Hunted Down by His Alpha (2 page)

CHAPTER THREE

Hayden

“I’ve found him.”

I watched the other alphas freeze as my declaration washed over the room.

“Him? Your mate?” Soren, the youngest of us six asked as he sat up straighter.

I nodded and glanced over at the angelic baby resting in Wyatt’s arms. His mate had given birth to the little girl and four other boys two weeks ago and already the small child was growing at the rapid rate of our kind. As though nature had given us the ability so we could thrive even in danger, wolf shifters grew at an exponential rate up until they looked four years old in human time. In shifter time they were only a year old.

My heart tugged, yearning filling me as I watched the way Rune nestled into her father’s arms, so trusting. I wanted that with my mate. I wanted pups and a family with the other half of my heart. And I would have had it by now if he hadn’t been stolen away from me.

My wolf growled at the memory, gnashing its powerful jaws, and I felt it fight to come out and tear apart the man who’d taken our mate. I held back the shift and gripped the arms of my chair. It splinted beneath my hands and I ignored the sharp shards that sunk beneath my skin at the explosion.

“You have to go get him, he’s waiting for you,” Grey said softly, echoing what we all thought.

“I’m leaving tonight, after this meeting. He’s not far, six hours drive up north.”

“Do you need anyone to go with you?” Brevyn asked, his purple eyes held concern. They were all weary of what I could be potentially running into.

I shook my head. “No, I’ll go by myself. I can’t have any other wolf around him when I find him again. I won’t trust anyone other than me to be near him,” I growled.

Tobias
. His name floated through my head and I could almost smell the sweet scent of him, like honeysuckle and fresh grass, as I remembered him from five years ago. He’d been merely a pup then, far too young to be mated I’d argued, I’d wanted to give him more time to grow up. And he had, taken away from me—from our pack—he’d spent the last five years experiencing a life without me. But the time apart forced on us was going to come to an end. We were always meant to be together, two halves of a whole, one not complete without the other, and I wasn’t going to let him go a second time.

I remembered the adolescent love in his blue-green eyes as he promised me he didn’t need to wait, that he already felt the mate bond, that there was no point in holding off when we were fated to be together. His eyes had been more blue than green that day, the color of a clear lake, the way it got whenever he got highly emotional.

I’d pulled him to me and inhaled his scent as my wolf prowled impatiently in the cage of my human body. It wanted to mark him, claim him. It was only natural. He was ours and we were his.

I tried to block out that horrible fire the night he’d been taken, the carnage left in the wake of his disappearance. My wolf whined, keening low, the sound painfully broken as we remembered the pain of Tobias being ripped away from us.

When I went for the bastard who’d taken him, had him in my sights, I wanted no other wolf around me. I would have liked for there to be no humans either, but they were something we couldn’t avoid. If another wolf so much as went near him I knew I’d tear them apart.

“You best go now then,” Wyatt said as he stood. The baby snuffled against his chest and wrinkled her face before settling to the soft crooning noises he made.

The other alphas came over to hug me, their touch offers of support for my journey.

“We’ve gone over the important issues of pack business and the rest can wait until your return. Drive safely, Hayden, and bring him back. He’s as necessary to us, to our survival as he is to you.”

****

I sat in my truck, behind the wheel my eyes closed, as I let my mind reach out.

I’ve found you.

I watched as the sleek brown wolf darted past me, the moonlight catching on its sable coat. Every ripple of its muscles as it ran, every swing of its tail and fluid movement of its limber body as it darted between the trees calling to me. I threw my head back and howled, filling the air with my call before I shot after it, giving chase.

I laughed as Tobias’s wolf lowered itself to the forest floor and ran faster, tried to prolong the inevitable capture. I slowed down and let it gain some distance before spurring myself after it. The joy of the chase began to fade as need coursed through my blood. I wanted him. Now.

Leaves crunched beneath my paws as the distance closed and then I was running over gravel, the crisp clear scents of the woods fading into thick suffocating, toxic scents of the city. I picked through the smells looking for the sweet thread I knew instinctively and followed it as it ducked around a corner. The creak and clang of rusty metal above me alerted me to his location and I watched as his lithe human body scrambled up the staircase.

I grinned and leapt onto the railing, catching it with my hands and swinging up onto the landing as I smoothly shifted into human form. He was two stories above me and still climbing and I bared my teeth in a wolfish smile as I climbed after him. He was agile and fast and in moments he disappeared from view. I froze on the fourth floor and scented the air. I knew he was close, I could feel him.
There.

I spotted the small window and shifted back into my wolf. There was no way I’d get through in human form. I was too big, too bulky. It was a tight fit and I shifted back as I landed on my feet next to the sink. I ignored the cold cement of the bathroom floor and followed the sweet scent into the inner part of the apartment.

I found him. He was sprawled out on his bed, his t-shirt and sweats plastered to his body and looking so inviting that my cock hardened instantly. I could hear the pounding of his heart; the shaky inhale and exhale from the chase as he dragged in air. Sweat coated his skin, making him look slick under the glow of the sliver of moonlight that came through his cloudy window.

Mine. Ours.

I padded up to him, my wolf rumbling with need as I kept my eyes trained on him, too afraid to blink in case he disappeared from sight. Softly I climbed onto his bed and blanketed my body over his smaller one. I wanted to protect him, hold him.
Mine. Ours.

I watched as his eyes shot open and his blue-green eyes contracted at the sight of me. I drank in the sight of his face, so beloved to me. He’d grown. Of course he had. The planes of his face were sharper, the softness not as prominent as it had been five years ago but his mouth. Ahhh, it was still as full and irresistible as ever.

His cock had grown too, it was thicker and longer than I remembered as it pressed up against mine, as needy as my own. I could smell the thick scent of his arousal, of his pre-cum as I inhaled. I rubbed against him wanting to smell the combination of our scents. I growled as need coursed through my veins, licked at my blood and fanned the inferno roaring inside of me. He wriggled enticingly beneath me and I had to resist the urge to flip him over and sink my body into his.

I let out a shaky breath. I had to let him know he was safe, that I was coming for him. “The hunt is over, mate,” I said, my eyes promising that I wasn’t just giving him words. I felt his cock twitch against mine at my declaration and couldn’t fight the urge to rock against him, using my body to show him I was here. “I’ve found you,”
finally,
“and I will do it again and again.” Just as I had searched for all these five years. I’d never stopped looking for him. “You’re mine, little mate, and I will never let you go again.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Hayden

The acidic scent of fear slowly disappeared from him and I could tell he was starting to believe my words. He was finally starting to realize he’d be safe, in my arms and protected very soon.

His lips parted under my gaze and I couldn’t wait a moment longer. My fingers curled into his rough, thin sheets as I dipped my head and slanted my mouth over his. He tasted like sunshine and pure, unspoiled joy. I traced the seam of his lips, flicking at the soft seal preventing me from fully tasting him. His lower lip was soft and plump between my teeth as I nipped at it. I sucked it into my mouth as he moaned against me, his breath hot and soft. I swallowed his whimper of need before moving my mouth hungrily back over his. I swept my tongue into the hot, wet cavern of his mouth and felt him respond as his body surrendered up to mine.

I groaned as his hands slid up my back and gripped onto me, pulling me harder against him as he rocked his hips against mine. The heat between us was explosive as I devoured his mouth. With my tongue I simulated what my cock would do to his ass as I plunged it in and out of his mouth, fucking him as I yanked down his sweats and felt our copious pre-cum slick up our hard lengths as I rocked against him.

I pulled my mouth from his wanting to lick my way down his writhing body. I wanted to taste him, find all the places that would make him moan louder, beg harder. I didn’t get very far. His hands slid up to the back of my neck, his fingers sliding into my hair and entwining themselves in the thick, long strands as he pulled me back against his mouth.

His breath was hot against my mouth. “Please, more,” he begged, his voice rough with desire. His eyes were blue, dark and glazed as he stared up at me, his swollen red lips pouting as he reached up and tried to capture mine against his.

“This is only the beginning, little wolf.” When I finally held him in my arms it was going to be a long time before I let him out of them again. I’d take him, fuck him, claim him and mark him, and then I’d do it again and again. I smiled down at him, and crushed his mouth to mine as I poured my love and lust into him.
Soon. Soon I’ll have you.

“It’s time, Tobias.” I could feel my body pulling my consciousness back, the threads of our time together unraveling quickly. I had to leave him with my mark, so he’d know that this wasn’t just a dream. So he’d know that I was truly coming for him. That I was going to bring him home.

I dragged my teeth over the curve of his neck, inhaling his sweet scent and filling my head with it to keep me going on my search. “I’m coming for you,” I promised and then I bit down and marked him.

I pulled in a shuddering breath as the link severed.

There’d always been this unexplainable connection between us, something that I knew no other wolves had. It was as though when we were together I could feel a part of him slip into me, could see our wolves joining together even as we stayed as two separate entities. The link I had with him was a part of it. Even though it had nearly killed me when I’d thought that the connection had been severed all those years ago, that it had been caused by his death, I had still held out hope. Hope that he was alive, that he was well and safe, and when the link had sparked and connected back up a month prior, I’d known that it was only a matter of time before I found him again.

And now I had.

This past month I’d only been able to chase after him, never able to catch up, to let him know I was close, I’d be with him soon, but finally tonight, I had. And now he knew.

I started up the truck and pulled out of my driveway, starting the journey to where he was. I could still smell him, his scent perfuming the truck and filling my head. His small whimpers and breathy moans replayed over in my mind as familiar scenery flashed past into unfamiliar territory. It’d been a long time since I’d left the packlands, it’d only happened once nearly a year ago when Gray had found what he thought might be Tobias’s trail. It’d been a dead end and nothing had turned up since. But I’d kept Roman looking. My second-in-command, he’d been my enforcer before the merger and was still part of the alphas’ inner circle. He was also my cousin and the one who had been there from the beginning. He’d been the one who had come out of the burning house, his fur singed and covered in soot, as he told me Tobias was gone. Taken or killed, he didn’t know, but Tobias was no longer here.

He’d been with me through the grief and rage, pulled me back from the brink when I nearly went feral. I owed him my life and I knew he’d be the first I’d contact when at last I brought Tobias home.

The sun rose an hour before I reached the edge of the city, fingers of soft orange dancing over the tall buildings stretching towards the rapidly lightening sky. I was getting close.

I pulled up on the street next to the apartment I’d entered only hours ago. It was an old dirt red building, graffiti and other nasty fluids painting the chipped brick. I got out and slipped around the corner. The railing was as unsteady as I recalled it being as I swung up onto it and climbed to the fourth floor landing of the fire escape.

The small window was still slightly ajar and I pulled off my clothes, leaving them in a pile outside as I shifted and slipped into the apartment. In the cold light of day and without the need and thirst raging through my blood I could see that the interior was even worse than it looked on the outside and from what I remembered last night. I growled softly at the thought of him living in this dump when he could have been safe in our home with me. I sniffed and could detect no other scent or presence in the apartment as I left the bathroom.
Where have you gone, Tobias? Why did you leave when I’ve finally come for you?
He was bound to come back and I’d been searching for so long that a few hours of waiting shouldn’t have made a difference. But it did. I wanted him here, in my arms, now.

I moved around the tiny space, eyeing the lumpy mattress on the ground with distaste. It would be so much better when I could get us back to the king sized bed in our bedroom back home. I looked around but could find no signs of where he might have gone. I couldn’t sit here and wait all day for him to get back. I had to find him.

I stopped as I noticed the piles of pizza boxes neatly piled on top of a wooden crate.
Ronny’s Pizzeria.
I’d driven past the place on my way here. It was only two blocks away. I strode over to the window by his bed, briefly glancing down at the rumpled sheets and seeing him lying there as he had beneath me last night, before pushing open the window and climbing back out.

I pulled my clothes back on and leapt down the side of the escape, catching each railing as I dropped past it to soften my way to the ground. I landed softly and straightened up, then headed back the way I’d come.

The pizza shop was where I remembered it to be and I pulled open the door and stepped inside to find myself at the end of a long line. I wondered how there could be so many people waiting to consume the stuff at this time of day. It wasn’t even mid-morning yet.

I inhaled deeply, sorting through the scents of meat, yeast, cheese and body odor to find his scent. It was strong and sweet and I felt my wolf purr, not unlike a cat, at the intoxicating scent.

The line moved slowly and I could see the frustration on Tobias’s face as the large woman gestured wildly as she rattled off her order. My little wolf was nearly the end of his tether.

Fuck this.

I pushed past the line, ignoring her as the woman who looked like she was carrying a litter gave a strangled cry of offense. In my peripheral view I could see her glare and I blocked out her voice as she started yelling at me.

Tobias froze at the sight of me. “
You!
” he gasped. His eyes widened and the color drained from his face.

Shit. Was he going to faint?