Page 5 of Fearful Mate

“Well, I hope it was something good.”She smiles brightly before heading down the stairs and across the compound to take the next person their meal.I know she will be back later to bring me a sweet treat, and even though I say it isn’t necessary, my sweet tooth will never forgive me if she stops.

****

Half an hour later, I am alone in my house.

I have been alone since I left Emmaleigh’s house to strike out on my own.Even though I am still young by human standards—only twenty years old—I am an adult in the shifter community and should be able to take care of myself.Now I live in this building because it’s most certainly not a home, and loneliness eats at me every day.

Which is why I spend as much time working or training as possible.Godrick has been teaching me how to fight and I have bulked up quite a bit since I arrived here from the hunters’ compound.No longer am I the lanky young man who arrived here, selectively mute.Now, I have an intimidating human figure to go along with my beast.I have made friends and taken care of my pack.

Restlessness pounds through my veins like a drug and all I want to do is shift and run.But I won’t.I never let my wolf out voluntarily.It’s only in stressful situations that he takes over, a defense mechanism of sorts.

My abuse at the hands of the hunters has altered my mind and my animal irreparably.I used to think it was soul deep, that I would never be like the others of my kind, but I now know that isn’t true.I am just like every other shifter in this compound even if my animal doesn’t look it.I want to love and be loved.I want a family and to be part of a community.I want to belong.I also know that just because you want something doesn’t necessarily mean you will get it.

“Dammit,” I curse before walking onto the back porch that overlooks the surrounding forest.

In the distance, along the treeline I watch a man inside the perimeter wall.He is tall and muscular, walking with purpose.His scent burns my nostrils, niggling at a memory that escapes me, but I instantly know this man has come here with ill intent.Slowly, I make my way across the open meadow behind my house and several others as I keep my distance while tracking the stranger.

When he stops, he glares at the home Sayer and Raleigh share with their mate Iris.I can feel the anger rolling off him in waves.I’m unsure what to do next.I need to protect my pack, my friends, but I need more information.What if I hurt this man and it was all in my mind?Insecurities flood me as I struggle to decide on a course of action.

The decision is ripped away from me when a large grey wolf bounds out of the shadows and takes the man down without a second thought.

****

Lola

The man leads me through the compound in silence until we reach a large log home.Instead of taking me inside, he leads me around the building to a back porch where a man is seated with a petite blonde woman on his lap.

“Godrick,” the woman greets with a smile when she sees us.“Have you made a new friend?”

“Maybe,” he replies with a grin.“We haven’t really been talking.”

“Please sit.”The woman gestures to one of the other seats on the deck.“My name is Peyton.And this is my mate, Caine, Alpha of the Katu Pack.”

The friendly way these people have greeted me throws me for a loop and I fall into the seat, shocked into silence.The man who led me here, Godrick, chuckles, drawing my attention.

“I know it’s weird.I didn’t get it at first either,” he says with a gentle smile.“Not all packs are welcoming, but this pack is exactly what it looks like.They are good people even though they are overly friendly.”

I breathe easier, a small smile tugging at my own lips as I listen to his explanation.

“My name is Lola,” I say facing the Alpha, Caine, once more.“I left my pack, and I am looking for a new one.”

Peyton, the luna of this pack, considers me carefully, taking me in from head to toe before she speaks.“You’re not a wolf but you are a predator.What are you?”

“She’s a dire wolf, love,” Caine says before I can explain.

“She is not!”Peyton exclaims, her eyes the size of saucers.“I thought they were extinct.”

“Most of the living world thinks we are,” I say softly.“The Thorn Pack prefers to stay hidden from the world.Fear of prejudice drives Silas, the Alpha, to keep us out of sight.”

Everyone nods before falling silent.“Why did you leave?”Caine asks.

Knowing I will have to tell this story makes my heartrate accelerate.I wish there was a way I could skip this part, but I know they will need to hear the truth before they can even consider allowing me to stay with their pack.It makes sense.Of course they need to take care of their own first.

Taking a deep breath, I gather my courage before I explain.“Two years ago, when I turned eighteen, my fated mate was revealed to me.It was Silas, our Alpha.He refused me.”I hear the low growls from the males present and know they are unhappy hearing this.“I stayed with the pack,” I explain, watching their reactions change from anger to shock.“I knew why he did it and even though it hurt, I went on with my life.But now he is trying to marry me off to the only other dire wolf pack in the country.”

“Excuse me?”Peyton asks.She jumps off her mate’s lap to walk the deck from side to side.We all watch as she paces.“You mean to tell me this asshole refused you and now he wants to marry you off to grow his reach?Am I understanding this correctly?”

I nod, never having had someone get upset or defensive for the way I have been treated.Tears prick at my eyes as I watch this stranger’s indignation grow when I know my own mother didn’t give a shit.

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