Salt to Her Sea ✔️

19. unrecognizable

THADAL

Why had I left? It seemed so rash and useless from my vantage point in the mud with a body that was only half mine. Had I stayed, just heard her out, everything would be different. I knew it, deep in my gut, things would have gotten better.

That night, we would have sat down and talked. Everything would have come out; the why, the how, even the what. I would have held her in my arms before the fireplace. Kissed her like I hadn't ever had a taste of her. Made love until the sun rose again. I'd apologize for being so aggressive with my reaction. She probably would have explained why she kept everything from me...

How I wished I could have gone back.

"Hey, Son," a voice startled me to consciousness. Opening my eyes to the scent of human, an old man stood over me. I blinked up at him. He was equipped with a scruffy white beard, a leathery tan face, and a strong, sinewy frame. His suspenders clung to his shoulders, old jeans just a bit too big. His flannel was caked in dirt and sweat from a long day, half hidden by his thick canvas jacket.

Had it been a wolf, I would have felt more threatened. But the human standing over me offered me no dishonest scent.

"I've been trying to wake you up for damn near ten minutes, bucko."

There was a disconnected piece inside of me. I felt detached from everything, my body especially. My limbs were too heavy to move, I tried moving my toes and fingers with slight success. The feeling was still coming back.

"You need help? Why are you out here in the woods, buck ass naked?" His bushy white brows raised in curiosity.

"Lost."

"Well it's a good place to be lost, I reckon. I've got my ranch just a jog back behind me. The wifes' makin' dinner, we'll be just in time."

I felt my body tense, the fight or flight instinct kicked in nice and fast. Eyes darted around, looking for an exit before landing on him again. He was still looking down at me expectantly, no hurry to him.

I took a breath and finally thought, what would Akesis do?

It was the first time I had ever called upon anything other than my natural instincts. The feeling was weird and foreign, but above all; it was helpful. Akesis might not have gone with the strange man, but she would have calculated the pros and cons. She was much better at reading faces than I was.

The pros of going with him came to me first. He probably had a phone, food, location. The phone was the most important. I had no idea how long I had been gone, how the Peak was, or even where I was.

Exhaustion was too strong to conjure any cons. Slowly, I nodded to the man. Pushing myself up was a whole other affair, but he waited patiently before leading me towards the tree line. The sun was bright, pale, and hardly felt against the bitter cold.

"You're lucky you aren't hypothermic... Or frostbitten, fella." The old man spoke over his shoulder, breath making white puffs in the air. "I'd offer you my jacket but... I don't think it would fit ya."

A little ranch house came into view, the paint was chipping and chickens littered the front yard. A tractor sat half rusted against the fence and smoke billowed from the brick chimney. I had never seen this life, this separation of living. There were no packs, no secrecy... Some deep part of me craved it, thinking, maybe my mate would be safe and sound if we lived this way. Had I not been an Alpha, had she not been a healer, we could have had a life to ourselves.

But that was not my path, I was an Alpha. I had duties to fulfill and she had a craving to help. It is just how life went.

"Magda, I brought home a man." The old man called as he opened the back door.