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?"

I was afraid I'd scare her off. If she's hungry or needed a safe place to sleep, I

didn't sleep all night worrying about her,"

me.

my hand through

training this morning. Go, talk to her. But

feel Shaw push forward, feel anger at my Beta.

other Alphas, but also some in our pack. You need to be prepared for that." "If I mark her and she agrees to return with me, they will

"Then go, convince her to let you mark her.

Whether it's Shaw's need, mine, or both of ours, I don't question Lucas' ability to watch the pack while I'm gone. He's my Beta for

can think too

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our mate. As we run, I catch the scent of

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, I

members don't only search for their 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

into the air and sniffing for her scent. Since we know

If she caught my scent, it could have scared her off. But I'm hoping that she needed the food and shelter more than she feared

the hiding spot that Kinsley found and I

Kinsley leaves the food. I realize that I should

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figure out how to get more here. I don't want hopeful she-wolves going hungry because of my distraction with my mate.

of them are here. I lift my nose, sniffing

ground and realize that it is still warmer than the earth around where she was sleeping. She hasn't been gone long. Then I see the bag. I

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 s**h it up. I find where the back

scent.

open

careful, Penny. If you go that way, there are several packs. that are close together. You have to be very careful not to

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lands," my mate instructs. I know it's my mate by the fluttering my heart makes at the sound of

while my mate ponders her answer. Is she staying

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 to be fast. I don't know if that pack is hunting she-wolves, so

think about where my mate is directing the younger she-wolf. The middle pack that she'd see from up here would be Alpha Carter's pack. I wonder how she 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

to my mate, but I don't hear what

"Yes," my mate responds.

hard to be

my mate says

Chapter 13: Wait

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This close to what?

hear the rustling of clothing and then the snapping of bones

our paths

lets out a soft bark and then I hear her paws running off in

and then I hear the tell-tale scratching of skin and clothing against the rocky surface of what must be

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

captured you, but that's not the type of man I am. Please, I just want to talk to you," I say