Chapter 10: The Search

Cara slowly opened her eyes and realized the warmth beside her was gone. She reached out, touching the animal pelt that still carried Gray Wolf’s scent, and an unsettling emptiness crept into her heart.

Every day around this time, Gray Wolf would go out hunting, maybe today was no different. She tried to reassure herself, then sat up, put on her leather dress, and stepped outside.

The sun was already high, and the morning mist in Gloomwood Forest had faded. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting speckled patterns on the ground. Like always, Cara went to the stream to wash her face, carried water to tend to the herbs growing around the cave, then returned inside to busy herself with the plants.

But today, she couldn’t focus. Restless, she kept pausing to listen for any sound outside, hoping to hear the familiar footsteps of the one she was waiting for. But she waited, and waited,until noon came, and there was still no sign of Gray Wolf.

Cara frowned. He was a skilled warrior, and this forest had plenty of prey, so he always returned quickly from a hunt. On any other day, he would have been back by now with a freshly prepared kill. But now, she was still sitting alone at the cave entrance, anxiety churning in her chest.

Cara shot to her feet. She couldn’t just sit and wait, she had to find Gray Wolf. Only when she saw him with her own eyes would the anxious pounding in her chest finally settle.

Following his familiar scent, she wandered through the forest, searching desperately. She passed by the hunting grounds he frequented, calling out at the top of her lungs,

“Mate! Mate!”

But the only response was her own voice echoing through the silent woods.

She kept going, wandering aimlessly, calling his name again and again until her voice grew hoarse and her throat burned with pain. Yet no matter how much she called, the only sound that answered her was the whisper of leaves rustling in the wind.

Clenching her fists, she forced herself to stay calm and focused on their mate bond. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t feel Gray Wolf’s presence at all.

Cara fell apart completely. She dropped to the ground, her voice hoarse as she cried out,

“Mate… Mate… where are you?”

Tears streamed down her face, her breath coming in ragged sobs. She dug her fingers into the earth as if trying to find something solid to hold on to, something to ease the unbearable pain crushing her chest. Gray Wolf’s disappearance felt like a cold blade stabbing straight into her heart, sharp, relentless, tearing her apart from the inside. It was as if her soul had been split in two, one half still here, the other lost with him.

She had grown used to his presence, to the way he protected and cared for her. She loved falling asleep in his arms every night and waking up to his warmth in the morning. She craved his affection, his praise, his passionate kisses, and the way he made love to her through the long nights.

Now that she had a mate, she couldn’t go back to being a lone wolf. She needed him, desperately! She couldn’t even bear to imagine what life would be like without him.

She couldn’t sense any danger around him, which could only mean one thing: the distance between them was too great. But where had Gray Wolf gone? Why had he left without a word?

Cara refused to believe he had abandoned her. She knew how much he cherished her, she had felt it in every touch, every glance. There had to be a reason, something that had forced him to leave.

With that thought, she hastily wiped her tears and pushed herself to her feet. Sitting here and crying wouldn’t bring him back. Gray Wolf was still alive, somewhere out there, just beyond her reach. She had to find him. She wasn’t a lone wolf anymore. She had a mate, and she would go after him.

L

Gloomwood Forest was vast, and the area she had lived in was only a small part of it. Until now, she had never dared to venture beyond her territory for the sake of her own safety. But today, she made her decision, she would leave.

She knew Gray Wolf wasn’t a lone wolf. His habits made it clear that he had once been part of a pack. But because of his lost memories, he had only ever stayed with her. Now, if she wanted to find him, the first step was to search for traces of a wolf pack.

Cara hurried back to the cave and packed only the essentials: a small knife, some healing herbs, a few poisons for defense, and a bit of dried food. She had no idea how long this journey would take, but she couldn’t waste a single moment. If Gray Wolf was in danger, every second that passed could mean it was already too late.

Two months of wandering the wild had worn down her body, but not her determination. She had traveled through unfamiliar lands, following the trails of wolf packs, searching for any clue that might lead her to Gray Wolf.

But she found nothing.

Still, she didn’t give up.

The signs of wolf packs grew clearer: claw marks on tree trunks, faint scents carried on the wind, the remains of hunts left behind in the night. And then, one morning, as she passed through a sparse forest, she finally spotted a group of wolf warriors out on a hunt.

They were tall and powerful, dressed in garments made from a strange material she had never seen before. Soft, lightweight, and intricately designed, it was nothing like the rough leather dress she wore. One look, and she knew, they belonged to a strong and formidable pack.

The moment she saw them, they noticed her too. A sweet, intoxicating scent spread through the air, alerting the warriors to the presence of a she-wolf nearby. The young, unmated males immediately stirred, eyes scanning the forest, searching for her.