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?"

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

didn't sleep all night worrying about her," he

me.

huff out a sigh, running my hand through my hair

moment. "Go. Go find her. I can take care of training this morning. Go, talk to her. But Alpha, if you mark her, if you do

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

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 pack,"

to let you mark her.

to her. Whether it's Shaw's need, mine, or both of ours, I don't question Lucas' ability to watch the

turn and before I can think too much about it, Shaw pulls

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run, I catch the scent of local Alphas, but

is because they are hunting she-wolves on the run, one of those being my mate. When we cross their trail

first. One of the problems that 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

up into the 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 he searches for her

go inside. If she caught my scent, it could have scared her off.

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

leaves the food. I realize that I should have

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mate, I'll either have 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 with my mate. I've made a

lift my nose, sniffing the air. Her

gone. It also looks like both 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. Then I see the bag. I reach out and take

would have seen them. I see the card sitting

scent.

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

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

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

my mate ponders her answer. Is she

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 borders, but you'll have to be fast. I don't know if that pack is hunting she-wolves, so skirt closer to the one on

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

hear Penny say something quietly to my mate, but

"Yes," my mate responds.

hard to

it is," my mate says

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This close to what?

then

hope our paths

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

the tell-tale scratching of skin and clothing against the rocky surface of

the main entrance. As I feel her getting

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