Jonathan's POV
The fight between myself and the Lycan lasted for three hours. Before the fight began, my dad informed me that my mate might be pregnant and that he sent her away in order to protect her in case I lost. Since I was the Alpha being challenged, I got to choose the first term. My term was that we didn't fight to the death. I wanted to find my mate and see if she was in fact pregnant. I wanted to be able to meet my pup if she was.
We quickly made it to Black Moon pack. We first ran into Alpha Larry. "So you won the challenge or was it a lie?" Jackson said as he was standing next to his son.
"Dad, shut the hell up. I was there when the Lycan challenged Jonathan. Sophia didn't lie." Alpha Larry said in his alpha tone.
"Oh and sure she is pregnant. That was just her trying to get attention and sympathy," Jackson continued.
"Shut up or you will be placed in a cell. Come on Alpha Jonathan, my mate would like to speak with you." Alpha Larry said. We followed him to his pack's house. Cassie was standing just outside of the building.
"Jonathan. Hello. I have a message for you. Yesterday your mate passed through the territory. While doing so, she needed a new outfit. I gave her one. She informed me that she thought she was pregnant. Knowing that if she was, she would be taking the chance of miscarrying if she shifted, I gave her one of my pregnancy tests and it was positive. You must find my sister fast." Cassie said, causing me to shift and run for the trees.
She said to head due north. That is the direction Sophia went from here. Dad's voice said. I turned north and started running as fast as I could. I don't know where she went from here.
As I crossed into new territory I was slammed into by a black wolf with yellow eyes. He was baring his teeth at me. I quickly shifted and he did the same. "I am sorry for trespassing but I am searching for my mate. My name is Jonathan Zimmerman. I used to be the alpha of Blue Moon Pack." I said as nicely as possible.
"Ah. Little Sophia's mate. Don't worry, she isn't here. She was, however. Hearing she was pregnant caused me to take her to my pack doctor. She found out she had twins. Oh, and by the way, I am Alpha Lorenzo." He said, and once again I shifted and took off running. I heard mom, dad, Ashleigh, Lincoln, and Jimmi right behind me. We found our way to a diner that had Sophia's scent. I felt like I was getting closer to my mate.
I followed her scent for three miles before I finally lost it. I lost her scent, which caused Lance, my wolf, to howl in my mind. He wanted our mate back. I felt the same way. I would gladly give up my life to find her again. I needed her. For Alpha's who lost their mates, it is terrible. I may no longer be an Alpha, but Alpha blood flowed through my blood and it always would. My wolf was also an alpha wolf.
That was three days ago. Mom informed me that Lindsey and Ginsing both decided to leave the pack so they could follow Sophia in case she ran into trouble. Alpha Larry informed me that my mate passed through his territory three days ago. Luna Cassie told me she gave Sophia a pregnancy test and that Sophia was pregnant. I have passed through three territories so far since I left my home. My dad and mom have been with me. Ashleigh turned eighteen yesterday and she and her mate went with Jimmi in a different direction than I was.
My loyal warriors have decided to fan out to find their Luna. Everyone loved Sophia and wanted to know she was alright. Me most of all. At some point, I started to turn toward South Dakota. My dad told me to follow the mate pull. He said even if it didn't take me right toward her, it would at least lead me in the direction she was going. I was hoping she wouldn't get too far, but if she thought I would have died in the challenge, then she was probably spending her days and a lot of her nights running.
Rogues had a hard time surviving and eventually, even rogues that left their homes for different reasons other than exile still resorted to stealing from packs. Stealing isn't tolerated by Alphas and can result in the Alpha killing the rogue at first sight. Even if the Rogue isn't stealing, they are a threat to the alpha. They can challenge the Alpha for their own Alphaship or they can kill members of any pack in order to steal land. Often, when a rogue becomes a new alpha after winning a challenge, they will also kill the mate of the Alpha and even all of the Alpha's kids.
That is probably what worried my dad and why he sent Sophia away. My pups will never experience being alpha, but if she remained in the pack and the Lycan found out she was my mate and that she was pregnant, she could have been killed. She likely would have told my pups about me and they would grow up to want their rightful place as Alpha. Now that I know there are twins, they both would share the Alpha role even if one was forced to be Beta. With two Alpha's, even a Lycan can have a hard time controlling them. Twins also have a special bond and have been proven to be expert warriors when they fight together.
I have been on the search for three months. I knew depending on the moment that Sophia became pregnant she would be giving birth within the next three months. I have found my way to South Dakota. Lance, my wolf, has gotten more and more aggressive with each passing day without our mates. He misses Bella, Sophia's wolf, and I miss Sophia. As I decided to take a rest, I found a cave that I figured would be safe for what was left of my pack. All that was left was me, my mom, and my dad. Everyone else was scattered across the west coast and the last I heard from Linda her small group had entered Texas. Jimmi, Ashleigh, and Lincoln have made their way to North Dakota.
"I don't understand why the mate bond is pulling me to North Dakota now," I said as my dad sat down next to me and began to build tonight's fire.
"Perhaps it is pulling you along her path. I am sure she couldn't have gotten too far away when we started our search. Someone will find her and you will be back with her. Remember, son, Sophia has spent her whole life having to fend for herself. This is no different." Dad said.
"But it is different. She had Ashleigh as a friend. Now she has no one and she is also going to give birth to two pups. How will she care for them alone?" I said as I helped put the branches into the fire.
"She has her mom and Ginsing. Even if the two of them are keeping their distance if she needs them, I know her mother would gladly step in and help. Ginsing will also. He loves kids. He and his mate never got to have any pups but he always wanted them." Dad said, making me feel better.
We had been awake for an hour or so and I got a mind link from Jimmi. He finds a Lycan that seems to know Sophia. The Lycan is taking him to a werewolf named Sophia. I can't help but hope it is my mate. I can feel Lance jumping with excitement in my head.
Calm down, Lance. We don't even know if it is her. I said to him.
It is mate. I can feel it. We have found them. Lance replied back. I couldn't help but feel excited too by his words. We turned and headed north. I didn't know which part of North Dakota Sophia was in. I walked slowly because I was waiting for Jimmi to mind link me again.
Alpha! Jimmi said, sounding excited.
What? I said back.
It is her. Man, she is huge. Oh, and I found my second chance mate. Oh, and the Lycan gave them a small part of his territory. They seemed to be friends. Sophia and this new mate have started a new pack. Currently, there are only five members. Sophia, Lindsey, Ginsing, Lia, and her son Henry. Jimmi said, sounding excited.
What part of North Dakota? I said.
Minto. Oh, and Alpha tells the Lycan or any werewolves you see when you get to this territory that you know, Sophia. The Lycan will bring you right to her. Jimmi said as he turned the mind link off. I stripped my clothes another Alpha had given me off, tied them around my ankles, and took off running toward Minto, North Dakota. I saw mom and dad behind me. We ran as fast as we could. We made good progress and were in North Dakota by sundown.
Tomorrow we will run to the northeast part of North Dakota. I wasn't going to stop tomorrow until I laid my eyes on my mate. I laid down in a bush in my wolf form without my mate for what I hoped was the last time. Hopefully, by now Jimmi has informed the rest of the loyal warriors of where they could find their Luna and how to get to her without the Lycan hurting them. I was very concerned about Sophia having a Lycan as a friend. Why would he be willing to give her part of his territory? If her small group only consisted of three females and two males originally, they wouldn't be strong enough to win part of a Lycan's territory. Especially when it sounded like one of the males was a child.
The next morning, we were on the run again. Lance was getting more desperate to be with Bella and I could feel myself being just as desperate to hold Sophia in my arms again. Running at full speed, we made it to Minto by the time the sun started to go down. It was still daylight but more like evening. We ran into a group of werewolves led by someone that smelled like a Lycan. I whimpered. I only hoped this was the Lycan that Jimmi talked about. I looked toward a large bush, hoping he would understand me. He simply nodded and I trotted over to the bush to shift and put my clothes on.
When I returned, the Lycan was looking at me with a big smile. He looked very friendly. "Hello, I am Maximus. Or you may call me Alpha Maximus. You are?" He said with an even bigger smile. I got the feeling he was expecting us.
"I am Jonathan Zimmerman. This is my mother and this is my father. I am searching for my mate." I said as kindly as possible. We weren't here for a fight. I just wanted Sophia back.
The Lycan smiled and turned and told us to follow him. We did. I was still hoping that this was the right Lycan. I wasn't ready to fight another Lycan. In fact, I hoped I would never have to fight one again. We followed him to a small group of cottage-looking houses. A small child was playing with a werewolf that seemed to look like Ginsing. Next to him was a she-wolf that looked like Ashleigh.
"Big brother?" Ashleigh said when we walked up. It was the right Lycan. I ran to my sister to give her a hug. I hadn't seen her in three months and I missed her almost as much as I missed Sophia.
"Where is she?" I asked when I pulled away from my sister's hold.
"She is still asleep. Ginsing said she could really use the sleep, so we are letting her sleep. Oh look, her door is opening." Ashleigh said as Maximus stood in front of me blocking Sophia's view of me.
"Maximus, what are you doing here today?" Sophia said, sounding happy. Had she already moved on from me? Oh, that would be gross. A Lycan helping to raise my pups.
"I brought three more Werewolves that I believe you may know. One smell similar to you." He said as he took a step to the side revealing me. Sophia dropped the glass she was holding and rushed into my arms.
"I found you," I said as I took a deep breath, taking in the scent I had longed for, for three months. I couldn't believe it. I thought I would never see her again and here she is in my arms. And what is more, she is crying. I felt bad for causing her so much grief.
"It seems you may need more cottages. I will help you fight the pack in the next territory over. I do have more vacant cottages if you follow this line to the north. They can all be yours. Just let me know if you need help winning a bigger piece of land," Maximus said with a smile.
"Thank you," I replied. I pulled Sophia off of me before lifting her chin so she was looking into my eyes before I pressed my lips into hers. "I want to meet this Lia since she is new to the pack. Who is Alpha?" I said as he looked at Ginsing, who was sitting next to Henry with a big smile.
"Well, everyone wanted me to be Luna, so that would make you Alpha, since you are my mate," Sophia said as she pulled me down to her and pressed her lips into mine. That was the first time she ever pulled me down to kiss me. It was a wonderful feeling to finally be with her again and have her in my arms again. I followed Sophia into her little cottage. It was cute. I will enjoy living here with her. It is all and all about the same size as the apartment we had in Springfield.
We sat on the couch. "Do you know when you are due?" I asked after a while. I was rubbing her belly gently, imagining what they were going to be. I imagined that one was a little girl and the other was a boy. I knew I would love them no matter what.
"In two months. We don't have a doctor so I don't know how I am going to have them." Sophia said as she rubbed her belly. "Jonathan, you have to promise me one thing, please. If I die ever having these pups or having to protect them, please don't blame them. Please don't treat them badly like Joseph did to me. Promise me." Sophia said, sounding serious.
I didn't understand how she would even think I would treat my pup badly. I already loved them. I loved them the second Sophia's sister told me she was pregnant. "Sophia, I already love them. Cassie told me she let you use a pregnancy test and it was positive. I have loved them since then, even though I didn't at the time know it was them. I thought it was one pup. I would never treat any of the pups you give me horribly as he did you. I love you and I love anything you give me more than I thought I could." I said as I let a tear fall from my eye.
"I love you too." She said as she leaned forward and pressed her lips into mine again.
"Remember no matter what," I said as I pulled out the ruby pendant I had bought her for being my Luna. I pulled her into my chest before I dozed off a little. Before I fully fell asleep, there was a knock at the door. I was the one to open the door. She may be the Luna and that was an Alpha to this little pack, but I was still going to protect my mate.
I saw the Lycan that had challenged me for my pack. "You led me right to her. Good job." He said as he reached in and grabbed Sophia. Lance was enraged. He was angry that we had just found Sophia and now this Lycan was going to try and steal her and do who knows what to her. "Sorry, but I can't have your pup challenging me to try to get Blue Moon Pack back." He said as he shoved Sophia down to the ground.
I heard this deep menacing growl coming from the tree line. It was a terrifying growl before a jet-black Lycan with red burgundy eyes came charging out. I didn't know how I was going to fight off two Lycans, but I knew I would do whatever it took to protect my mate and unborn pups.
As the first Lycan put his hand on Sophia's neck, I saw her let a tear fall as she placed her arms over her belly. I tried to shove the Lycan off of her but I wasn't strong enough. I was slightly malnourished from my three months of searching for Sophia. He grabbed me by the neck and shoved me as the Lycan with red eyes took another step toward them and started to growl again. The Lycan with red eyes kept his eyes on Sophia as the first Lycan started to pull on her chin, causing her to whimper a little before she started screaming in pain. I saw my little pack had heard what was going on, but before I or anyone else had time to do anything more, the Lycan with red eyes attacked the Lycan, hurting Sophia.
"Sophia go and stand next to my dad and Ginsing," I said as the two Lycans fought. I didn't know why this new Lycan was defending Sophia. Perhaps it was Maximus but I wasn't taking my eyes off of them. If the red-eyed Lycan lost, the first Lycan would attack Sophia again and I wanted to be ready.