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?"

she's hungry or needed a safe place to sleep, I didn't want to take that away from

worrying about her," he finishes

me.

my hand through my hair

care of training this morning. Go, talk

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

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 her or I will reject them from the

mark her. Kinsley would love

don't question Lucas' ability to watch the pack while I'm gone. He's my Beta

before I can think

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

would be in these woods is because they are hunting she-wolves on the run, one of those being my mate. When

has arisen with the she-wolves running is that 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,

for her scent. Since we know

she didn't go inside. 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

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

way into the space where Kinsley leaves the food. I realize that I should have brought some with

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to come back later, or I'll have to figure out how to get more here. I don't want hopeful she-wolves going hungry because of my distraction

inside, my heart drops. While I can smell her scent and the scent of the other she-wolf, neither of them are here. I lift my nose, sniffing

women slept 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 warmer than the earth around where she was sleeping. She hasn't been gone long.

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 to it,

scent.

open my

are several packs. that are close together.

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by the fluttering my heart makes at the sound of her voice.

my mate ponders her answer. Is she staying or are they going

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 borders, but you'll have to be fast. I don't

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

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

"Yes," my mate responds.

must be hard

it is," my mate

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This close to what?

the rustling of clothing and then the snapping of bones as

safe, and I hope our paths cross again," my mate

soft bark and then I hear her paws

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

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

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