Wanted!

Chapter 1: Meeting

I run blindly through the woods, not once turning back to see if I'm still being followed. I don't care if everyone in my former pack thinks of me as a traitor. I don't care about how much trouble I'm going to be in. The only thing I care about is staying ahead of them so they can't drag me back there. If I get caught, I'm dead. Everyone in that pack just watched for a year... an entire year as my mother had to hide bruises – unsuccessfully most of the time – because of my father. No one did anything.

I can feel every twig and branch cutting into my skin, but I can't slow down. My wounds will heal quickly once I get somewhere safe... if I get somewhere safe. As for right now, I have to just ignore the stinging in my face and arms and keep pushing forward. I can still hear the trackers behind me as they continue the chase, but they are a good enough distance away that I'm out of their line of sight.

My lungs are burning, and my legs feel like they're going to fall off if I continue for much longer. Every muscle is protesting with every step taken, but I keep pushing forward. I've gained some distance from the trackers, but I can't let up now. I turn in a different direction, hoping to throw them off ever further. I'm a small werewolf so that gives me an advantage when it comes to speed. I turn once again by another tree, but slow down when a new scent wafts into my nose. I have traveled into another pack's territory without even knowing it. I've been so distracted by trying to get away from the people following me that I put myself in even more danger. I turn to go back so that I won't be caught by any of these pack members before anyone notices my intrusion. It isn't unknown to anyone in the werewolf community what happens when a Rogue wolf trespasses into another Alpha's land. It never ends pretty. It's one of the few things that every single Alpha can agree on; there are no good Rogues. I've seen it firsthand when my former Alpha tortured and eventually killed anyone who crossed over our borders without permission and wasn't part of the pack. Some Alphas were worse than others, and I have no idea who I'll be dealing with if I get caught now.

A twig snaps behind me and out of pure instinct I take off further into the territory. I know this is a bad idea – an awful idea – but anything would be better than having to go back home to those monsters. At least there's a chance whoever runs these lands will kill me quickly. My former Alpha... he'd make sure I suffered. My dad is his best friend and if I killed him back there, he's sure to make me pay for it. I turn around another tree and immediately run into something hard. I bounce off and fall to the ground with an audible thump.

Terrific!

I lie on the ground wheezing for the breath that's escaped my lungs from the hard fall. Everything hurts, but I can't deny how good it feels to finally stop running. Suddenly, a delicious smell invades my senses, overpowering all the pain. It smells of the woods with an afterthought of mint. I can feel my wolf going crazy in the back of my mind, but I'm too busy indulging myself in this intoxicating smell to pay too much attention to my surroundings. If I'm going to die here, at least I'll be dying with this smell surrounding me. I try to push my wolf down and let my body relax for just a second, but she continues to push against my mental walls, begging to be released.

'Mate,' my wolf howls in joy. It's suddenly all so clear to me. It wasn't a tree, or just any wolf that I ran into... it was my mate! I quickly start to look around, in hope to catch a glimpse of his face when I feel someone grab me from under both arms and haul me up onto my aching feet. I want to let out a groan as my feet start throbbing and a sharp pain shoots up both legs, but no sound comes out. I can feel the sparks running over my skin from the bond between the two of us. Before I can even process my own reaction, I feel myself physically relaxing under his touch as I lean further into his hold. He will keep me safe. He won't let them take me away. Right?

"My beautiful mate," he whispers as he buries his head in my neck, inhaling my scent. My wolf purrs in happiness as she revels in being held by our mate. "Are you okay? You hit the ground pretty hard," he asks as he pulls back and proceeds to check me for any injuries. I open my mouth to tell him that I'm fine, but before I can get anything out I'm interrupted by yelling in the distance. I quickly turn my head to see who's yelling, hoping with everything within me that it's one of my mate's pack members and not the trackers who have been on my trail since I left. My wolf growls and I tense as I quickly look back at my mate's face. His beautiful features are hard as he stares behind me. The wolves coming up are not from his pack. My breathing escalates as I avert my eyes to stare down at his chest as I try to imagine how this scene will go. Alphas talk all the time. He may be my mate, but if he's heard about the atrocious thing I've done, he may send me back. Just because he's supposed to take care of me doesn't mean he will. I mean, look at how my parents are together.