Enforce Me

Chapter 33: Gone

Tatum

It was a blood bath.

I had lost sight of Jaidan after Charlie pushed him towards the forest, thankful to the shifter for setting him on his way rather than to stay here where he surely would have joined us in our injuries.

All of the rogues in sight lay dead on the torn up ground, particles of dirt and dust flowed around us like a desert storm, but nothing could hide the sight before me.

Alic's body was shaking with rage as his jaws finally released the no longer convulsing lump of a rogue that fell to the ground with a loud thump.

The big midnight black cat lay with his ears back hissing at Dustin who tried licking his wounds, his most severe being a large chunk of flesh torn along the underside of his hip. Charlie's big claws swiped at Dustin's face fast where he already had large gashes on full display as he had locked jaws with a rogue in his clash with the filth.

My mind travelled to my mate as I looked away from the disembowelled wolf below me and towards where he had run off to.

I dropped my slightly torn nose to the dirt as I sniffed in his scent taking in and separating the alluring scent of spices and apples from the copper smell of blood. He smelt almost like apple pie the way cinnamon and apples mingled in the air.

''The leader isn't amongst the dead.'' My head snapped toward my uncle who had made his way towards me.

Charlie's rattling growl slowed to a low groan as he pulled himself up and made his way to our side, the sun catching highlighting his leopard spots every so often breaking up his sleek black coat but it made his features no less terrifying as he sent a warning hiss in Dustin's direction, the wolf growling in annoyance and strolling off to my other side.

We were all tired from the fight. These wolves were not like most rogues we were accustomed to, they were calculating and forming plans. They were more organised than a rowdy band of wild rogues out for nothing more than bloodlust.

With a quick nod we all darted into the forest sure to follow Dustin as his bloody head dropped to the ground every so often before darting off into a different direction, his nose scrunching up as he found a distasteful scent.

''He was followed.'' His regretful eyes fell to all of ours, Charlie's guttural rattle of a growl echoing in the woods before he darted past Dustin making sure to barge the big wolf on the way as he leaped across a thin part of a river we had come across and then he was gone.

As we walked along the same branch Charlie had just run over, Dustin pointed out some deep mud where Jai's scent was all over. He had gotten stuck. Thankfully though, muddy tracks led out of the quicksand-like trap allowing me to breathe easy for a moment.

There was a soft whining in the distance, a crying as leaves were ripped apart and paws hit the ground, thundering the earth the way they ran.

My nostrils flared and my wolf bolted into the woods, adrenaline surging us forward as we followed Charlie's path, the two males behind me long forgotten as I chased down my mate's scent trying to ignore the other scent mingling with his.

I stopped dead in my tracks when his scent became strongest in a cluster of trees. Nose to the ground I followed it until I happened upon small droplets of his blood and upturned earth.

Something had happened here, but I would leave it to Dustin to decipher as my body shot forward, mind jumbled into a million scenarios, always pushing away the more sinister ones.

The pathetic crying noises were soon closer as my claws dug into the dirt and twigs trying to propel myself closer to them until I almost smashed into the back of Charlie's sleek body.

His purrer was going slowly as he rubbed his face against a small body, it wasn't the body I wanted to see but it was comforting to my wolf to know that the pup was alive.

''His scent is gone.'' Charlie's voice sounded too soft as if this was the first moment in his life he had ever been so disappointed in himself.

I realised with a clenching heart that indeed, my mate's scent was gone, no longer swirling within the trees and also the rogue's scent seemed to vanish also, a strong smell of the wolf's bane plant lingering to cloud all of our senses from us.

Charlie's purring was not just for the hysterical pup trying to gain comfort but it was also for himself.

As soon as the pup caught wind of me, his small sad brown eyes locked with mine before he fumbled his way towards me barking out his yelps and stuttering his mournful howls. My wolf nudged me to comfort him as Charlie was just doing. So I did, nuzzling his small body until he fell over and I picked him up in my mouth and started our trek home to regroup and form a plan.

My body was slack, muscles bunched poorly, my teeth barely holding onto the pup whining as he swung back and forth with my heavy steps, the motion almost soothing him, but my head felt heavy, my bond felt poor, like I was a million miles away on a hopeless road going in the wrong direction from Jaidan.

Alic had been glancing at me from time to time as he led the way home, through the eerily quiet forest, the leaves crunching under us being the only sound filling our ears. All the creatures were surely hiding from the scuffle between predators.

I wanted to run off and just search every corner of this damned Earth if that's what I had to do, but as I look back at out mentally and physically beaten and tired group, I closed my eyes and wished it all a cruel dream.

We had all left each other to our thoughts. Alic was watching me every so often before his face relaxed and turned stoic hiding his emotions well as if he was reassured I wouldn't run off and get myself killed trying to find my mate.

Charlie was a little up ahead of me, his head low, not ever making contact with me or Dustin, who was nudging his side every so often to try and comfort him. 

But who was going to comfort me?

Who was going to comfort Jaidan?  

I am really in the mood to write a sexy scene but if I did it would break all our hearts because Jaidan is not with his mate so it would not be with him. This is not the time or place. We'll take a raincheck my lovelies. x