Soul Bonds

8. Found

The dark gray wolf with the white chest was being HERDED. Like PREY. It took longer than he was proud of to force himself out of the prey drive and realize that what he was chasing was the wolf he had scented.

As he had come back to himself, he found three wolves keeping him trapped in the middle of a formation. One in front to keep the pace, and two behind to force him to go where they willed. All he could do was watch their surroundings, looking for anything that could help him escape. He quickly realized he was being led past the same set of structures repeatedly. 

On another loop past the structures, one of the wolves behind him started growling low in his throat. The dark gray wolf quickly turned his head to look, to assess the potential threat. With his attention diverted, he missed a stick lying on the stone path. His paw shot out from under him. He was able to quickly regain his balance, but the move brought his muzzle down and he caught the sweetest, most appealing scent ever. 

MATE. 

He came to a dead stop, mentally prepared for the stinging corrections from the wolves behind him. However, none came. He growled deep in his throat as he picked up the faint traces of blood from the scent. He followed the scent trail up to one of the structures. Her scent was stronger here, and he could hear the sound of her crying. He jumped up and scratched at the structure, his growls deepening with his anger at being separated. 

He glared at the part of the structure that held the strongest concentration of her scent. The word 'door' floated up from deep within his consciousness. It felt as if something was awakening in his mind. Knowledge of hands and thumbs, of doorknobs and keys flitted up to a point he could access them. He did not have these hands or thumbs or keys. As that other consciousness floated up, he didn't fight the pressure to sink down. He was close to his mate, he would allow this other part of himself to find her, help her. Bond her. 

**********

Henry Anderson stood in the street, facing the house on Sunnyvale Court. He and two of his brothers kept their distance from the wolf who just realized he could also be a man. Bonding a mate was serious business, and after their nearly 30 mile run, none of them were up to fighting off a young wolf who thought they were a threat to his mate. 

With a swirl of this new age's magic, Owen Blackbourne replaced the wolf on the doorstep. 

"Finally!" Liam called out cheerfully, earning him a glare from Henry. "I thought we were going to have to run your nose in the door to get your attention!" 

The younger man whirled around. 

"What's the last thing you remember?" Henry asked. 

"Dr. Green and I were at his condo. We were working out contingency plans for... a family issue. We were working most of the night and then..., nothing."

"Well, your little bird is inside and she needs you. Get her settled, and when you're ready, we'll talk." Henry reached out and chopped both of his brothers on their heads, cutting off their snickers. 

Mr. Blackbourne slowly reached for the door, wondering why the moment felt so much more monumental than it should. He was happy to find the door locked. He removed his keys from his pocket and slowly opened the door. 

The sense of awe, of anticipation, fled as he heard Miss Sorenson's hysterical cries. All he could do was run towards Nathan's bedroom. 

**********

**Author's Note: Yes, send the cliffy police after me, but natural breaks are natural. I had expected it to take longer to get Owen to Nathan's but I guess he was impatient. 

Stay calm, though. About 500 words of this were written inside a half hour. Depending on how the bonding goes (wink wink nudge nudge), you may just get another chapter today.