FINALLY, MY DESTINED TRUE MATE

CRAFTY FATHER

DWAYNE

That was close, too close, dangerously close, but I am used to this. I have risked my life severally and most of the times it has paid off. Like today I go home a happy man, knowing that I have a mate and also knowing where exactly she is. I had started getting anxious, wondering whether I will ever get the one who has been destined to be mine.

Many females from our pack have been eyeing me with interest and I have always ignored them. I have witnessed even humans fighting for me and I always feel sad when I see such scenarios. They end up injuring themselves and none will ever get what they are fighting for. As a fighter I don't fight for something I can't get, it's a waste of time. Now it's time for all and sundry to find out that I am no longer available, I have found my mate, that chapter is closed, never to be opened again. As to how I will bring her to me, I am certain that it will happen, even though I don't know how or when.

I have managed to get away from the Riverine pack and now I am driving away back to my pack in my SUV that I had hidden deep in the woods.

There is something I noticed about this pack. Their territory is guarded by fierce wolves and their boundaries have some magical mechanisms that alert the leaders whenever they are breached. However this evening they opened the boundaries for all those dignitaries who were coming to the party. As I drive past the borders I notice that the guards have been alerted to look at every passing car to look for someone who fits my description. However, the person they saw at the ballroom is not the same one who is driving away. I have thrown away my disguise and now I look like any other dignitary and they let me slip away without much ado.

At my pack I had not given my beta Gael the real reason why I was going away and I drive in to find him at the sentry. He is definitely waiting for me, there must be something very important that he needs me to address because at this hour of the night he is usually at his house, letting his juniors to handle the security matters. Once I get near him I slow down the car and open the window.

“Hey man, glad to see you back." He says as he approaches the car.

“Yeah, man, what's up?"

“Everything is fine around here." He says, and that spikes my anxiety. I wish he could just tell me what it is.

“That's good. If everything's okay I'll need to go and rest. I am a little bit tired tonight."

“Not before you see your old man. He's asked to see you. I made sure that I pass this information to you personally before I go home. He says it's important." He finally says.

“Is he okay?" I enquire.

“He was when I last saw him three hours ago. I bet he is even now." He says as I drive away. My father moved to a modest house a distance away from the pack house after his retirement and I make sure that I ta

lk to him every morning before I embark on pack business. Even this morning I talked to him and he seemed fine. As I left him he wished me well and the parting shot was that we meet again tomorrow. I therefore wonder why he wants to see me all of a sudden and why does Gael say it's important?

My only wish is that he is not sick. I can't imagine life without him. All along we had nothing else except ourselves after mum died many years ago. He has been there for me through very difficult times and his advice has seen me do the most difficult tasks. That leader of the rogues, Ivan the horrible, would have killed me long time ago if not for the advice I always got from my father.

One day, after fighting Ivan and his troops for days, my father came to the camp. He came straight to my tent where I was nursing my wounds and I dismissed all those who were attending to me. He looked at me with pitiful eyes.

“My son Dwayne, if you continue fighting like this you will be killed. In battle what matters most is not the strength of your body but the ability to apply tactics." He told me.

I rose from my bed and approached him.

“What do you mean tactics?" I asked him.

“Ivan should be kept on surveillance every time he leaves his camp. Find out what he is up to. Follow him, or have him followed so that you may know what he is going out to do. Do that and you will win over him." He said, then walked away fast, leaving me to ponder over his words.

That evening I send Gael and two fighters to monitor Ivan. The instructions were simple, should he leave his camp they were to follow behind him and find where he was going. When they left I called back my medical team and they continued with dressing my wounds.

Gael and his team came back at around three o'clock in the morning and woke me up. They had interesting news.

“Ivan is using magic. Right now as we speak he is in the lake. He submerged himself inside and remained inside. He is completely naked, having left his clothes at the shore. Here, we took them away." Gael said, holding Ivan's clothes. I was startled, not knowing what to do with the clothes or the information. All along I had practiced what I thought was good warfare. Now that I had found out that the enemy was using magic against us I didn't even know what course of action to take. My father, walked in at that moment.

“Burn those clothes now. Ivan will emerge from the lake naked and he will have nowhere to keep his sorcery. Tomorrow you will inflict very serious damage on his troops. They are nothing without sorcery." He said.

“Father! I thought you had gone back home. What are you doing here?" I asked him.

“Just do what I say and tomorrow you will realize that I don't need to visit the battleground in order to win the battle. I want you to master this art too, the treachery, the slyness, all the tricks you need to win a battle. It's the victory that matters, not the means." He said.

That night we lit a fire and burned all the clothes Gael had come with and the following day at battle we slew so many of Ivan's troops until they ran away. We pursued them until they retreated into their fortress deep in the jungle. Ivan himself didn't come to fight. I heard that he had gone to look for more sorcery.

These are the memories that flood my mind as I park my car outside his modest house. I hurriedly walk in and find him by the fireside warming himself. I dismiss all the health concerns I had. He looks fine and in fine fettle.

“Hi father. Are you okay?" I ask as I drag a seat to join him at the fireplace. The warm fire welcomes me. He pokes the fire with a long metal rod and sparks fly in every direction.

“I know where you have been. I am glad to see you have come back safely." He says. I spread my palms over the fire. I am not surprised by what he has told me. He seems to know many things about me and I stopped asking him long time ago how he finds out about them.

“It wasn't that easy though." I say.

“I know. Nothing good comes easily. You will get your mate, but it won't be easy. Don't like easy things." He says. We stay silent as we ponder on what he has just said. Then he speaks again.

“Now there is a reason why I summoned you here. There is something I needed to tell you, and I couldn't tell you before you found your mate. Now that you have found her, it's time for me to tell you everything." He says.