Chapter 2

GREY

I’ve barely slept.

The fucking Dragons dog piled us this morning. Attacked us from the front and the rear.

The fight has lasted well into the night. Looks like we won’t be going to the ball after all.

I’m at the supply tent with Wes who’s sitting on the ground. The battle is still being fought in the clearing.

We’re both exhausted. I pound back some water. “Fuck. I don’t know how much more of this shit I can take.” Wes says, breathing heavy and barely able to keep his eyes open.

“It’s almost over, Lil bro. I can feel it.” I hand him a cup of water.

Sitting beside him, I hit his knee and point up. “Look.”

He looks up at the deep blue moon over head almost at its peak. “Guess it’s not my year after all.”

He looks down, rolling his cup in his hands.

I bump him. “It’s OK. There’s always next year.”

He gives a half smile. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Come on. Let’s pound some dragon ass for making us miss our party.” I jab him.

“Ok.” He mumbles.

I know Wes was really wanting to find his fated. He’s been talking about it since we were 15. He’s definitely the more romantic of the two of us. I have no doubt he’ll find his soon. He really deserves it.

We rejoined the battle. I’m a one man killing machine spilling blood like there’s no tomorrow. My wolf is tearing off heads and necks when I have to stop.

“Grey, what the hell?” Wes says through the link as he fights the Dragon he has pinned. He sees that I’m standing like stone while fighting rolls all around me. “Grey?”

My wolfs head turns slowly in a direction. I can’t breathe. The air pressure dropped to the floor. I’m burning up.

I turn in my spot. “What is that?” My wolf is sniffing around.

“What is what?” Wes kills the wolf under him and jumps on another one. “Grey, quit screwing around! You want to die?’

“It’s this way.” I say softly through the link.

“Grey!” Wes calls as I leave him behind.

I follow the air. The battle is gone. I’m walking alone in the clearing. The air is electric. Lighting bolts strike my spine with every step my paws make.

There’s a rope on my chest. I’m being led somewhere. Somethings calling me. I can’t breathe, but I can breathe at the same time. My heart is about to explode out of my chest.

I can hear Wes screaming in the link, but he’s a million miles away.

Then it hits me. “Strawberries.” I drawl in my mind. My nose is being tickled in directions all around me. I’m following it loyally. My wolf stalks through the piles of fighting wolves. Then I see it. A flash of blonde.

My head snaps to the direction. My wolf growls.

The blonde flash runs in another direction and again my wolfs head snaps to follow it.

Honestly, I don’t know how I’m not getting jumped right now, but I’m sure if I was, the one who did the jumping would be torn to pieces. With what I’m feeling right now, I’m a wolf on a mission. There’s something here that I want and I’ll kill anything to get it.

Another blonde flash and that’s all my wolf needs. With a possessive growl, he runs after it.

He sees her. Her tail bobbing and weaving around fights. She jumps one of our fighters. She’s tearing at him like he’s her next meal.

“Oh no you don’t, foxy lady.” My wolf lowers his head and runs at her. Side swiping her across the grass.

She gets to her paws and growls. Her soft, sparkling blonde fur glowing in the blue moonlight.

Then I feel it. The mate bond snap between us.

The pull to her is intense. My chest is being crushed under the pressure of it and the only thing to relieve it is to grab her and kiss her within an inch of her life.

My wolf stands tall and whines. I shift. Her wolf pulls back and shifts too.

I stare at the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. Sandy blonde hair, big, brown eyes. Soft skin. Small frame, but fit and firm. I’m drooling. I can feel changes happening inside. I need her now.

My eyes never leave hers as I tilt my head forward slightly. The corner of my mouth tugs up in a hungry smirk.

“Mate.” I growl.

She stares for a moment. Then a look crosses her face that I wasn’t expecting. A look of complete and utter dread.

She throws her hands up. “No! Stay away from me!” She yells. She practically trips over herself trying to get away from me. She shifts and runs into the battle.

“Hey wait!” I yell and shift.

I chase her through the battle. I’m trying to keep up. She’s fucking fast. She’s also very slim and sleek. Her agility is through the roof. She moves like a fox. So swift and light. I have a small thought of how bendy she must be.

My wolf shakes his head and continues to run. Then I hear Wes through the link.

“Grey! Where are you?! I need fucking help!!”

I’m so close, but so far away. I look around and Wes is cornered by four Dragons.

I stop and look between pursuing my mate or helping my brother.

My wolf closes his eyes, whines and turns toward Wes. I jump through the wolves and beat them off.

“About fucking time!” Wes yells through the link.

I put my foxy lady on the back burner for now and save my brother. Grabbing a wolf by his back and slamming him into the ground. Stepping on his chest and head. I rip his throat out.

Wes does the same. He raises his head and spits the flesh on the ground. “Let go!”

We run into the battle. Maybe I’ll run into foxy lady again. I really hope so because my chest hurts. Like really hurts. My emotions are all over the place. I want to tear this battlefield apart to find her and for the most part, I did just that. I killed everything. But I still haven’t seen my mate. My beautiful foxy lady.

****

We fought for three fucking weeks. Until only 1500 Dragons lived. They turned and ran away.

I’ve scanned the battlefield three times now. Kicking at bodies, looking for any sign of shiny blonde fur. I’m hurt and relieved at the same time. Relieved that it appears she’s still alive, but hurt that she’s alive somewhere other than with me. I’ve never really thought about the fated mate bond, but the thoughts I did have never included the girl screaming and running from me like I had the plague. That stung hard. I mean, I’m easy on the eyes, right? Not a bad catch. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough. My heart aches. My guts are twisted up to the point I feel sick. My head feels like it’s in a vice. Most of all, I feel this God awful feeling of rejection. Is it supposed to hurt this bad?

As we walked the battle field, we noticed some weren’t Dragons at all.

I wave Bastian over. “Bastian. Look.” I point to a couple bodies.

Bastian squats down. There’s weird jewelry on them. Some of the human ones have weird tattoos and their fur colors are all wrong. They also smell weird. I’m mean, besides smelling dead.

I squat down beside him. “Who are they?” I turn my head to him.

He’s smiling. “Could it be true?”

I furrow my brow. “Could what be true?”

He looks at me. “Nomads.”

“What?”

He rips the jewelry off the necks of the dead wolves and stands. Examining the pieces. “There’s a myth. Legend actually. That deep in the forests, tribes of packs have been living in the trees. In solitude. They’ve only been seen in the corner of eyes and no evidence of them has ever been documented until today. It’s said they’re lost members of destroyed packs.”

“Why hide? I mean. They should know we want to help.” I put my hands on my hips.

“They don’t trust the outside world, but from the looks of it, they trust the Dragons enough to shore up their numbers. The question is why?”

Wes points across the field. “Look.”

We turn and a couple of soldiers are bringing two prisoners up from the trees.

We follow them to the camp. Bastian sits them down. Judging from the long hair and braids as well as funky jewelry, these aren’t Dragons. The big blonde guy with braids growls and snarls at us.

“Who are you?” Bastian stares them down.

They just glare. Growling like trapped dogs.

“What’s your name?” I ask the big, blonde guy. I squat down, trying to not look threatening.

“I have nothing to say to you, outsider.” He snarls.

“Outsider?” I arch a brow to Bastian.

“Obviously he’s a Nomad.” Bastian squats down. “We won’t hurt you. Tell us your name.”

“Tay Masters Leader of the Gildon pack.” He squints his eyes at both of us.

I turn my head thinking. “Gildon. Why does that sound familiar?”

Bastian rubbed his head. “It was the second pack Torrent hit over twenty years ago. Everyone was lost. He burned it to the ground. 1800 people.”

I hang my head. “Jesus. And they’ve been living in the woods ever since?”

Bastian nods. He turns to the next guy. He has a giant scar across his face. “What’s your name?”

He sticks his chin our growling. “Malakai. Alpha of the Turnik pack."

I look at Bastian. He nods. “Turnik was first on Torrent’s hit list.”

My face pained thinking that these men lost everything because of the fucking Dragons. Torrent and his crazy ass should be brought back and killed again.

“How many of you are there?” I ask. I’m trying to sound civil and respectful. I don’t want to set these guys off.

“Outsider. You do not stand a chance against us. We are loyal to the Alpha and we will see you all die at our feet!” Malakai grits.

“What Alpha?” I look confused.

“Chase Rennet is dead.” Bastian crosses his arms.

Tay looks at Malakai and Malakai nods.

Within a second, they kick their legs out in front and spring to their feet. They kick us in the chest sending us skidding across the grass. I lift my head and watch Malakai snap the silver laced ropes they had on and release Tay. The two shift and run fast to the other side of the battlefield. Disappearing into the trees.

I hold my head and get to my feet. “What the hell?”

Bastian stands brushing himself off. “The years in the forest must have built up their tolerance to silver. Either that or their strength is unmatched.”

My brow comes together as I stare at the trees. Could my foxy lady be a Nomad? I don’t think she was a Dragon. Her moves didn’t scream Dragon to me. She was definitely different.

There’s only one way I can find out. I need more information. I need to find my mate.