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?"

or needed a safe place to sleep, I

all night worrying

me.

running my hand through my

Go find her. I can take care of training this morning. Go, talk to her. But Alpha, if

anger at my Beta. "Would you challenge me?" I growl

more than I ever did. But others 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 and she agrees to return with me, they will accept

nods. "Then go, convince her to let you mark her. Kinsley would love to have another female

need, mine, or both of ours, I don't

can think too much about it,

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

only 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

now, ranked 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 them. And if they claim her first, the mate bond, my fated mate bond, will be gone forever.

head into the air and sniffing for her scent. Since we know where the opening to the safe

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

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

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

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more here. I don't want hopeful she-wolves going hungry because of my

my nose, sniffing the air. Her orchid

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

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 is and I walk over

scent.

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

that way, there are several packs. that are

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mate by the fluttering my heart makes at the sound of her voice. "Which way do you think is safer?" the

for a moment while my mate ponders her answer.

should head toward the packs. See the one in the middle there? That one is safe, and you are probably safe to go

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 like that pass him by if one landed, at his front door. So, my

something quietly to my mate, but I don't

"Yes," my mate responds.

must be hard to be this

my mate says

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This close to what?

clothing and then the

hope our

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

hear my mate sigh and then I hear the tell-tale scratching of skin

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

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