To Walk Alone

- lost -

- Jake -

Sniffing the ground, Jake let out a furious snarl. No scent, no tracks – thank you rain -, no sign of her anywhere. She slipped through their paws at the last possible moment and completely vanished. How unfortunate the rock wall she slipped through was too narrow for Jake's oversized pack, and he snarled again.

Ben lowered his head submissively. He was the tan wolf she'd taken advantage of and managed to slip by. It was Jake's fault really; he should have been able to tell she would be looking for the quickest way out. He should have been more careful when he mind-linked the others. Deciding on the best course of action could have waited until he managed to convince her to shift.

'I'm sorry Alpha,' came Ben's voice through the mind-link.

Paws on the wet earth drew their attention to the trees, and Lucas and Lane emerged from the cover of the brush. They shook their heads; there was no sign of her.

Frustration built up inside Jake's chest, along with...longing? Confusion? He hated that she was gone, and for reasons he could not explain he hated that he wanted to be close to her. He hated that she felt like she needed to run. He hated the entire situation. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close, to press her body against his and reassure her that nothing bad would ever happen to her.

What the fuck?!

Jake mentally shook his head. Where did those thoughts come from? For crying out loud, it wasn't like she was his mate!

'Get back to town,' he ordered. 'We're far too late on our arrival.'

No doubt Alpha Korbin would be anxious. They were supposed to arrive hours ago, and darkness had now fallen. The storm continued to pound down on top of them, washing away any sign of their mystery wolf. His own wolf growled in frustration.

Their vehicles were still parked outside the restaurant, no doubt the waitress had cursed them out for their abrupt departure. If Jake and his crew was hungry before, now they were extra hungry. They needed to get back to town and Jake needed to contact Alpha Korbin before a search party was organized. If it hadn't been already. He was supposed to check in with his Beta Cooper back home once he arrived. Unfortunately, he was too far out of range to mind-link Cooper to let them know why they missed their check in.

Tuck limped along on three legs as they went, and Jake felt a pang of anger, not towards the warrior, but towards the she-wolf. She never even touched him, and here he was nursing a dislocated shoulder. The shoulder would heal and pop back in place once Tuck shifted, and he might sport some nice bruising for a few days, but he would be fine.

How the hell did she manage to take out one of Jake's toughest warriors?

Tuck must have felt Jake's conflicting glances, because he lowered his head and trudged along behind the rest of the group submissively.

What was it about that she-wolf that had Jake so transfixed? The moment he saw her in the diner he knew there was something about her that had him hooked. He didn't mean to scare her, but perhaps his advance in the restaurant was what made her bolt. She threw her bag aside before shifting, perhaps there was something in there that would give him a clue as to who the hell she was.

'Jake, we'll have to ask about her, and apologize to Alpha Korbin or Alpha Johnny,' Lucas said as he mind-linked with Jake.

Lucas and Cooper were the only pack members on a first name basis with Jake, unless they were forced to mingle with humans of course. Being called 'Alpha' in front of a human only raised avoidable questions and strange looks.