Claws (Rewritten)

Twenty Four

Markus

At once, I was running, sprinting, faster than I'd ever moved before. The trees shot past me, blurs of colour, as my wolf sent another burst of energy coursing through my veins.

The scent was overpowering, and I couldn't believe I'd never picked up on it sooner. Not for the first time, I cursed that hunter and his wolfsbane. It had numbed my senses and dulled everything-- not only my wolf but the scent of my mate. My mate. Holy shit!

My body was still aching with every slight movement and I was running dangerously low on energy. Sensing this, my wolf took over and shifted, giving me a break.

He shot through the forest, following the scent as though a string was pulling us along, shaking off the effects of the wolfsbane and silver.

We skidded to a stop in a small clearing, where the scent was most concentrated.

Glancing around desperately, my wolf and I searched through the darkness. And then-- there. Hidden in amongst bushes, crouched low to the ground and eyeing me cautiously, was him. My mate.

My wolf let out a content little howl of joy, trotting forwards eagerly. We recognised him for what he was immediately; in amongst the intoxicating scent there were unmistakable waves of power emitting from him. He was a beta wolf.

I stared right into the wolf's eyes, trying to commit every fleck of gold to memory. His fur was icy white beneath layers of caked dirt and dried blood. Huh. I'd never seen a white wolf before, and I was certain I'd never seen something so breathtaking in my entire life.

The wolf crept forwards hesitantly, sticking his nose up towards me and sniffing. Then his tail started wagging, and that set me off, too.

I wanted nothing more than to talk to him. But that would involve shifting, and I was too weak to do that just yet. And we couldn't communicate as wolves until we mated, since we weren't part of one another's packs. It was too soon for that - we'd only just met, have some dignity.

Where was he from? It must be somewhere far up north - that fur was better camouflaged in snow than green forests.

Had he travelled all this way to find me? That's just plain adorable.

I lay down and rolled onto my back, tail still wagging, not able to fully comprehend that my mate was here, right in front of me. I couldn't wait to tell the others. How had he found me, anyway?

The wolf stared back at me, head tilted slightly in fascination, before he dropped down to his stomach and crawled forwards so our noses were almost touching.

Exactly how long had he been out here following my scent? I stared at the dried blood on his snout, holding the slightest traces of wolfsbane. That was the moment I realised he must've been the wolf I'd seen earlier. The one that tore into the hunter for me.

Awwh.

A fur-raising growl from the bushes to our right, and we both leapt up, hackles raised. Defensive.

I felt my blood run cold when I saw him, and when the rogue stench hit me, ice shot along my spine.

Not now.

Your timing is shit, old man.

My father had decided to pay us a visit. So much for Callum and the others chasing him off - he was persistent as hell. Probably turned back the moment he was in the clear. It was painfully obvious that he still knew our pack's territory like the back of his hand (or, in this case, paw). He knew how to sneak in unnoticed, which made him even more dangerous.