Our Wild Mate *Teaser*

5 There's Always a Choice

Gryphon

I stand watching long after she's out of sight. When she paused at the top of the bluff, I felt a strong longing, hoping she'd come back, but she didn't.

Our goodbye felt final.

Cole took off, not wanting to be around, and Logan was gone back to the woods right after breakfast. He's always struggled with goodbyes, though I didn't miss how she looked for them.

"Did we do the right thing?" I ask. Finn stands watching with the same thoughtful look on his face.

He shrugs. "What else could we have done? Are you the type to keep her here against her will?" His knowing look speaks volumes. None of us would ever stoop to that level.

"You know what I mean," I drawl. "I can't help but feel like we should have done something more."

He shakes his head and walks towards the back door. "No, that one's wild. If she was easy to catch, someone would have managed to by now."

I frown, considering his words, and he's absolutely right. From the moment I set eyes on her, she was different. She didn't have the pampered attitude of a she-wolf used to being spoiled.

There's a feral edge to her, fearless and determined. Part of me wonders if she would have been able to take that talix down by herself... she already made a great start.

My mind wanders to her pack. She's strong enough, but I doubt she's a lone wolf, so why was she alone? I didn't scent any males on her, so I doubt she has mates, but surely she has a family?

I can only imagine how worked up they must be. Lord knows if I had a daughter, and she went missing, I'd tear the woods apart to find her.

Finn goes about his day, leaving me to my thoughts. I haven't even seen Cole, though the racket from the garage hints that he's taking his frustrations out on his bike.

'Logan?' All I feel is white noise. He's probably high in the mountains or something.

Halfway through the day, I hear a truck come up the drive. Defying all logic, I head out, hoping to see she's come back, but of course, it isn't her.

"Gryph." Old man Carter waves as he steps out of his pickup. "Brought that beef Finn asked for in trade."

I head out and grab the cooler from the back of his truck. The weight of it has me arching a brow.

"Don't give me that look. Hear me out first." I set the cooler down and he opens it up, pulling a couple of packs out. "Rib steaks, tenderloin, all premium cuts. What do you say, one to one?"

I frown, mulling the options over. Carter's pack has been a great trading partner for years, always eager for talix meat when we get one, but our standard trade is two pounds to one.

"Throw in a couple of packs of burgers, and you've got a deal," I concede.

He breaks out into a wide grin and holds out his hand to shake. "Dee is so excited, she's fixing the sides now!"

I chuckle and dig out the meat we owe, replacing it with premium stakes and beef cuts while the old man looks around.

He pauses by the couch and scents the air before slowly turning to me and grinning. "Finns been holding out on us," he muses. His knowing look just shines at my reaction and lack of an answer.

"I don't know what you mean?" I shift my attention fully to the task at hand and getting the old coot out before he can dig any more.

"No? Nothing about a wee she-wolf? About yay high?" He motions to Nadia's height and my heart begins to race. "Auburn hair like her mama, eyes as green as spring grass, not ringing a bell, hmm?"

"You know her?" Finn asks. He slipped out while I was distracted and heard it all.

"Aye, Loch's little clone." The old man nods, reaching for the cooler.

"Whoa wait." I snatch the cooler up and he just smirks, knowing he has us by the balls.

He raises a brow. "Thought there was nothing new?"

"Well, it's, um... well, complicated," I blurt out.

"With that one, no doubt." He chuckles.

I grab a pack of talix steaks I was planning to keep for ourselves, but hold them up, knowing he's not one to pass up an opportunity. The old man's eyes follow the steaks and he nods, taking the bait.

"What's that gonna cost me?"

"Not a cent, just information," I counter.

"Done. What do you want to know?" He sinks down into a nearby chair and waits, his gaze shifting between us.

"Somehow, everything doesn't sound like a suitable place to start?" I reply with a laugh.

"I'm too old for that," he dryly replies.

"How's she unclaimed?" Finn cuts right to the core, not bothering with small talk.

Carter throws his head back and roars with laughter. "How do you know she's not?"

"There's no mark, scents... I thought you said you don't have time-"

"She's done a number on you, yeah?" He leans in and looks at me with a new light. "How'd you even meet her? Nadia isn't one to run around."

"This isn't about us, it's about her," I grow.

"Fine, fine, but there's not much to say," he muses. "She's a wild one, refuses to settle down."

"We already know that," Finn complains.

"Aye, but do you know where she's going to be next weekend?" His knowing grin says he does. "Her sisters coming back for a visit and will be heading to the hall to celebrate."

Before we can grill him more, Carter gets up and snatches the steak from my hands before grabbing the cooler and heading out. He pauses in the doorway and looks over his shoulder one last time.

"You've gotten farther than anyone else has. I suggest you not blow it." With his final words of wisdom, he heads back to his truck and leaves.

"The fuck?" I gasp. "How is carrying an unconscious wolf home getting far?!"

"Well, she didn't run." Finn shrugs with a goofy smile.

"She had a concussion," I deadpan, making him laugh.

"You once limped home with two broken paws and cracked ribs... she had a headache." He flashes me a pointed look to drive his point home. "If she wanted to, she could have slipped away in the night."

"I didn't have a choice," I grumble. One of my near-death experiences from getting too close to someone toxic, a lesson I'll never forget.

"There's always a choice, brother." He claps my shoulder and heads out back, his grin going ear to ear.

I run my hand through my hair and groan. We haven't been to the hall in years, not since everything went south with Jo. Logan hated it before then and isn't likely to have changed his mind.

But for a chance to get to know Nadia? He might just suffer all the social posturing and bull shit. Cole is a different matter entirely.

This gives us a week to get them on board. Hell, I'd go solo at this point, but that doesn't paint a good picture. There are protocols to meet and unwritten rules to follow.

'You get Cole on board and I'll work on Logan,' I link. I haven't felt this sense of hope in so long and yet part of me is terrified that the rug will be pulled out from us again.

'Where do you think I am?' He cheerily replies.

My gaze rakes across the sprawling forest and foothills in the distance, knowing Logan's out there somewhere.

Great, that leaves me looking for a needle in a haystack.