Chapter 3

JULIAN, GOING FOR A RUN

The she-wolves are given their head start as the men hang back and wait the allotted time. Some pace anxiously, likely already having gotten a whiff of their mates while others like me try to maintain our composure and look cool. When Jaxon gives me an internal eye roll, I know I’m not fooling anyone. I personally think the whole concept is primitive and barbaric – a party would suffice just as well for everyone to get the opportunity to meet but wolves enjoy the chase, and this is how it has been done for centuries. Thankfully, the males don’t claim their mates right on the spot in the woods anymore – whether she wanted it or not.

At least some things have improved.

I may be the bad-ass Alpha with more kills than all of the other Alphas combined but that doesn’t mean I condone certain things – like rape or any kind of violence against women. In my pack if you’re found guilty of rape – there is one sentence, and it is carried out in front of everyone - I take your fucking balls off with one slice and you get to choke on them while you bleed to death.

I don’t tolerate any violence against women, or anyone weaker, lower rank or species – P.E.R.I.O.D.

There is a strict list of punishments that the pack deemed appropriate for each crime and how they’ll be handed out but pigs who attack women are always mine – thankfully, it doesn’t happen often. The three I have had to deal with died slowly but extremely painfully and I watched every minute of it, Jaxon feeling nothing but pride for protecting his pack against such evil.

Don’t fuck with my people.

So to the outside world I’m feared and maybe even hated – which is okay by me and my pack because it keeps everyone away. We’re not attacked as often as the other packs are, be it rogues or hunters because everyone knows what happens if you come to our territory uninvited – you don’t leave. Friend or foe we make no distinction – if you’re not invited, you’re not welcome. Extreme and yet our allies respect us, we work well together, and our enemies do everything they can to stay the hell away - doing their best to stay ‘out of sight, out of mind’. My pack is happy which makes me happy – now we just need the final piece to our puzzle.

Luna.

The bell rings and the men shift into their wolves and take off running – even Jaxon can’t resist the lure of the chase as hundreds if not thousands of paws hit the ground simultaneous in a thunderous roar. Muzzles sniff the ground eagerly everywhere I look as males attempt to pick up any hint of a scent that would indicate to them that they’re on the right track and Jaxon does the same.

Nothing. Shit.

We move on, running in one direction for a few hundred yards before pausing again to sniff the area. I trust Jaxon and his instincts to keep track of where we’ve been because I’ll embarrassingly admit I’m already turned around in my excitement – some Alpha. The fact that Jaxon doesn’t give me a hard time tells me how focussed he is as he runs on to a new spot to try our luck again after there was nothing of interest at the last spot.

This goes on for awhile as I notice fewer and fewer wolves around us as more males pick up scents that appeal to them and they take off running yet we find nothing. Goddamnit, another year with no one for us! I’m too disappointed to be angry and all I want to do is slink back to my cabin and hide but Jaxon is refusing to leave, his agitation not relenting at all.

I give up fighting him for control – it makes no difference if I’m hiding in the cabin or alone out here in the woods and let him continue sniffing around for his own amusement while I sulk. I’m going to have to take a chosen mate now after all, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this – I don’t want to do this. I want my bond mate Mate but when I go home alone – again, no way my parents are letting this go. Fuck!

My mind sorts through possible candidates as a chosen mate – and then immediate rejects every single one of them for one ridiculous reason or another, however unfairly as Jaxon walks and sniffs. We’re going in the complete opposite direction of the run and the main pack grounds; I can even smell salty ocean air without Jaxon’s enhanced senses helping me, so I know we’re close to the shoreline.

“Where the hell are you taking us, Jaxon? We’re miles away from everyone else – no way anyone is out here”, I ask my wolf companion as he persists on his line of pursuit. Jaxon abruptly halts and sniffs an area intently and when I ask him what his problem is, I get the impression that he thinks he smells our mate, has for awhile – but he isn’t sure.

”How can you not be sure about our mate’s scent?” I ask him, stupefied. He shakes his head, equally dumbfounded. He shivers, his entire body shaking with emotion that he projects to me – fear and distress.

Mate…wrong? Not right. Scared. Hurt. He whimpers his worry but growls at the same time at the thought of someone hurting our mate despite the fact that we haven’t even met ‘her’ yet. I don’t argue however, equally just as concerned and upset – we need to find her! What is she doing way out here? Does she need medical help? Is she running to someone or away from someone? Why do I feel like we’re losing our mate already?

Jaxon clearly agrees and starts running towards the source of the scent.