Chapter 5
My eyes remained wide open as the loud bang of the gun rung through my ears from its close proximity and echoed around the forest as the bullet flew over my shoulder.
My mate exhaled loudly as he lowered his gun and his gaze.
A smug smile appeared on my face as I felt some relief. I knew he wasn't going to shoot me from his body language but after only knowing him for a few minutes, I took a risk.
"Knew it," I whispered.
He looked at me in surprise, "How-" But before he could ask his question, I punched him in the gut.
"That's for wanting to kill me, you lunatic," I said as I twisted his arm and grabbed the gun which I chucked across from us and near the stream.
"Fuck!" He groaned as he doubled over in pain.
"Yeah, yeah. Quit whining." I said as I moved behind him to secure his arms.
Just as I was about to detain him, however, he threw his elbow back and knocked me square in the nose.
"You son of a-" But before I could finish, my pack was charging in.
"Who let the dogs out?" He asked bitterly as he was doubled over in pain. "How about you grab my gun and kill me before they do." He suggested.
I cupped my bleeding nose as I shifted my body in front of the human whose name I still didn't know.
"How about you shut up before they actually do?" I retorted. "Don't you dare touch him," I said to my pack as I wiped some blood off on my t-shirt. Luckily dad didn't show up yet.
'But Alpha,' Sam started.
'Not now Sam. You and Charlotte shift and help me tie him up.' I commanded.
'But Alpha-' He continued.
'I said not now.' I groaned as I held my broken nose and snapped it into place.
'Fine. But you'll like to know that he's running.'Â Sam stated.
I turned around and he was right. That jerkface was running back in the direction we came from.
"Just great," I mumbled before taking off after him.
He was pretty fast for a human. A bit too fast for my liking.
But he was no match for my Alpha abilities.
Honestly, if I wasn't an Alpha I would be a lazy couch potato. It seemed like an ideal career honestly.
I could feel a few branches and the edges of rocks cutting my bare feet but not long after, I pushed my body weight forward and tackled the man to the ground.
"Oof!" He groaned as his body landed on the forest floor.
His body was oddly warm. The temperature rivaled that of my werewolf body, which was strange since humans didn't exactly get this warm. But it didn't feel alarmingly hot to indicate that he had a fever.
My entire body, however, tingled from the physical connection that we had but I cleared the fuzzy feeling within me caused by the mate bond as I tried to secure his arms.
He tried to shake me off him but I placed my legs on either side of his body in a straddling position before I grabbed his left arm and twisted it behind his back.
"Stop fighting me," I growled in his ear.
"Like I'll actually listen." He scoffed.
I put more pressure on his arm until he yielded.
"Okay! Fine!" He yielded. "Damn lady, you'd think after sparing your life you'd give a man a chance."
"Maybe if you hadn't pulled a gun to my head in the first place, we wouldn't be in this position," I grumbled.
"I think it's more like if you hadn't stolen me, we wouldn't be in this position." He stated.
Before I could hit him with a sassy remark, I heard a throat clear behind me, "Alpha."
Sam, Charlotte, and Max stood there in human form before I noticed my father walking furiously towards us.
"I'm going to kill that boy." He growled.
"No you're not," I said calmly.
"I swear Everette I'm going to-"
"Dad relax, I'm fine," I assured him.
But I noticed the human's body suddenly tense when I spoke to my father.
His fists clenched even tighter than when we were speaking earlier.
Who was this guy anyway? A hunter for sure, but where he got his information on us had me worried.
"Charlotte, do you have rope in your backpack?" I asked instead of raising concern.
I just wanted to get us all the hell out of the forest and into pack territory before any rogues showed up.
She looked at me oddly, "Why would I have rope? I only packed water for your-"
"Do you have any extra clothing?" I asked before she could say the word mate.
"Yeah, there are a few extra t-shirts." She said pulling them out.
"Great, you three should strip them up and bind the ends together," I said before turning back to my dad. "Help me get him up would you?"
"I swear, you better let me go. You can't tie me up like I'm the bad dog here." The human fidgeted under me.
"You'd get a collar to match your leash if you don't quit fighting me." I joked but his body froze which made me snicker.
I looked over to my dad to see the anger and confusion in his eyes towards my mate but right now was not the time.
He walked over to me and grabbed the humans arms behind his back, to which the boy immediately began to fight against him before I got off the human and helped to haul him on his feet.
The tension between the men was palpable and it was pretty easy to figure out why. But why exactly was this human showing more hostility towards my dad than the rest of us?
While my father held his arms tightly, I patted my mate's suit jacket and checked his waistband but I didn't see any more weapons.
I took over from my father and held the man's wrists in my hands as my dad finally walked in front of the boy and had a good look at him.
My father took a step back and seemed a bit confused.
"What are you looking at mutt?" The boy asked with hatred in his voice.
"Have we met before?" My father ignored him.
"Unless your dogs were breaking the treaty and wandering around in our land." The human said with a calm rage that sent a chill through me.
The rage increased in my father's eyes as he looked at me, "You already told him about us?"
I shook my head, "He already knew."
Shock took over his aging features, "He what?"
"Oh, I know everything about you Blackwood. More than even your daughter knows." The human said with a smug look.
My grip on his wrist tightened in shock, "What do you mean?" When he remained silent, I turned to my father who looked confused, "Dad? What is he talking about?"
"Don't ask me because I have no idea what he's talking about or who he is. Or how he knows our name."
"Mind loosening your grip there? You're about to snap my wrist." The boy said.
I was brought to my senses and was reminded he was more fragile than a wolf.
"You're a hunter. How many of you are there?" I asked him as Charlotte handed over the make-shift rope they created.
Max held the boy's arms as I took his wrist to the front of his body and wrapped the cloth around it a few times before tying a double constrictor knot and leaving a long piece hanging so I could pull him along.
"Answer her question boy!" My father yelled.
"Try again. I'm not giving you anything." He answered harshly.
My father was fuming but I cut him off with a glare. I knew that if he was going to answer anything, it had to be asked from me.
He went silent after as I tied him up and of course, he fought against me throughout the whole ordeal.
Before I could ask him anything again, I got a mind link.
'Alpha. A few rogues were spotted a couple of miles to the north. We need to move, fast.' The pack member said.
I looked at the others and they had the same ready-to-fight expression on, except for my father who continued to look confused and weary.
But that's how I felt too. Who knew what this boy knew and what he planned to do about it.
And I was taking him to my pack.
Our pack.
If he even wanted to be apart of it. Or maybe he would try to kill me again.
Oh, the joy.
I looked at the cloth in my hand and there was no way he could keep up with my wolf and I wasn't taking the risk of putting him on my back now that he was conscious.
He could try to kill both of us by throwing himself off and getting eaten by rogues.
"We'll walk and meet you all back at the packhouse," I informed them and they all gave me disapproving looks. "Go distract the rogues and lead them off us but be careful and return to the pack without delay."
"Everette..." My father stated.
"Go, I'm fine," I said as I grabbed a water bottle from Charlotte before gripping the cloth tighter in my fist and led the human southeast.
As soon as we were on our own, my mate decided to speak up, "Aren't you going to shift Everette?" He asked with fire in his eyes.
Ugh, leave it to my big-mouthed father to say my name in front of this dingus.
Not like he wouldn't have found out sooner or later but I rather it was on my terms and not when we were constantly bickering.
"Aren't you going to try to kill me again human?" I asked back.
"Get me my gun and I'll do it." He shrugged.
"Keep dreaming you lunatic," I laughed.
"Hey, you punched me first." He said in defense.
"You tried to kill me and broke my nose," I said exasperated.
"You healed didn't you?" He asked wearily.
I rolled my eyes, "Trust me if I didn't then my dad would've killed you."
"Wouldn't be the first human now would it." He stated as a fact.
"No it wouldn't, but how can you blame him when humans kept coming into our pack?" I said annoyed.
"Maybe us humans had a good reason."
"Don't think you can give me one, but try me," I said and waited for his answer.
As a brief pause of silence, he said, "Maybe they were only trying to protect themselves and the future women of our society, actually add men to that list. But it doesn't matter now does it..."
I agreed with him on the account of us 'kidnapping' people being wrong and most certainly not the right way of going about things, but that was definitely not the reason the humans came into our pack twenty years ago. It was only because of psycho Jake Cain's need to kill us.
Had the humans tire of the ritual, the elders would have stopped us long ago. It wasn't like we were forcing it down their throats. I certainly wasn't.
Knowing that he wasn't going to elaborate from his last sentence, I switched subjects, "You haven't even told me your name yet."
"And you're not getting it anytime soon princess. Or should I call you Everette? Actually how about beastie?" He glowered.
"Maybe I should gag you so you wouldn't be able to talk anymore," I suggested with a smirk.
"Maybe you should drop me off where you picked me up." He snapped.
"I could, but I rather keep you around as my new chew toy." I smiled when his eyes went wide.
"If you really want to kill me, then, by all means, go ahead. But since I know I'm not here for that reason, pass me some of the water before I die would you." He yanked his hands on the rope impatiently.
"Calm down drama queen," I said before stopping and walking over to him and placing the bottle of water to his lips, "And who knows, maybe I'll actually kill you for being so annoying." He merely rolled his eyes before he finished the entire thing.
When he was finished his green eyes assessed me and it was a bit creepy... and slightly hot. Hey, don't judge me, this man was a tough cookie to crack to even get a smile.
"Good?" I asked before continuing on our journey.
"Wasn't an actual meal, but I'll live, unfortunately." He grumbled. "Tell me why you chose me and I'll tell you my name."
"I thought you knew everything about us, so why do you not know why I chose you?"
"Because the only person who could give me answers died before I could ask." He said glumly.
The way he said that made my heart sink for him and I knew whoever it was, he was affected deeply.
"Was it another hunter?" I asked suspiciously and glanced at him over my shoulder.
"Not really any of your business." He said with a harsh tone, but his eyes, on the other hand, looked dejected. "Now are you going to tell me or do I have to annoy you further?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I chuckled nervously.
"You're a werewolf, I think not believing is way past this situation."
My gaze shifted to him and he looked at me expectantly, "What?"
I frowned, "I was hoping you didn't actually know what I was. But now you've gone and said it."
"Werewolf." He said again mockingly. "Trust me, I've been taught about you guys since I was a child."
I looked at him before letting out a sigh, "I took you because you're my... mate."
"Mate?" He crooked his eyebrow up.
"Soulmate," I whispered out.
He stopped in his tracks and the sudden motion made me stumble back before I turned and glared at him.
His eyes were crinkled in the corners and his lips were quirked up.
And before I knew it, he laughed. A full out masculine laugh which sent a wave of emotions through me.
The sound of his voice hit me like ice cream on a hot summer's day.
"Why are you laughing?" I questioned a bit annoyed.
"Because you're insane. No way did you just say, 'soul mates'."
"So, you believe that I'm a werewolf but you don't believe that we're mates?" I looked at him stupidly.
"Princess, you're friends running around like dogs prove what you are. I don't think you can just prove or state who your soul mate is. Which, by the way, doesn't exist, because if it did the divorce rate would be much lower."
I threw my hands in the air in frustration, which made the makeshift rope pull the boy's body closer to my own. To which he glared at me from the pull on his wrists.
"See, I knew you wouldn't believe me!" I said exasperated.
"Give me one good reason for why you believe that I'm your soul mate." He waited patiently for my answer.
"As werewolves, we're paired with mates. Our soul mates. We can identify that person from their scent which is most addicting to their mate." I shrugged after my brief explanation.
He lifted an arm and sniffed his armpit, "You're addicted to my bodily odor? What the-"
"Not your actual scent dingus. It's a scent that only your mate can smell."
"So what do I smell like?" He asked wearily. "Sugar and spice and everything nice?"
"No, boys smell like snips and snails and puppy dog tails. Did you forget your nursery rhyme?" I joked.
"I didn't, but you're more of the puppy dog so I think in our case it would be reversed." He retorted.
"Yeah, yeah, how about getting some new jokes huh?" I grumbled before I felt my cheeks get warm before I answered, "You smell like fresh sage, juniper berries, and freshly cut wood."
He looked apprehensive, "That's uh... very specific. But how do I not smell you?"
"It's usually a faint scent for a human to sense." I said as I stepped closer to him so that we were inches apart, "Try it."
He seemed hesitant as he leaned in close, "This is stupid." He muttered.
"Just tell me what you smell." I rolled my eyes.
He leaned down closer to my neck since he was way taller than my five-nine frame, and I felt the warmth of his breath on my skin which felt like tiny sparks.
"Hmm..." He mussed. "I smell toasted marshmallows, warm clove spice and-"
"Everything nice?" I piped in with a nervous smile. It felt a bit intimate.
He chuckled and I could practically feel it reverberate through me.
"Yes but also like fire-roasted vanilla." He concluded.
"Now who's the specific one?" I teased, "What's fire-roasted vanilla though?"
"It's a candle my-" Before he could complete his sentence, I heard a few branches make noise a little further away from us.
"Shh, did you hear that?" I stupidly asked. Of course, he didn't hear that because he wasn't part wolf.
"What? Do you hear something in my body that indicates we're mates as well?" He asked and I wanted to laugh but we, unfortunately, may be in danger.
"No, you idiot," I whispered low and tried to catch a scent but my mate's scent was too powerful for me to smell anything beyond it.
"Why don't you-"
"I preferred you when I found you in the forest. Quiet and complacent." I cut him off.
Actually, I didn't and was glad that he was feisty. Heck, even the elbow he landed in my nose was a good tactic. He could fight and wasn't afraid of me like I initially thought. The last thing I wanted was some quiet mouse as my mate.
I was already an Alpha and everyone listened. I needed someone to challenge me and defy me.
"I was going to say," He went on but in a much lower tone, "you should untie my hands and I'll help."
"You don't have your gun on you, remember," I noted.
"And whose fault is that?"
I heard the sound getting closer and slapped my palm over my mate's mouth.
Just as the sound was approaching us, I caught the scent.
I knew exactly who it was.
But before I could do anything, the human yanked the cloth rope and pulled my body behind his as he stood in a protective stance before me.
The same dude that wanted to shoot me...
Humans were weird.
And men... yeah men are weird too.
A/N
Chapter Update: Tomorrow!
Hehe, sorry about that cliffhanger in the previous chapter... and well this one too ð
How we liking this human boy? He's a bit of a spoilsport huh? But I think Ev will keep him in check ð What do you all think?
I'm also loving your reactions! You guys are the best! I haven't gotten a moment to reply to many comments yet but I'm getting to it, I promise. I love yall so much and am so happy to get the support! You guys are literally the only positive thing in my life and I'm so thankful for that! â¤â¤â¤
Also I changed the cast for Everette! So if you want to see, it's up in the Cast chapter. But just imagine whoever you want, even if that was the previous girl I had :)
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