Omega's True Mate

chapter two

Crickets chirp in the background and I take my time listening to the forest around me. The stream is as far as I have gone. To cross it, is me making a commitment to the task I am facing. Find the rogues who killed my mate and rip their throats out.

My tail slid across the leaves. I will do it, but is this the right time? My stamina is low because of the bear. I take a deep breath and lay down letting my head rest on my paws. Revenge is just another word. It’s not revenge I’m seeking, but justice. I want to deal out the punishment for killing my mate myself. It is just how you look at it, justice is also just another word. Both words are the same and in a way it just comes down to who deals the punishment. So my justification is revenge. I growl at the thought. Judge me now Moon Goddess for I will not yield in my quest!

I looked to the sky and let out a soft breath. Just a few more hours left to hunt. My stomach groaned in hunger. My ears instantly picking up the sound of the rabbit nearby. My mouth watered and I could feel my wolf instincts kick in to overdrive. I know one small rabbit won’t be enough to satisfy my hunger, but it will ease the feeling for a time. I stand on all four paws and sniff the ground. The smell of warm musky rabbit fills my nose and I begin to track the movement of the creature. This one likes to hold more to the water than the last few rabbits I’ve tracked. I chose my best strategy and my hunt begins. Without a pack to hunt with and surround my prey with, I have to stalk and use my wit. Speed and accuracy will play a big roll in this game.

The soft brown fur hidden in the leaves is tricky to pick out in the dark, but the smell alone tells me the exact location. I stand still when he looks up and smells the air. When he returns to his meal if freshly sprouted greens I make my move and pounce. In one quick bite his limp dead body rests in my jaws. I don’t waste any time and quickly eat the small animal leaving nothing behind. I lick my paws and quickly drink from the stream. My next victim is a much bigger animal and one that will be a little more difficult to get close to.

I drop the deer next to my small front porch and trot into the tall grass. I lay down beside my discarded dress and let my body melt and remold itself. I lay there naked for a moment watching the sky slowly turn from dark to light. I sit up and pull my dress over my head letting it settle around my hips. I stand and turn around to watch the pink and orange stripes streak the sky. My cabin looks like a castle in a painted picture. The trees still shadowed enough to look like towers giving it that mysterious look. I smile to myself and with the first bright waves of sunlight I begin my day.

The deer is heavy and I cursed my weakness. I quickly skinned and quartered the deer. Placing the meat in the small smoke house to slowly cook over time. The guts and parts I don’t use I buried behind the shed. The hide I nailed to the side of the house to dry for tanning. An old habit of survival alone. I needed no one and used what I gathered. No one helped me and no one bothered me. Even when rogues attacked the village I was left to my own defense.

I like it that way. I maybe a weak human but my mind and body kept me safe. I smile to myself as I wash the dirt from my body. I change into a clean dress and make my way to the one thing that seemed out of place. The bed. It is a modern spring mattress bed on a metal frame. My mate bought it on our wedding day. I flop onto my stomach and curl into the soft blankets. My eyes closed and I felt warmth spread throughout my body.

A small nap before dinner and the evening chores is just what I need. I yawned and snuggled deeper into the bed. Letting my mind go blank and sleep take over. Tonight I will be crossing the stream into rogue territory and this might be the last time I sleep on this bed. At least for a long while.

Birds fluttered by the small window and my eyes fluttered open. The sun is high and the heat of the day washed over me. Drops of sweat ran my spine as I sat up. I felt sticky and gross. I slowly got up and ran a hand through my tangled hair. My fingers snagging on the small tangles. I grabbed a hair tie from the small wooden box I use as a nightstand and tie my hair in a high messy bun.

My brush forever lost while my head still cleared from my sleep. I wake up slow and it takes me a while to rejoin the living world around me.

I snapped out of my sluggishness when the hair on my neck stood on end. Someone is near. I peek out of the closest window and see a group of people walking up my small dirt driveway. It’s more like a foot path than a drive but it’s what my mate called it. I miss him dearly but the feeling of being broken is slowly fading.

I gasp and try to calm myself when I recognize the four humans from last night. They are in pairs walking to my door. One man steps onto my porch and knocks on my door. Dust floated into the beams of light filtering in from the window and I walked to the door on silent feet.

I crack the door and look out at the tall man with his hat in his hand. I raise a brow and nod, “May I help you?”

The man smiled and bowed slightly. His rough accent murdered his words. “We traveled very far to find,” He paused. “a man named Liam Jones. Do you know where we might find him?”

I nodded and pointed to the village stepping out of the door. “In the village not far from here.”

The small woman’s eyes burned into me and I felt something different about her. Something I couldn’t explain. Like she is a creature other than human. Her smell and the way her blood smelled is all human. I tilted my head watching her strange green eyes. She confused me the most. This is the same woman who reached out to a wolf. She is very brave or something else.

The man bowed and thanked me before walking back to his group. They started walking back to the village when the small woman stopped and turned back. “You will meet another in the distant future. He will be your true love so don’t hold on to the sadness anymore.”

I took a step back and quickly rushed into my house. My mind drew a blank. Did she just tell me my future? I let my mind race. A witch! She is a witch! Why didn’t I catch it sooner. Witches hate wolves! Why did she reach out last night? Why did she say that just now? I felt so confused and full of questions I dare not ask aloud.
I slid to the floor with the door at my back. I can feel my wolf squirming inside my head. If it was dark she would be out right now. I felt my control slip and my head started to pound. I missed the danger in everything from last night and today. Am I even ready to cross the border now. I felt my heart twist and I quickly shook my head. Witch or no witch I know there aura now. It will be human and creature mixed. I won’t be fooled again.

I quickly launched myself into my chores and by sunset I sat alone in the tall grass watching the sky paint another beautiful picture that will be lost in the folds of time. This time when I shifted I took my dress to the shed and buried it in the hay. Just so no one would know I shifted if they came to look for me. No one would. I ran from my home into the darkness of the night, with my travel bag held in my jaws. The wind in my fur giving me peace of mind as I crossed the stream. The water splashing from my paws left drops of shiny dew on my coat. I shook my fur and let the water spray the plants around me.

My guard went up and I traveled onward. Deep into rogue territory. A lot deeper than anyone from my pack has ever gone. I placed my travel bag in a small hole beside a fast flowing creek. The mossy bank would be my place of rest in the morning. I could smell them now, rogues in human forms. Gathered around small fires inside caves from what I could tell. Rogues really could not be called rogues anymore because they have a leader and they joined to make a pack of their own. I renamed them The Rogue Pack. Our pack, The Forest Pack, is much smaller and a lot less vicious. Although neither could shift until the full moon.

The rogues stay to themselves and only attack when their food starts to deplete. Game from this side is few and far between, causing them to hunt on our side of the border. I can’t blame them. Most of them were kicked from packs because of their omega status. I’m not far from being kicked from my own pack. Alpha Liam would not hesitate to do so if I gave him a reason to.
I slide to a stop and hunch down into the brush. My view of the caves entrances clear and I’m impressed. Small shacks made of thatch and wooden poles lined the cave walls. Cook fires shared between everyone dotted the middle and small families gathered around one large fire. Children and some adults watched the oldest man as he spoke and made hand movements. The story he told must be a very interesting one, because the children all slowly moved in closer.

It was peaceful and I felt bad for truly wanting to take my revenge out on them. My mate needs justice and no matter what I would have it. I could hear and smell two men approaching from behind me. They haven’t noticed me yet so I stay hidden. I curl into a ball and watch the direction they are coming from.

I wait. The laughing behind me at the caves faded as I focused on the woods around me. Leaves cracked and scraped the ground with the breeze. The hard thumping of the men’s steps echoing on the hard packed earth. Squirrels scampered higher into the trees and a soft whisper of branches swaying in the air above me help me to stay relaxed.

A sudden loud pitched squeak followed by, “Mommy! Mommy! I found a puppy!” Startled me from my position. I flinched and turned to look over my shoulder at the small girl with yellow hair.
She smiled at me and I darted to my feet. I lowered my head and backed away. I didn’t growl or show teeth. My eyes darting from the girl to the woman who was now jogging up to her daughter.

Our eyes met and she pulled her child back. “That’s not a puppy baby that’s a real wolf.”

The little girl looked at me in awe and pointed at me. The hair on my neck still relaxed in a show of non aggressiveness. I didn’t want to hurt the child or her mother. I am after only the men who killed my mate.

The little girls eyes widened and her hands shot up to her mouth at the same time I felt the presence of someone behind me. I darted to the left and a man stood not far from me. His eyes glowing. Casey go back to the cave. I lowered my body ready to run away when he took a step closer. I let my hair raise and a low growl vibrated in my throat. I could hear the woman and child hurry away. The tiny child’s excited voice asking her mother questions following them to the caves.

He held up both hands and moved to a kneeling position in front of me. “I won’t hurt you wolf. I don’t know where your pack is, but please I beg you. These families suffer enough. Hunt somewhere else so we may all live in peace.”
The look in his eyes and the way he bowed spoke volumes. I took a step back raising my head to look back at the caves. I shook my fur and gave a soft whine. I missed my mate and the family I don’t have. I looked back at the man and sniffed the air. I don’t smell blood or the aura of murder on anything in the area. Have I been lied to?

I watched his eyes widen. “You are alone, I can feel it. You don’t have anyone.”

He reached out a hand and I let my head drop and the growl to return. The hair on my neck stayed down. He pulled his hand back and I turned to the side. I gave him one last long look and darted away. I ran so far I knew they wouldn’t follow me. Why did he say I was without a pack? My pack bond isn’t broken. I have a pack I just don’t mingle with them. Is it that pack mates have many members smells and I only have mine? I lay down and let my lungs fill with the crisp mountain air. I am much farther up the mountain than I’m use to and the air is much thinner. How could I have let myself get so distracted and end up here?

The ground is rocky and hard and gives little cover. The trees look bare and are tall. The brush is littered with broken tree branches and stumps. A very rough terrain. In the dark it makes me nervous. I can handle anything I can fight, but a sudden cliff or hole is dangerous. The moon is starting to drop and I feel how tired I am. I let my body melt and reform into my human body. I’m cold and hungry and so very tired. I had a small set back and right now I’m to tired to help myself. I crawl into a hollowed log and curl into a ball. My eyes drifted shut even as I settled in.

Sleep claims me before the colors reach the sky. I missed my first sunrise since he died.

The darkness of sleep engulfed me and I slept dreamlessly.