Forbidden Mates

Fox Den

Jamie

It had been about a week since Jade's father sent me away. Of course I had expected it, but I thought I'd have more time for a better goodbye. I meant it in the letter when I said I loved her, but we didn't really have time alone for me to tell her.

The whole time since I left, I'd been in my fox form, running. I was going home to hopefully be accepted back. I only slowed down when I needed to hunt and sleep. My paws were sore, but that didn't stop me.

Knowing how close I was now to my pack, I finally slowed to a stop. There was a familiar scent up ahead that I had hoped to avoid when I arrived. The scent started getting stronger as I saw her step out from behind a boulder. Her long, wavy red hair flowing perfectly down her shoulders and back. Her hazel eyes reflecting the glow of the morning sky.

She must have caught my scent to be this far from the small town in human form. Stepping closer to me, she gave a small smile, reaching out to pet me.

"Jamie..." Her southern accent breathed out beautifully, "I've missed you."

I lowered my head, not wanting to shift and be naked in front of her. Realizing this, she turned and headed to the town. Several minutes later, she returned with a bag in her hand. I took it and went behind that same boulder to shift and get dressed.

Emerging from the boulder, I took in her sight once again, "Stacey."

She stared at me with those bright eyes, "Are you comin' home?"

"I guess that depends on whether you call off your army." I murmured, "Why did you do it?"

Stepping closer to me, she ran her soft fingers down my cheek, "I loved you, Jamie."

"That doesn't explain why you lied to the pack to turn them against me." I replied, pulling away from her touch, "If the Alpha were like them, I could have been killed."

"You led me on that night." She whispered, "I was angry that I let you get that close."

Thinking back to the night before my exile, I realized what she was talking about. We had been celebrating my older brother, Henry's birthday. He had just turned 22, and had also found out his mate was pregnant.

I remember having a few drinks with him and Stacey while his mate just had water. We both knew Stacey had a crush on me ever since high school, so Henry kept trying to get me closer to her. Wanting to save myself for my mate, I kept refusing. At the end of the night, he pushed me onto her. Being drunk, I couldn't stop as we fell to the floor, me on top of her. Normally, I would have apologized and helped her up. Instead, I leaned down, my lips inches from hers. She closed her eyes when I suddenly realized what I was about to do and I quickly stumbled off of her.

Finally able to picture that night clearly, I stared at the ground, "I'm sorry I did that to you."

"It's alright." She sighed, "I shouldn't have lied to the pack."

"Will I be torn apart if I go in with you?" I asked.

She turned to head back, beckoning me to follow, "I'll call a pack meetin' to explain everything."

Getting closer, I inhaled the familiar scent of home. The trees were far less dense here than back in the forest. A minute or two later, we were heading in the town. The eastern side of it was all flatlands where we grew crops, mostly to sell to the human cities. We had a few barns with farm animals, and some stables with horses. We only had about a hundred pack members.

I recieved a few angry shouts and glares from the men, but they didn't dare attack with Stacey by my side. We reached the center of the town where an elevated, circular patch of grass sat, used for meetings.