Chase the Moon (On Hold)

Sixteen

Hours stretched into days, days stretched into weeks, and the more time I spent alone in the woods, the more I started to doubt myself and my purpose for this journey.

There were seven-billion people in the world and I was trying to find just one. Those weren't very good odds in my opinion. At this rate I would never find her.

I don't know how Teddy and Luca found their mates so easily. They made it look simple. They made it look effortless.

Being on my own gave me a lot of time to think about things, and so far, I think I've narrowed down my mate situation into three different possibilities.

One: my mate lives in a far away pack that I have not yet reached or interacted with.

Two: my mate is a human who does not know of the existence of werewolves or mates.

Or three: I don't have a mate.

The third possibility isn't all that far fetched, really. I wasn't supposed to be a werewolf. I was forced into it. If the Moon Goddess had never intended to make me, then what's to say she spared the time to pair me with a mate?

I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. I couldn't afford to think like that. I had a mate out there. Somewhere.

But then all of my other doubts started to trickle in.

What if I never found her?

What if she hated me?

What if she was already with someone else? She could be married. She could have children.

I whimpered at the thought of my mate rejecting me, or being with another man. Even though I had yet to meet her, I knew I couldn't live without her. I felt lovesick, like a puppy, and I didn't even know what she looked like.

The forest floor pressed against my back as I stared up at the night sky. The moon was only a sliver, which meant the urge to shift wasn't very strong. The stars, however, shone brightly through the clear night sky.

I looked up at the crescent moon and wanted nothing more to cry out in dispare. It was a childish thought, but I was growing desperate and the wolf instincts inside of me wanted to unload all of my frustration in a soulful howl.

I refrained however, and settled for staring up at the moon and begging the Moon Goddess for a little help.

"How do I find her?" I whispered to the sky. "Where do I go? What do I do?"

Of course, there was nothing but silence as my reply.

"Please," I begged, not caring if I sounded weak. "Please help me. You gave me this monster. The least you could do is help me tame him."

Again, nothing.

"I just want to find my mate."

I kept my gaze trained on the moon and hoped beyond anything that she would pity me enough to help me.

After another half-hour of silence, I sighed and turned on my side. Using my backpack as a pillow, I drifted off into a restless sleep.

^^^°^^^

At dawn that next morning, I was woken by a growing itch in my torso. Maybe "itch" wasn't quite the right word. It was just an overall uncomfortable feeling, I guess, like when you're on the verge of being sick but never really reach that point.

I slowly opened my eyes and was met by the gradually lightening sky. The stars were starting to fade away, but the feeling in my stomach wasn't.

I groaned as I slowly sat up. Something wasn't quite right. I placed a hand over the base of my ribs as I blinked and looked around. Did I eat something bad? Thinking back on all of my meals over the past few days, I couldn't pick out anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it was some contaminated water or something.

Either way, I knew I had to keep moving. Looping my arm through a strap of my backpack, I slowly stood, bringing it up with me.

That feeling spread a little and made me stumble forward into a tree. I groaned again and turned around, leaning my back against the rough bark. After the feeling died down a little, I stepped away from the tree and immediately stumbled backwards a few steps.

"What the hell?" I mumbled and turned to face the direction I nearly fell. I placed my hand over my stomach again and looked down at it in confusion. The feeling flared up again and I took a few uncertain steps forward in anticipation of a fall. It almost immediately settled down again before slowly growing once I stopped. I took a step backwards and immediately regretted it as discomfort bloomed in my middle back. "What is this?"

I stepped forward again and the feeling died down. I looked ahead and felt my eyes widen when I realized I was facing east. It felt as though someone had reached their hand through my stomach and grabbed ahold of my spine, only to guide me in this single direction. This single direction also happened to be in correspondence with that subtle pull I'd felt for most of my life.

Was this the Moon Goddess answering my pleas? Was this the Moon Goddess leading me to my mate?

Knowing it couldn't be much else, I adjusted the backpack straps on my shoulders and set off at an eager pace to the east.

I was going to find my mate.