‘Til We Meet Again

Chapter 13: Backstory

Alpha Chris 

Things were too tense. A part of me wanted to keep this secret forever, but I knew it would come out. She was getting better everyday. I think about the challenge often. I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted Clementine. If Alpha Morris had just let it go, I wouldn’t have had to kill him. 

We were friends once upon a time. He had comforted me after I rejected Clementine. He had looked after my pack when I had to travel for business. We trained together sometimes. He taught me hand to hand combat in case there was ever a time I couldn’t shift. I had become quite skilled fighting wolves in my human form. He was unmated at the time. 

Then, during a visit to my pack, he claimed Clementine as his own. He swore they were fated, but I didn’t believe him. Clementine being fated to a second chance mate just a couple of months after I rejected her? It didn’t seem believable.

Tensions only flared after he marked and mated her. That was when I realized she hadn’t accepted my rejection. I felt the bond break. It was the worst pain I could have imagined. Soon after, she was with child. 

I had chosen Marjorie from another neighboring pack. Her mate had been killed by humans just a few weeks after they had found one another. She agreed to be mine and I impregnated her hastily. 

It made me sick to think about Clementine in the arms of Alpha Morris. I couldn’t shake her. I wanted her back. When I bought her to my pack, after Trinity had been born, I promised I would make everything up to her. I promised her and Trinity the world. She declined. I didn’t expect her to tell Alpha Morris, but a call from the Elders informed me that he was challenging me for land. I accepted because I didn’t think he stood a chance. I was right. He was down in under 30 minutes.

All hell broke loose. My warriors started going toe to toe with his. Next thing I knew, the scene was a bloodbath. I searched around frantically for Clementine. I saw her walk from behind the shed near our packhouse. I started to run toward her when someone attacked her from behind in wolf form. She fell, hitting her head pretty hard on the stone walkway leading to the shed. I shifted, ripping the head of the wolf from its body. I nudged her. She was still breathing, but she was unconscious. My wolf whimpered and lightly tugged her out toward the back of the packhouse, watching carefully as the fight continued.

I mindlinked the pack doctor to meet me at my sister’s old cottage at the edge of the territory. No one visited it anymore ever since my parents moved to Europe. My sister had told me to rent it or sell it, but I liked having it as back-up. I made sure it was cleaned twice a month, so it would be perfect. 

Clementine recovered rather well, but she didn’t remember anything. She had also lost her vision due to a traumatic brain injury. She didn’t even know she was a werewolf for the first week after she had awaken. She had to be taught everything all over again; so I visited her often. As time went by, she began to remember bits and pieces of things. Her most recent memory was hiding Trinity during the fight. 

I would have to let her know. I had to take her to her mom. She deserved to know she still had family. 

I left my office where I had been locked up in for the whole day. I didn’t wait to get into the forest as I shifted and raced to the cottage. I hoped she was there. I just needed to see her face. 

My wolf was excited. He wanted some sweet potato soufflé, which she always made. 

We got to the cottage and stopped abruptly. Something was off. My wolf lowered himself to the ground and turned his nose up. Her scent was faint, but she had definitely been here recently. The door was wide open, which wasn’t odd. But the sinking feeling that something was wrong overpowered anything else I felt. 

Cayman growled and stood straight, sniffing the air once more. We couldn’t pick up any other scents. I shifted back and hurried into the cottage. It looked like she had been in a rush. There were dishes still in the sink, a couple of blankets were thrown across the back of the sofa, a half-empty glass of juice was on the counter, and a light at the back was on. I followed it down the hall and pushed the door all the way open. 

The room was empty, except the furniture. All of her belongings were gone. A growl ripped through me. I began tearing the house up for any clue. I came up with nothing. Clementine was gone. I immediately mindlinked my best tracker. He met me at the cottage and tried to get as much of her scent as possible. 

After sending him on, I eased myself onto the sofa and laid out. I grabbed one of the blankets and held it close. She must have remembered something that triggered her into fleeing. I inhaled, wanting to hold onto her scent as long as I could.