It felt as if I could feel it in my bones we were getting closer to JC. I grew anxious with every second that passed on the road. Allen and Jackie seemed to be set on distracting me. The pain I was going through got worse and worse as we got closer to my mate.

I'm worried about her, if she's in heat there is no way she can protect herself where ever she is. i pray that she got somewhere safe and secure from these other mutts.

"What are your intentions with my daughter Theo?" Jackie asked from the back. The question scares me and I sit in silence for a moment as I feel JC's mother burning a hole through the back of my head. I needed to be honest about everything, but would that make me look like a bad man? A bad mate?

"Theo?" Jackie grabbed my attention from the long silence I had no doubt been in.

"To be honest with you, I put off finding her for a while. It wasn't until my father told me I would be becoming Alpha soon that I told him about my visions." I replied, knowing just those couple sentences would bring it up into a longer discussion.

"Why didn't you want to find your mate? That's so stupid man, having a mate is awesome." Allen said giving me a disapproving look, then focused back on the road.

My first instinct is to get mad for being treated disrespectfully on my choices, however maybe he's right. Maybe having a mate is an awesome beautiful thing. So why did I decide having a mate would be more of a burden than a miracle?

One thing is for sure now, and I know I will be more sure about this when I lock eyes with my mate for the first time.

We are destined to be, so I shouldn't run. I will not run anymore.

"I have my reasons for how I felt back then. All that matters is how I feel now and I want to find her. " I reply back to the waiting Allen and Jackie.

Jackie lets out a sigh of annoyance and I gaze out the window as we pass palm trees.

I wrap the robe tight around my body and try to calm myself from getting upset. I felt as if my emotions were on overdrive. I would feel pissed, upset, happy, and in agony within a hour. I could feel Drake's presence in the next room and I no longer had to worry about making a nasty decision.

All I want to do now is sleep. I'm still in pain but, I'm too exhausted to care about getting through it. I need to lay down and get some rest.

I take two wash clothes from the bathroom drawer and wet them with cold water. I place on on the back of my neck and carry the other to the bedroom with me.

Drake is sitting up against the headboard watching football, and his eyes flicker to mine. I caught a glimpse of his birthmark on his inner bicep. It is a pretty odd shape, looked like a football.

I give a slight apology smile for how I acted earlier, but said nothing. As if he read my mind, Drake gets up and walks to the couch in the corner.

"You can probably leave now, I'm okay." I say and put the other washing rag under my robe on my stomach. I lay in the bed upright, looking at Drake and waiting for a response.

"I told you I'm not going anywhere. You're vulnerable right now, you need me until you get better." He said crossing his arms as if there was no way I could convince him to leave.

I surrender and lay down on my back and stared at the ceiling. "Why are you doing this?" I ask. I felt as if I knew the answer but I wanted to hear about it again.

"I told you, my sister. I told myself if I ever saw a female in need of my protection I would help her. " He says and lays down himself, gazing up at the ceiling.

"But how are you able to fight this desire for me? Other males are going crazy to get to me." I say putting a pillow under my head and looking at him. I briefly glance at the door as if some crazy male werewolf would break it down. I'm not necessarily scared, if push comes to shove I can protect myself. I just hope to not have to.

Some pain passes through me but not as badly as the other times. I feel as if my body is becoming numb and the exhaustion is more evident than the pain itself.

"I can fight it, because I already had a mate." He says lowly. He was still staring up, looking lost in thought. I became more and more curious and I didn't want to pry into his life but something told me to dig into Drake's past.

"Had?"

"She was killed." He says and I see him gulp.

"Rogues?" I ask. I was sympathetic to that and it occurs a lot. Rogues were not as big of a problem as they are now. They hate the council, they hate order, and main drive is for revenge.

It's silent for a moment. I hoped he wasn't reliving the times his mate died just because I kept asking questions. I feel guilty, I should just let it go.

"No. Our Alpha did." He finally replies, and then glances at me.

My mouth forms into a "O" and I search his eyes for any way he is possibly joking. When I saw his face is serious I swallow and chose my next words carefully.

"Your Alpha? Wow." That's all I said and decided that if he wanted to tell me more he will.

"I've told you two of the worst things I ever went through, yet I know nothing about you." He mentions and I respond by looking at the ceiling once more. I could never tell him why I'm running, that was clear for anyone I encounter. I can not trust one living soul with my secret.

So what could I tell Drake without being completely secretive?

"I have a little brother. He's eleven and his name is Jamie. I was never close to him or my parents after-" I stop, knowing I shouldn't say any more, but I wanted to. I wanted to confide everything I've kept hidden in the deepest corners of my mind to him.

"After?" He questioned, pushing for answers from me like I pushed answers from him.

"After I discovered something about myself that would ruin everything." I say giving a little bit of the truth to him, but not enough.

"Hmm." He hummed out, "That sucks."

I let out a sigh of relief when he didn't question further. "Yeah." My eyes were getting droopy and I was fighting off sleep to learn more about Drake.

I eventually fall into a deep slumber, dreaming of a life I could have loved and lived without this burden I carry so heavily on my back.