Kai, and I were all that needed to meet to discuss pack business. We handled the day to day – including protection.
After filling in the crew on what I had found in the woods, we parted ways. I headed to my room, battling my inner demons on what to do about Carly. I knew she was my destined mate – hell my wolf was tearing at my very fiber to make her ours. It was my human side that fought the pull. I just didn’t want to see her throw everything she’d worked hard for away, to be mine. But would she be throwing everything away? I just didn’t know...