~Will Woods to the side.~

~ Matt's Pov ~

I watched as Jess was carried away, they were too fast for me. Why didn't I save her? I did try, I did. I ran for miles through the woods, following the scent. Then it started to rain, the scent disappeared.

Now I am lay on my side in my wolf form, in the middle of the woods that surround the town we call home.

My mate is gone and I have no idea who took her. Matt! Get your act together! I scold myself, jumping to my paws. I promised Jess that I would protect her. Whoever took my mate will pay.

At a brisk trot, I head on to higher ground. I end up on hill that allows me to see over the woods. There are no buildings in sight. Knowing that I am taking a big risk, I let out a long, powerful howl, calling to Connor and Zeke.

Ten minutes later, a wolf larger than me, but not as dark comes in to view. On his flank is a smaller, brown wolf. They run to me and stop infront of me. Zeke is holding two outfits in his mouth, one for me and one for him. Connor has his.

We all go in to wooded areas and turn back into humans. Quickly, we get dressed and meet up on the hill again.

"Did you see who took her?" I ask impatiently.

"Yes, I did." Answers Connor. "One of them was about as tall as me and he had blonde hair. The other was shorter and he had dark hair.

Then Zeke speaks up. "It's just dawned on me. I recognise the scent now. I was around the school the other day, you know, keeping an eye out for Drake. I saw a girl leaving school. She had red-ish, long hair. Not very tall either." He stops when I go to say something.

"That's Mia, Jess's best friend. Carry on." I say, gesturing with my hands.

"She was being harassed by this guy, and she looked desperate to get rid of him. I allowed myself to listen in. He was asking about Jess. I figured an ex boyfriend or something so I just left it. It was that guy that kidnapped her..." Says Zeke, his voice trailing off at the end and he steps back slightly.

"Will Woods." I growl at no one in particular. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME?" I roar at Zeke, I take a threatening step towards him, But Connor steps between us.

"Matt, buddy, this isn't Zeke's fault. He didn't know that he would kidnap her. You're gonna kill me for saying this, but Jess is gorgeous. " He holds his hands up in defence when I glare at him angrily. Then he continues. "She probably has boys coming at her from every direction. " Says Connor. "But I have Louise. I'd never look at her in that way, I promise. " I turn away and walk a few steps, running my hand through my hair.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Zeke. " I say hanging my head slightly.

"Don't worry about it. " Smiles Zeke.

"I can't believe Will is a werewolf. " I mutter. "And one that is running with Drake's pack." Then a horrible thought comes to mind.

"Guys, what if Jess is Will's mate, but when they were going out, he never told her what he was." I ask in a slight growl.

"If she was his mate, she wouldn't have broken up with him. And why would he cheat on her? Plus, she would feel that pull to him. " Argues Zeke. I'd told them that Jess's ex boyfriend had cheated on her, I just left out names.

"And where would that leave you?" Connor adds, a slight frown on his face.

"I said that she was his mate. Not that he was her mate. It's rare but it happens. Will was made for Jess, but Jess was made for me. It's one of those... faults in the the supernatural world. The bond we have is ten times more powerful than the bond they shared as I was made for her and she was made for me. Will was slowly realising that his mate was already made for another wolf. As a result, he is slowly going insane from being without her." I start to get nervous now, if Will is going insane, Jess is in danger. He'll do anything to get her back, with or without her consent.

"Whoa whoa whoa." Starts Zeke and we all turn to him. "You're saying that Will's ex, Jess, is his mate but she isn't his and he is going insane because nature has mucked up for him so Will has decided that he is going to become Drake's little sidekick to get Jess back? " Zeke is out of breath after that.

Connor nods "That seems to be pretty much it."

"I have to save her." I say.

"Not without us you're not. " Says Connor.

We aren't a pack, we're friends. But, we are also wolves and naturally, there is a bit of a hierarchy between us. Somehow, Connor became a bit of a leader. We respect him and we listen to him. It's always been that way.

"You can't come with me. This could be dangerous. " I argue. The last thing I want is them getting hurt because of me.

"We're more or less brothers Matt. You, Zeke and myself. We are coming with you no matter what." Finishes Connor and I turn to Zeke who nods his head at me.

"Thank you guys. Now, Jess is Drake's daughter. He will have taken her to his pack house. That means going in to his territory. " I watch their faces for any sign of uncomfort or disagreement with me.

"Connor, you have to go and see Louise and the kids. You can't just leave with no warning. Louise would freak and this is a dangerous mission." I add, turning to Connor, waiting for his approval.

"We have to go via my street to get in to his territory anyway. I'll stop by then. Don't say anything to her about this. I want to be the one to tell her." I nod at Connor. "Let's get going then!" Connor commands as we follow him back to town.

Myself and Zeke walk on Connor's flanks. It takes us about twenty minutes to get to Connor's house.

It's your typical American family home. Big porch, white picket fence, toys outside and the lovely smell of baking from inside. It's beautiful.

The two children come running over to us, Ellie toddles in front of me and I place her on my hip, kissing her forehead. "Hello, Ellie. " I say and she smiles at me.

"Hello, Uncle Matt. " I smile back at her and look over to Zeke who is already playing football with Alex.

I hear Louise come to the door and I look over to her. "Hello, darling." She says to Connor. "Matt, Zeke, nice to see you." She says as she pulls oven gloves off her hands.

"You to, Louise. " I say laughing as Ellie scrambles down of my hip and pulls me over to her play house. With difficulty, I squeeze myself in to the little house and crouch in the corner as Ellie offers me 'tea and biscuits ' And pretends to be British.

When I look out the tiny plastic window to see Connor holding Louise's waist and her hands are around his neck. A worried look is on her face, so I presume Connor has told her what happened and what we are going to do. He places reassuring kisses over her forehead then a passionate one on her lips. Seeing this makes me miss Jess more than I could possibly imagine.

"Ellie, Alex!? " Calls Louise and the two children run over to her. I follow Ellie after I crawl out of the house gently.

"Yes, Mummy? " Both the children ask in unison.

"Uncle Zeke, Uncle Matt and Daddy are going away for a few days. Just to spend some time together. " Explains Louise. She and Connor are going to feel awful after spending a few days away from each other.

"Okay!" Say the children. We all hug the children and Louise, and say our good byes.

We don't need to take anything with us apart from the clothes we are wearing. For most of the journey, we will stay in our wolf form, once we leave the city that is. Hunting animals for dinner and sleeping in sheltered areas.

We set out on our Journey to bring Jess back.