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 want

sleep all night worrying about

me.

a sigh, running my hand

this morning. Go, talk to her. But

feel anger at my Beta. "Would you challenge

a Luna. Not just other Alphas, but also some in our pack. You need to be prepared for

let you mark her. Kinsley would love to have another female

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

think too much about it, Shaw pulls

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the scent of local Alphas,

reason ranked 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, I know that

find a wolf and catch her, they claim her. So, the fact that

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

have scared her off. But I'm hoping that she needed the food and shelter more than she feared my

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 found and I smile. If nothing else, I know my mate has eaten recently and hopefully she slept here last night. If I'm really

space where Kinsley leaves the food. I realize that

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out how to get more here. I don't want hopeful she-wolves going hungry because of my distraction with my mate. I've made a commitment to help. these she-wolves and I need to fulfill that. I'll just have

neither of them are here. I lift my nose, sniffing the air. Her orchid scent is filling the small space and the small bit of air blowing around in here is wafting her

is strong. I touch the 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 reach out and take the bag, bringing it to my nose. This is my mate's bag. It's possible that

begin looking around. I hadn't looked 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 s**h it up. I find where the back exit

scent.

mind and I open my senses, letting him guide me to whatever

packs. that are close together. You have to be very careful not to cross Chapter

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lands," my mate instructs. I know it's my mate by the fluttering my heart makes at the sound of her voice. "Which way do you think

ponders her answer. Is she staying or

we hadn't heard the sounds of wolves nearby last night, I'd say go the other way, but since we did, I think you should head toward the packs. See the one 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

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

something quietly to my mate, but I don't hear what

"Yes," my mate responds.

hard

my mate

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This close to what?

the rustling of clothing and then the

our

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

I hear the tell-tale scratching of skin and clothing against the rocky surface of what must be the exit. She's

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 she immediately starts to turn

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