Fated To The Alpha (Complete Fated Series collection)

Book 3 Chapter 2

Shifting, we follow her scent, Donnie looking for any sign of the she-wolf; she was lite on her feet and quick. She would have been hard to find except the clink of the chain that was still attached to her neck hitting the ground as she ran from us.

We made our way around the mountain, she was heading in the direction of home, but when I came to the river, all noise was drowned out by the waterfall.

Smart, she knows her scent would be hard to find, yet I couldn't hear the chain anymore.

"Maybe she stopped," Donnie whines sniffing the ground and following the river.

"She might have jumped in to be washed downstream," I tell him.

"Get the pack out here," he says, and I must agree better with more eyes. I opened the link feeling for what was left of the pack; I hated it, hated feeling their sadness, yet rarely used the link to teether us all.

"There is a grey she-wolf along the border somewhere with blue eyes, help me find her, but no one is to touch her," I command them before hearing a chorus of yes Alpha.

"What if she steps over into one of the traps?" Donnie asks.

"s**t, I didn't think of that," I tell him, shifting back. My pack knew where the bear traps were, knew where the ground would swallow them, but she wouldn't know. I walk through the river before climbing out. I could hear my men running through the forest.

"No one touches her," I remind them.

"Exactly how do you expect them to catch her if they can't touch her," Donnie asks.

"They don't need to touch her to catch her," I tell him, and he growls as I pick up a stick.

"We can check the motion sensors at home, and at least we will know if she crossed the river," I told him, grabbing a stick. So, we head home, and I hit any bear traps, setting them off on the way, and I uncover one of the holes that were placed to catch anyone off guard. It was going to be a pain resetting them.

Unlocking the door, I walk to my surveillance room to check the wildlife cameras. I could see my men searching.

"Colten, set off the traps near you if she stumbles across them," I mind link seeing him come into the picture.

"Alpha, is there a reason we are searching for this wolf?" He asks while shifting. I watch as he grabs a stick, setting some traps off.

"I will explain later when I know for sure," I tell him.

"Know for sure; I didn't imagine it. Andrei, she is our mate," Donnie says, yet second chance mates were unheard of, so I wondered if I truly had lost my mind.

Hours passed of me staring at the cameras when I caught sight of something coming into focus. Staring at the other cameras, my men had also picked up something. I could just make her out, stepping into some foliage, the chain dragging behind her when she crouches down low; she could sense them too.

"Got her," one of my men linked when she took off, heading back toward the river; she realized she had stepped on the claimed territory.

"No one touches her."

"Yep, we know," someone says, and I walk into my room to grab some shorts.

"She has gone into a cave behind the waterfall," Colten tells me.

"Stand guard; I will be there soon," I tell him before locking the packhouse up and heading toward the trees.

"The cave doesn't lead anywhere, does it?" I ask, making sure she couldn't escape.

"No, it is only small and dead-end; she won't get past us," he replies, and I pick up my pace. Donnie was eager to get to her, and so was I to make sure it wasn't a trick of the mind.

I follow the river to their location toward the base of the mountain.

"You can go," I tell the 7 pack members staring at the cave entrance. Water obscured it as it rolled down the mountain, and I realized this must have been where she was hiding, and we walked straight past her.

They leave, and I step into the water gripping the rocks, so I don't wash away before forcing myself through the waterfall, the weight of the pressure forcing me under before I come out to a hollow in the mountain.

Her scent instantly invades my senses before a growl erupts from her. I step inside the small cave. The air smelt damp and moldy. It was dark, and if I were human, it would have been impossible to see inside.

I walk about halfway before spotting her, her head down, baring her teeth as a growl tore out of her. Her eyes crazed with her fear, fight or flight kicking, and I could tell she was willing to try to fight her way out, so instead, I sat down. She was quiet, not taking her eyes off me, waiting to see what I would do.

"I have no intentions of hurting you," I tell her, yet she doesn't relax; she was acting as any caged animal would act. I had no doubt she would attack me if I tried getting closer.

"Just wait her out; she will settle when she realizes we mean no harm," Donnie says. I could feel him watching her through my eyes, yet he didn't want to scare her.

Hours passed, and she never moved closer, just stood there watching like a statue.

"Can you speak to her wolf or her human counterpart?" I ask Donnie.

"Tried; she doesn't reply, just growls at me."

"Colten, bring me a shirt, some food, and water," I mind link.

"Yes, Alpha," he replies, and I focus back on her; she had moved and was now lying with her head on her paws yet her eyes alert.

"What's your name?" I ask her, my voice echoing in the small cave, making it louder. No answer.

"Well, I am Andrei, little mate; you can shift back. I won't harm you; I just want to talk," I tell her, yet she doesn't move, doesn't even acknowledge my questions.

"Do you know what mates are?" I ask her, but once again, I get no reply. It took half an hour before I heard movement outside the cave before Colten’s scent wafted to me. He steps into the cave, and she jumps to her feet moving further back till she hits the cave wall. I put my hand up, telling her to calm down.

"Just a pack member; he won't come near you," I tell her.

Colten steps in, walking to me, his eyes darting to the she-wolf before he hands me a waterproof bag.

He pushed his dark hair back that sat on his shoulders, dripping wet.

"What's with her?" He asks curiously.

"She is my mate," I tell him, opening the bag, his mouth falling open in disbelief.

"What? But?" He doesn't finish.

"I don't understand it either, but Donnie is adamant, and I can feel the pull to her."

"Why is she over there then?" he asks, glancing in her direction, and she growls at him.

"Rogues had her tied to a tree," I tell him, and he nods. We both knew that couldn’t have meant anything good for her.

"Yeah, I saw the chain; there are bolt cutters in there too; Alpha, do you mind if I leave for a few days? I want to."

"Just go; they want to go look for them, then go," I tell him. He glanced at the she-wolf before nodding.

"I will see you in a few days," he says before walking out of the cave and stepping through the water.

I sit back down, and so does she after a while when she realizes Colten wasn't coming back.

"Hungry?" I ask her, rummaging through the bag. I pull out some sandwiches and some apples.

She doesn't move, just stares. I stand up, moving toward her, and she growls, making me stop.

I chuck the shirt at her, and she jumps back like I threw a grenade at her before sniffing it. It had Colton's scent, so I knew it was one of his.

"Sandwich," I tell her, tossing the clip lock bag to her, yet she doesn't move toward it.

"Do you like apples?" I asked her; she did not react as I rolled it to her.

Hour’s pass, and she never shifts or eats; I rest my head back on the cave wall to force myself to sleep. My eyes burned from not sleeping when I heard her move, my eyes opening to find her wolf eating the apple, using her paw to hold it still as she chewed on it.

I closed my eyes again, resting, her scent overloaded my senses, and I felt myself relax. I must have dozed off because I wake to the noise of a rock rolling on the ground, my eye snapping open, and I realized she must have kicked it because she froze as she tried to sneak past me, her tail tucked between her legs and her paw lifted like she was too scared to move knowing she was caught. She was within arm’s reach, yet the pounding of her heart in her chest made me remain still so as not to spook her.

“I can take the chain off,” I tell her; she had picked it up and had it in her mouth. I knew the weight of it must be making her neck ache.

“I will get something out of the bag, something to break the chain,” I tell her, reaching for the bag slowly. Her eyes watching my every move, she drops the chain, and it hits the ground, and I realize I am right; its weight was beginning to hurt her as she kept her head low to stop the strain. I grab the bolt cutters out, and she suddenly growls, stepping back.

I put my hands up in surrender for her. “I can take it off or give it to you, but you will need to shift to use them” I move forward, but she moves back. I sigh before chucking them near her feet. She uses her nose, pulling them toward her before picking them up in her mouth and moving away to the corner. I watch as she shifts, but she stays crouched, using her long hair as a veil to cover her body from me. I watch her struggle trying to get it under the chain under her chin.

“I can help you if you let me,” I tell her, she growls at me, and I see her looking at me through her hair before I hear the clink of the chain hit the ground before she shifts back so quickly, I almost missed it. I growl, annoyed; she hasn’t said one word, not even her name, and hasn’t acknowledged I am her mate.

“Can you speak or something?” I ask, annoyed that she would just shift back. Donnie growls at me for snapping at her.

“Fine, I don’t need you. I have sat here for hours, and you still don’t speak” I tell her to get up. She growls and steps back, but I ignore her instead of leaving the cave and stepping through the waterfall. Donnie was fighting for control, wanting to go back, but I wasn’t going to sit in a cave waiting for her.

Go back, Andrei. I want her,” Donnie says.

“Well, she doesn’t want us, so I am done. I am not forcing her back with us,” I tell him as I climb out of the water. I started walking home, yet I could feel myself being pulled back to her, my mind not leaving her, and I cursed out loud before turning back around only to stop when I realized she was behind me, having followed me. Donnie was excitedly bouncing around in my head that she was following, though she froze the moment I spun around.

“Stay close; there are traps set, hmm,” I hum, turning back around and walking toward the pack. I could hear her following, sniffing everything she came across, yet not close enough for me to touch. Then, stepping out of the treeline, I noticed she had stopped again.

“Are you coming?” I asked her. It would be so much easier if she would just shift so I could talk to her, but she didn’t.

“Maybe if we can get her inside, we can ask Kat to come to see her; she will be able to mind link her, get in her head,” Donnie suggests, and I nod to him, but now the tricky part, trying to coax her into the house.