Restlessness

9

Jude

My eyes fluttered open, groaning as I clutched my head, feeling like it wanted to split open. Lying on my back on the bed, I took in the dorm and grunted awake. My heart thudded so fast in the dark, I glanced at the clock on the nightstand to see it was only 5 AM in the morning.

I held my head,my wolf clawing at the back of my mind, pacing in agitation in a way I’ve never felt. I didn’t understand why he was feeling this. Maybe the thought of losing the mate a few hours after finding her.

I stood up, trailing to the window and opened it, inhaling the fresh breath of air, the after smell of snow hitting the air. The cold air whooshed as I dropped to the ground, my muscles tensing as I started a headstand to regulate my breathing. Maybe exercise would shift the agitation of my wolf and I continued, my nose flaring, but nothing worked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose tiredly. What the fuck do you want? I asked, but the motherfucker in my mind rolled his eyes and continued pacing.

Mate!

Find mate!

Want mate!

But I wanted our mate also and I’d do everything in my capability to find her and I knew the moon goddess would bring her back to us as she did at first. I saw it perfectly.

I walked to the shower, took a long shower to calm my head before checking the clock again and picked up my duffel bag to go to practice before the coach chewed my head off. Even though I was the alpha’s son, that didn’t mean he’d be lenient with me.

The coach would be like, on the ice rink, I’m your coach, but off the ice, you are my young alpha.

I ran to the school arena and started my practice early to distract myself from my wolf growling, running laps around the rink while waiting for others to fill in to start the one-on-one practice.

The arena started filling up with the teammates but I didn’t stop till the coach clapped, stopping me from my laps. My legs were protesting but that didn’t take my mind off it as my breathing ragged, sweat rolling from my temple.

“Today we are playing one on one,” the coach said. “Nolan,” the coach called the defense man and Nolan raised his hand. “You’ll be the goalie then switch with Rivers.”

“Aye coach,” they hollered.

“Remember, the NHL will soon start. You must give it your best!” the coach, Mr. Walters reiterated, then turned to me. “Winters, be the first, pass the puck.” The coach said and went to stand by the side.

As my partner passed the puck to me, I missed it and cursed, then skated aggressively to take the puck back from the offensive player, but I was playing like shit. I couldn’t focus. I bumped into the player and the coach shouted something but I didn’t hear that.

“Winters, what’s happening this morning?” Mr. Walters called. “Put your head in the practice.” He gave me a sharp look.

While the other team members stared at me, their captain was playing like a rookie. Even a rookie couldn’t make this mistake.

“Lack of sleep,” I responded, and I knew Rivers and the coach didn’t believe that excuse. I just didn’t have my head in the practice.

After practice, I walked to the familiar road down toward the cheap hotel room, the only place that I knew could soothe my wolf. I took the key from my back pocket and smiled, even though her scent was already gone from the room. But the room served as a link to me and my mate. A place I couldn’t leave.

The room was hollow, cold and empty and the absence of what my wolf wanted made him snarl loudly in my head and I nearly shifted. I could feel my claws retracting, my jaw aching to make my face morph into my wolf and I gripped the wall tightly to steady myself.

Calm down, I gritted out, but the words weren’t reaching my wolf as I left the room abruptly, running down the stairs before I shifted into my wolf.

Maybe if I let him free, he would be calm.

My bones cracked—sharp, violent snaps that echoed through my body. I’d done this a thousand times, but it never got easier. I let go of my human form, let my wolf take over. My spine curved. Fur rippled across my skin, silver-grey and thick. My jaw elongated, teeth sharpening into fangs. Hands became paws, nails became claws. The pain lasted only seconds, then—release. I shook out my fur, muscles rippling beneath my coat. My wolf huffed, finally free.

My wolf ran into the snow-covered ground. The cold air assaulted my fur and I shook my head. I followed the familiar trail to reach my sister’s café when my wolf raised his head up, jolting as his nose caught a warm scent faintly in the wind that had been imprinted in my memory. My wolf stopped and my body froze. My wolf whispered a single word that had been etched on our mind for days.

Mate!

I followed the scent, my pulse hammering, my wolf wagging his tail as I stopped a yard away from my sister’s café. I whipped my head around for any sight of humans before changing back. I stretched my stiffened muscles and climbed the tree to pick clothes from there.

The population of Highland Creek was mostly werewolves, just twenty percent human. I grabbed clothes from the stash in the tree—Highland Creek werewolves kept them everywhere for quick changes—and got dressed.

I walked to the café and opened the door. I was assaulted by the coffee and the unique scent of my mate. The scent hit me full force and I nearly stumbled but willed myself forward.

Mate, mate, mate, my wolf yipped happily and I had to stop him from taking over again.

My beautiful mate. Rosie was beautiful even though I could see the bags under her eyes, tiredness clinging to her as she wiped the table. Her brown hair was messily pulled in a ponytail. She looked dif ferent from when I’d seen her at Christmas— exhausted and tired.