Page 97 of Wanted

Mate.

A voice I’m sure I’ve never heard before, but at the same time it sounds familiar, calls out.

Mate, she says again, and I realize it’s coming from inside of me.

My wolf is reminding me that our mate is nearby. We’re safe here with him. Nothing will happen to us.

And so, I embrace the pain

No, not the pain.

Her.

I welcome her.

My wolf.

With my eyes firmly closed, an image of a beautiful wolf with dark-brown fur, save for a stunning gray path that runs down the length of her back extending to her long tail, appears. I meet her eyes and am shocked when they’re a mirror of my own.

I drop to my knees.

With her head down, she moves one of her large paws in my direction. Followed by another and then another. She allows her nose to brush against the palm of my hand.

“There you are,” I whisper.

A sensation of wholeness that I’ve never known I need overtakes me.

My wolf steps closer until her face meets mine. I think she’s going to stop but she continues, pushing herself into my body.

A zinging sensation ripples through me and then I open my eyes.

Chance

I’m in awe.

Those words run through my head as I look at Emery’s wolf. She’s as perfect and majestic as I knew she would be. From the coffee-brown fur and the gray streak that marks her as the storyteller of a pack, her beauty captivates me.

And my wolf.

Even as she takes tentative steps, testing out her newly acquired paws. She’s larger than the rest of the pups around her.

Yet, she’s as unsteady and unsure on her new paws as the rest of them. I take a step in her direction, my wolf pushing me to be closer to her. He’s impatient.

Before I can take my second step, my wolf demands to come out. He wants to meet his mate.

I don’t hold back as I let the familiar sensation ripple over me. My bones twist and flex in a way that would cause immense pain if I were completely human. However, there’s no pain. Just anxiousness to run my nose against my mate’s fur, to press the top of my head against her, and yes, to claim her.

The type of claiming that happens in private but is so loud that Mother Moon will hear it.

I stride toward her, our eyes locking. Emery’s eyes light up in a way that I know would mean in her human form she’s smiling. She runs to me and we meet, rubbing the tops of our heads together. I lick the sides of her face before nuzzling my face in her neck.

I sniff and inhale her delicious scent. Heat cruises through my body, making my wolf growl. He wants to mount her.

Just then, however, the alpha howls, signaling it’s time for our first run with the new wolves. Emery looks at me in confusion, trying to figure out what’s happening.

I nudge her to look in the direction of the other wolves who’ve started sprinting. Then I take a few strides. As the lead beta I always bring up the rear end on our runs, ensuring no one gets left behind and everyone’s safe.

I almost forget my responsibility to the pack as I remain focused on Emery.