II

~Unknown~

I throw another rock at the lake in front of me. This has been the case for the last few years. I’ve been lost without her. She’s on my mind all the time.

I’ve tried to find her, I swear I have. I scoured the state, searching for her whereabouts. I looked up any information I could find, but nothing came up. It’s almost like she disappeared into thin air.

I pull my phone out and open my photo gallery. I have many pictures of her, but they are from years ago. I wonder how she’s aged, I wonder if she’s as beautiful as she was before. She’d be twenty now, and I wonder what her life is like.

I remember seeing her so long ago, and I was immediately smitten. I was fourteen, and she was eleven. I know that sounds bad, but you can’t help who you love. The moment I saw her, I could see no one else.

I was at a conference with my father, and I didn’t want to be there. I was in the garden behind the packhouse we were visiting. I knew it would only be a matter of time before our warriors came to pull me back. I just needed a moment to myself because I was bored out of my mind.

She bumped into me, running through the garden. She apologized profusely, and if her angelic face didn’t already pull me under, her soft voice sealed the deal. I told her not to worry about it and was about to say more, but two warriors found me and pulled me back to my dad.

I know it seems weird, a fourteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old. I wasn’t going to do anything, which is why I started to follow her. I couldn’t get her out of my mind, so I had to find her. I found that she was a member of the Silent Crest Pack.

I watched her for a while, using my natural Alpha abilities to get on and off packlands. I followed her to and from school almost every day. I would watch her as she went from class to class. I watched her hang out with her friends.

There was one time when she was at a park, hanging out with her friends. A dog wandered into the park and attacked her. It wasn’t a major attack, but I didn’t appreciate the fact that she was hurt.

I found that dog and slit its throat. I left the dead body on her doorstep as a gesture of safety and care. I would leave her other gifts either on her doorstep or at her school. I spent so much time away from my pack and the school that my parents started to get worried.

I had to endure numerous lectures about my behavior and the changes that needed to be made. I endured them all by the skin of my teeth, but all of those words fell on deaf ears. I didn’t care about anything but her. I remember one night in particular, after a very unpleasant lecture.

*Flashback*

I swear I try to stay away from her, but I can’t help myself. I need her like I need air to breathe. I wish I were old enough to know if she’s my fated mate or not, but I still have some time to go. This can’t be the mate bond, though, can it?

Is the mate bond supposed to make you feel like your life isn’t worth living without that person next to you? Is the mate bond a magnet that pulls you close to them at all times? I’ve never heard of the mate bond keeping people from doing their day-to-day activities. This girl has me in a chokehold. I can’t see anything else or do anything that isn’t associated with her. I don’t know how to continue like this, but I don’t want a solution.

I storm out of the packhouse after sitting for over an hour, listening to my parents complain. ‘You aren’t taking care of your responsibilities.’ ‘You’re failing school.’ ‘You won’t amount to anything like this.’ ‘If things don’t change, you will be sent away.’

I quickly found my way to her territory and found my way to her house. I used the trees a lot to stay covered. I watch her leave her home and go deeper into her territory. This pack has a small shopping center-type deal, but not on the same scale as the one in my territory.

She stands outside of an ice cream shop, continuing to check her phone every so often. I’m enjoying watching her right now. She looks nervous, but oh so beautiful. I wish I were a member of this pack because I would walk right up to her if I were.

My blood starts to boil the moment I see a boy walk up to her. They hug each other and walk off, hand in hand. I follow them around the shopping center, getting angrier and angrier. She’s on some kind of a fucking date!

How could her parents let her date at such a young age?! She is only fourteen. She should be at home with her parents, not out with some loser ass boy. If she wants to go out with someone, I will take her out.

I’m itching to rip his spine from his body, but I have to remember that I’m on someone else’s territory and I can’t do that. The restrictions on me are beyond irritating. I want to go to her and end his life.

I follow them to her place and watch him kiss her. She just had her first kiss, and it wasn’t with me. A let a growl slip from my lips, not caring if anyone heard me or not. She goes into her house, and the body damn near skips away. I follow him discreetly, making sure the shadows keep me hidden.

We walk across a park that’s in the center of a wooded area. I stand in the shadows and let my feet crack branches on the forest floor. The sounds reach his ears, causing him to stand at attention. He looks around the park, trying to locate the source of the sound.

I make more noise, ensuring that he comes over to me. He’s so stupid that he does exactly what I want. I’m assuming he’s not a ranked wolf because he doesn’t sense me at all. He should have caught my scent or caught my aura by now.

He steps into the woods, searching the area in front of him. I use my speed to land behind him. I lean in close so he can hear me. “She’s mine.” I quickly pull back just as he whips around, looking in my direction. He still can’t see me, but what can you expect from someone who’s probably nothing more than a weak Omega? I pull behind him again. “You fu.cking touched what’s mine.” He whips around again, but this time, I only move back a few steps.

“Wwwho are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that you stay away from my girl.” I don’t give him a chance to answer. I send a fist into his stomach, making him double over in pain. I drive my elbow into his spine, pushing him to the floor. I start to kick him, alternating between legs. I strike him anywhere I can reach, including a few shots to his head.

The scent of his blood hits the air, only working to set me off. I continue to attack him, letting my instincts take over. I don’t know what compels me to stop, but I do before I kill him. I lean over him, making sure he can hear me. “Stay away from Akia. Touch her again and I will kill you.” I hurry off, scenting warriors coming in close.

*End of Flashback*

That wasn’t the incident that led to her disappearance, but it happened not long after. I’ve been without her since, and I swear I’ve been a shell of my former self without her. I don’t know how much longer I can survive without her presence.