Mates of a Human

Part Six. Chapter Thirteen. Eric

He was here, he was in my arms again, my boy, my sweetheart.  Tears freely flowed down his face, expressing the emotions that were welling up inside of me.  He was here.  I buried my face into his neck and breathed in his delicious scent, that musk that was unique to him.  It hadn't changed, despite other lingering smells that coated his body.  I pressed my lips against his wet skin, trailing kisses over his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks, his lips and not once did I wake from this dream.  He truly was here with me.  It had been almost eighty hours since I had last seen him, since I kissed him hurriedly on the cheek and left him in the hands of another, since I regretted trusting that wolf with my husband.

"Sweetheart," I said, trying to stop the emotions from escaping me in front of our audience. That would be for later, when I had both my mates beside me. I cradled his face in my hands and looked into his red rimmed eyes. "I am never letting you out of my sight again, you know that right."

"You idiot," he retorted, his words broken half by chuckles, half by sobs. "I know you taunted the pack until they decided to point guns at you! Don't you think I'll let you from my sight either!" Ah, I had done that hadn't I. I never thought my childishness would have reached Alex's ears, though. That and it never occurred to me that the Alpha would be so ruthless as to actually attempt to shoot me! Not until I heard the click of the safety being removed. I had hightailed it out of there as quick as my furry butt would allow. So in the end, it was just another mark against Michael's father, another reason for his eventual arrest. I only hoped Michael would be alright after watching his father brought to justice. He was still blood after all.

"You are with your mate," the deep voice of the biggest wolf I had ever seen said and I had thought that Alex's friend Charles was huge. Compared to the height and build of this man, that was nothing.  "I should return to the pack."

Voices of protests sounded out around us. These were Damien's best warriors. We had been on our way to sneak attack the pack, create a distraction, while the infiltrators who had been hidden amongst the homes and hiding places known only to Gabriel's people rescued Alex. Of course, that part of the plan was no longer necessary, but we couldn't have this wolf raising the alarms so soon. We did not even know why he had brought Alex out of the pack house in the first place. All sorts of sinister explanations and identities for him had been running through my mind. "Wait, Eric, this is Adriel, Michael's older brother." And that had not been one of them.

I heard Damien's tiger snicker softly, realising that I had been clueless. "I know," I lied, although it was a tiny bit possible we had met before, but all ever saw when it came to the pack was Michael. "But we can't risk this getting back to the Alpha."

"Adriel wouldn't do that," Alex said, shaking his head slightly, before turning in my embrace to face the other man.  "Would you Adriel.... Adriel?"  I can't say I liked losing his attention one bit, but my jealously was fleeting.

Adriel wasn't listening to him, he had suddenly stopped, something in the air catching his full attention.  We all watched him turn slowly to his left and take a step forward towards a tree, where a mixed group of leopards and jaguars were lingering.  Wait.. jaguars? 

"Mate!"  Adriel stated, clearly, his voice silencing the mix of purrs and pants and all eyes followed the path to which he seemed focused upon.  One Jaguar's eyes began to widened and it began to back away, while Michael's brother pressed forward.  The other cats parted like the Red Sea allowing the large man access to his prey.  A prey that seemed very familiar to me.  So I tried scenting the air drifting from that direction.

"Hold on...  Isn't that... Justin?"

*****

"So what should we do now?" Damien asked as several felines lounged around or scrapped with each other half heartedly.  The few wolves waited with unwavering eyes upon Damien as Gabriel had instructed them to listen to his commands as if they came from the Alpha-in-waiting himself.