Three years ago, in a not so far off, densely forested area up the side of a mountain…
Hey! Lay low, or they will see us! I keep telling you, it's like you never went to training. What's with your combat skills today, Ma'Heron?
"Lyon, seriously, if you don't shut up and let me listen, I'll have to get closer and we will be discovered! Just shut up!" M murmured as he swiftly ran Assassin's Creed style while dodging trees and various kinds of vegetation to another spot at the edge of the forest.
I just don't get how and when you got so clumsy.
"The same day I got a wolf who NEVER SHUTS UP!" M growled through gritted teeth.
Damn, you sure need a mate.
"I need no such thing. I'm happy with what I am too. Sorry for you that you got stuck with me, but yes, 'loving' someone just because of the Moon Goddess is not part of my life goals. Now let me work. We need this information on the Dark Forest Pack since we heard the rumors that they were planning a strategic move against us."
Ok, I'll shut up, but then don't ask me why I don't confirm WHEN WE DO find our mate. Jackass!
Thank you! I'll appreciate that. Here, finally, a spot where we can watch the Dark Forest boundary in peace. PEACE, WOLF! Please try to understand that concept while we complete our mission…
Lyon rested in the back of Ma'Heron's mind after that. They have this annoying younger brother-wise older brother relationship, and M wasn't happy about his wolf's personality traits when it came to missions.
After all, he was the logical one, the planner, the one who calculated, assessed, and then reacted.
Except for any occasion in which feelings were involved.
Now that Lyon was finally quiet, he remembered the conversation earlier with his Alpha which is why he's spying on a pack known to be their rival for quite a number of generations already.
* * *
"Morning, M, good to see you!"
"Hey, V, how's everything?"
Vincent was sitting behind his desk, and Aaron was standing right behind him, as both seemed to be checking something on the Alpha's laptop.
"Hey, bro! Come here, you need to see this!" the Beta smilingly said.
"If it was only you asking me, I would be pretty sure it's porn," The Gamma said as he walked to the only two werewolves with a higher rank than him in the Silvercrest Pack.
"Ouch!" Aaron said in one of his typical overdramatic joking tones. "That hurt, bro! I have feelings too, you know?"
"Yeah? And that's your excuse why you've bedded more than half the pack already?"
"Yeah, well… those are feelings too, but what would you know about those, right?" Aaron countered while raising his eyebrow and smirking.
"You two, this is our mission today, so focus here. We got this video anonymously sent to the packhouse email. Aaron and I checked it already while waiting for you," V stated firmly, interrupting his Beta and Gamma's usual play bantering.
"Ok, let's see it then."
V pressed a button on his laptop. The screen was purely black and a disembodied cyborg-sounding voice starts to speak…
"Good morning, Alpha Vincent. I'm sending this information to help. It's your choice if you take it seriously or not. You might wonder why I'm doing this since I'm so close to the subjects in the video that I'm able to gather this information for you. The answer is that I can't agree with what's wrong. And this is very wrong. Now it is your choice if you doubt it or act on it."
The muffled, obviously edited narration ended, and then a CCTV video where Alpha Arnout Van der Meer, of their neighboring pack, Dark Forest, can be seen speaking to someone on his mobile.
"Yes. Yes, I agree with that too. Not only will it secure my pack, but will also allow you to get closer to what you want with Silvercrest. I think it's a win-win situation." He paused for a moment as the other person on the line kept talking.
"No, I don't think she would ever be prepared to lead the pack on her own."
M has now squinted at the word "she" as he rifled through his memories' information about the Van der Meers. He suddenly remembered that Alpha Arnout didn't have any sons.
"Mates? No, I don't think so either. If she had found a mate by now, I wouldn't be doing this, but she couldn't manage to do that either." A pause as the speaker listened to his caller…
"Against Silvercrest? We can't afford it… but it would secure jobs for our pack members, and a better financial standing in general."
Ma'Heron had to scoff at hearing the last phrase. This is the cross he had to bear as Gamma, dealing with the many greedy gold-diggers and ambitious social climbers that constantly haunted his Alpha and pack.
"No, I never thought of mating her with him. There are legends about him and his 'destined mate' and though I don't believe that bullshit, it's my understanding that he does."
V's hand curled into a fist at this part. He's comfortable with people talking about him and his choices, but this was too personal a statement to ignore.
"Had I chosen to 'partner' with them, as you call it, I wouldn't be talking to you." Now it's V's turn to scoff.
"Ok. Will see you in three days."
The conversation ended there, and the video finished a few seconds later.
Aaron was the first to speak. "What do you think of that, M?"
"Well, facts are that Dark Forest is planning an alliance and that whoever Van der Meer is getting as an ally, he's against us as well."
"Whoever sent this left the timestamp, so we knew that this has been going on for some time. We need a way to get more information and that's why I'm sending you, Ma'Heron. You've suggested in the past that the warriors on patrol were a great source of information, so eavesdrop, record, take pictures, or whatever you think can help us find out what is happening, so we can avoid this issue becoming too big, too fast."
"This could be a trap too, so you should get some warriors with you," Aaron added. "We can't spare Myron and R right now since they're handling something else."
"I know Dark Forest is about a third the size of our pack, but still, no enemy should be underestimated. I'm sure you agree with that," Vince stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes, Alpha. I will plan accordingly and leave at the earliest. Will report as soon as I'm back."
A few hours later, M approached their territory's border alone. He decided that taking warriors with him would make it harder to go unnoticed, so he chose to set aside his Alpha and Beta's "suggestions" for this mission.
"I know our warriors are well trained, but there are things that should be done on my own," he explained to Lyon before they traveled for their mission.
And with that thought, he changed into his full military-grade bodysuit, packed his gear and gadgets fit for the mission, and left the packhouse.
* * *
Ma'Heron ended his thoughts with a short, irritated sigh. "Damn, those warriors are no gossip at all. I've been here for an hour already and haven't gotten anything. Is it possible that it's just a thing that Van der Meer is planning without anyone knowing?" he muttered even lower than a whisper.
"Oh, by the way, did you hear about the wedding?" one of the warriors casually said.
Wedding? It would make sense. Finally, some pointers! Yes! Keep talking and tell me all about it!
But that was the last thing he heard.
Out of nowhere, a strong sweeping kick threw him, butt first, to the ground with his chest painfully throbbing where his attacker had connected solidly.
Fuck! How come I didn't even smell that coming!?
His enemy wasn't talking. Wearing a camouflage bodysuit like his, her slim, curvaceous, tempting figure distracted him for a moment.
Oh wow! I want to play with her! Look how beautiful she is, M!
Lyon was once again talking to him.
"Damn it, this is not the right moment for you to appreciate how seductive she is. She's attacking us, and we need to fight!"
Seductive, huh? Oh, and there's no way in hell that I'll fight her. You're on your own, Bro!
"What the hell!? Lyon, are you resentful because of what we talked about before?" But the answer was silence.
She was charging at him once again, and he only had time for a couple of quick dodges before quickly getting up to start fighting her off.
Her face was covered, and she even wore a hoodie hiding even a glimpse of her hair. Meanwhile, he still couldn't understand why he couldn't smell her, even if she was right in front of him.
"Lyon! Why can't I smell her? Are you playing tricks on me? Damn it wolf, you're gonna get us killed!"
She managed to connect three continuous hits on him - a solid punch to his throat, a strong double kick to his eight-pack - adding to his disoriented state due to what was happening.
Why is my body responding to her in this weird way? I can even feel… Seriously? A hard-on? Right now?!
He finally connected one punch to her abdomen. She visibly flinched, but that didn't slow her down much. He had to do better, and his body kept resisting to fight her. But it was not just that…
She was a skilled fighter and a more than worthy opponent, And she being lighter and faster than him was getting him beaten badly. If this was a training gig, even a damned sparring session, which was the typical routine at the packhouse, he would have challenged her then.
Even admired her…
But the way his body was reacting, and how his wolf had seemingly abandoned him?
He knew he was in trouble.
She threw a punch to his face, and he finally managed to catch her fist with both hands and perform an Ushiro-Goshi hold on her, slamming her hard against the ground and taking the air out of her lungs.
While she remained motionless, recovering from his attack, he grabbed all his belongings and sprinted away as fast as he could from the area. He would have chosen to turn, but his wolf was still unreachable.
Meanwhile, the unknown woman finally managed to sit on the ground, still hardly breathing while taking her mask off. The warriors came running after hearing the end of the commotion and helped her up.
"Are you ok, Miss Alexia?" one of the warriors asked.
"Yes Hans, don't worry, I am. Whoever he was, he didn't harm me."
"Did you recognize him?"
"No, it could have been a curious, lost human, but I'm sure he won't come back."
It doesn't matter if you run, she thought. I saw your face. I know who you are, and I will find you… Mate.
* * *
M was in the shower, removing all the dirt, sweat, and blood he got from the fight, and was getting ready to be laughed at as he presented his report. He was still yelling at Lyon, who still refused to talk.
Why wasn't my body responding, Lyon? Tell me what the hell did you do to me? Since when do we have a problem defending ourselves from a battle? Even if she is a freaking skilled warrior, what the hell just happened?
His muscled body was bruised and the cuts he got were quickly healing, but they were all still burning as the steamy water from the shower hit them. He found himself hissing in pain, but his wounded pride was smarting even more than his physical wounds. And he was unloading his fury on his still silent wolf.
And can you tell me why the fuck did we get a hard-on in the middle of a fight!? I DEMAND THAT YOU ANSWER ME LYON!
Ok, you wanna know? Good, then. Let me show you what your own senses refused to recognize.
Suddenly a sweet fragrance, like honeydew and lemongrass, came to him.
What the hell?
Memories of her invaded his thoughts. He allowed himself to be immersed in his internal visions, more attentive to her moves and reactions this time.
She wasn't a warrior, or she would have alerted the others, even if she could single-handedly take us down. She belonged to that pack, M. There was no other reason for her to attack.
At some point, especially after her first kick, she could have easily taken control of the situation, even knocked me out, taken me in for interrogation, since I didn't even notice she was there… and this… Lyon, are you telling me that this is her smell?
Damn, Ma'Heron, I'm seriously surprised. You're deductive and smart in any situation but with this one… tsk, tsk, tsk. Remember what I said when we were arguing? The last thing I said?
Yes, you said you wouldn't let me know when we found our… Slow, man… too slow.
Oh damn, Lyon… that's why you refused to fight her!
And your own body and senses reacted to her, but your brain couldn't process it. Funny how your brain is stupid, but your heart isn't.
"Holy fuck! I found my mate…"
It took him about half of an hour to realize that he was still in the shower.
And still thinking of her…