Wings of a Feather

Chapter 8

Riley had an awful lot on his mind the next morning.

His feet treaded lightly over the grassy cover of the forest floor on the way to Heather's house, making little no sound in the process. It wasn't that he was specifically trying to avoid being noticed, no, he was far to preoccupied to care about that. His lightness of foot was merely a genetic quality of his.

But being so preoccupied, Riley didn't even notice that he was being followed.

Tristan followed from a reasonable distance, eyes never straying from the lean figure of his mate strolling through the forest, hands stuffed in his pockets and head upturned towards the sky in deep thought.

Riley looked completely at ease in the woods, Tristan noted, which was definitely odd for a human. What was more, was that he seemed to know exactly where he was going. Tristan frowned. Had Riley been in these woods often? It didn't seem likely, since no one in the pack had ever stumbled upon him.

Tristan sniffed the air again, just as a precaution. Riley's scent was soft and sweet, but definitely not a werewolf. So he really is just a human? Having a human for a mate wasn't unheard of, but as a Beta, Tristan had always just assumed that his mate would be a lovely, feisty werewolf. But as soon as his eyes had landed his human last night, looking poised and graceful from where he was perched in a tree, Tristan had taken no hesitation in accepting his mate.

And as his mate, it was Tristan's duty to protect Riley, whether he knew it or not. That surge of protectiveness, along with an undeniable curiosity, is why as soon as the werewolf had picked up his human's scent, his immediate instinct was to follow suit.

Meanwhile, Riley was still deep in thought.

His thoughts were filled with his mate, Tristan, whom he had never expected to encounter.

His stomach churned uncomfortably, and he winced at the reminder of the next complication in his life. 

Surprisingly, it wasn't the male part of his mate that he was concerned about. Sure, he had never really been attracted to men before. But then again, he had never particularly been attracted to women, either.

He thought of Heather, his new winged friend. She was certainly stunning, and dare he say, she was probably the most striking woman Riley had ever seen, wings and all. And yet, Riley felt no attraction towards her.

The very thought of Tristan, on the other hand, made Riley's heart pound in his chest. Riley just couldn't figure it out.

So even as another male, Riley could easily admit that Tristan was probably the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was the werewolf part of the equation.

Riley could just imagine the fates looking down on him and laughing. Was it some sort of mistake? A joke? There was no way that a Feliss and a Lupine could ever be mates when they were natural enemies. He could still remember the stories that the elders in his village had once told him. Horrifying stories of the werewolves who would try to eat little kittens, if they didn't brush their fangs and eat their vegetables.

Riley exhaled a long sigh. What was more was that since he had left the burned remains of his village, he had vowed from then on to rely solely on himself. Deciding to help out a hopelessly lost and defenseless loner was one thing, but settling down with a mate was a whole other story.

His heart sank. There was no way that he could stay here with his mate forever. He and Heather would most undoubtedly be discovered soon, and hunters didn't make courtesy calls before they showed up and started slaughtering.