The One He Claimed by Cooper

Chapter 13: Wait Hunter

I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep knowing she's out there. Alone. My mate.

I've thought through hundreds of scenarios of how to talk to her, to let her know that I won't force my mark on her, or claim her publicly, but I have no idea how to even get close enough to her in order to have a conversation with her.

Shaw has been no help. He's ready to hunt her down and mark her. He wants to claim his mate so no one else can. He's been pacing in my head, asking me every 15 minutes if we have any updates on where the Alphas are hunting.

When he asks me again, I snap.

'Shaw, it's the middle of the f**k**g night. No one has an update on any of the Alphas!' I bark at him.

"We should go to her, find her, protect her, make sure she's safe.'

'If she's safe and we show up, especially at night, she'll run.'

He growls at me and continues to prowl around in my head.

I sigh, sitting up. There was no use trying to get any sleep. Between me and Shaw, I won't be sleeping tonight.

I feel like a zombie by the time I have to get dressed for warrior

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training. I trudge down the stairs and I'm almost knocked over by Lucas who is practically sk**g down the stairs.

"Good morning, Alpha!" he sings, causing me to flinch at his much too loud tone.

"What's good about it," I grumble.

'It's good because we can finally go to her," Shaw grumbles in my head. He's as tired as I am, both of us working off of anxious adrenaline.

"Rough night?" Lucas asks me, his tone and demeaner much more muted.

I sigh. I haven't told anyone. I didn't even tell Kinsley yesterday on the way home. I look around, seeing the warriors all heading out back for training.

I take Lucas' arm and pull him into my office, closing my door. "This stays between me and you. For now, you can't even tell Kinsley," I say, turning to look at him. "Do I need to command you?"

He frowns at me. "When have you ever needed to command me to keep a secret, Alpha?" he asks, and I can hear the hurt in his voice.

I huff, running my fingers through my hair. "You're right, I apologize. I'm just..." I sigh and scrub my face roughly, trying to focus. When I look back at Lucas I can see his worry.

"I smelled her. Yesterday when Kinsley and I went to the place where she leaves the food for the she-wolves on the run, I smelled my mate. She was there. Chapter 13: Wait

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"Oh, f**k. What did you do?"

a safe place to sleep, I didn't want to take that away from her,

night worrying about her,"

me.

out a sigh, running my hand through my

me a moment. "Go. Go find her. I can take care of training this morning. Go, talk to her.

push forward, feel anger at my Beta. "Would you challenge me?" I

may challenge you and her as a Luna. Not just other Alphas, but also some in our pack. You need to be prepared for that." "If I mark her

mark her. Kinsley

mine, or both of ours, I don't question Lucas' ability to watch the pack while

I can think too much about it,

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smelled our mate. As we run, I catch the scent of local Alphas, but we also catch the scent

wolves would be in these woods is because they are hunting she-wolves on the run, one of those being my mate. When we cross their trail and smell the scent of only a few wolves,

fated mates. If they find a wolf and catch her, they claim her. So, the fact that this she-wolf is mine won't matter to them. And if they claim her first, the mate bond, my fated mate bond, will

areas where the forested mountain becomes rocky, Shaw slows, lifting his head into the air and sniffing for her scent. Since we know where the opening to the safe area is, we continue to make our way there while

my scent, it could have scared her off. But I'm hoping that she needed the food

we get closer, I catch her scent and the scent of another she- wolf, younger than my mate. I follow it to the entrance of the hiding spot that Kinsley

make my way into the space where Kinsley leaves the food. I realize that I should have brought some with me. Now,

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I don't want hopeful she-wolves going hungry because of my distraction with my mate. I've made a commitment

lift my nose, sniffing the air. Her orchid scent is filling the small space and

here last night. I walk around sniffing the ground until I find the spot where my mate slept. Her scent is strong. I touch the ground and realize that it is still

for the secret exit yesterday when Kinsley told me about it, but that must be how they got out. Otherwise, I would have seen them. I see the card sitting on the stone table and

scent.

and I open my senses, letting him guide

that are close together. You have to

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mate by the fluttering my heart makes at the sound of

while my mate ponders her answer. Is

in the middle there? That one is safe, and you are probably safe to go between their pack and the one to the left of them. There's about a mile between the pack borders, but you'll have

knows that his pack is safe. Alpha Dutton's pack is on the left of theirs from this perspective and it's also safe, although Dutton hasn't found his mate yet. I know he's not out hunting for a mate, but I also don't know that he wouldn't let an opportunity like that pass

my mate, but I don't

"Yes," my mate responds.

hard to be

is," my mate says

Chapter 13: Wait

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This close to what?

rustling of clothing and then the snapping of bones as

our paths cross again,"

her paws running off

and then I hear the tell-tale scratching of skin

move, not wanting to startle her and cause her to hurt herself. The fa**t place I can move in this small space is over by the main entrance. As I feel her getting closer, I take a deep breath of her scent. The moment she steps back into the space she stops. Her eyes go wide, and

hands up. "I could have captured you, but that's not the type of