Chapter 2 2- Mates.

Tess examines the wound on the animal with her trusted first aid kit by her side. The injury keeps bleeding no matter the amount of pressure applied on it. While still trying to stop the flow of blood, Tess feels a lump and pauses. Lodged into the injury, she finds a silver metal.

Wondering how it ended up there, she tentatively pulls it out. The beast growls and Tess jumps back.

"Wolfie, please don't hurt me. I am just trying to help," Tess says, taking a slow step backward.

Tess regrets dropping her pan although it would not have been of much help against the huge animal.

The werewolf opens his eyes to the most beautiful sight. Emerald jewels zone in on him as the slim belle takes more steps away.

Every werewolf knows that you are destined to come across your mate after you clock eighteen, so it should not rock the alpha to his core, but it does.

The woman in front of him is bewitching; blonde locks frame the petite face and as much as the wolf wants to rub every part of his body on her, he refrains.

It would do more harm than good. Tess is scared, and she walks even faster towards her house, all the while keeping her gaze on the oversized animal in her backyard.

When the wolf turns his gaze away to ease his mate, she runs up the steps to her kitchen and locks the sturdy door behind her.

Tess drops to the floor with a thump and grasps her shaky hands together; she has never been this excited. There is undeniable fear for her life but also a thrill. There is a force that propels her towards the animal and she would like to blame the same force as the reason why she peeks through her kitchen window at the wolf. She is still worried about the injured animal and her worry increases when the spot where the wolf was is empty.

Tess looks out for a while and anxiously makes her way back to the living room with her heart still beating wildly; what is happening?

The wolf stares at the house from his hiding spot in the bushes and only looks away when someone approaches.

"Sir, are you alright? We came immediately we heard your howl," Ryan says worriedly.

The Beta holds a pair of shorts for the other to take. Logan shifts back to his human form and unsurprisingly, his injuries are healed.

"Whatever she removed must have been laced with wolfsbane," The alpha mumbles.

"Wolfsbane? What?" Sam, the head pack warrior inquires.

The tired Alpha does not answer either of the men and instead focuses his attention on the third male.

"What are you doing here? You said you were with your mate and too far away? Will, you better have a good reply," Logan growls.

Will raises his hands placatingly, "Clara lives in this town, and I could not come immediately. I was... Preoccupied. B-but immediately I heard you, I rushed here; Ryan was in the forest already."

The three men look at each other puzzled when their Alpha does not scold them for being complacent.

"I am going home. Be in my office first thing tomorrow. I need some rest." Logan says.

"Yes, sir, "They chorus.

Ryan finds his friend's behavior strange; the black-haired Alpha has had a faraway look since they arrived.

The Beta mind links Logan,

'What's up with you? You look dazed,' but the reply comes in a sloppy grin only.

Logan spares one last look towards his mate's abode before leaving.

Tess senses his eyes on her; it comes from a deep instinct within her that someone is watching. Or it could be her paranoia. It is not every day you come in contact with a wild beast and leave unharmed. Although the animal looked too clean to be wild; who would train such a large hound?

The maiden gets distracted from her thoughts by the buzzing of her phone. Judging by the music coming from the noisy device, she knows it is her friend Clara and it draws a smile out of her.

"Hey," Tess speaks softly.

"I am so sorry Tess, I-" Clara starts talking.

"Let me guess, due to some important reason that I cannot know, you will not be able to come over. I don't even know why I try," Tess cuts the call with a sigh.

She leaves the phone to ring angrily for as long as she sees Clara's username on the screen. Will's name pops up next and Tess feels awful knowing that her friend chose the blonde man over her... Again.

Tess knows she is being petty because she doesn't have anything against Will; on the contrary, she likes that he makes Clara light up, but tonight, she feels extra lonely. Tonight especially.

Dragging her feet to her bed, Tess screams into her pillow when her cell phone rings once again; she yanks the little object to her ears.

"Clara, I swear to God-"

"It's not Clara, it's me, Trevor." a male voice replies.

Raising a brow at the unexpected voice, Tess mentally facepalms for not checking the caller ID.

"Hey Trevs, what's up? Sorry, I thought it was Clara," Tess says to her older cousin.

He chuckles heartily, "Well I just thought I would remind you that we are going home for Mum's birthday this weekend."

"Like I could forget mum's birthday," Tess jests. She forgot about it.

"Good, Damon sends his greetings. Until we meet at Mum's." Trevor replies in a rush.

After college, Trevor and Damon moved out of their mother's house with the blonde woman following suit a year later. It has not been easy meeting up since then, so Tess is looking forward to seeing her family. Then there is that weird feeling she had when she saw that wolf. What was that?

Falling asleep to the sweet thoughts her mind only awakes when her persistent phone rings once more. The sun peaking into the room through a small gap between her closed curtains tells her it is morning.

She cannot believe she slept like a baby. Tess picks up her phone immediately she sees Matt's the caller; he hardly calls.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tess. I just wanted to let you know that Boss said we could take the day off; to rest, she says." Matt's gruff voice sounds through the device.

"Thanks, I am sore all over. Well, have a nice day," Tess beams.

The petite woman does a little dance in jubilation and then goes back to sleep.

.

.

.

Logan takes a shower upon reaching his house. He thinks back to his encounter with his mate.

"Damn, people should give the mate-bond more credit," Logan whines.

The Alpha clutches his chest as the image of pale skin comes to the surface in his mind.

The way he gawked at her, he was fairly certain he could make a body suit of her while blindfolded. The large shirt that stopped him from running his tongue all over her skin did a poor job of hiding her curves.

Logan licks his upper canine and his eyes darken. If this is how his heart would keep skipping beats then he isn't sure he can survive.

Tiredness seeps through his bones and the Alpha falls asleep dreaming of his blonde mate.

Not too deep into his nap, a weight crashes on him, making him sit erect. There goes the best sleep he has had since he clocked eighteen. Loneliness has become a companion in place of a mate.

"What the," the Alpha asks groggily.

"Uncle Logan, wake up, let's play." his assailant replies.

"Steve, how did you get here? Wait, where are your parents?" Logan asks.

Just then, Logan gets attacked with a pillow. A woman with midnight black hair stands above him.

"What do you think you are doing, sleeping in the middle of the day?" she says.

With a grumble, the Alpha turns to his side, facing away from the woman smiling mischievously.

She barely makes a move when her mate speaks sternly,

"Addie, I doubt that's a good idea," Ryan chides.

At this, Logan turns to face them all. Ryan, the Alpha's little sister, and their five-year-old son Steve are currently in his room disrupting his peace.

When Logan drags himself to the John, he has to flush his face with water multiple times before stepping out, seriously rethinking giving his buddy a spare key.

When he returns, Ryan lays alone on the bed watching him but he ignores the look and asks instead,

"where are they?"

"Addie is making some food in the kitchen, Steve is with her. I needed some time alone with you, what's going on?" Ryan questions worriedly.

"I am tired," the Alpha lies.

"I can tell, but I am talking about what happened earlier. For someone who was just injured, you looked a tad bit too relaxed." The Beta notes.

Logan looked everywhere else, glaring at the table beside him.

"Spill it", Ryan reads the alpha fluently.

Sighing, Logan mutters,

"I found her," so quiet that if it weren't for Ryan's enhanced hearing, he would not have heard it.

"Found her? What do you mean found her... You found your mate... When? Don't tell me... You found her today?" Ryan asks intrigued.

Logan nods stiffly, "There is a huge problem though."

What problems stand between the Alpha and his mate? Who attacked the man and why? How will Tess react to meeting her fated?