Chapter Four

Johnathan's POV

Four Years.

That's how long it has been since that one incredible night with my mate. My beautiful and perfect mate left without a word or leaving a note before I woke the next morning. My mate, whose name I didn't even know. My mate seemed to vanish, as though she had never existed.

And since that night I have been tearing the world apart looking for her.

Traveling the world had become boring and tiresome for me. But now that I had a purpose, a reason to travel, I enjoyed it with renewed vigor.

The first few months were filled with frantic fear-filled searches. Anything and everything that could be done to learn her identity was done.

When those methods failed I resulted in a more hands-on approach. I went out into the world actively looking. The next few months were filled with desperation, trying to remember any little detail that could give way to who she really was.

As time wore on I was met with failure again and again. Failure to find her, and failure to figure out who she really was. I began to lose hope.

I became hard and angry. My search was no longer filled with desperation or hope or even fear. At least, not the fear of never seeing her again. I was determined, I would find her and once I did she would never leave my side again.

No, my search became full of anger and fear of what had happened to her.

On the outside, I displayed a calm and hard mask but deep down I was terrified that someone had her and was actively keeping her from me. Whether they knew who she was and whether they were keeping her from me or not I didn't know, nor did I care. Either way, they would pay for keeping her from me. 

"Yo boss!"

I looked up to see Cade standing with his huge arms crossed against his chest. If it weren't for the shit-eating grin on his face I would think that he was angry.

"Quit yer brooding and come help me," Cade shouted at me.

I snarled at him.

"I'm not brooding," I replied as I grabbed my bag and made my way over to him.

"Yeah, ye were." He dropped his smile and took on a more serious expression.

"Don't worry. We'll find her." He said quietly as he placed a large hand on my shoulder in comfort.

I released a huff of breath in frustration.

"I know. It just seems like it's taking forever." I shoved a hand through my dark hair and clenched my teeth in frustration.

Cade nodded. "I know Alpha. Believe me, I know."

I threw him a humorless smile.

He was right, he did know. If anyone knew what I was going through it was Cade.

Several months ago we had gone to Germany to help a pack with a vampire problem they were having. While there we came across an international rodeo that the vampires were running. And right there in the middle of it was Cade's mate.

I'd never seen a man more terrified in our lives.

Cade had gone in fighting like a madman and almost single-handedly killed most of the vampires. It took us almost two more weeks to get the politics of the situation worked out. Meanwhile Cade kept himself and his mate, Rachel, locked up in a hotel room for most of that time.

When they finally came out of the hotel they were both unmarked, Rachel was a wreck and Cade was livid. Rachel was apparently from another country had had no intentions of moving. She refused to allow Cade to give up his position as my Beta to follow her home and make a life with her there.

Rachel left that day and refused to tell us where she was from or even who she was other than a rancher named Rachel.

For months Cade walked around in almost worse shape than I was in. They talked over the phone the whole time, him always begging her to let him come to her and her always refusing.

Eventually, I had enough and told Rachel to at least let him come visit. The last thing I needed was my Beta in worse shape than I was while looking for my own mate.

Two weeks after he left to visit her I received a call from him asking me to be his best man at their wedding. I had readily agreed.

Werewolves don't have weddings, we don't need them. For us finding, marking, and mating with our fated mates was the equivalent of a wedding. We considered ourselves married as soon as we find our fated mates, it's just not official until we carry each other's marks.

Humans had weddings to signify marriage, and for those of us mated to humans we often hold a wedding ceremony for the human side of the family. The only difference between human marriage and werewolf marriage is there's no such thing as divorce in the werewolf world.

"Alpha Logan, hello!"

I turned to see Cade's mate Rachel approaching me with a large smile on her face. I returned the smile and nodded in acknowledgment of her.

"We're so glad you could make it!" Rachel said as she reached us.

"I'm honored that Cade asked me to be his best man," I replied.

With my deep voice and constant state of anger and misery, I always sounded gruff. It usually made men uncomfortable and scared women, though it didn't seem to bother Rachel.

"Of course! You're his best friend. We wouldn't dream of having anyone else but you."

She glanced down and noticed the duffle bag in my hands.

"Here, let me take that for you. We have a room all set up for you and everything. Meanwhile, you can help Cade finish setting up. Once my maid of honor gets here we can finish decorating and go over a few things before everyone gets here for the rehearsal tonight." Rachel took the bag from my hands, not giving me much choice.

She gave Cade a quick peck on the cheek then turned and made her way back to the house.

"And no more brooding! This is a happy weekend!" Rachel threw it over her shoulder as she walked away.

"I wasn't brooding," I muttered under my breath like a pup.

Cade laughed.

I turned to Cade with a sigh deciding not to argue with the happy couple on their big weekend.

"So what is it I'm helping you with?"

*****************

An hour later Cade and I were both shirtless and beginning to sweat.

We were moving some mildly heaving benches in Rachel's backyard. The benches would be used for seating for the ceremony tomorrow. They looked amazing, to be honest. Each bench had been decorated with green leaves and vines with white flowers.

I huffed as I lifted a bench up over my head to move it. Cade and I were setting the benches so that they made an aisle for Rachel to walk down tomorrow.

While the benches were relatively light for Cade and me, I was pretty sure that they would be considered very heavy for normal human men.

As I moved to set the bench down the wind changed and I smelled it.

Lavender and roses. The most intoxicating scent I've ever come across. As soon as I smelled her beautiful scent, I registered the tug and pull of the mate bond.

She was here.

I felt eyes on my back and immediately dropped the bench with a thud. I heard a small gasp, one that I gloriously recognized, as I whirled around.

And there she was. My beautiful and perfect mate is standing 100 feet from me.