Chapter 9

LEON ADLER

We make a few stops – at Gogama, Timmins, and Driftwood. The final stop is Driftwood, and we have to leave the car and take the forest once again. Ethan holds my hand, and I can feel his trembling fingers against mine. We've travelled 600 kilometers just to get to our last stop, and it took us almost 7 hours to arrive here, and now we have to go through the jungle to arrive at Kesagami as there's no road that we can take to drive there. We've also eaten up the chips and drunk the water we've bought.

Parking the truck in the forest to make sure that no one's going to see my truck, Ethan lets out a sigh and puts a hand on his chest. I can tell how nervous he is. I give him a reassuring smile, squeezing his hand. My mate looks at me with relief crossing on his face, and squeezes my hand back.

"How are you feeling?" I ask him.

My mate remains quiet for a moment before letting out another sigh. I can tell how much this is stressing him. He feels there's an answer waiting for us at Kesagami, but at the same time, there's uncertainty. We're not sure if one of the shrines is in there, but we have to at least look.

"I don't know. Scared, confused, I guess."

Smiling at him, I squeeze his hand again. "That's okay. I'm here."

"Thank you," Ethan gives me a smile that has my heart racing, then he leans down to plant a gentle kiss on my lips. I shut my eyes, savoring the taste of his lips. Ethan pulls away and cups my face. "I'm glad you're here with me."

"I have to." I chuckle, flicking his forehead. "Otherwise, you'd runaway, and I can't afford that, can I? You're my runaway mate."

"Is that really you speaking? What did you do to Leon?" he teases.

Suddenly, I'm thrown back to the time where I was ignoring him. Ethan has always been the bubbly kid, and he is likened by everyone. Although at the time, I had not been much around his presence, I knew he left a big impact to the people who really know him when he left. Seriously, why have I not seen how beautiful and amazing my mate is?

Anyone who's anyone would be happy to have him as their mate because he's a wonderful guy, and not just because of how powerful he is. Despite that fact, he remains humble and easy, and he thinks of the well-being of the people he considers as family.

Ethan Kennedy deserves to be mated to someone better.

The more I think about of the past, the more I realize that I don't deserve this precious bean sitting beside me at all. Ethan deserves someone who would take care of him and not treat him like shit. He deserves to be loved. He's too pure for this world, and I'm so glad that he's my mate. Although I've been a bad mate to him.

My mate senses what I'm thinking, so he just leans down and buries his face in the crook of my neck, his arms wrapping around my waist. I smell his hair, loving how it smells like strawberry.

"I know you still think of the past, and how it replays in your head,"

"Do you still see it, like with your power?" I ask him, my voice below a whisper. I feel ashamed.

He shakes his head. "I don't need to even if I do have that power." Ethan chuckles, looking at me through his lashes. He cups my face, his thumbs running circles on my chest. He looks at me with so much adoration that it makes my heart skip a beat. "I've always known Leon Adler ever since he was a kid. From the way he breathes, the way his face crunches up, the way his left eye twitches when he's pissed, and the blank expression he always wears when he's feeling anything but happiness, I know what he thinks and feels. I know it when you're sad. I know it when you're angry. I know it when you're happy. I know it when you're feeling like the world is against you. Your parents are not the only one watching you as you grew up. I've always been there."

His confession leaves me speechless. For the first time after in a million years, I feel my eyes prickle with tears as I stare at my mate. My heart constricts, and I just want to hug him tight and never let go. Ethan is my precious bean. He has always been my precious bean since day one, and I was too dumb to realize that.

I hug my mate, tears flowing down my cheeks but I remain silent. I don't care if my mate sees me like this. I want to let him know what I really feel, and I'm feeling all different kinds of emotion all at once, but happiness stands out. Ethan tries to brush my tears away but miserably fails, but he just gives me a small, reassuring smile that lifts my spirit up. Ethan looks at me with so much emotions in his eyes that I'm starting to get suffocated, but I guess in a good way.

"That's a relief." I chuckle.

"I wouldn't trade this for anything, Leon. I wouldn't."

I press my mouth on his and I can taste my salty tears. Ethan's fingers lock through my curls as he presses himself more to me, closing the gap between us. He hoists himself up without breaking the kiss and sits on my lap. I nibble on his bottom lip, and my pants begin to tighten uncomfortably. Ethan lets out a low moan that has me growling. My wolf, Apollo, wants to take over and just eats the beautiful creature sitting on my lap, but I just put him on edge but don't let him take over.

I pull away from the kiss. "Ethan... I think we're on a mission here."

"Yeah? I forgot about that."

Chuckling, I ruffle his hair and he climbs out of the truck. The sun light is being blocked by huge and tall trees. The forest is eerie, and it's so quiet that I can literally hear the gentle rustle of the wind and our breathing. I turn off the engine off my truck and jerk my head to the north. After locking the door and securing my truck, Ethan takes my hand and together, we walk through the sea of trees that seem scary.

I legit think that this would be a great place for murders to happen. There's only us walking, and it seems like this forest hasn't been walked on by anyone in years. If we were just regular humans, we'd be scared by now, thinking that someone would come out of nowhere, lunge at us, and kill us in most possible gruesome ways.

We've been walking for about 30 minutes and we haven't seen anyone yet. I keep sniffing the air just to ensure no one is following us, and my eyes are always scanning the area, looking for any sign that we're in danger, but so far all we can hear the sweet chirps of the birds as they fly from branch to branch of the trees, not bothering us. Throughout, Ethan and I have been holding hands.

As we walk, Ethan yelps when he steps into something. A trap. He's flung into the net, trapped, and the net is lifted high. I let out a feral growl when I feel footsteps on the ground. Ethan transforms into his semi-wolf, biting and slashing the thick net. I stay alert, turning my head to left and right. I put Apollo on the surface just in case.

By the time Ethan is done with freeing himself, that's when they lunge at us – hunters. They have crossbows, daggers, and huge, long and deadly swords. From what it looks like, their weapons are glinting, embedded with silver. The hunters have malice look on their face and they stare at us with utter disgust.

"One move and I will fucking shoot you in the head." One hunter says.

Ethan and I stay still, not moving a single muscle. I scan the area and confirm that there's more or less 15 hunters surrounding us. If it weren't for the weapons aimed at us, I would have already lunged at them. We're in serious trouble, and I have to think as soon as possible before Ethan and I get hurt.

What bothers me is the fact that I haven't smelled them at all. I sniff the air again but I don't smell anything other than the leaves and trees. How can they do that? They are just merely humans, and they should be carrying certain smell on them. I have to figure out what's happening, otherwise, we're going to be in a bigger trouble.

Them not having any scent on them doesn't really make sense.

Everyone is carrying their own scents, and the only werewolf I know who has that ability happens to be my mate. But looking at my mate from the corner of my eyes, it appears he seems just as shocked as me. Sweat trickles down my face as I watch the hunters warily. They must have done something in order to cover their scent, but what it is? What's happening?

"Werewolves, are you surprised that we don't carry scents?"

The hunters smirk. At this moment, they have the biggest advantage. Their weapons are still aimed at us, and if we ever move a single muscle, we'd be dead. But I have to find an opening, or a distraction, and I have to find them as soon as possible. Every second that passes by puts us in an even more danger.

"Don't try to escape, werewolves." The hunter who spoke earlier hisses. The hunter has a black, long hair, and his eyes are a color of grey, but the only thing I can see is the hatred swimming in his orbs. "We've got you cornered, and there's no one to help you out here. You've got the nerve to come here by yourselves alone. If we kill you right now, no one would find your body."

"I thought werewolves were supposed to be smart," one hunter comments.

They share a laugh. I bare my fangs at them. "Are you trying to scare me, werewolf? Because I'm not. We outnumber you and your friend, or is that you're mate? Oh yes, we are aware that werewolves have mates. After all, we, hunters, know where we came from and how it all started. You're not the only ones evolving."

"What do you mean?" Ethan asks them.

"It's not because of magic, that I assure you," the hunter laughs, his tone a bit high and crazy. He looks like a maniac. "But what's the point of telling you our secret when you'd die here in the first place? Nothing. Any last words before we kill you."

"Yeah," Ethan says.

"Then say it, darling."

"You better look at your feet."

The hunters do as my mate instructed, and they yelp when the roots of the trees come out of the ground. Some hunters drop their weapons as the roots wrap around them, but most of them open fire. The distraction Ethan caused gives us enough time to dodge it, and then we lunge ourselves to them.

I sense the ground, and can feel more hunters coming in here. I take another sniff, and then there's that smell that I've become familiar with my entire life – werewolves. I continue to attack the hunters, slitting their throat and their blood pours out of their neck like a fountain. Meanwhile, Ethan is being extra careful on them but dealing enough damage to knock them out. I twist the head of the hunter who attempts to stab me in the back, but too bad, I can feel the steps he takes on the ground.

When more hunters come, the werewolves reveal themselves and they lunge at them before they can even fire the weapons the hunters are carrying. Ethan and I help them, and as soon as all hunters are dead, the werewolves growl at us.

The biggest werewolf in the pack transforms into a human, and one of his pack immediately hands him a towel. The guy has a jet-black hair, a bit tousled, freckles dotting his nose and cheeks. His jaw is sharp, and he has a moon tattoo on his wrist.

"Who are you and why are you on our territory?"

A Beta. Interesting. He acts like an Alpha. "I'd like to talk to the Alpha, Beta."

The Beta lets out a feral growl, and his comrades don't take that as a good sign. They bare their fangs at us. I smirk at them, baring them my fangs as well, and letting Apollo to take over. The Beta's comrades fall back, sensing that I'm an Alpha while the Beta is shocked but stands his ground.

"You're an Alpha,"

"And you're a Beta."

"I'm a fucking Alpha," the guy hisses.

He lunges himself at me, and his comrades follow suit. Ethan immediately uses his power to trip the werewolves, the roots wrapping around their body, trapping them. The Beta tries to attack me, but I immediately dodge it. His moves are a bit sloppy as rage consumes him, and I just let him until he gets tired. The Beta wheezes, trying to get as much air as possible, then begins attacking me again.

This time, I grab his fist and twist them, and the Beta lets out a groan in pain, but he never stands back. I stomp on his feet while his comrades get lifted in the air. From the corner of my eyes, I can see how tired my mate is from using his powers. He's still in a semi-werewolf form.

"That's enough!" Now that sounds like an Alpha. I let go of the Beta and turn to an older man who has grey hair. His aura screams like an Alpha. The Beta tries to punch me again but I kick him in the stomach a bit too hard, and he groans. "Jacob, get your ass up there." The Alpha looks at his comrades in the air, already submissive as their Alpha eyes them. "Interesting... could you please put them down? I think they've learned their lessons."

"This fucking werewolf is questioning my authority and role," the Beta hisses.

The Alpha groans. "Not this again, Jacob. I told you, you have a Beta blood, but you're stepping up as an Alpha someday, after I retire. But you've got a lot to learn. Now get your ass over here." The Beta glares at me and I roll my eyes at him. "I apologize for Jacob's actions. But I'm sensing you're an Alpha. I'm Klein, the Alpha of Blood Pearl pack, and this here is Jacob, a Beta but will take over the Alpha position someday."

"I'm Leon, and this is my mate, Ethan." I motion to my mate, who puts the werewolves down. Klein eyes me and my mate with twinkling eyes, and a smile tugs on his lips. "You gotta train this Beta. He can't just keep attacking people when he's being provoked. And when he's angry, his attacks are sloppy and uncertain. That's going to be a huge problem when he fights. He's too much flawed. You gotta let another Alpha, like your son, to take over the role instead of him."

Jacob lets out a feral growl. Klein glares at him, and sighs. "As much as I want to, I can't. My son has been missing since he was a baby, and we've never seen him ever since. And by then, we've already trained Jacob to take over the Alpha role since..."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ethan says.

"That's all right." Klein chuckles. "Our territory isn't far from here. I promise you no harm, but if you want to stay even for a day, because you seem like you need it, you guys can stay."

"Alpha Klein." Jacob hisses.

Klein glares at Jacob. I smirk. He throws me a hateful glare.

"We'd love that, Klein. Thank you, and nice to meet you." I say to him.

"Nice to meet you, too." Klein nods his head, motioning us to follow him. Jacob and his comrades keep giving us wary looks, and I flip them off. They turn their heads and look forward. "I'm intrigued by your mate, Leon. A werewolf that has a different ability. It's something that I would only read in books, and honestly, you guys are really powerful. Now, I know I'm being a bit suspicious here because we just literally met and now I'm inviting you over to my pack, but I promise you I mean no harm."

"You all are suspicious," I agree.

Klein chuckles. "I'd like to thank you, though. We've been tracing these hunters, but we can't smell them. It seems like they have put something in their body that masks their scent, and we have to know what it is. Otherwise, I'm sensing a big war would come and it would give them an advantage."

"I think I might have an idea..." Ethan says. I look at my mate.

"Really?"

My mate nods. "There's a tree that provides fruits, I don't know what it's called, but when the fruits are eaten, it would affect the scent of the person who ate it." I furrow my brows in confusion, and Jacob and Klein seem confused as well. "It's hard to explain, but as you can tell, I'm a different werewolf. Now back to this tree, normally this type of tree only grows where the..."

"Where the... what?" Jacob arches his brows.

Ethan looks at me with realization in his eyes. "Leon. That type of tree only grows near the shrines we're finding. These hunters know where it is." Ethan begins panicking, pacing back and forth.

"Hey, hey, calm down." I grab my mate's shoulders and look him in the eyes.

Ethan takes a deep breath and exhales. "If these hunters know where these shrines are, then we're in a big trouble here."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a reason why these shrines are hidden, Leon." Ethan says as he shakes his head, his fingers trembling. "These shrines, if found by a wrong person, can open a lot of opportunities for them to be powerful, and masking one's scent is one of them. Leon, we have to find these shrines as soon as possible."

"Hold on," Klein says. "It's best to discuss this in private. We're in an open place, and we don't know if there's any hunter hiding around here. Let's remain quiet first then we can talk in the pack house."

I nod my head, agreeing at Klein.

Ethan takes my hand, and we begin walking as Klein guides us to his pack house. Ethan watches Jacob, an interesting smile on his face.

"Why are you looking at him?" I whisper in a growl in his ear.

Ethan chuckles. "Don't be jealous." My mate tweaks my nose and kisses me on the lips. Klein's comrades look at us, but then look away when I see them watching us. I roll my eyes. "I can just tell how his life is going to be interesting in a few months for now."

"What do you mean?"

"I just somehow know he's going to be mated to the missing Alpha."

"Great, that Alpha is going to be mated to a crazy Beta."

Jacob hasn't heard us, and I shake my head as my mate laughs. I sling my arm around his neck, following Klein.