CHASED

The soft chiming of an alarm pulled Charlotte awake, rolling over onto her side, she quickly grabbed the clock and dismissed the alarm before it had a chance to wake anyone else in the house. It was still early, the world pitch black and still in these hours before daylight, but Charlotte could not be still, there were too many things that needed to be done if today was to go as planned. Bringing her feet to the floor she stood up and turned on the only light in the room, an old lamp without a shade perched on the edge of her faded oak dresser. She stretched her tired body and gazed bleary eyed at her reflection in the mirror, somewhat disappointed, she found the same face staring back at her that she had always had.  A smile broke across her face suddenly, lighting up her face and making her bright green eyes sparkle because it hit her that today WAS different. Today was the day she’d been waiting on for years. After today she wouldn&rsquo

“Did you see a woman come this way Alpha? Our Alpha’s ward has gone missing.” one of them asked. So that’s who she was, his ward. He remembered hearing something about this alpha keeping a young girl under his care, but what kind of man needs to send guards to find his ward? What has he done to her that would make her feel the need to run away? The thought of anyone mistreating her made his blood boil. “No, I've been alone since I left the dinner your Alpha rudely left me waiting at.” Cole responded, allowing his rage over her mistreatment and irritation at their interruption to reach his eyes, the displeasure on his face a clear warning to them that he should not be pressed further. “Apologies sir, we will continue our search.. elsewhere.” stammered what he assumed must be the officer among them, while turning and motioning his men to follow him as he proceeded back inside.

It had been weeks since seeing the girl and still my body and mind were in complete chaos. To say finding a mate was uncommon would be an understatement, Unlike the old days very very few wolves ever found their mate anymore, but there was no doubt in my mind now, those green eyes of hers that were haunting all my dreams could only belong to one person - my mate. Now that I'd found her she was all that I could think about. Not knowing where she was or if she was potentially in danger? Had my wolf screaming in my head to be let loose, we were both desperate to find her. Lashing out my fist connected with a tree with a sickening thud. I had wasted no time in returning home after concluding things with the sun shadow pack’s disgusting excuse for an alpha and put every available resource I had into searching for her. “I want her FOUND” I snarled in frustration “there MUST be a way”.

Elle sat patiently while I devoured the food she’d given me, smiling as she brought me a second glass of lemonade. I'd drained the first before I'd even sat down at the table. “Been a long time since someone has enjoyed something I cooked so much, most i get out of Sam these days is a grunt or two”. “Who’s Sam?” i asked between bites “Oh Sam is my Mate, we found each other nearly 40 years ago now. That's why I live out here away from my pack, my Sam is a human, and my alpha just couldn’t accept that.” “A human?” I asked, my shock strong enough to take precedence over the food “ I didn’t know that was even possible!” “Oh it is” she chuckled, “the mate bond is about who they are, not what they are” she said with the patience of someone who’s had this same conversation a whole lot over the years. “Well...that’s just garbage. Findi

I sat quietly while Sam drove, unsure what I could say to the gruff woman that would lighten the mood in the cab of the old truck. Sam and Elle’s place was a few miles outside of the main part of town and I spent the ride looking at the houses that were nestled back into the hillsides and cliffs along the ocean’s edge. I loved the way the trees seemed grow by clinging onto the rocks and how they were shaped by the coastal storms, it was all so vastly different from lands I had grown up on. I found myself enthralled by the smallest things, a peek of the ocean as we turn a corner, the bright pinks of the flowers that seemed to grow everywhere, fishermen going about their day working on the docks, my eyes ate up the details.As we came into town, I tried to pay attention to the streets we were passing, their names and the businesses on them, so I could build a mental map of my new home. It was difficult, the uniformity of the white buildings that made the town look s