Jacob grunted, sniffing the ground again to make sure he was going the right way before he began moving through the forest once more.
He could feel Donovan's constant touch in his mind, relaying to him on Ember's condition and questioning on whether he had found Sarise yet.
He growled lightly, shutting his mind from his Beta as he sniffed again, picking up her scent and ran forward again.
"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦?" His wolf growled, becoming angry at his mate's constant refusal to answer his call.
"𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳." Jacob answered, his wolf's eyes piercing the darkness as he saw a deer moving through the woods to his left.
"𝘐 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳." His wolf returned, grunting when he sniffed the ground. "𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮."
Jacob frowned as his wolf pushed forward as he attempted to find their mate.
While she was in wolf form at least she could stay warm, yet in human form the drop in temperature overnight could be deadly.
He stopped very now and then, picking up her scent as he pushed through the woods.
He could hear water, noting her scent went towards it and instantly realised she had gone for water to ease the thirst she had to be feeling by now.
He ran forward, sliding to a halt when he hit a small stream, scanning along its bank and howling in despair as she saw Sarise curled up on the other side, shivering in the cold.
He jumped the stream, rushing up to her and shifting into human form, touching her cheek lightly and her eyes fluttered open.
"Jacob?" She whispered, tears coming to her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, shivering again and wrapping her arms around her naked body.
"Can you shift?" He asked and she shook her head.
"Too cold." She answered through chattering teeth as he pulled her to him, contacting Donovan to tell him he'd found Sarise and to send the pack with supplies to stay overnight.
He sat down, pulling her onto his lap and pulled her to him as he attempted to warm her body with his. Her nose wrinkled and she looked up at him.
"Your covered in blood." She breathed, running her hand over his face. "Are you hurt?"
"It's not mine." He answered as her head dropped onto his shoulder.
"So cold." She whispered, shivering again.
"You need to stay awake." He said lightly, rubbing her back roughly as he tried to warm her up. "Warriors are on their way."
"Is Ember okay?" She asked lightly, her eyes closed as she breathed lightly.
"She's fine." He answered, relieved when her eyes opened and looked at him. "You need to stay awake."
"Tired." She breathed, closing her eyes again.
"𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵." His wolf growled at him and Jacob growled back. "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 ���𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮."
Jacob grunted, putting her on the ground beside him as he shifted into wolf form again, curling up against her shivering body.
She shuffled back into him before turning and hugging into him, her head resting under his jaw as she pushed her face into the soft fur of his neck.
He licked her lightly, cleaning the blood and dirt from her skin as the warriors continuously contacted him, informing him how far away they were.
Every now and then he would whimper lightly, nudging Sarise with his nose and huff at her when she opened her eyes to look at him.
The warriors eventually arrived, bringing supplies in order for the two to stay in the woods for the night.
Sarise had wandered too far from the city and they were unable to carry her back so her and Jacob were going to have to stay within the woods for the night.
While the pack found a suitable spot to set up the tent, Jacob and one of the other warriors stayed with Sarise, curling up against her in order to warm her up.
Although Jacob was unhappy at the thought of another wolf touching his mate, he was thankful that someone had stayed to help him keep her warm and thankful she was snuggled against him and not the other man.
After a while one of his warriors came through the brush, carrying a blanket that he spread over Sarise as the other wolf moved away.
Jacob stood, shifting into human form and reaching down to pick Sarise up, making sure she was wrapped in the blanket as he looked over his shoulder.
"Just through there Alpha." He said lightly, nodding in the direction the tent had been set up.
Jacob turned, jostling Sarise into a better position as he walked towards the tent.
"There is food as well." Someone stated as Jacob crawled into the tent, laying Sarise on the bed of blankets. "And clothing." Jacob stood, nodding.
"Donovan has asked us to watch over you tonight." He added.
"Ember?" Jacob asked and the man smiled.
"Recovering." Came the answer and Jacob nodded, turning back to the tent.
"Patrol in shifts." He stated, looking back at the man. "I want you all rested well."
The man nodded, shifting before Jacobs eyes and moved off into the forest.
Around him howls sounded, letting him know how far away the warriors were.
He grunted in acknowledgement, sending his thanks to Donovan as he crawled into the tent and closing it before pulling Sarise against him as he covered them with several blankets.
She still felt cold to touch yet her shivering had stopped at least.
He sighed, kissing her forehead lightly as he rubbed her hands up and down her back to warm her up, surrendering to sleep knowing that she was safe.
* * *
Sarise stirred, feeling the warmth of someone resting against her.
She opened her eyes slowly, looking onto the blood covered tattooed chest of her mate and slowly she looked up, seeing he was still asleep.
She moved her eyes over his chest, making sure there were no injuries before she snuggled into him again, relishing the warmth that came from his body.
She felt his hand move up her back slowly and she leant back, looking at him as he opened his eyes slowly.
"Morning." He whispered, reaching up to touch her face. "Sarise I'm..."
"No, I should be the one apologising." She whispered, pressing her forehead to his chest. "I should have gone back to the mansion when you told me to."
"You saved Ember's life." She heard him say lightly and she looked up.
"We shouldn't have attacked you like that." He added, touching her face gently. "We scared you and I'm sorry."
"Your wolf is a bit of an asshole." She stated and he smiled lightly. "I've never seen anything like that before." She shuddered lightly, hugging into him.
"Your wolf likes to kill, almost revels in it." She breathed and he sighed lightly, pressing his face into her hair.
"Yes." He breathed.
"Has he always been like that?" She asked against his chest.
"Yes." He responded and she looked up at him.
"You think me a monster?" He asked and she shook her head.
"No, but I do think you and your wolf are assholes." She added, slapping his chest lightly before hugging him again. "You scared me."
"I know." He answered, pulling her against him and nuzzling her neck and kissing the mark on it lightly, making her gasp light as shudders of pleasure coursed through her body.
"I'm sorry. I've always had trouble controlling my wolf. The witches think it has something to do with my mother leaving." Jacob added, running his hand up and down her back before he kissed the top of her head lightly.
"That it brought out an anger that my wolf feeds off. When I was sixteen..." He paused, licking his lips lightly.
"When I was sixteen and shifted for the first time and lost control of my wolf." He continued. "I went into the lands to the north of our borders, killed and fucked rogues for days on end. My father eventually found me, rutting on a female covered in blood from my kills."
"I refused to shift back." Jacob continued and Sarise snuggle into him, resting her head against his chest as he continued.
"If I'm being honest, I didn't want to shift back." He chuckled lightly. "I felt free."
"Your father attacked you." Sarise said lightly, her fingers brushing the scars on his ribs.
"I attacked him." Jacob answered and Sarise leant back to look at him again. "I was young, inexperienced. He got me on the side, the shock was enough to turn me back." He laughed scornfully.
"My father refused to let me shift so we could come back to the pack lands, fearing my wolf would take over again. It took us three days to return."
"As soon as we were back in the pack, he contacted Kimber, brought her to Intelligence and tried to get her to bind my wolf."
"What?" Sarise breathed. "But you're an Alpha."
"Kimber refused." Jacob answered, looking down at her. "She told my father that the savageness of my wolf would one day be needed." He chuckled lightly.
"She stayed in the pack for nearly a year after that, helping me to learn to control my wolf." He continued, smiling. "I suppose that's why everyone gets me to talk with her, I have more patience for her than the other Alphas."
"Your wolf is why you hunt every morning." Sarise asked and Jacob nodded, reaching up to brush the hair from her face.
"He has simple needs really." Jacob stated "Hunt and fuck." He shrugged. "It's his sex drive that drives my own."
"So, your wolf is an asshole and a randy shit." Sarise pointed out with a smile and Jacob laughed lightly.
"The tattoos were another way to stave off some of his desires." Jacob continued and Sarise looked at his chest, running her fingers across the work on his chest.
"The healing process annoyed him and for days all he was consumed with was the irritation of them healing." He stated.
"And they're as sexy as hell." Sarise breathed, looking up at him, feeling heat course through her as his eyes darkened slightly.
"And what of your wolf?" He asked, running his hand down her back slowly.
"My wolf?" She asked, pressing against him.
"Her eyes are aqua." He stated and she frowned. "You mentioned your mother and sister are the same."
"They are." She answered, pushing away from him and pressing her forehead to her chest.
"So, is it just your family?" He asked and Sarise nodded against his chest.
"I never used to run with the others." Sarise stated, playing with the lines of ink on his chest. "Amelia and I would always run together. I would get shit from the others about my wolf and her aqua eyes."
"It is an oddity." Jacob stated and Sarise tensed. "I'm not going to lie Sarise." He continued. "I'm intrigued as to why your wolf has aqua eyes instead of yellow."
"I don't want to discuss it anymore." She snapped lightly, pushing from him.
Jacob grabbed her wrists, flicking her onto her back and pinning her hands above her head as he moved over her.
"Good, I had other things I wanted to do anyway." He stated, his eyes darkening as he looked down at her.
"You're covered in blood!" Sarise squealed as he bent down and ran his tongue between her breasts and up her neck.
"You could clean it off for me." He whispered in her ear and Sarise snorted, pushing her thigh between his legs.
He stopped the motion with his own thighs, looking down at her and shaking his head lightly.
"That's not very nice." He laughed, releasing her leg and lying on her and Sarise grunted, leaning forward and sniffing him.
"Neither is the smell coming off you." She joked, squealing when put his mouth on her mark, massaging it with his tongue.
"Jacob." She groaned, dragging her nails up his back as she rolled her hips against him.
"Hmmmm." He breathed in her ear, biting her earlobe lightly. "You're right, bathing sounds good."
He pushed off her, looking down at her and dragging his gaze over her body before smiling and sitting up, slowly standing and turning to the bags in the tent.
Sarise smiled as she sat up, admiring the toned muscles of his back as he grabbed some clothing and towels from the bags.
He slowly turned, grabbing one of the blankets and giving it a flick before he wrapped it around his waist and looked down at her.
"If you're done fucking me with your eyes, how about we bathe?" He joked and Sarise rolled her eyes, holding out her hand to get him to help her up.
He pulled her up quickly, pulling her body flush against his as his eyes flashed lavender.
"Eye rolling woman." He breathed, reaching down to massage the mark on her neck with his mouth again.
Sarise melted against him, holding onto his shoulders for support and he broke away, reaching down to grab another blanket and gave it a quick flick before he wrapped it around her body.
"Shall we?" He asked, amusement glinting in his eyes as he pulled the tent open and pushed her into the sunlight.