gaius

I still remember the first time Dad took me on a hunt.

I was fifteen at the time. Mom had just died and Dad didn't know what to do with me. Mom had always been the one to truly raise me. She was the one who I ran to when I was hurt, the one I cried to after something bad happened, the one I came to when I was excited.

Dad didn't know how to do any of that.

Sure, he had been in my life before Mom's death- I mean, I was his kid. But Mom was the one who held us together and without her, Dad didn't know how to raise a child.

So he raised me the only way he knew how to.

As a beta, not a father.

It had been an early summer morning and all we had done that day was argue. I was rebelling without Mom around and Dad was doing everything in his power to not fall apart. Looking back at it, I wished I had recognized his pain too. He had just lost his mate.

After we finished yelling at each other and finishing breakfast, he told me to grab a pair of clothes and follow him. Confused, I did so and we made our way to the woods where he had me shift. Through our link, he explained to me the ins and outs of pack patrol and the signs to look out for. That day, we talked more than we had even when Mom was alive. It was the first step towards our now unbreakable bond.

Even to this day, I still look back on those techniques and tricks Dad taught me. It was one of the ways I felt close to him.

Today was a quiet day. There were no rogue scents, no unusual signs, and no noises in the distance. The only sound was the birds chirping in the trees. I always loved days like this, they always filled me with such peace. It was a shame I couldn't stay.

"East side clear," I link the other wolves on patrol duty before moving in the direction of the northern border.

It had been seven years since my coronation and I still haven't found my mate. Maybe that was the reason I took on so many patrol shifts even though I technically didn't need to. With these shifts, I was the first person to see anyone coming in or out of the pack and maybe just maybe one of these days my mate would come in.

The idea was stupid according to Foster who made sure to tell me every time I took a shift when a warrior called out, but I couldn't help it. Foster and Gray had both already met their mates, hell, Gray even had a kid and Foster had one on the way while I still had...nothing.

Seeing the way my friends looked at their mates or remembering the way my parents used to look at each other made me crave that. I wanted that- Goddess, I wanted it more than anything.

"It'll happen when it's the right time," Taylor, Foster's mate, told me but when was the right time, and how come it's taken seven years?

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I pick up my pace. No need in falling down the rabbit hole known as self-pity.

When I reach the southern border the first thing I catch is two scents. My guard is immediately raised, they can't be on the border yet since I didn't feel anything through the link but they're close.

In my mind, I silently pray that these are regular rogues and not feral ones. Regular rogues were easier to deal with, they still had their humanity and were easier to reach.

Feral rogues? That was another story entirely.

"If you ever see a feral rogue you have two options: fight or flight. As the future beta of our pack, the only option for us is to fight. Protecting the pack is our job."

That was the lesson Dad had instilled in my brain over the years. Luckily, I had never had to come into contact with a feral rogue and I didn't want to.

Crouching slowly, I make my way closer to the border and the scents get stronger. One is a honeycomb scent but it's mixed in with something I don't recognize making it smell more foul than sweet. The other is what has me moving closer, it's addicting like a freshly made coffee smell and it makes me crave more.

As I approach, the smell of blood overpowers both scents and a growl erupts causing me to momentarily pause. By now I can see the two rogues, one lets out a whine as it lies on the floor. Its white coat becomes tainted as blood spills from an unseen wound. The wolf above it is a dark brown one that almost appears black, it's taller than the other one and stronger.

The dark brown wolf lets out another growl and I tense slightly as it sniffs the air. The wolf looks around, turning its attention away from the white wolf; a sign that it's caught my scent.

By now, I should've moved to intercept the wolf and stop the fight. I should've already taken them in or killed them if need be. But I can't bring myself to as I watch the wolf sniff around until its eyes land on mine.

When they do so, my whole body stiffens and the fur on my back begins to raise. The eyes staring back at me are bloodshot red. The wolf lets out a snarl before baring its teeth, its attention is no longer focused on the white wolf who is too injured to move but on me. Slowly standing, I move towards the wolf and begin to circle. I can't let this wolf make it into the pack lands.

The wolf watches me as it assumes an attack position and I wait for an opening. Its eyes never leave mine until a small whine from the white wolf grabs its attention, when it turns away, I quickly lunge at it and knock it to the ground. Its teeth quickly dig into my shoulder but I pay it no attention, my body is frozen.

The wolf continues trying to escape from my grasp but my mind isn't focused on trying to kill it anymore. I look down at the wolf below me, it's red eyes are filled with rage, and growls escape from its mouth as it tries to bite into my neck but can't quite reach.

What am I doing?

I'm supposed to kill this wolf, make sure it won't cause any harm to the pack. I'm not supposed to stare into its red eyes, I'm not supposed to look past the fury that rages within them, I'm not supposed to see the loneliness and sadness that lies underneath the anger, I'm not supposed to feel a bond for this wolf.

The more I try to deny it, the more it begins to feel real. As the wolf struggles, more sparks I feel as its body rubs against mine confirming what's supposed to be impossible.

This feral rogue is somehow my mate.