Hello guys, long time.

So, a couple of years ago, I thought about dabbling into the supernatural side of the world of imagination, and this story came to me.

Posted a snippet some months ago here and I got the go-ahead to get on with the story.

So, here it is. My first dabble into non-human. I hope you enjoy it.





TITLE: Caleb





Book Cover By: The Awesome @JeffreyJamez

This story belongs to safarigirl. Therefore, don't attempt to plagiarize or take this story elsewhere without my permission to do so. Copyright Safarigirl

PROLOGUE

The silver wolf moved with great speed past the trees of the forest, it’s grey eyes settled on a destination that lay ahead. The aim was to be distracted enough to forget the happenings of the week, whether it was being achieved or not was yet to be determined .

It moved stealthily past errant branches and crushed twigs beneath it’s large paws as it searched for a place of peace- the meadows. There it was that the insanity of the world could be blocked and sane thoughts given freedom to roam. There it was that tranquility reigned, giving every creature of the earth that much sought after moment of peace and security. Where worries were forgotten and a certain sense of joy shadowed all sadness.

As it neared the meadows, keen ears just barely made out the sound of a snapping twig. It paused and listened on, it’s nose sniffing for any foreign scents. Nothing. It thought of going on to it’s much needed point of peace, but the gnawing feeling that it was being watched prevented it from putting thoughts into action.

And then it picked up the sound. The faintest sound of breathing, followed by the snapping of a twig. Before the large wolf could spot where it’s attacker would be moving from, a smaller wolf with reddish-brown fur leaped from the trees and pushed it, not hard enough to send it flying onto it’s back, but enough to send it a few feet away from it’s original position.

The brown wolf snarled at the silver wolf, baring it’s sharp canines as the silver wolf circled it, watching for any sudden movies, but not making any attempt to retaliate.

One of the hind legs of the brown wolf was injured, by the way it avoided leaning on it. Perhaps to a younger were it was unnoticeable especially as this wolf made sure to be as conspicuous about that one disadvantage as possible- smart….almost, but this were had mastered the art of battle long enough to note it’s opponent’s weaknesses before it attacked. This wolf wasn’t part of this pack- or any others within this region, surely all weres knew not to trespass on the territory of the Duncan pack, even less attack it’s Alpha. This could possibly be a rogue were- one with a death wish even. It wasn’t even half as large as he was, it was far from a fair match.

The silver wolf sniffed the air again. Still nothing. How was it possible……? The brown wolf attacked again. This time, not fast enough, as the silver wolf moved out of the way.

With it’s moment of analysis gone, the silver wolf attacked, sending the brown wolf flying with a shove. It moved toward the tree where the the brown wolf lay on it’s back at the foot, pinning the smaller wolf with it’s large paws, it watched as the wolf went into unconsciousness.

And then it shifted to it’s human form.

Caleb’s wolf watched the brown fur recede into skin the colour of caramel, the snout was replaced by a pert nose on an angelic, oval-shaped face, full, perky bre/asts came into view tipped by light brown nip/ples. Without looking further he knew the female beneath him was totally nak/ed- and that wasn’t all she was.

An agonized howl echoed round the forest as the Alpha of the Duncan pack realized who he’d been dueling with, just a little too late.

Please stop starting what you won't be able to finish, all your stories are uncompleted.

CHAPTER ONE



The entire house was at a standstill, the present emotional state of the pack leader resonated in the compound, even his betas did everything possible to keep their distance. The alpha was not to be disturbed. This was more of an emergency than whatever else anyone had to bring up.

No one knew the identity of the female the Alpha had run into the compound with, he had taken her into his chamber before anyone could even make out her form. Speculations were rife still, within an hour of his entrance, the entire house and compound had been filled with whispers and murmurs; could it be her? The long awaited mate of the alpha? The one who he had given up hope of ever finding after over a century of searching? What were the odds? Only this morning, he had called a pack meeting solely to tell everyone in no uncertain terms to get the Bleep off his back, from betas to omegas, there was one clear message. Talks of a mate as regards the Alpha were to seize, anyone caught having discussions on that topic would be punished. What the punishment was, he had left to their overactive imaginations.

Now, this same Alpha was fretting over some woman he had found in the forest. As excited as the pack members were at the thought of finally having an Alpha-Bitch to soothe their Alpha- who was in desperate need of a woman that meant more than a one-time roll in the sack, they managed to keep their excitement at bay until they heard from the alpha himself or one of the betas.

Magnolia; the witch who only visited on rare occasions, had been invited, and was presently in the Chamber with the Alpha and the female. Whatever was going on there couldn’t possibly be good.

Caleb paced the length of his bedroom, it was obvious he was wearing out the rug, but that was the least of his problems.

How could he not have known? Scent or not, he should have recognized her! A part of him tried to exonerate himself from any blame, but there was still that major side that made him want to hit himself against the wall until he was as hurt as she was, and his agitated wolf seemed to agree with that part.

Once he realized the wolf that had challenged him was his mate, all sense of rationalism had fled him. All he could think to do was pick up her frail body and run as fast as he possibly could to the compound while hoping he had done minimal damage if any at all. He had spoken telepathically to his Beta, Roy, ordering him to call the witch. Roy, never one to question a direct order, had done as he was told and the witch arrived only minutes after Caleb did.

Now he waited with bated breath for a feedback, he was thankful to Luna that he hadn’t let his anger over ride his patience, he could have killed her. But how had she gotten here? Was she a stray? How was it that he hadn’t sensed her? Several questions swarmed his head, and he intended to get answers- but not before his mate was completely healed.

He stopped pacing when he heard her mutter something, he turned and was by her side in seconds, whispering soothing words in her ear to stop her trembling. It seemed to work.

He took the time to study her features. The goddess had blessed him with this one. She was a beauty, he wondered what shade her eyes were, if they were the lightest shade of brown or deep black, it really didn’t matter, she would still be beautiful with either colour. Her head wasn’t crowned with the silky strands he was accustomed to, rather a mass of umber-colored thick dreads framed her face, it was just a few inches past her shoulders. And her body….neither he nor his wolf could wait to claim it. Even in a frail state, he couldn‘t help his arousal; he chastised himself for being insensitive, this was hardly the time for such..but he couldn’t help his reaction to her

“You know you’ve been here long enough, you can go for a short run to clear your mind” Magnolia suggested. She hadn’t even been aware Caleb could be this soft. He seemed to have lost his ability to feel over half a century ago. She guessed one’s mate could produce that effect. But she had her reasons for asking for his leave.

Caleb glared at her like she had just spoken a forbidden word- well, it sounded that way to his ears. Leave his mate? That was near impossible, he wanted to be the first person she saw when she opened her eyes, he could miss that opportunity if he left.

“Short runs will do nothing for me Magnolia, only the wellness of my mate will calm my heart now.” He replied steely.

Magnolia nodded in understanding, but failed to relent, “ I know that Alpha, but I believe, you’ll need to gather your thoughts….”

“No Magnolia.” He said with a bit more edge to his voice. This time, Magnolia heard him loud and clear- and she wasn’t the only one who did.

He felt the woman beneath him begin to stir, his eyes moved to her face just as hers shot open. Grey met grey and held for a brief second.

And then it came.

She let out an ear-piercing scream that had him flying off the bed as the woman scrambled away without taking her terrified eyes off him.

Caleb could only stare in shock as the one who should be his mate moved away, rather than toward him. He didn’t understand, what happened to the mating pull? Could he be wrong? No, neither he nor his wolf had felt this strongly for another female, this intense need to be in her presence and touch her. She had to be his mate. So what was wrong now?

He snapped out of the trance once he realized Magnolia was speaking to him, “You have to go now”

“But Mag….” He began to protest, but was cut off.

“Leave now Caleb, she’s frightened.”

“She’s my mate! She should not fear me.” He insisted, his frustration evident. His mate was trembling visibly, her lithe body pressed close to Magnolia and her slender fingers holding the old witch’s garment in a steely grip. What the hell?! This was NOT how he had imagined their first meeting, this day just kept getting worse.

Seeing that there really was nothing he could do presently to remedy this situation, he stomped out of the room. With one last look at his frightened mate, he banged the door shut behind him. He only wished he could reverse the day and start afresh


*****

That's all for tonight folks, will be back tomorrow with more updates. Please drop your comments, would like to know if this should be continued or put on hold

dollyjoy:
Please stop starting what you won't be able to finish, all your stories are uncompleted.

all? Tormented? In Memory Only? Unwanted? A Christmas Party?

I think you exaggerate.

Btw, I said this was done 2 years ago, but you don't have to read it. This is for interested members.

Thanks

If you're in a bright mood, you can just go out your way a wee bit and help me out here:

Help vote 'Bliss' in the Etisalat Prize for Flash Fiction Literature: https://prize.etisalat.com.ng/flash-fiction/voteall.php?id=1470. Vote By Clicking The Like Icon. Gracias

If not, skip to the next post

See you tomorrow

safarigirl to badt. hope you are not this saucy in real life? instead make you use subtle words to encourage her to read it, you dey say "it's for interested members".

Emodeee:
safarigirl to badt. hope you are not this saucy in real life? instead make you use subtle words to encourage her to read it, you dey say "it's for interested members".

I follow a writer on a foreign site, she has about 7 stories there, at least five are incomplete, but everyday, I refresh the page to catch an update of her story.

I follow another on another foreign site. It took her about two years to finish one story, for over 6 months on that site, she never updated.

I follow many others who still haven't completed their works, but I stay because the stories are far too engaging to discard. These people have lives offline, their sole purpose is not to write for my pleasure. I don't even have to pay a dime to access their brilliance, hence, I just shove down my complaints a .


You don't need someone to convince you to read a story if you like it.



Every story I post here, I bother to finish it. I may not do it on time because of course, LIFE happens, but I get it done. I don't need anyone to clap for me, but please, don't accuse me falsely.

Good night, tomorrow promises to be very hectic for me.

Good Morning All. No feedback? All good

*****

Cassandra didn’t understand.

How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was…it was kind of blurry, but she knew something had happened to her- something really bad. She could remember walking down the street in her neighborhood, she wasn’t sure where she had been coming from, but funny enough she remembered the song she had been humming to- Bob Marley’s ‘Everything’s gonna be alright’. She was just a few blocks away from her house when someone- or was it a something? She knew it had an odd form to it, and it had jumped at her. That was as far as her memories went before she found herself here.

And then she saw him.

She had never met the grey-eyed, silver-haired man before today, she had felt a sense of peace when their eyes met, but only a brief second passed before the terror overtook her, she couldn’t say why she was so afraid of him…again, her memory failed her, but it seemed like the fear was planted in her subconscious. She knew she felt safe with the elderly woman, so maybe it was a fear of males, but why?

Her eyes darted to the woman who was watching her like a hawk as she drank the concoction she made her, it tasted awful, like someone threw a gym sock into a mixture of garlic, curry and asparagus, but the old woman promised it would numb the pain in her leg and her back and she would take anything for that.

Her right leg was wrapped in a bandage, she was clothed with an extra large tunic she assumed belonged to the grey-eyed man, but didn’t ask. She liked the feel of the cloth against her skin and the smell of it soothed her oddly.

Her eyes once again studied the magnificent room she was in, the size of it marveled her. It looked like something out of the 17th century, the architecture, the paintings, the doors, everything reminded her of a 17th century castle with it’s pristine walls and golden arcs.

She noticed the elderly woman smiling warmly at her, she gave a sheepish smile as she realized she must have been caught wide-eyed. Her thought changed when she realized she had miraculously finished the soup albeit absent-mindedly.

“Thank you for the soup” she said, her voice barely audible. It was much better now, twenty minutes ago it had been a croak, and eight minutes before that, she hadn’t even been able to emit a sound.

“You’re welcome child. And I am called Magnolia.” The woman replied softly, her warm smile unwavering.

Cassandra nodded, “Thank you Magnolia”

“And what may I address you with?”

“I’m sorry. I’m Cassandra; Cassandra Patrice”

“Patrice?”

She smiled, “I’m part Creole” she supplied to Magnolia’s silent question and got a nod of understanding in response. There was a moment of silence between both women which Cassandra finally broke, “So, how long have you been in Michigan?”

Magnolia raised a brow at the girl, “Michigan?”

She nodded, “Yes, this is Michigan….right?” she suddenly looked panicky, now unsure of her current location.

“Child, this is Connecticut, not Michigan”

Cassandra looked confused, and then amused. It couldn’t be, how did she get here? She couldn’t even find her way out of Michigan, how could she possibly have gone as far as Connecticut? “No, i…it’s Michi….it’s Michigan”

Magnolia placed a comforting hand against Cassandra’s shoulder once she noticed the girl getting agitated, “You need to sleep now child.” Magnolia said, her eyes staring directly into Cassandra’s troubled ones, she was casting a temporary sleeping spell on her. This was not the time to tell her all that had happened, a few more hours opf sleep was sure to prepare her psychologically even if just a little.

Cassandra stared at the old woman until her lids grew heavy and she drifted off to sleep wondering what could have possibly gotten her here.

Lemme settle down here first

*****
“You need to relax Caleb, you’re really agitating the entire pack with your fretting” Roy, Caleb’s beta said, in what he knew would be a wasted attempt, he had been saying the same thing for over twenty minutes and he could still hear the turmoil going on in his Alpha’s head.

“she doesn’t recognize me, she doesn’t fu-cking recognize me!” Caleb bellowed, more to himself than anyone else in the room.

“You don’t know that yet, she just woke up, she could’ve screamed for any reason.” Roy once again, tried to reason with his best friend.

“And then she ran away from me. I’m her mate, she ought to be instantly drawn to me as I am to her.” He continued, like he hadn’t heard a word Roy said. In all honesty, he couldn’t hear anything beyond his wolf’s howling and growling. It was even more agitated than he was.

“Listen, Magnolia will soon be through with her, then, we’ll know what’s truly wrong with your mate”

Caleb nodded absent-mindedly, but said nothing.

A few minutes later, Magnolia came into the room.

Caleb suddenly became alert and grabbed onto the woman’s shoulders as soon as he was close enough to do so, “What is going on Magnolia?” his face was a mixture of various emotions; fear, apprehension, anger, confusion, sadness….

Magnolia knew he was in shambles right now and the worst was that she wasn’t about to make things any better, “You should sit first, Caleb” she suggested

“I don’t want a fuc-king seat!” he growled, as he turned away from the elderly woman, “All I want is my mate. Tell me what I want to hear”

His shouting didn’t really seem to effect Magnolia who didn’t so much as blink at the intensity of his voice.

“Caleb, just sit first, I beg you.” Roy implored calmly

Caleb growled as he plopped onto the closest sofa, his eyes on the - woman in his presence, “So?” he asked impatiently

“Caleb, she’s been hurt…”

“I fuc-king know that already…”

“Not by you”

Caleb looked on intently as his mind tried to come up with what Magnolia was trying to say, “Who by? And how?” he asked, all set to find the bastard who had the nerve to harm his mate and end him.

This was the hard part. Magnolia thought, as she took in a deep breath, “Caleb, you need to rela….”

“Who by? And how, Magnolia?” his voice more insistent, hiding the havoc he would cause if not given the answer he sought.

“I do not know who by…exactly, but I do know that she was….she may have been raped.” Magnolia finished.

Caleb could only stare in confusion at first, different thoughts stormed his mind, each one causing himself and his wolf more agitation. How? Where? His eyes turned stormy, “When?” he wanted to say more, but those were the only ones that came to mind as of now.

“Sometime within the last six months. All I can say is, she wasn’t born were, and from the looks of things, she must have been a virgin as well.”

She had been changed? She was a virgin? Caleb felt whatever confusion he had been plagued with dissipate, quickly replaced by rage. Some nut-job had taken not one, but two of his gifts from his mate forcefully. He should have been her first, he should have been the one to turn her, the thought that he had been deprived of both by no will of the person who held the power to determine it’s recipient made him so…..the sound of wood hitting wood reverberated in the room as he flung a nearby chair at the door, the weaker entity- the chair, broke into different pieces

The entire room was silent as both Magnolia and Roy were smart enough to not speak as Caleb vented. They both knew this was something he had to get out in any way possible.

Caleb crashed into the nearest chair and dug his fingers in his hair, what the fuc-k? He had been waiting for her for centuries; his other half, his missing piece and now that he had finally found her, some idiot had to fuc-k her up. He swore he’d find that beast and rip it’s head off if it was the last thing he’d do.

“I need to see her”

“She’s resting”

“I won’t awaken her, I just need to see her” he stated

Magnolia nodded, realizing there was nothing she could really say to dissuade him from doing as he pleased- he was after all, Alpha.



***

Good evening, just wanted to let y'all know, further updates of this story will be posted on my blog for interested parties as I'm not getting feedback here.

Thanks, @kisschrix

Blog address pls!

Safarigirl so you started this story and you didn't call me ba...... I'll not play with you again

JeffreyJamez:
Safarigirl so you started this story and you didn't call me ba...... I'll not play with you again

lol...I'm even planning to move it by Friday latest.

NLers must not like this genre

safarigirl:
lol...I'm even planning to move it by Friday latest.

NLers must not like this genre

who told you we dont like it. We read the last wolf all through. Abeg dont stop this tori o

safarigirl:
lol...I'm even planning to move it by Friday latest.

NLers must not like this genre

Ah.. Me I'm loving it already o.

blog address plz! bae couldn't vote for ya. said I shld try again later. will surely do sha

Trust me dear, nairalanders are reading and liking it, just too lazy to comment.
Whatever decision you arrive at is good by me, but do drop your blog address.Thankchu!

before I start read , I would like to say I trust u safari girl becos u always finish your stories,
wish I could meet you in person,

safarigirl:
lol...I'm even planning to move it by Friday latest.

NLers must not like this genre

please,don't stop posting it o

Safarigirl please don't stop the story. It's very interesting

I'll be updating this evening guys, I've been in school since yesterday, so I couldn't post

safarigirl:
I'll be updating this evening guys, I've been in school since yesterday, so I couldn't post

Its past evening oo. This story sounds really interesting. Can't wait.

It's here....NL auto-correct will not let this story be great, so I've had to screen out a lot of 18+++ material

******

She skipped over the puddle by the road, making sure to navigate her way through the wet pavement with the grace of a seasoned royalty and the speed of an athlete.

It was too late to be out, she knew that, but she had been caught up with reading for her mid-terms that she hadn’t realized time had flown by. The streets were now deserted mostly and as much as she tried to distract herself by singing along to her favorite Bob Marley song, she couldn’t stop the eerie feeling she got.

She was just two blocks away from home when she saw ‘it’…. First she saw it’s eyes- an amber glow. It was watching her keenly. She took a step back, her eyes never leaving it, she took another step, unaware of how tightly she was gripping her books. One more step and it made it’s first move toward her. The stream of light from a street-lamp caught what seemed to be an abnormally large paw.

She lost it.

She dropped her books and ran, but whatever it was that was after her was much faster and before she knew it, she was more or less body slammed into what was luckily, a grassy land, and pinned by this enormous creature. She screamed wildly and tried to beat it off, but it was much too strong.

She was suddenly hit with the soothing smell of cinnamon and…the earth? She could hear a deep, calming voice that sounded so far off, yet so close, what or who was that?

Cassandra’s eyes shot open and there he was again. That same man she had seen when she first awoke, concern was etched all over his gorgeous face and soulful grey eyes. Her first instinct was to run away, she didn’t know this man, what if he knew that thing that had attacked her in her dream? Was that really a dream? Instead of running, she found herself calming down as she stared deeper into those eyes.

So beautiful.

Those were the only words that came to Caleb’s mind as he looked upon his mate. He had been watching her sleeping form from a distance when he noticed her struggling and mumbling incoherently. He rushed to her side and was speaking to her in seconds, forgetting whatever promises he made to Magnolia. Even though she had now calmed and was awake, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side still. He wanted to give her the space he knew she needed, but his wolf was adamant, wanting to bask in the closeness of their mate. He stared into her enchanting eyes for what felt like forever, when they finally left hers, they moved to her lips.

Perfect. She was just perfect. As if conscious of his hungry eyes devouring the inviting pair, her tongue snaked out to wet them. He watched the entire action, both mesmerized by the sight and struck by jealousy of the lucky tongue.

This was too much torture.

Unable to control the urge anymore, he staked his claim on what was his.

Cassandra’s eyes grew wide as this god of a man bit her bottom lip and took a swipe at it, he repeated the action and then crushed his lips against hers. She gave him access into her mouth without much coaxing, finding herself in heaven once his tongue slithered in. Her eyes went shut as she savored the taste of him- coffee, she found herself kissing him back, loving every delicate stroke of his tongue and trying to match it as her hand caught his strong arm, feeling his sinewy muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt.

Oh my fuc-king god! Caleb couldn’t believe he was sharing a kiss this intimate with his mate. Her lips were so soft and pillowy, her taste reminding him of citrus. A whimper escaped her throat that got him instantly hard, and then he smelt it- the musky scent of his mate’s arousal. His wolf howled in victory as his investigative hand made a trip along her body, his hand brushed her full breasts, causing her nip/ple to instantly harden. Extremely satisfied with his progress , Caleb dared to go a step further. He cupped a b-oob, finding that it spilled out of his hand, she let out a soft moan and arched her back into his touch, causing him to almost cream himself. She was responding to him in a way only a mate could, at least to some extent she acknowledged him as her mate, even though she wasn’t quite conscious of that fact. He noticed her growing discomfort as she continually rubbed her thighs together and groaned as his wolf projected thoughts of the many ways he could claim their willing mate.

She was losing it.

Yes, that had to be the only reasonable explanation as to why she was lying under this man whose name she didn’t even know, kissing him like he was her last life source and letting him touch her so intimately…and wanting more. When did she become such a wanton person? Yes, she had ended up in this strange place and was yet to get any explanations on how she got here, but she hadn’t lost the idea of who she was, and this woman, lying in bed while a stranger explored her body to his content, was definitely not Cassandra Patrice.

She could feel the throbbing between her thighs, how wet and hot she was- it felt both uncomfortable and incredibly good, how could one feel so good doing something that was so….wrong? she closed her eyes, feeling just a little self-conscious that this stranger could see all of her, if she couldn’t muster the will to stop this, she might as well distract herself.

“Open your eyes my love.”

His what? She wasn’t going to obey him, but something inside of her forced her to bend to his will and she found herself opening her eyes. Something happened to her, something much stranger than just landing thousands of miles away from her hometown. She couldn’t quite figure it out yet and she had a feeling she would need to be led through the entire process of this strange occurrence, but she didn’t have full control of her actions anymore. Had he cast a spell on her?

“I know you know who I am, you may not acknowledge it yet, but you can fel it. your body can feel it, and that is enough for now. I realise your rest is very important, hence, I will leave you to it, but rest assured, when you have your full strength, I will take what is mine.” He said with a warm smile.

If she wasn’t hearing him clear as day, she would think he was only offering to bring her breakfast with the way he was smiling at her. Cassandra wondered what he meant, what all of this meant and why she seemed to have a hotflash when he spoke those last words. Yes, the man was attractive, far more attractive than anyone she thought should be looking at her, but not so much he would have such a strong effect on her.

She continued to stare at him in wonder even as he withdrew his travelling hand from her body, a side of her wanted to reach out and stop him, it wanted him to remain by her side, to….to continue whatever he was doing, but the more rational side won and she kept her hands to herself the entire time he used to leave the bed and make his way to the door, which was a hell of a long time by any standard.

He had barely touched the door when her curious side reared it’s head, “Who are you?” she was apparently in this man’s house, in his clothes and if she had heard him correctly, it was only a matter of time before she would be in his bed, it would do her some good to at least know who she was dealing with before she spread her legs for him.

He paused briefly, as if considering his next words while she watched his strong back waiting for an answer, but not really expecting any.

“Caleb, your mate.” He replied.

“My what?” she asked, but he was already walking out of the room without giving her any form of clarification.

Cassandra stared at the closed door, waiting for the handsome stranger to open it and tell her more, explain to her how she got here and why he was acting so touchy-feely with her, but more importantly, she wanted to know if she had been drugged because that would be the only justifiable reason why she hadn’t smacked him across the cheek when he invaded her so intimately.

She pulled the robe tighter against her body which was still trembling from his ministrations. She wanted to think more on her current predicament, but the after-effects of Magnolia’s medicine was getting to her again and she was feeling sleepy. Perhaps that concoction was what had her so pliant to this man. The old lady did work on his orders.

Safarigirl this is gooooooood!!!!.... Ah! ........you too much!! ..

Permit me to do a book cover pleeeeeeesaaae!!

JeffreyJamez:
Safarigirl this is gooooooood!!!!.... Ah! ........you too much!! ..

Permit me to do a book cover pleeeeeeesaaae!!

feel free. Good morning

safarigirl:
feel free. Good morning

Morning

*****

“So, she was attacked?” Rinaldi, Caleb’s beta asked. He had only just returned from a meeting with the Alpha of New Orleans and was greeted with the exciting news that Caleb had found his mate and then a disturbing one that she was hurt.

Now, he was in Caleb’s study getting the full gist from Caleb and Roy- well, from Roy, Caleb was a little out of it currently.

“That’s what Magnolia said, we believe a rogue were was involved, she can’t remember what happened, but there’s still the fear in her” Roy replied, choosing his words carefully so as not to upset Caleb.

Rinaldi let out a whoosh of air. He honestly didn’t know if he should congratulate Caleb or sympathize with him, this was exactly why he never subscribed to this whole ‘mate’ thing, hoping inwardly that he would never find his. It seemed too much trouble to have a mate, besides, in between trying to regain his lost pack and establishing new connections, he could only make time for a few trysts here and there. All these talks of vested emotions and the likes were certainly not his strong points.

Caleb had tuned out the two closest people he had to friends, focusing his thoughts on his mate. As much as he had enjoyed their little play hours ago, a feeling of dread washed over him that when she awoke, she would again be terrified of him, he didn’t like the thought, but it was best he prepared himself and his wolf for the worst.

He thought of beginning the search for the vermin who hurt his mate; he and his wolf had plans for it, all of which ended with it’s bones being crushed and left to decompose in a sewer. Another thought occurred to him; if his mate had been hurt and turned against her will, it wouldn’t be far-fetched that she had been taken forcefully too, what if she had family members desperately searching for her? Friends, her parents, relatives…a boyfriend? He banished that thought, whichever human male had been in her life previously was inconsequential at this point, she was already his and would remain so. More importantly, they had to start looking for her family- if she had any, to assure them she was safe


****

“You’ve got to be kidding me” Kennedy stared blankly at her sister from whose lips the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard had just escaped.

“No Kenny, think about it.” Kylie whined in desperation, her golden brown eyes pleading for understanding

“There is nothing to think about Kylie, jeez! I swear I need to get you off of all that paranormal bullshit you’ve been reading recently.” Kennedy replied, rolling her eyes. She sat on a close-by loveseat and returned to reading papers for any signs of a Jane Doe. Cassandra had been missing for over six months and they weren’t any closer to finding her than they had been when she went missing. The police had stopped looking months ago- apparently, a twenty-one year old missing African-American woman’s case wasn’t going to get them the kind of press they needed, hence, it simply wasn’t anywhere near their priority list. She and Kylie had resorted to searching for her themselves; after all, they were her only surviving family. Their mothers were twin sisters and had taught all three girls to always look out for one another, this was as good a time as any to employ that teaching.

Kylie jumped on the loveseat, unwilling to be ignored, “Listen Kenny, there’s nothing to disprove these things, for all we know, Cassie may have been kidnapped by a pack of werewolves, she’s probably being mated to one of them as we speak.”

Kennedy arched a pair of well defined brows at her sister, “On second thought, maybe we can tap into your new talent, why don’t you write a script for the new twilight movie?”

“Kenny….”

“Stop it Kylie! Okay? Cassie’s been missing for over six months and you’re giving me this shit story about imaginary werewolves that kidnap people and ‘mate’ with them? Is this your idea of a brainstorm?”

Kylie’s bottom lip quivered as she fought back tears, she hated being screamed at, it upset her- Kennedy was upsetting her. She got off the seat defiantly, “Here I am trying to think up a way to find Cassie while all you do is brood and read those damned useless papers! No one will ever find her Kenny, it’s just us and we’re fucking running out of options as it is, so, if I was told she was kidnapped by a group of elves and being held hostage in the North Pole, I’d trek there freaking bare-footed and kick Santa’s ass if I have to, to get Cassie back. You…you just want to give up, don’t you? You just want us to stop searching and get back to our lives, you’ll just block it out like Cassie never existed just like you did when mum and aunt Denise died, well I’m not cold and unfeeling like you are, I can’t block it out if I needed to, but I’ll still look for Cassie till I find her or just disappear like she did.” With those words, Kylie marched up to her bedroom, her brown cheeks wet with her tears and her mind made up.

After over ten minutes of thinking, Kennedy found herself standing in front of Kylie’s bedroom door, feeling more than a little remorseful, “Ky, I’m sorry.” She spoke to the door, there was no reply from the other end, so she continued, just knowing Kylie was listening, “I know how hard this has been for you, and it’s…it’s hard for me too. How do you think I feel being helpless here? I’m supposed to be the eldest of the three of us, I’m supposed to protect you guys and I failed Cassie. I feel useless Kylie, like I failed aunt Denise and mama and I can’t just break down like you, i’m trying to stay strong for both of us, I…” she sniffed, the wall of toughness she had built since Cassie’s disappearance slowly developing cracks, it was hard to keep herself together and not spiral out of control into an emotional wreck. Kylie may have that option, but she had to be the ice princess, she had to be the formidable one and not crack under pressure, “…I admit, we are lost and are running out of options, but I don’t want to accept that we’ve lost Cassie forever, I can’t accept that we’ll never see her again."

“We will see her again Kenny, we haven’t run out of options.” Kylie’s voice finally came through the door, there was the click of a lock just before Kylie opened it, the tears had dried up considerably, but a fresh set were beginning to form, “I know my idea sounds a bit far-fetched, but it’s much better to try and fail than to not try at all and live on ‘what if’s’”

Kennedy smiled and nodded her agreement, it was nice to see the shy, introverted 19-year old take a stand on something, she usually just sailed wherever the wind took her, not bothering to put up a fight at any suggestion. Even better, was that she was taking this stand in respect of their cousin, “So, what do you suggest we start with?”

Kylie returned her sister’s smile and drew her in for a hug, she was glad Kennedy was doing something she never thought her capable of- letting someone else take the lead, and to think she was the one being given this torch of leadership made her just a little scared but even more determined to not fail Kennedy’s trust. They would find Cassie, she would make sure of that.

Owk, This looks interesting, just like a book i read long ago, charming the alpha... U've got a nice story line miss, keep it up...

In one word,

AMAZING!

Chapter Two

“Sit down Iggy” Caleb spoke calmly.

The eighteen-year old eased himself into the chair opposite of Caleb with wary eyes. He rarely ever got a call from the Duncan pack which is something he couldn’t be more grateful for, the last time had been two years ago so he wondered why they’d need him again. Yes, they did keep in touch and he knew of a couple of their cubs who had attended his high school and still dropped by his house for friendly ‘visits’, but he didn’t think he would be walking into their compound this early. They were a friendly bunch and they paid good money for his services, but he still feared them especially since he had first seen Caleb morph into his wolf- he was terrified of them and would give anything to be off their land in record time

“I’m sure you must be wondering why we contacted you.” Caleb began, he wanted to smile to at least minimize the nervousness oozing from the kid, but he was in no mood for smiles. He had gone to visit Cassandra again this morning and she had been as distant as she was a day before, and two days before that, apparently his touching her had worsened matters. She wouldn’t even let him four feet close, he had to sit at the other end of the room for her to talk, and when he said ‘talk’ he meant monotonous answers. She wouldn’t speak about her family, sometimes he thought to read her mind, but he’d remember they had to be mated for him to get access to her thoughts and it made him even more angry.

She had been with them for a week and he was no closer to making her comfortable, even less mating with her. It occurred tit him that he would need something extra to get her to open up, hence, he thought of having one of her relatives over, but she would not mention a name when he asked, perhaps fearing he would harm them, so he had gotten Roy to call Iggy.

Roy had found Iggy four years ago, the kid was a computer whiz and Roy had suggested he could be of help in future. Of course, Caleb hadn’t thought there was anything they could use the boy for, he was just fourteen, what the hell did he know that an over hundred year old werewolf couldn’t figure out himself? Roy was proved right some months later when Iggy successfully traced the origin of a supposed virus that had wiped off Caleb’s document from his PC, it turned out it wasn’t a virus, rather his system had been hacked into. The pack member who had been working for Nolan Creek; Caleb’s rival and one of the strongest Alpha’s in the south, was subsequently killed and his carcass sent to Nolan.

Since then, the boy had assisted them in seven other computer-related problems. It was only two years ago that he had discovered their true nature, he was pleasantly surprised that the kid had agreed to come over despite how awful their last meeting had gone.

Iggy shrugged his skinny shoulders, “Something about your….wife’s relatives?” he asked, choosing his words carefully, he had done enough research on werewolves after what he had witnessed to know the partners of werewolves weren’t referred to as ‘wives’, but Roy had used that term to speak of the female, so he would go along with it.

Caleb smiled, “Yes, actually, I’d like for you to search for her relatives online.”

“Of course.” Iggy replied as he powered on his laptop. The device successfully distracted him from the two looming men….werewolves. he had to keep that little detail in mind, these two were far from human, “Can I get her name?” he asked once the system was running.

“Cassandra Patrice” Caleb supplied smoothly, his knowledge of her name was thanks to Magnolia and not necessarily because his terrified mate had been forthcoming with any information. He watched Iggy type in the name and then pause for a few seconds before attacking the keyboard in a manner that intrigued Caleb, having been born in a time that had none of the present gadgets he saw, he was often awed by their abilities, but never bothered enough to learn more about them, he was quite satisfied with the basic knowledge he possessed.

A few extra minutes passed before Iggy finally got everything he was looking for. He couldn’t speak for some seconds when his eyes took in the images that had popped up, he could only imagine what Caleb’s ma…wife must look like if her relatives looked this good, he was a lucky man for sure.

“Anything?” Caleb asked impatiently. The fact that Iggy hadn’t typed anything else made him believe he had gone as far as he could, plus, the kid looked like he just got an invite to a party at the Playboy mansion, surely he must have gotten something.

Iggy coughed, Caleb’s voice bringing him back to the present, “Um, yeah, she’s got two living cousins, Kennedy and Kylie Howard, they both live in Michigan. Kennedy’s twenty-three and works in an auditing firm, it days here she recently took a leave”

Caleb raised a brow in curiosity, “Why did she take a leave?”

“There isn’t much detail on that, though there’s a possibility her leave is connected to the disappearance of her cousin”

“Lemme see that.”

Iggy turned the laptop toward Caleb. The first thing Caleb noticed was that Cassandra’s cousins looked a lot like her, just without the dreads. The one who was Kennedy had her hair in a layered pixie cut, her skin was dark, she had a button nose and high cheek bones, while the younger one- Kylie, had a cute innocence to her features and the most captivating pair of golden eyes he had ever seen, her hair was a mass of copper coloured curls that framed her oval face and made her even cuter. He thought he got a nice blend of both women in his Cassandra

He felt Roy lean closer to him and turned to find him staring hard at the images, “See something you like Roy?” Caleb joked with a smile.

“Mine.” He spoke gruffly

Caleb lost his smile and once again looked at the images of both women, which did he speak of? And how possible was it that one of Cassandra’s cousins was Roy’s mate? What were the odds?, “Which one?” he asked through their telepathic bond

“The one on the left.”

Kylie.

“Are you sure?” Caleb asked, he really didn’t need to though. Roy was a disciplined wolf, he wasn’t like the rest ofthem, he didn’t just sate his appetite with any female just for the fun of it, he kept his libido in check which was more than Caleb could say for himself and Rinaldi- and it wasn’t for lack of female attention. Yes, Roy was big and intimidating and the permanent frown on the man’s face could cause a shiver to run down the spine of any great man, he had earned his reputation as a seasoned warrior having defeated every opponent who stood in his way, but the blond was still attractive to females. They were drawn to the power that surrounded him, he had turned down more than Caleb could count, so, the man wasn’t one to just make a wild guess. If he said Kylie was his mate, then she had to be.

“Yes, very.” He replied, his eyes never straying from the picture of his mate.

Caleb thought his beta was lucky to have one such as Kylie for a mate, he didn’t quite know her personally, but she struck him as open-minded and fun-filled, a stark contrast to Roy’s brooding nature, but who better to release him from his life of solitude than this ball of excitement? She would surely be a welcome addition to the compound.

Beyond Cassandra, it was now imperative that they find the Howard sisters as soon as possible, the new discovery had brought in new stakes and Caleb didn’t want to imagine the many things that could happen to both women if somehow, someone in enemy territory got wind of the fact that he had found his mate. Both women could be in danger just for knowing his mate.

“Call Rinaldi.” Caleb said to Roy.

The big man looked at his Alpha as if he hadn’t quite heard his correctly, “Why?”

“He’ll go get them from Michigan.” Caleb replied.

“Why him? why not me?”

“Because I don’t trust you to keep your wolf under control when you see your mate and the last thing we need is you scaring them away, besides, you’re not exactly known for your diplomacy. That’s Rinaldi’s thing.” Caleb replied.

Roy wanted to protest his Alpha’s decision, but even he knew how right Caleb was on this one. He wasn’t the smooth-talking, patient and understanding guy that Rinaldi was. That man could convince the devil out of a deal, Roy used brute force to get his way while Rinaldi used a slick tongue. Rinaldi was in a far better position to get a positive result from such a trip, he would ruin it before he even got to state his reason for being there. Plus, just like Caleb said, he wasn’t sure how he would react to having his mate close-by.

Roy took one last look at the smiling girl on the screen, he couldn’t wait to have her with him, “I’ll get him right away.” he said, and with that he left the study.

“So, can I go now?” Iggy asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Just help me print out this information, then you can go.” Caleb replied.

Once Rinaldi had gone for the sisters, he and Caleb would have to sit down and have a long talk of any possible rivals who would want to hurt their mates. He couldn’t discount the possibility of moles amongst pack members, if they existed then someone out there was waiting on the right time to strike him and anyone could be a target. He wouldn’t tell Roy that just yet, but that was another reason he needed Rinaldi to get the girls, aside Roy, Rinaldi was his best man in combat and would know how best to protect the girls just in case an enemy got to them.

The jury was still out on who had harmed his mate and gone as far as making her scent undetectable to him, they had to be alert, anyone could be the perpetrator

hello babe. no one b like u. thanks u no dey disappoint. my ♥ belongs to u anytime any day.