Chapter 2: Mate Bonds & Dead Things

"It's getting stronger," Gabriel admitted, his voice dropping so low it barely carried over the bubbling. "The closer I get, the more it feels like a fire in my veins and the devil himself lit the fuse."

Elias slowed, cocked his head to the side. “Hang on. I got just the thing.” He hopped off the faint trail toward a cluster of low shrubs. Crouching, he stripped some wild mint, scraped bark from a nearby willow shrub, and gathered a handful of sagebrush, crushing them together in a dented tin cup that hung from his pants. He inhaled their scent before adding half the mixture to a small leather pouch at his belt.

"Here," Elias said a moment later, handing Gabriel a handful of the crushed leaves mixed with a pinch of something earthy and sharp-smelling. "Chew it slow. Fair warnin’, it’s gonna taste nasty — bitter as sin. It won’t dull the Bond, but it’ll ease the heat some. Give your head a chance to catch up to what your body’s tryin’ to do."

Gabriel took the herbs, shoved them into his mouth, and chewed. The taste hit like dead things — bitter, green, earthy. It coated his tongue with all kinds of regret. Within minutes the worst of the trembling in his hands eased, the fire under his skin banking to a low smolder. The pull in his chest remained — sharp, relentless, alive — but at least he could think through it now.

Elias watched him, nodding once. "Better?"

Gabriel exhaled, the relief almost painful. "Yes. Merci."

“Good. Now you can start thinkin’ with your head instead of your balls.” Elias gave him a firm slap on the shoulder, his grin quick and knowing. “Leave the truck where it is. We’ll circle back for it later. Camp’s not far — just up this ridge.”

He started walking, leading them away from the low ground and up a steady climb through scattered pines and rocky outcrops. Gabriel fell in beside him, the path gaining elevation as the distant sulfur smell faded behind them.

“What do you know about Mate Bonds? Anything?” Elias asked.

“Not much.” Gabriel waved his hands up and down his body. “Obviously.”

Elias gave a low chuckle. “First thing you need to know, the Bond’s done waitin’.”

Gabriel threw his hands up in frustration. “No shit. I’m in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere chasing this incessant thrall. It stops. It starts. I must have zig zagged three different times across Oklahoma.”

“Yep. It does that. Burns like hell.” Elias tapped him hard in the chest. “The promise is what keeps you movin’. Kinda feels like euphoria when you let yourself think on the Bond.”

Gabriel tried to reach for it in his mind. A raw wave of hunger and heat flooded along the connection, leaving him short of breath and already gearing up for another surge.

“Fool pup! I didn’t say go searchin’ for it!” Elias snapped, slapping more of the crushed mixture into Gabriel’s hand. “Chew. Listen. With both ears.”

Gabriel tried to pull away, but Elias grabbed his chin, tilting his head to check his pupils in the fading light. “You leave the bond alone. You’re too far away from wherever you’re goin’. I don’t need you goin’ into full rut in my valley.”

“Got it! Not touching the bond again.” Gabriel brushed Elias’s hand off gently.

Elias wagged his finger. “No touchy!”

“I got it!” Gabriel huffed.

“How long did you say you’ve been road bound?” Elias tapped his finger against his mouth.

“Three months.”

Elias whistled low. “Three months…” His expression softened into something closer to sympathy. “You’re havin’ a hell of a first shift, kid. Go easy on the girl when you find her.”

Gabriel let out a rough, tired laugh. “Fuckin’ hell.” Elias was right — hormones, brain fog, emotions all over the place. He could have been fifteen all over again.

“Yep,” Elias agreed, raising an eyebrow. “You ain’t never shifted into Alpha before. Whole new rodeo.”

They reached the small camp a few minutes later — a well-hidden spot tucked against a rocky outcrop with a low fire already crackling. Elias dug out two tin cups and poured coffee from a battered pot on the fire. “Here. Good and strong.”

They sat on logs near the flames. Elias took a slow sip, studying him over the rim of his cup.

“I don’t know how much further you’ve got to travel,” Elias said, “but I’m guessin’ it ain’t next door. I ain’t never heard of a bond pullin’ this hard or this long. If I was a bettin’ man — and I am — I’d say she was bitten. And that’s a hell of a mess.”

Gabriel’s jaw tightened. “Why?”

“Most folks die from it,” Elias continued, voice low and steady. “Humans aren’t meant to be turned. The body goes into shock — fever burns ’em up, organs start failin’, or the heart just gives out when the first shift tries to hit. Our kind heals fast enough to survive it. Most humans don’t.”

“What happens to the ones that make it?”

“The ones that survive the fever and the full moon… they go rogue if nobody claims ’em. Feral. Dangerous. Wolves need pack. Family.”

Gabriel stared into the fire, the coffee warm in his hands. The flames flickered and popped, pulling up an old memory — another fire, another night, Royce’s blood on his hands. He shook the image off and looked back at Elias.

“How many?” Gabriel asked. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.

Elias hesitated, staring into his cup for a long beat. “How many what?” he finally asked, though the reluctance in his voice was clear.

“How many have made it past the first full moon?”

“I’ve only heard of five.”

Gabriel sucked in a breath, a note of shock in his voice. “How many lived?”

“Two.” Elias frowned. “One was found by my pack, before they were wiped out. Name was Levi. Got adopted in, married, had kids. Lived a good life.”

Gabriel hesitated. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. “How many humans have been bitten that you know of? Ho… how many…”

“Hundreds.” Sadness filled Elias’s eyes.

“What are the chances my mate won’t be insane by the time I reach her?”

“I’d say pretty good. She’s been leadin’ you on a merry chase. Means she’s tough.”

Elias didn’t really mean it. Gabriel could hear it in his voice. He needed to move faster, or he’d lose her forever.

“Son of a Bitch,” Gabriel growled, the words rolling thick and low. “I need to get back on the road.”

Elias gave a slow nod. “Sorry, I don’t have better news for ya, kid. The Bond don’t pull this hard unless the situation is dire. Your mate just woke up… and she’s not in a good place.”

Elias sat up straighter, the last traces of dry humor fading from his face. "You need to listen close, because this part matters. Your mate’s fightin’ something she doesn't understand. She’s human. She didn’t grow up Pack. She won’t know what it means. You won’t be the end-all for her. You might want it that way, but you can't have it. That's the Alpha in you talking — the part that wants to wrap her in a cage and kill everything that looks at her sideways. She's probably terrified of the monster she thinks she's becoming, and she's waking up angry.” Elias looked him straight in the eye. "Tread carefully.”

“I don’t even know who she is,” Gabriel said, the words rough in his throat. “I don’t know her name, her face, or why I can feel her heart beat next to mine. I just know she’s out there, and scared. Every time I close my eyes, I feel this...” He closed his eyes. “How will I know if I’ve found her? If I can’t touch the bond?”

“The same way you know which way to go now, dipshit.” Elias gave him a dry, knowing look. “The moment you see her, you’ll know.”

Gabriel rubbed a hand over his face, the exhaustion of months on the road settling heavy in his bones. “And if she’s already broken when I get there?”

“Then you don’t try to fix her,” Elias said simply. “You stand beside her while she fixes herself. That’s what a real mate does. Not cage her. Not save her. Stand with her.”

“And if you are too stupid to trust your instincts, touch the bond again. I dare you.”

Gabe huffed a laugh.

“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere near you if that happens. Try ta keep your clothes on.”

The fire crackled between them. Gabriel stared into the flames again, the weight of everything Elias had said pressing down on him.

This was chaos. Absofuckinglutely chaos.

He used to be calm. Patient. Controlled.

Now he was a dog on a scent, driven by a raw hunger that scared him. A weapon that had been unsheathed and couldn’t find the scabbard anymore.

"I don't know how to build a pack or lead people."

“Ya better figure it out,” Elias said. “She’s counting on you now. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.”

Elias reached out, his hand surprisingly steady as he gripped Gabriel's shoulder. The touch was heavy, grounding. “You’ll surprise yourself. Follow your instincts.” Elias got up and started bustling around, banking the fire.

"Oh. Speaking of instincts." Elias paused, tilting his head slightly as if listening to the wind. "You have a tail. Black SUV, three miles back. Smells like loyalty and gun oil. Friend of yours?"

Surprised, Gabriel snorted with amusement. "That’s Royce Kane. He’s a… He takes Ride or Die very seriously."

Elias gave a slow nod. "Sounds like you got a Beta. See, you’re making progress already.”

Gabriel sputtered. “What? I?”

“That’s how it happens, Gabe. You just look back and realize people are following."

He kicked a little dirt over the last embers of the fire, then straightened, brushing his hands on his worn canvas jacket. For a moment he looked out toward the horizon, the early evening light catching the gray in his beard.

“When you find your girl, there’s always space around here to settle down. Big enough for company.”

“You could come with,” Gabriel said quietly.

Elias shook his head and gave a small, wistful smile. “My place is here. Melissa comes back from her family next week. I have to be here for her. Yellowstone needs a pack, even if it’s just us. This land needs us. If we aren’t here, the land withers.”

Gabriel had almost forgotten about the faint feminine scent he’d first picked up. He’d been too deep in the heat and chaos of the Bond to pay attention. Elias had a mate.

And this wasn’t just his home. He was bound to Yellowstone. He couldn’t leave.