《A Blood-Like Rain》 Chapter 1 THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF EFFORTS Chapter 1 THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF EFFORTS ¡ª Kaden ¡ª I was sitting on the stone wall that surrounded the barracks with Sam, drinking beer and trying to stay away from the office for a while. The day was beautiful. The sun was bright, but there were enough clouds to diffuse its intensity without darkening the sky. It was warm, but not too humid, and the breeze made training morefortable. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. We were a little far, but we could see the men training a little further. They were doing hand-to-hand, and with them were Darren and Eva. I hadn¡¯t had time to check on them much in thest few weeks. Darren was covered in dirt from head to toe for all the times he¡¯d been thrown on the ground. Eva was dressed as if she¡¯d chosen her workout outfit for a photo shoot. Can¡¯t say she didn¡¯t look great, but I¡¯m not too sure she got the gist of practicality. She was also a lot cleaner. I¡¯ve a feeling people are a lot lessfortable with throwing her down as much, but she wasn¡¯t as clean as she¡¯d been when she started, and her hair was fraying out of her ponytail. She may not have all the grace of a seasoned warrior, but she did make out for it with enthusiasm. She looked like she was having a great time. ¡°You watched their training some?¡± I asked Sam. He took a pull from his beer. ¡°Some,¡± he said. The wall was high enough for our feet to dangle above the ground. Darren was getting his ass kicked by Anders. He didn¡¯tnd that many punches, but when they did land, Anders was pushed back a meter or so by the sheer force of it. Eva was pping in the back and behaving like his personal cheerleader. ¡°He¡¯s not the greatest warrior I¡¯ve ever seen. Hecks technique. But he had some ground work done, so he¡¯s not starting from nothing. He¡¯s no match for our bests, though, but when he hits¡­ Damn man, blood does make a difference. I could train all my life and nevernd one like that.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve trained all your life, dumbass,¡± I told him. ¡°I know I¡¯m good. But I¡¯ll never have that potential,¡± he said thoughtfully. ¡°I can pile on as much muscle as I want, it¡¯ll still be not enough to match that.¡± ¡°More muscles? You nearly have to walk sideways through doorways,¡± I mocked. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I should train more,¡± he said matter-of-factly. I punched his shoulder. ¡°Oooo¡­¡± he wheezed. It wasn¡¯t that hard. I gave him a look, he just drank more beer. ¡°They¡¯re really motivated,¡± I noted about my sister and her mate. ¡°They are,¡± Sam acknowledged. ¡°It will take a while before they¡¯re battle-ready though, especially her. But him? Give him two to five years and he¡¯s gonna be real solid. Might take her more, five, maybe ten, but she¡¯s not from weak stock so ¡­ who knows?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think their goal is the battlefield, just to be ready if anything happens,¡± I noted. ¡°Not a bad goal.¡± ¡°No.¡± I thought some more. ¡°She has changed. A lot,¡± I said. ¡°Because of him?¡± ¡°Maybe some. She used to be just a spoiled princess. Took me a while just to make her focus her energy a bit more, make her care about more than her social life. She was just starting to bepetent at work when he came into the picture. But now she¡¯s studying. I mean, man, she¡¯s never applied herself at anything. She had the necessary grades to pass at school and that was all she wanted. It was like that about everything. She¡¯d just put in the minimum amount of effort required. Now she¡¯s learning a newnguage and actually studying. She said she wants to study secretarial something or other.¡± I shook my head. ¡°She¡¯s training, not impressive, but she¡¯s making actual efforts. Last week she was reading ourst census and making notes. She gets herself involved in his work and has asked Marie for more.¡± I took a long sip. ¡°I thought she might not want to do more travelling to other packs, considering what happenedst time, but she¡¯s been studying other supernaturals and has mentioned to me emissary work a few times. I think talking to one who did that kind of job resonated with her. She¡¯s involved. She¡¯s dragging our sisters in too.¡± I watched her a little incredulously. ¡°Last week, I heard her give lectures to our sisters about getting their shit together.¡± ¡°She¡¯s getting older too,¡± Sam said. ¡°She¡¯s barely out of teen. She¡¯s learning how to be an adult. Maybe he¡¯s a good influence on her.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°First time I saw him, he kinda looked like a lost puppy. Like some kind of arrow that as been shot but had no target, just going in circles, going nowhere.¡± ¡°He looks focused now.¡± ¡°Yeah. I think she aimed him right. She gave him a direction.¡± ¡°Not a bad thing.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s why they¡¯re mates. They look like a good match.¡± We watched Darren make a stupidly wasteful move, he got hit, obviously, but he took the hit well and it got him close enough to give a hit of his own. It knocked the wind out of Anders, knocking him on his ass. It was a risky move, take a hit to win one. Generally you don¡¯t do that unless desperate, but he was getting winded and probably realized that if it went on he¡¯d get worse and wouldn¡¯t get back on top. He was rushing things a little too much, but the gamble paid off. And Sam was right, when he made a hit, he made it worth it. He was panting some, while Anders was trying to get his breath back. Eva just rushed to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and locking her mouth on his. Within two or three seconds things got heated and some guys pushed them out of the way, nagging at them. Darren just moved away with her wrapped around him like a ko. I¡¯ve no idea how he could see where he was going but he didn¡¯t hit anything and they disappeared through the door that led to the changing room. ¡°How¡¯s been your healthtely?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Could be better.¡± I drank. Sam was one of the rare ones who knew. Also one of the rare people whom I talked to. ¡°How bad?¡± he asked. We were looking at the other warrior tumbling on the ground practicing grappling. ¡°Getting worse,¡± I answered. ¡°Attacks?¡± ¡°Some,¡± I conceded. ¡°Heart?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve woke up unable to breathe. I mean nothing was working, I wasn¡¯t ever trying to breathe. I couldn¡¯t even feel my heartbeat. I was just there paralysed, like I was dead, my head just didn¡¯t know it yet.¡± ¡°Man, that sound not good. Could it be sleep paralysis?¡± ¡°Maybe. Not sure. But I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°But you started breathing again.¡± ¡°After a while. I don¡¯t think it assted more than a minute so far.¡± ¡°You mean it happened more than once?¡± He turned his head to look at me. ¡°Yeah. It was rare at first, but now it¡¯s nearly once a month.¡± I ignored his stare. I watched the men some more. After a while Sam returned his gaze to the field. We drank more beer in silence. After a while my sister left the building riding on Darren¡¯s back, they were both smiling. They looked like teenagers. He walked on the grass until he reached the dirt path going in keden¡¯s direction. She noticed me before they went out of sight. She rose one hand and waved it frantically side to side, smiling at me. Her other arm was around Darren¡¯s neck, her legs on either side of his waist. I gave her a single wave. It reminded me of seeing her on dad¡¯s shoulders, doing exactly the same thing, in pigtails and eating ice cream that kept melting down and stting on the top of his head. ¡°Kids grow so fast,¡± I said. ¡°Wait to have some. From what I heard, it¡¯s worse when it¡¯s your own.¡± I shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re ever gonna get some?¡± I asked him. ¡°Don¡¯t think I have the kind of life for that,¡± he said. ¡°Because you just sleep around?¡± ¡°Mostly.¡± ¡°Ever thought of settling?¡± ¡°Some,¡± he said. ¡°Ever thought of settling?¡± he asked me back. ¡°Some,¡± I admitted. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t it just, I don¡¯t know, feels empty at times?¡± ¡°I thought you and Ylva were getting serious.¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°Ylva is not the serious type.¡± ¡°Which is why you chose her.¡± ¡°In part.¡± ¡°If it feels empty, then why not try anything else.¡± I shrugged. ¡°So you¡¯re just gonna wait for her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not exactly that I¡¯m waiting,¡± I corrected him. ¡°But you¡¯re gonna be serious with her or when you¡¯ve gotten her out of the way.¡± I shrugged again. ¡°Ever thought your mate does this willingly to you?¡± ¡°You mean like a curse?¡± I asked him. He nodded. ¡°I thought about it. I took measures, talked to a wizard. No one found anything.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°If it is, it hasn¡¯t left any trace that we found.¡± ¡°What will you do if it is?¡± he asked me. I gave him a murderous re. ¡°Of course,¡± he acknowledged. ¡°You have any other idea what is happening then?¡± ¡°A million, but anytime I research it, nothing fits. My father has taken it upon himself to do research too.¡± ¡°He found anything?¡± ¡°He¡¯s calling me twice a week to ask more questions, trying to see if anything fits with what he found. Nothing simple as worked.¡± ¡°What about what¡¯s not simple?¡± ¡°Then anything goes, man.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sam asked. ¡°I mean, someone can make a deal with a god, or reach from the beyond, or use ancient magic from another dimension. At this point, there¡¯s a bajillion ways to do it, but nothing like that can ur without some serious cost. It¡¯s highly improbable for someone to go to such length. The prices for such things can range from one¡¯s own soul, or sanity, or eternal envemen¡ª.¡± ¡°So it would mean, some major ass grudge.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s an attack, then yes,¡± I concluded ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s an attack.¡± ¡°You think I did things to warrant such spite at thirteen?¡± He thought about it. ¡°What if the grudge is about your father and not you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± I admitted. ¡°My father and I considered it?¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t think that¡¯s it?¡± he said looking at my face. ¡°It behaves like a mate bond.¡± ¡°What if they used the bond? What if they took her and are using her against you?¡± ¡°Also a possibility.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think that¡¯s it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s it,¡± I corrected him. ¡°What if that¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Then what can I do? I can¡¯t freaking find her. I¡¯ve tried everything I could think of. I¡¯ve nothing to track her with.¡± ¡°What about magic?¡± ¡°I¡¯d still need something to create the link with her. I have nothing.¡± ¡°What about you, can¡¯t you be the thing that links the two of you?¡± ¡°Nope, not without at least marking one another. A link must be established first so that I could use it.¡± ¡°This is frustrating,¡± he said out of options to suggest. You don¡¯t say, I thought sarcastically. I turned my head slowly to re at him. He eyed me sideways and drank more beer. He realized it might not be a good idea to keep pushing. After a few minutes he asked, ¡°Could she be dead? Like haunting you? That¡¯s why you feel her, but don¡¯t see her?¡± ¡°I thought about it, but Ylva saw nothing immaterial hanging around,¡± I said. ¡°Or at least anything like that. She found a few angry ghost but got rid of them,¡± I corrected myself. ¡°Angry ghosts?¡± he asked. ¡°People I killed,¡± I exined. ¡°So Ylva can exorcise ghosts?¡± ¡°No. But Valkyries delve half in the realm of the living and half in the realm of the dead.¡± ¡°Kinda like reapers for warriors?¡± he thought aloud. ¡°In a way,¡± I conceded. He froze for a second thinking frantically. I turned to him inquisitively. ¡°Ylva can sense death right?¡± he asked me finally. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°I mean, I saw her twice get real interested in a guy, like her eyes focused real hard, and then not much later, he was dead.¡± ¡°Valkyries carry the souls of dead warriors to the hereafter, so when one is about to fall, sometimes she sense iting, but it¡¯s not the same as sensing death.¡± ¡°But she knows when someone is about to die.¡± ¡°Warriors,¡± I corrected. ¡°But you¡¯re a warrior, you qualify, but she¡¯s not sensing your death. She would have said something.¡± ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± I asked. ¡°So maybe you don¡¯t die. Maybe you find her.¡± ¡°Or maybe I don¡¯t die on a battlefield,¡± I said. ¡°Do you have to die on a battlefield?¡± ¡°To qualify for a Valkyrie soul extraction, yes. Besides, I don¡¯t worship Odin. There¡¯s a lot of this that coulde into ount. And Ylva don¡¯t always notice deaths.¡± ¡°So she¡¯s not always taking care of souls of warriors?¡± ¡°She¡¯s never doing that. She can sense some but she¡¯s no Valkyrie, just part Valkyrie. And not such a big part.¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°It was her grandma,¡± I said. ¡°Her father was a werewolf, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What about the other? What about her granddad?¡± ¡°Man, don¡¯t ever tell her I told you. She hates people knowing.¡± He nodded. ¡°Human.¡± ¡°It sounded like you were about to say something horrifying. Anti-climatic much,¡± heined. ¡°It¡¯s horrifying to her.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because she sees it as a weakness.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡± ¡°Exactly. But not to her,¡± I told him. ¡°She¡¯s more than strong enough. Don¡¯t see why it bothers her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s about her as much as something deeper. I don¡¯t know what, but she¡¯s ufortable about her lineage.¡± ¡°But not about being part Valkyrie?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s different. She¡¯s mentioned a few times that Valkyries don¡¯t make the greatest mothers¡ª.¡± ¡°But her grandma decided to make a family with a mortal,¡± he mused. ¡°No. She fought with a warrior and got freaky afterward. No babies were to be involved.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± We emptied our beers. ¡°I guess I should stop avoiding work.¡± I said jumping off the wall. ¡°Yeah, what if the boss found out?¡± he teased, but stayed on the wall. I grabbed his leg and gave one quick pull. He went vertical for a second andnded on his back in front of the wall. ¡°Remind me to never pick a fight with you,¡± he said wheezing. I walked away. He eventually dusted himself off, cursing, then went back to work. Chapter 2 THE LENGTH OF A FEW HEARTBEATS Chapter 2 THE LENGTH OF A FEW HEARTBEATS ¡ª Kaden ¡ª I came out of the ne two hours ago, and was already through with the meeting. It hadn¡¯t been that complicated. Nubinero had refused all our demands. This was thest minute-ditch effort to end things peacefully but their forces and mine were already in position for battle. Weeks of back and forth. I wasn¡¯t that invested in the matter, but a few of my allies were, so I did them the curtesy of indulging them a bit. There were nine packs in the end who stood here today. Warriors and Alphas. The battlefield would not be so far from Monaweard, the first pack to have raised the rm about this whole mess, but far enough not to put at risk Mariqueen¡¯s territory and non-warrior residents. But still close enough to be a respectablemute. The ce chosen was far enough from humans not to notice and get involved, in the nook of a small mountain range that would¡ªalong with its extensive forest¡ªdefuse the sounds of battle. Not all conflicts have locations this well prepared, but the extent of human society¡¯s sprawl is considerable and it has to be taken in consideration, unless you want to trigger the human warning bells and find yourself facing a government¡¯s military might, or find yourself locked in a facility of which you¡¯ll never escape. It¡¯s not only werewolf society that worries about that, but the entirety of the supernatural world. To take tant risk with humans can have a lot of other species ready to rally against you to take care of the threat. I¡¯ve been part of such party before. Thankfully, Nubinero has not pushed us in a situation where we had to readjust on the fly and risk for this to ur. They¡¯ve been rational enough to know how problematic this could be, but also that making this conflict fought in a more risqu¨¦ setting could lead to the involvement of others who were not originally willing to be involved, only to stop them from attracting human attention. On the other hand, it also meant that they were confident enough in their capacity to fight us head on, withoutnd advantages, surprise on their side, or guerri warfare, and still have a good shot at winning, or even taking us down. All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. We had to be careful about this one. From what we found, the facility we shut down was mostly a source of ie, and their victims aimed at the ck market. But they had a few groups they controlled on the payroll, like the one that attacked Ghech. It was mostly what the facility was financing, and those were bringing in what was far more worrisome things to take into ount about our enemy. Super-weapons. That¡¯s what a lot of powerful artifacts can be. Their use are sometimes extremely arcane and particr. Some could only be used by a certain person, some at a specific confluence ofs, others may have widely different result depending on who uses it or how. Knowledge about such artifacts is sometimes scarce, sometimes conflicting, and otherspletely lost to time. On the up side, they targeted mostly smaller artifacts, in spiritual weight that is. Those were easier to steel and were not as strongly protected. Or so that was the information I had on them. I could be wrong and they could be holding the Lance of Destiny, or the Book of Thoth, or the Cintamani Stone. That would suck for us. I¡¯d manage to have a partial list of what they may be in possession of¡ªwe also found a few artifacts they sold either because they found no use for it, or were too strapped for cash, or in one case, the artifact attracted too much heat to keep it¡ªand so far, nothing terrified me, but it got me very careful nheless. We were moving in long convoys of off-road vehicles slowly on an old path through the thick forest. The hoods were whipped by branches and brush. It was a trail seldom travelled and it was narrower as we went in deeper. We knew we wouldn¡¯t be able to reach our destination on wheels, but the closest the better. I didn¡¯t know how long that battle would be, but one thing I knew is that every battle is possibly the most difficult piece of exercise someone can perform, and everyone needed to save their strength as much as it was possible. I couldn¡¯t afford to have my men exhausted before we even began. It was a long endeavor. We had to stop often to take a fallen tree off the trackway, or readjust our driving to the rugged terrain. But we had calcted this in our schedule and would not bete to our final location. We could have shifted and run in a fraction of the time, but again, I wanted everyone as fresh and rested as possible. And this way we could carry a lot more with us. Weapons, ammo, or medical supplies. We had food and water too. I¡¯ve faced battles before that hassted days. Though, those were generally more a series of small attacks over a period of time than a full on army against army type battle. Yet there were still so many unknowns, and especially when magic is involved, things can rapidly take a weird turn. I wanted to be prepared. Preparedness is one of the best tools for survival. It took us a few hours and we gain a lot of altitude, but eventually we had to continue on foot. So we set up camps with the trucks and supplies, and finally trekked the rest on foot. Some shifted at camps, while others piled on their weapons and body-armour. Jayson, my beta, was at the head of the team that would take the higher grounds. Many of them snipers, others were ready to charge from a different angle. Mariqueen and her husband were at the head of the smaller pack and allies. David stayed at camp, and with a team, was getting aerial visuals and was connecting to infrared cameras some of my men were installing around the perimeter as we spoke, along with an array of sensors and microphones. Him and the team I gave him, would be our eyes and ears and would help us face any eventualities. After a little under an hour of walking, teams began diverging. We had prepared for multiple directions assault. Ideally we could surround and overwhelm the enemy rapidly and be back for breakfast, maybe even earlier. I would lead the main charge with a few of my most faithful men. Ylva was with me on this team, as was Sam and our newest recruit Mishka. I didn¡¯t know the guy much and I didn¡¯t trust him yet. So I kept a good eye on him. But so far, he had failed to betray us and has proven himself quite a capable warrior. The group I was travelling with was much smaller now that the other teams, which were moving toward their designated targets. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± asked me Sam in a hushed voice. I looked at him confused at his question. It took me a few seconds to realize my feet were slowing down. For a second I thought my health might be falling apart at the worst of timing. But I stopped for a few seconds and gave Sam a signal to wait. He signaled for the others to continue ahead and waited silently beside me. I closed my eyes the length of a few heartbeats and tried to assess the situation. I moved my attention from my head to my breathing, to my limbs, nothing clicked. Why was I slowing then? I don¡¯t generally do things like this without a good reason, so I shook my head at Sam and moved my attention to our surroundings. Were we observed? Followed? Sam got the message and scanned the area himself, trying to catch any sign of an early attack. Maybe this was a magical attack. I tried to feel the air around me, but magic as never been my strong suit. I gave a quickment in my earpiece for them to be vignt and to send a few scouts ahead, just in case. I found nothing that could have triggered my instincts to be careful. I began moving slowly focusing on sight, hearing, and most of all smells. My nose was sharper than nearly everyone here, it could have been that my brain picked a smell that was worrisome, but not strong enough for me to really notice. So I put as much concentration in my task of sniffing the air as I could. Sam let me track on my own, aware he could throw off whatever I¡¯d find if he got too close, and had stayed behind. But I also knew he was keeping an eye on me. No matter how strong I was, or any of my men for that matter, the rule was you never leave anyone in a disadvantageous situation. Never near a battlefield, would one of mine travel alone, no matter how strong. I was not fond of unnecessary risks. I was maybe ten meters away from my men when I noticed there was a faint undertone in the scents. Something that didn¡¯t fit in this dested forest. It was an old smell. Whatever it was, was gone now, and had been so for a long time. I walked a little further, barely able to notice the difference. It¡¯s only when I reached a little clearing empty of vegetation, with little other scents to hide it that my eyes widened. My heartbeat was now beating frantically. I took a few slow inhales, I needed to be sure I was right. It reminded me of a drink I tasted in Indonesia. It was made with a rare flower, exotic and not from this realm, the vours tingling in my mouth. It had been the most tasteful thing I¡¯d ever ingested, yet the vours subtle, and a little sweet, and intoxicating. This smell had this faint exoticism to it. Shivers travelled all along my spine, and the hair on my arms stood on ends. My instincts were screaming at me to find the source of this smell and bury myself in it. My breaths were heavy now. I found my mate. Chapter 3 WHAT IF IT鈥橲 A TRAP? Chapter 3 WHAT IF IT¡¯S A TRAP? ¡ª Kaden ¡ª I began to panic. We were heading to battle, but I smelled my mate. I smelled my mate! I tried to track the direction the smell came from but it was so faint I could hardly notice it. I moved in circles half in a daze. I found a line, a line she must have been traveling, but I couldn¡¯t tell which way she came from and which way she was going. And I tried to sniff both ways to see which seemed the strongest, the freshest. Sam noticed my change in behaviour and got closer. When I noticed him, I raised my hand to make him stop. I was afraid his sheer presence would make me lose her scent. It wasn¡¯tpletely irrational either as my own scent on her tracks was enough to nearly destroy what little clue I had. I went in further. I followed one side of the track all the way to a small stream, then I lost her. I checked all over, on the other side, everywhere. The track ended here. My best guess was she walked in the stream for a while, the water masking her scent. I didn¡¯t realize I had bolted in that direction, until I heard Sam running to catch up. We were far now. The noise of my men, faint in the distance. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Sam worried. ¡°I found her,¡± I said in desperation. ¡°I lost her.¡± ¡°Who?¡± he asked confused. ¡°My bloody mate.¡± ¡°Fuck! Now?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°This is not a good time for this.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I growled in frustration. I walked for a while, following the stream. I still couldn¡¯t pick up her scent, so I stop. ¡°What now?¡± asked Sam. ¡°I go the other way,¡± I said. I went back on my track. It was easier to go by the scent I just left than try and pick hers again. I went at a dead run, Sam could barely keep up. When I reached the clearing again I slowed down. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I was back to where I was when I found her. ¡°Here,¡± I said, drawing an imaginary line in the air with my finger, going from where we just came from to the opposite side. ¡°This is her track. I don¡¯t know what direction she went from but I know this side leads nowhere.¡± I pointed at where we went. ¡°Which means this is my only chance.¡± I pointed in the other direction. Sam looked back at the direction of our convoy then back at me, worried. ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s the worst timing in the world, but if I don¡¯t give this a chance¡ª.¡± I didn¡¯t dare finish the sentence. ¡°I know,¡± he said. ¡°I can catch on quickly,¡± I said. ¡°I just need to know if this leads somewhere.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°There is still time until nightfall,¡± he said looking at the sky. I looked too. There was time, but not that much. I nodded. ¡°Keep this quiet. Just in case it leads nowhere.¡± He nodded. ¡°Wait¡­¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re going on your own?¡± It just dawned on him as I turned to leave. ¡°Keep things tight here,¡± I told him. ¡°No one moves alone. That¡¯s your own rule.¡± I looked in the direction I had to go. ¡°What if it¡¯s a trap?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡ª.¡± I hesitated. I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think I need to do this on my own.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said in frustration. ¡°Go,¡± I told him. He looked like he was about to argue. ¡°I said go,¡± I insisted. He looked like he wanted to defy me on this. I turned and followed the scent. I took my phone out and waved it at him behind me. ¡°We keep in touch.¡± And I disappeared through the brush. I gained pace as I followed the track. After a while, the smell got a little stronger and my heart did a backflip. This was the direction she went in. I kept running at the highest pace I could maintain in the wood. I covered a lot of ground and I was probably kilometers from my men now. Judging by the increase in her smell and my pace, she was probably walking, which exined why I was catching on, the track being a few hours old now. It was not a well-traveled path. I was far in the woods and the mountain, it was hard to believe someone would travel here. A little further, there were some paths that would be far easier to travel. Was she lost, or was this deliberate? The word of Sam resonated in my head. What if this is a trap? Was someone trying to get me away from civilization, from my men, from any resources or backup. I should slow down, think about this, but my feet didn¡¯t seem to connect with my mind. I kept running. There was now the growing sound of water. Another stream? A river? Had she walked deliberately into the water to erase her tracks? The stream had been small, easy to cross, so why risk getting her feet wet far in the woods, otherwise? Then was she doing the same thing here? Would I lose her smell again? The tracks were probably minutes old at best now. Would I lose her now that I¡¯m so close? The sun was not visible anymore, the orange glow slowly turning to midnight blue. I was running out of time. Even with my wolf eyes, my vision was getting limited in the thick forest. I was close, I knew it. I suddenly stopped. If she was hiding her scent, she didn¡¯t expect to meet someone so far in the forest. I had run rtively silently, but at this pace, I would have sounded like an elephant to anyone with heightened senses. I slowed my trek to a walk, silent, undetectable. The wind wasing from behind me, no one would get my scent. As I got closer to the river, the forest cleared, the wind pick up speed, and I smelled her just before I could see her. There was this light exotic flower smell again, but it was richer now, softer, it reminded me of ying in the dead colourful maple leaf on the autumn ground as a child, of the feeling of strawberry juices running on your tongue, of a stormy night of April, of a warm nket in front of a fire in the dead of winter, of the silkiness of a woman¡¯s skin on mine, and there she was. A dark outline, barely visible at the edge of my vision, but I knew it was her. She was maybe fifty meters from the river. Because of therge rocks ahead, she probably couldn¡¯t see it and was guided by the sound. I picked up speed, still silent. She was headed to the river. It was not arge or deep river. She could probably walk through easily, maybe even up or down the river. I could see the faint undtions of water moving around rocks that were close to the surface. A few minutes more, and I would¡¯ve probably lost her for good. As I got close enough, I slowed my pace, not to jump on her, and I deliberately made my steps audible. I doubted sneaking on her was a great strategy, especially given the effort she was making to stay away from anyone. I saw her shape tensed on the third step. She heard me. She was wearing dark clothes¡ªpants, and something with a hood covering her head. She was probably five-six or five-seven. She turned around slowly, carefully. She stopped as her eyesnded on me. Her breathing elerated. I got closer. She took a step back, so I stopped. Her breathing was still picking up speed and she put a hand on her chest. She was probably feeling that same pang I was feeling. This tightness as if gravity as doubled only not on my skin, just my organs. I raised one foot to get a little closer. She raised a hand, palms up, stopping me. So I did. ¡°What are you doing to me?¡± she whispered, confused. What did she mean? As another rush of wind brought her smell to me once more, I understood. She couldn¡¯t smell me. She probably could barely see me in the growing darkness, especially at this distance, she could feel something, she just didn¡¯t know what this meant. I dug in my pocket and took out a ck bandana, I took a pebble on the ground and wrapped the bandana around it to give it mass, then I showed it to her, and threw it her way. Her bodynguage was that of confusion, but she caught it. It took maybe three seconds for her to get the smell to her nose, and her body became a pure statue. I looked patiently, and waited for her to process the information. It took a little while, but she took the bandana closer to her nose and inhale deeply. Her cowl rose back to facing me. She understood. She knew.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?. Chapter 4 UNTIL DAWN Chapter 4 UNTIL DAWN ¡ª Kaden ¡ª I took a careful step in her direction. She didn¡¯t try to stop me this time. I took another step, then another. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org - ?. I could see she was hesitant, so I walked cautiously, but I kept walking. I think she only processed my proximity when I got within arm¡¯s length. She put a foot back, I stopped. She extended her arms to give me back my bandana. I took it and in the process my skin touched hers. It was like a lightning bolt of shivers. I didn¡¯t take my hand away. I wasn¡¯t sure I could. I heard her breath caught in her throat, her body sway lightly towards mine. I took one step closer. One long step that got our bodies nearly touching. My hand was still on hers, the bandana forgotten and lying on the grass now. The moon was rising, it was a bright night tonight, but not bright enough to see within that hood. It was just shadows. I wanted to ask her a million questions. Her name, to see her face, where did she live? But all those questions crumbled in my mind. It was like trying to hold water in your hands, constantly slipping away. I should use restrains but my body didn¡¯t want to listen to me. I lowered my head barely catching myself in time, barely holding back. But in respond she bent hers back, and it was all the invitation I need. I lowered my head further and pressed my lips on hers. I¡¯ve kissed a woman before, I¡¯ve done plenty of things with a woman before, but it felt like, all these years, I had no idea what kissing could really be. There was, at this very moment, and entire universe opening before me. The only way for me to release my hold on her hand was to wrap my arms around her waist. She mewled and it was the sweetest little sound I¡¯ve ever heard. I pressed her harder against me and her arms went up over my body to give her fingers ess to my hair. Her grip was strong but not painful and she tugged at me to deepen the kiss. Which I willingly obliged. We were taking short breaths in between caresses. Our lips never truly apart. Our breath intermingling. Our heartbeats deafening. The intensity was such that it took me a little while to realize something was wrong. ¡ª eya ¡ª My heart was bing painful, my feet faltered. I was starting to think I was about to be sick. I opened my sense to decipher what was happening to me. That¡¯s when a sound got me out of my head and back into reality. Steps. Someone wasing. Someone close. And suddenly my mise took a whole new dimension. Was someone doing this to me? Was someone hurting me? Attacking me? I tried to extend my senses further do detect this assant. I turned and easily saw therge figure close by. Too close. How did it get so close? It was male. Definitively male. Broad shoulders. I would say more than a foot taller than me. He had dark clothes, dark hair. The faint dusk light gave me a glimpse of his face. He had a few days old stubble. He was made of hard lines and square jaw. He moved towards me, looking straight at me with purpose and the pain in my chest intensified. I took a step back in rm and he stopped. I could hardly see his expression, so I couldn¡¯t guess at his intentions, but I feared the worst. He stepped towards me once more and I panicked, raising one hand to tell him to back off. My left. The one for protection. ¡°What are you doing to me?¡± I dared ask. He tilted his head to one side in confusion. I saw him sniff slowly the air then get his attention more focused on me. He then took a piece of ck cloth out and went down to grab a small rock. I didn¡¯t understand this gesture. I focused my eyes on him, opening my senses up, but my instincts said nothing. He wrapped the cloth around the pebble, showed it to me and threw it in a slow, wide arc. More confused than ever, I caught it. Should I refrain from touching it. I didn¡¯t feel any magic, any energies stirring when he did this. I didn¡¯t sense negative energy from the cloth or the stone. I didn¡¯t dare take my attentionpletely off him, but I turned my focus some. And I got a smell. A new smell. It wasn¡¯t strong olfactory speaking, but it grabbed my full attention. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from inhaling the fragrance, deeply. I didn¡¯t understand right away what I was smelling, only that it changed everything. I got my eyes back on him. I couldn¡¯t see his eyes, like he probably couldn¡¯t see mine, but I know our gaze met. And there was knowledge there. He knew, and now so did I. I had a mate. I heard very few tales of mates, and most not good ones. My father said a little to me, when my mother wasn¡¯t around, that most wolves valued mates more than anything. Some could go to great lengths to find their mates. That rejections were rarely done. That it had an impact on someone¡¯s life that had very little equals in the world. He said, for him, the only pull as strong had been to hold me for the first time after I was born. That it¡¯s like the world tilts, the axis changes, and now gravity find a new source. Never did those words make any sense as much as now. I thought I understood him, but I clearly didn¡¯t. My mind didn¡¯t understand the stranger wasing closer until I could finally see his face properly. His eyes were dark and searching for mine. This attraction was so strong that it scared me. I wanted to bolt but I could barely move my feet. But he stopped moving. I could see he was worried. His expression was hard to read, it was guarded, but I could also see that he didn¡¯t want to stop. I didn¡¯t want him too either, and it scared me even more. I had thought for a moment I could have been poisoned or cursed when I firstid eyes on him. Now I understood he was himself a poison far deadlier than anything I could have ingested. All of a sudden, the cloth in my hand felt like it was burning. I tried to give it back to him, but it got worse. I was neglectful. I let our skin touch, never realizing the lethal potential something so simple could have. My body was not my own anymore, and neither was my mind, and as he grew closer¡ªhis heat palpable through my clothes¡ªI could only lean into it in eagerness. I thought I had lost my mind, but never so much as when he kissed me. He looked like a strong man, one to be careful around. I could distantly feel a strength emanating from it, it should have been a warning. Something for me to be wary of. Not something to seek. Not something to embrace. Not someone to throw myself at in pure abandon. I had never been one to be so reckless, so impulsive. I knew restraint and control. But not tonight, not anymore. And the enchanting attraction of that kiss only lured me in deeper. We were probably both out of control, the temptation irresistible. My hand brushed identally against something metallic, that took me by surprise, and I tried with all my might to focus on it instead. Like someone drowning in rapids, trying to hold on to the rocks. I needed a rock for my mind. Something to keep my head out of these intoxicating waters. The thing was a hilt. I didn¡¯t need to see it to know it was that of a sword. And next to it was another weapon, I didn¡¯t need to touch to know either. It was a rifle. He had weapons on him. I focused on that knowledge harder. He was armed and I knew dangerous. And I was just there kissing him. It took me everything to lower my right hand until ity on his heart. We needed to gain back control. I felt like I was on the verges of insanity. I had opened up before he came to me, I wanted to know what was going on. But I should have never done this. Not facing a mate. It had been impulsive and unwise and now I was paying the price. I was unable to close my mind now. So I took everything that I had and put it in the palm of my hand. Everyst scrap of free will, and I pushed. The gesture obviously weak, but I pushed some more¡ªthe rest of my body not acting in ordance with this, at all. I thought I would lose this battle when I felt him falter, hesitate. I only pushed further until he took a step back. I took two. I closed my eyes and turned from him, and put all the effort I could muster into closing my mind and rebuilding my mental shields. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked. His voice was a low rumble. I could hear worry in it. My body was slightly bent forward. I breathed deeply, trying to steady myself. I put one hand back behind me in warning to stay away. He didn¡¯t step any closer and waited patiently. As I straightened my body, I began a process of fact assessment. The best thing I ever found to fight overwhelming feelings is facts. One, he was a werewolf. I had no doubt. Two, he was armed. Three, he was strong. Four, he was dangerous. Five, there was a battle in these woods tonight. Six, I waste, reallyte. I turned back to him with more certainty this time, but before I could say anything, there was a beeping in his pocket. He took out his phone and as he looked at it, worry lines were painted on his face. He looked at me sharply. ¡°I can¡¯t stay,¡± he said it like it has cost him a limb. ¡°I need to go.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± I answered. He grew tense, his heartbeats frantic. ¡°Can you wait for me?¡± There was pleading in his voice. It somehow dug in my soul. ¡°I¡¯mte,¡± I said. His breathing elerated. He looked at his phone then at the woods behind him, then back at me. ¡°This can¡¯t be the end.¡± He stepped a little closer. I backed up, afraid to lose control again. He froze. ¡°Please, just a little longer.¡± I don¡¯t know why I said what I said then. I just knew this was to be said, and it hurt to think of all the possible repercussions these simple words could have. But I said them nheless. ¡°You have until dawn.¡± He gave me one sharp nod in thanks and bolted in the direction he came from. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!