Mated to the Blood Alpha

Chapter 8: Friend or Foe

When I look up I see a tan wolf looking at me. Where I was just standing is now a burning tangle of branches.

I watch him walk off but he stops, looking back at me. Does he want me to follow him? He did just save me, if he meant me harm he could have just let the the limb do the job for him. Once more, he isn't showing any hostility.

I timidly get to my paws and follow him with an air of caution. I keep my senses on high alert, keeping my eyes on the tan wolf in front of me and tune my ears onto every sound in the forest.

He brings me to a small house and another wolf walks over with a pair of shorts and he shifts. His hair is the same light tan as his wolf and he has a giant back tattoo that took up his whole back, black and white wings.

He turns his blue gaze onto me and another wolf comes walking over with something for me. I shift and quickly slip on the dress, few sizes too big but better than nothing.

"Are you alright?"

"Um, yeah. Im alright, I think. Thank you." I mutter.

"So why were you running away?" He interrogates.

"What do you mean?" I respond, trying to play him off.

"Playing coy doesn't work with me. You smell of the Blood Moon pack. What will Jay think if he knew someone was trying to escape?" The guy leans against the side of the house with a grin.

"You know Jason?" I tilt my head. My wolf perks up at the mere mention of his name.

"Let's just say we're close. Now should I call him and tell him that I have his mate?" My eyes shoot open in shock.

"Please don't." I beg.

"Why shouldn't I?" He raises an amused eyebrow.

"I just can't go back there, I'll be putting everyone in danger." My heart aches as the sound of Olivia's heart monitor comes to mind.

"If you insist." He shrugs his shoulders.

"What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My name is Zayden." He flashes me a brilliant smile. "I'm the Alpha of this pack of rogues."

"Thank you for saving me Zayden but I really should be off." I begin to leave but hear him call out to me.

"You're welcome to stay."

"Really?" I feel my wolf eye him suspiciously.

"You've nowhere else to go, do you?" I suppose he's right. I can't go back to Blood Moon pack or my Golden Moon pack and until my sense of smell comes back I won't last long on my own.

"Okay I'll stay but only for as long as I need, until I can figure stuff out."

He nods and I follow him into their pack house.

Watching the world through the windows I see no sign that the rain will let up anytime soon, the clouds gray and foreboding. The thunder cracks loudly like a lion's mighty roar. Deep down I feel depressed, my heart as gray as the clouds up above and I wonder how Jason is doing. Is he even worried about me? I doubt it, he said he didn't want a mate.

The next morning I wake up not feeling too well. My head hurts and I feel light-headed and feverish. Being out in that storm must have given me the flu.

I walk out of the house and blink my eyes at the bright sunlight when I see Zayden and two other wolves play fighting. The three of them rolling and tussling around till Zayden gets the upper hand and pins both of them down. He calls himself the alpha of this 'pack of rogues' yet he seems more carefree and aloof then Jason. His pack acts like he is no different than them, unlike Jason's pack where his own pack members fear him.

He shifts and pulls on a pair of jeans. "Good morning, Kira. How are you feeling?"

"Good morning. I'm fine thank you?" I smile, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head.

"I can tell your lying." He walks over and feels my forehead.

"It's just a little fever. Being in the storm must have made me sick, that's all." I shoo his hand away and his expression changes for a split second, like there is something he isn't telling me.

"If you say so."

"What is it? You're not telling me something?" I pry.

"Have you and Jason.....?" He pauses, embarrassed to ask me. I feel a blush spread across my cheeks when I realized.

"No, we haven't."

"You may be going into heat, it would be best if you stay away from any males, me included. Soon no male will be able to control their urges around you."

Heat? So soon? "What should I do?"

"You can either go back to your mate or talk to one of the females, they can give you some tips on how to control your heat." He rubs the back of his neck as a light blush spread across his cheeks, he's obviously not comfortable talking about this with me.

_____________Jason's P.O.V._____________

By the next morning the storm had ended and I organized search teams to locate my missing mate. I didn't sleep a wink last night. I run to the now calm river and swim across followed by my pack. Then we fan out, looking for my Kira.

"Alpha." Zane's voice calls out through the link. "I found a burned branch over here, as well as two sets of tracks."

I rush over to Zane's location, feeling optimistic. The gnarled branches lay on the ground before me with the faint scent of smoke and something else. A scent I am familiar with.

"Zayden was here."

"Your orders, sir?" Zane asks.

"Zayden knows better than to harm my mate." I snarl. "Looks like I will be paying him a visit."

"Would you like us to come with you?" Zane asks and I shake my head.

"I'll be fine. He wouldn't harm me."

Zane bows and walks back, followed by the others while I follow the tracks.

______________Kira's P.O.V._____________

While I stand there, digesting what Zayden had told me he breaks my train of thought.

"You should choose now, your mate is coming."

"Please, don't tell him I'm here." I beg and run back into the house. My wolf growls at me. I miss him too but I don't want to see anyone else to get hurt. I peer timidly from an upstairs window as a familiar black wolf appears over the horizon and I sink down so he won't see me. The other wolves seem ready to attack and my heart rate goes up, but before I can run out there to stop them Zayden calls them off. Jason shifts and I blush when I look at all of his muscles, trying not to look any lower then his abs. I can feel my temperature rising.

Zayden and him appear to be talking, and there still seems to be some hostility swirling in the air. I see Jason nod and he shifts and runs off, I breathe a sigh of relief. As Jason disappears over the horizon from which he came, my wolf whines.

Moments later Zayden comes walking through the door.

"Your mate is gone." Zayden leans against the doorway.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that you left this morning." He responds and I let out a sigh. "Why don't you want to go back?"

"I told you, if I go back everyone will be in danger."

Zayden places a hand on my head as if comforting a child. "What kind of danger?"

With a sigh, I vent everything to him. " My whole pack was destroyed by the Dark Moon pack and recently they found out that I was at the Blood Moon pack. One of them attacked Jason's mother."

The last part seems to get his attention. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know, she was in the hospital last I checked." I frown. " The doctor said things were pretty grim."

Zayden excuses himself and I am left alone and my thoughts switch to Jason. He actually came looking for me and he looked so dejected when he left.