Page 7 of Meeting Her Mate

However, the ferocity of the chase had propelled me past the forest. Here I was, back again at the edge of the forest where I had first found Will, only this time, there was no Will to hold me back. Just a few steps away, the trees ended, giving way to a clearing that marked the end of Fiddler’s Green and the start of the state of Maine.

I stopped to catch my breath in the wake of this liberating sight, and just then, as the vampires caught up to me, a vibrant sun rose from behind the singular mountain and shone its magnificent light on the forest, its rays piercing through the canopy.

I swerved just in time to see the vampires sizzling in the sun, screaming as their bodies smoked and burned. They were no longer concerned about their quarry. Their very survival was at stake.

Where would they run off to, I wondered. I shifted back to my human form and saw the vampires hissing and screaming as they ran for cover in the shade of the forest trees, leaving their guns and their flashlights behind.

The sight was so odd and bizarre that it made me burst out into laughter. All their strength of numbers and their ferocity could not keep them safe from the sun.

But this newfound freedom also put me in a state of indecision. Here I was, standing at the brink of Fiddler’s Forest, looking at the path that led to my freedom. And yet, I could not move. Something intangible was holding me back, and it was after I stood still and pondered for a long time that I realized what it was.

My bond.

I had become fated mates with someone who needed me. Who knew whether Will had made it back to Fiddler’s Green or not? In hindsight, leaving him behind and running off to my freedom was a very selfish thing to do.

The lyrics to The Clash’s song rang in my head, “Should I stay or should I go?” Running off to Maine would mean I’d never have to bear the humiliation of the Grimm pack. My future would await me with open arms, with opportunities at every step. Even though it was kind of late, I’d somehow get admission into an actual college and get a degree that I wanted instead of the community college associate’s degree that I had.

I would get a job and my own place. I would be independent. I’d go to coffee shops and drink the expensive kind of lattes while working on my laptop in front of the window. I would reinvent myself. Maybe even ditch my identity as Alexis Richards and take up a new name. I would never shift again, so no one would ever have to know that I was a werewolf.

All that lay just a few steps ahead. All I had to do was cross the threshold.

But I remained frozen to the spot, unable to move. It was only when I decided to turn back and go back to Will that I was able to move my feet again. I resented myself at that moment, having to choose from two extreme choices, but in the end, it prevailed upon me that Will, the werewolf that I had somehow bonded with, needed me and that he was a stranger in a strange land. He had been gone for more than seventy years. The world was not his ally any longer. He would need someone who understood his circumstances to guide him and help him make sense of this crazy new world.

“Damn it, Alexis,” I groaned as I traced my steps back to where I had last left Will.

He wasn’t there.

Good. This meant that he had paid heed to what I’d told him.

I still had one last chance to turn around and leave.

But the gnawing sensation in my chest beckoned me to go further and see if Will was okay. If he were to turn up to Fiddler’s Green just like that, people would be confused. Some of them would not even believe that it was the real Will Grimm.

And for better or worse, he was now my mate.

I hobbled along the dirt path, looking for signs of Will. Now that adrenaline was not coursing through my system, the pain in my leg had resurfaced and was making its presence known. I winced as I walked, but despite the agony, I kept on walking.

I had walked for ten minutes when I saw the thing I had been dreading all this time.

It was Will. He lay there on the ground, knocked out, the back of his head bleeding. Not that I was a detective or anything, but from what I could see, I inferred that one of the vampires who had been running off to shelter hit him in the back of the head, causing him to faint. Otherwise, why would he be lying here in the middle of the forest path?

“This is not going to be easy,” I moaned miserably as I lifted Will’s body off the ground and flung him over my shoulder.

And so, I began my descent down the path that led to Fiddler’s Green, back to square one. My effort to escape had been thwarted, and I had been plunged into a completely new, completely bizarre situation.

***

Half an hour later, when my body had exhausted its depleting reserves of stamina, I collapsed at the gates of the Grimm Abode with Will on my shoulders.

I was too weak to croak out a call for help, let alone move further.

My vision had turned bleary, making it hard for me to make out the face of the person approaching me.

“Lexie? Holy crap, where were you?” It was Vincent’s voice. Vincent was one of the good ones, roughly a few years younger in age and sort of like my only friend here at the commune. He was the exact opposite of his father, Maurice, in every way. Vincent was a caring wolf, a gentle soul, and a kind friend.

“Vince?” I groaned. “Help me.”

Vince’s arms gripped me. He helped me sit up against the picket fence boundary of the commune.