James sat back in his cozy cabin and stared at the fire that danced so bewitchingly before him. He basked in the warmth that it provided, staring transfixed into the flames, losing himself to his thoughts.
Most of his pack would be surprised to hear it, but James actually loved to spend time alone. To his pack he seemed like the most outgoing and social of them all, but inside, he loved to sit in silence and contemplate his hand in life. It had taken him a long time to learn how to be alone. His time in therapy and having Matt and Margot to support him had made him more comfortable accepting himself for who he really was, kind of a loser.
If he were in an American high school movie, he’d be a jock, maybe captain of the soccer team or something of that nature – not of football though, because that had Matt written all over it. But he resented that thought, or at least the thought that athletes couldn’t be introverted and comfortable with silence. He found solace in the quiet, in the ability to think freely without distractions.
He used to find solace at the bottom of a bottle, or maybe even two, but he had moved past that and he was proud. Back when silence wasn’t his comfort, it was his enemy, and the alcohol had helped numb the pain and heartbreak that came with his empty house.
He wanted kids and a mate, a family to wake up to in the morning, people to spoil rotten and share memories with. He was cursed though; his mate wasn’t coming, and he had given up hope of looking. Now all he wanted was exactly what he had, a fire to sit by, and a bed to sleep in.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing, it was Matt.
“What’s up?” Matt wasn’t one to call, so it was unusual for his phone to be going off. It meant something had happened, or else Matt would have been knocking on the door instead.
“Patrols caught scent of that human again. Looks like whoever they are, they’re getting farther and farther into the territory, I need you to go check it out, you’re the best tracker we’ve got.”
James stood up, he was in need for a run anyways,
“I’m on it, I’ll let you know what I find.”
Jumping off the cabin porch he shifted midair. The feeling of running as a wolf was freeing, and it had become one of his escapes in hard times. There was nothing more calming then breathing in the forest air and embracing the stillness of the wild.
He took off to where Matt had said the last reports came from. In what felt like mere seconds, he was there.
He caught the scent almost immediately and had to brace himself against the attack on his senses. Lavender and fresh cut grass, a clean scent, one that embodied the nature of the forest around it. Breathing it in felt intoxicating, and he wondered why he had ever turned to alcohol when there were things like this that did the trick in seconds.
His wolf was caught between wanting to fall over and roll around in it or chasing after it. Knowing it was his duty, as well as having now vested interest, he took off like a shot, the only thing in his mind catching up to the human that gave off the scent.
It took longer than he thought to find the human. The scent kept disappearing from the air around him, the human was good at evading predators like him. Matt hadn’t been lying when he had said that James was the pack’s best tracker. Tracking had always been his passion, he liked having things and findings and most of all, chasing things.
His wolf was on his best behaviour as they weaved in and out of trees, getting closer and closer to their prey. Until there she was.
He skidded to a stop, his front paws digging into the forest ground beneath him. Catching his breath was next to impossible when faced with the breathtaking woman before him.
She was covered in furs and his wolf’s hackles raised as he scanned them for his peers. There was not a single wolf pelt on her however, and he sighed a wolfish sigh in relief. She was stunning, long tangled blonde locks and fierce concentration on her face as she stared out a deer not far away.
She was his mate. Someone he had lost all hope in finding. It was like spotting a rare creature, he felt like he couldn’t blink, or else she’d be gone. She was concentrated, her eyes fixed on her target as she raised her bow in preparation for her shot.
The wolf in him couldn’t help but protest at the sight of his mate having to provide for herself. She should be treated like a queen, not have to trek through the forest to hunt. The human part of himself argued that she was obviously able to take care of herself, but his wolf didn’t care.
Lunging before he could hold his wolf back, they had taken down the deer themselves. The wolf inside purred at the opportunity to provide for his other half. He wanted to prove himself as a worthy match for her, because he didn’t think his heart could handle rejection. Instead of the grateful reaction his wolf had been expecting, she was angry.
She stepped out from where she had been crouched in the treeline, fire was lit in her eyes. She thought he was stealing from her, not understanding his act as one of love.
“How dare you,” she ground out at the wolf before her.
Nocking another arrow, she pointed it straight between the eyes of the predator that had taken her prey, his eyes. His wolf could barely contain the whine that threatened to erupt from within. He was scared of the power she held over him. With just a few dismissive words he knew she could have his heart or break it just as simply.
“That was my kill, she was not yours to take.”
He understood her anger from his human point of view, but the animal inside still struggled to understand where she was coming from. His wolf thought she should appreciate his gift instead.
He stood to his full height and watched as her eyes widened in fear. A pang shot through his heart; he didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He was the last person who would do anything to cause her harm. She gasped at his sheer stature, he knew she recognized his unusual size, he was much larger than the average wolves she’d be used to seeing.
He took a step towards her, his wolf intent on comforting her in her distressed state, but it only worsened the situation tenfold. He stopped his forward movement, sitting on his hind legs to try and offer her some reassurance.
She bowed her head towards him, a gesture of submissiveness, an acknowledgement that he could kill her in the blink of an eye and began to retreat. He couldn’t help the growl that escaped, neither he nor his wolf were happy with her leaving. He tried to approach her once more, but she found the courage to aim her bow back at him in defiance.
He admired her strength. His mate was a fighter, despite him wanting nothing more than to love her and keep her safe, she thought he was dangerous, but she didn’t back down. He whined, and her surprised caused her to lose her footing, hitting the ground and letting go of the bow she had gripped so tightly. His wolf shoved his muzzle into her neck, breathing in the scent that had them hooked.
She was amazing, intoxicating, sweet, but beneath all of the lovely layers was an undertone of pure, unadulterated fear, souring the scent. He hated himself for being the cause, wanting nothing more than for her to wrap her arms around him, but he knew that would never happen.
He let out a low growl of frustration and did the hardest thing he’d ever half to do, he turned and ran the opposite way. He’d have to find a different way into her heart, a way that didn’t scare her or make her uneasy. He knew that would be a challenge, but he’d never been one to back down from a difficult task. Especially one that looked and smelled as amazing as her.