Unexpected Mate (Hiatus/On Hold)

Chapter 1

The smell was the first thing that hit me.

Prey was near.

The rest of my pack could smell it, too. In fact, most of them were older than me, more experienced, and probably smelled it before I did. Although I was old enough to have quite a bit of experience myself, I just didn't. I never really liked going out on hunts. I liked helping, I just didn't like the gore, the fight, the sounds. In the end, it always paid off, though. The animal in me won over every time. I think if I were a human, I'd have been a vegetarian.

I felt my mouth watering a little, and licked my lips as my pack began running. I followed them, dodging and weaving around trees, shrubs, and stumps with ease.

Paws, thumping loudly against the soft ground. Too loud. We were getting too close. Suddenly, everyone slowed. I could smell the animal more strongly now. I could also smell water. We were near a stream.

My animal instincts began to rule over my human ones. I crouched closer to the ground as I lost touch with my inner human and allowed my wolf to take over.

Deer. I could smell the deer. In fact, there was more than one, and they had no idea that we were here. Soon we were just outside of a small clearing by the stream. I crouched down, following the lead of the other wolves, being as stealthy as possible.

Suddenly, another smell hit my nose. The scent was overwhelming. It smelled... amazing. It was wonderful. It didn't smell like prey at all. It was startling. Enough so that I let out a shrill sound causing most of the pack to look back at me. I was no longer crouched down, but almost sitting back on my rump.

I heard low snarles coming from a few pack members. I ignored them completely, knowing I would probably be punished later. But this smell...

It seemed familiar, like something I knew, but I could swear I'd never smelled it before.

I stuck my nose up in the air, ignoring my pack. The smell continued to entice me. I stood up then, and began tracking the scent. I walked calmly away from my pack, ignoring them completely, focusing only on the mysterious smell.

I noticed one wolf growling at me, but mostly they all just turned and continued hunting, probably wondering what had gotten into me. Suddenly, I heard my brother's voice in my head.

Cypress, what are you thinking? Where are you going?

I ignored his questioning, and sped up. The scent was getting stronger.

Seriously? You're going to ignore me? Cypress! You're going to be in so much trouble.

I tried to tune his voice out. It wasn't too hard while I was focused otherwise.

The smell led me to the edge of the forest. Just outside of the perimeter, I could see a small brown house. I suddenly realized what the scent was, and it terrified me.

I mean, I had been bullied a bit by my pack for this not happening sooner, but I had just assumed something was wrong with me and that it wouldn't ever happen. But now...

Instincts don't lie, and mine were telling me that my mate lived in that house. But something about it didn't seem quite right.

Cypress, dammit, don't make me come after you.

He just doesn't give up, does he. I guess I would have to get him off my back before I could go about finding my mate.

Callum, I called out to him in our minds. Not now. I'll talk to you later. I don't care if I'm in trouble.

I could almost feel him sighing. He was annoyed with me, and I could understand that.

Alright, but you've got some explaining to do later. You're lucky you didn't scare away the deer. By the way, you probably won't get to eat any of it tonight unless you high tail it back home to help clean these things.