Hated Ties That Bind

Chapter Six

No enticing scent reached Nathaniel as he walked through the village, checking various streets and shops as he passed in faint hope of that one intoxicating smell that would tell him that his mate was near.

Exiting from the back of the community, the five warriors strode across an open field keeping their eyes peeled for any danger that might find them.

The future Alpha snuck a look at his father, taking in his angry aura and hate filled looks that he sent toward his brother in law when he thought no-one else was watching.

Nathaniel knew of Rowan’s past, well as much as anyone did and he held no animosity to the man.  He knew that Rowan had a difficult past, one that he was not proud of and didn’t like to talk about, that he had done things that haunted his dreams.  He remembered when Rowan first returned to the pack with Gabriella after they retrieved Olivia and got her back to the Vampire King’s castle.

At first, he had hated the man, for the part he had played in Olivia’s pain, and deep down for the fact that he was the one to bring Vaughn into the she wolf’s life, sealing his fate in the friend zone.  He couldn’t lie to himself that he had hoped that Olivia would fail to find her own mate and agree to be his chosen mate instead, or the pain when he had realised that she belonged to Vaughn.

That first night after they returned, when he had walked past his sister’s room to hear her trying to comfort him as the warrior screamed in his sleep. The things he was forced to do by the council stalking his dreams in a never ending reel of terror.

That was the moment that Nathaniel knew he couldn’t harbour anger toward the warrior as he was punishing himself for his crimes far more than anyone else ever could.  That was also the moment he had really looked at his sister, the girl who he spent his entire childhood fighting against and realised that she was no longer his annoying little sister, but a grown woman who loved her mate deeply.  He had stared at the black circles under her eyes the next morning when she came down for breakfast, holding Rowan’s hand tightly in her own, proof that she had spent the night cradling her mate as he fought his demons.

Nathaniel had realised in that moment, that he wanted what his sister had, someone that he loved so much he would sit up all night to comfort them and still smile the next morning because they were next to him, holding his hand.  He didn’t just want a chosen mate, he wanted that connection that he saw between Gabriella and Rowan, and then later, Henry and Tia.  Though he loved Olivia, he had realised that he was never in love with her, not in the way that his siblings loved their fated mates and so he began to search.

At first he was hopeful, after all his siblings had literally had their mates thrown into their laps, his would surely be nearby, he just had not bothered to look before now having been wrapped up in a hope for someone that was never his.

They started at Red Moon, yes he and Landen had trained there but it had been a few years and more of the she wolves had come of age, then they moved on to Oak Grove, then too other well known packs that they had alliances with.  From there it was packs that were amenable to an alliance and welcomed the thought that his mate could be among their members.

As the months rolled by, then years, Nathaniel’s optimism began to give way to an aching doubt that he would ever find his one true other.

Landen continued to push the future Alpha to keep looking, repeating over and over that his mate could be at the next pack they visited, refusing to believe that their Luna would not materialise.

Nathaniel let out a sigh as he marched behind the others, his mind roaming over the past few years, he had seen Landen’s anger when he had said that this was his last attempt to find his mate.  His Beta had tried to keep it under wraps, but he knew the warrior to well to be fooled.  They had been best friends since the moment that Nathaniel was able to understand the concept, despite Landen being older, they had gravitated to each other.

The future Alpha knew that his Beta wanted him to have what he himself had found with Sierra and he felt like he had failed his Alpha and the pack as their future Luna remained unobtainable.

Nathaniel kept his eyes peeled, his senses heightened for any sign of an attack as they trudged through the open field in single file.  He hadn’t been completely truthful with the others about this journey, they all thought that he was searching for his mate, but in reality, he was looking for the ideal chosen mate.

‘You OK dude?’ came Landen’s voice, breaking into his thoughts.

Nathaniel looked up and grinned back at his friend’s concerned face, ‘of course, just thinking about places that we can search’ he replied casually.

Nodding, Landen looked around them, taking in the greenery, ‘we’re going to find her Nate, I have a good feeling’ he muttered confidently.

Nathaniel laughed, ‘you said that the last time we went out, and the time before and the time before that’ he retorted as Landen grinned.

‘Yeah, but before I was just trying to make you feel better, this time I really have a feeling’ he replied with an easy smile.

Shaking his head, Nathaniel laughed, ‘you are so full of it Lan’ he grumbled, though he appreciated the Beta’s attempts to keep his moral up.

‘Full of positivity mate’ Landen replied with a light punch to his shoulder.

‘Halt’ came Rowan’s voice from upfront, bringing the group to a stand still.

‘What is it?’ Daniel asked in a low voice as he took a protective stance beside Riley who was backing up to his son, also looking around in concern.

‘Wait here, stay low’ Rowan ordered as he crept forward toward the trees, his steps silent against the soft grass beneath his feet.

‘Where is he going’ Riley hissed in annoyance as Daniel threw an arm out in front of him before he could think of moving.

‘Let him do what he needs to do’ the Beta replied, ‘he’s got instincts man, let him use them.’

Grunting derisively, Riley, crouched down next to Nathaniel, he, Daniel and Landen making a defensive shield around the future Alpha as the four men waited for Rowan to reappear.

At the tree line, Rowan hesitated slightly, listening intently to the noises from within the forest.  He had seen a glint of sunshine reflecting momentarily from between the leaves and his years of life as the Ghost told him that reflections usually mean metal, and metal surfaces are most likely attached to a human of some description.

Sliding between the branches, the ex Rogue inched across the leaf strewn floor, his ears pricked as he filtered through the sounds of the swaying trees, rustling leaves and light scuttling of animals until he found what he was looking for, the laboured sound of stilted breathing that was trying to stay quiet.

Prowling around the forest, Rowan honed in on the quickened breaths, smiling to himself as there was repeated breaks whilst the hidden person tried to hold their breath, making them louder when they finally had to breathe once again.

Stepping around a tree trunk, the warrior dropped to a crouched position, moving forward toward a thick bush that moved slightly as if something inside its foliage was moving ever so slightly.

Gently, pulling the branches apart, he whipped his arms through the leaves and wrapped them around the hidden body, one hand closing over their mouth as the other encircled their waist.

Pulling them out backwards, Rowan grunted in pain as the unknown person bit down on his hand hard, their teeth breaking the skin.

‘Pack it in!’ Rowan growled warningly, ‘I won’t hurt you, I just want to know what you are doing here.’

The person gradually stopped struggling as Rowan lowered their feet to the floor and tentatively removed his hand from their mouth, turning them to look at him as his brow creased.

In front of him was a young girl, barely older than fourteen who was staring back at him, a mixture of fear and defiance on her face.

‘What the hell are you doing out here on your own’ Rowan growled, from her scent he could tell that she was a she wolf but she was too young to have gained her wolf yet making her vulnerable to be out alone.

‘None of your beeswax mister’ the young girl retorted angrily as she tried to rip her hand from his grip that had secured itself around her wrist.

Rolling his eyes, Rowan let out a deep sigh, ‘check your attitude kid, you know I can snap your neck like a toothpick if I wanted too’ he grumbled in annoyance.

The girl shrugged, ‘but you won’t’ she retorted

‘How do you know?’ the warrior asked curiously.

The teenager smiled, ‘because I’m just a sweet little girl who won’t harm anyone, you are definitely a pack man so you wouldn’t be able to bring yourself to injure me, that’s not the pack member way’ she replied with a flick of her hair.

Laughing, Rowan relaxed, ‘OK kid, you got me, I’m not gonna hurt you, but could you lose the attitude anyway? I gather that you are not a member of a pack’ he added thoughtfully, ‘where are your parents?’

The girl looked down, avoiding his gaze, ‘I’m not supposed to tell anyone’ she replied evasively, ‘especially not pack warriors’ she added with a glare.

Rowan nodded, ‘sensible parents, but I wasn’t always a pack warrior, I used to live out here before I found my mate.’

The teenager looked at him suspiciously before stepping closer and smelling him deeply, ‘you have the scent of a pack’ she said thoughtfully, ‘but you don’t move or act like a pack member.’

The warrior nodded, ‘that’s because I used to be a Rogue’ he admitted, ‘you don’t forget how to move to survive, which you obviously know, as you hid yourself pretty well, even disguised your scent.’

The girl smiled up at him, ‘my dad taught me’ she said proudly, before giving him a studious look, ‘so how did you find me?’ she asked curiously.

‘I followed your breathing’ Rowan replied with a chuckle as he watched the girl’s face go crimson.

‘Dammit’ she muttered angrily to herself.

‘Don’t sweat it kid, my job used to be hunting people who didn’t want to be found’ Rowan replied kindly, ‘you had no chance of evading me.’  Looking over her dirty face and the scratches on her arms from the forest, he added, ‘so what is your name kid? And why are you out here?’

The girl shuffled her feet slightly before huffing, ‘Victoria, I’m going to the village to get some medicine, my ma is sick.’

Rowan tilted his head at her words, ‘you going to use a five finger discount on those meds Victoria?’ he asked with a raised eyebrow as the teenager flushed.

‘We don’t have a lot of money’ she admitted, ‘but my ma needs help, he keeps coughing and her skin is all white, dad is worried, he tells me she’s gonna be OK but I can smell the fear on him.’

Rowan released his grip on the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder instead as he gave her a supportive smile, ‘look, my name is Rowan’ he said softly, ‘and I’m with my friends, I’m going call them over and introduce you, I don’t want you to be scared of them OK?’

The girl looked back the way they had come tentatively, her hand raising to brush her long brown hair behind her ear, her watch catching the sunlight again, reminding the warrior how he had spotted her in the first place.

‘Will they hurt my parents?’ she asked hesitantly, as she looked up into the ex Rogue’s eyes.

Rowan shook his head, ‘I promise that they won’t Victoria, your mum needs help and I’m hoping we can help her’ he replied.

Letting out a shaky breath, Victoria nodded, ‘OK’ she replied, ‘I won’t run.’

Nodding, Rowan led her toward the edge of the trees, looking over the field and the group of warriors who were crouched together protectively, watching where he had disappeared.

Stepping out, he whistled loudly and beckoned them over, waiting within the trees as they all stood up and jogged toward them.  Once inside, four pairs of eyes looked at the young girl, who’s shoulder was still being held by the warrior.

‘Who’s this?’ Daniel asked in surprise.

‘Her name is Victoria, her mum needs help’ Rowan replied as he gave the young girl a smile.

‘She’s a Rogue’ Riley said in surprise as he sniffed the air tentatively.

Rowan nodded, ‘yes she is, but her family need help’ he replied forcefully.

Glaring at the warrior, the Luna growled, ‘how do you know she isn’t just out pulling in pack members to their Rogue pack? You think we should just walk in blindly to a situation we know nothing about?’

Rowan bristled, ‘I know a liar when I see one Riley, and this girl isn’t lying and she doesn’t have a pack, Rogue or otherwise, this family is on it’s own.’

Nathaniel stepped forward to the young girl giving her a smile, ‘hey Victoria, could you show us where your mum is? Lets see if we can help you OK?’

Staring at Riley, Victoria slowly turned to the young warrior warily, ‘I don’t want any trouble for my mum and dad, please, you can just leave me here.’

Nathaniel met her gaze, his own full of compassion, ‘we won’t hurt your parents Victoria, we just want to make sure that your mum is alright.’

Nodding hesitantly, Victoria turned to the right, her hand slipping into Rowan’s as she looked up at him with trust, ‘it’s this way’ she said quietly, pulling him along with her into the trees.