Rejection

Chapter 24 - Finding a lead

---Max' POV---

The human village laid quiet into the distance, ignorant to the world outside of it. The scents out here in the forest were faint at the very best and I huffed, jumping with some effort over a fallen tree as my ears pricked up.

There was plenty of activity in the forest though; Scientists and researchers where looking around, looking proudly at the older paw prints they found.

I could hear them going on and on about the size and depth of the print, how one of the prints was barely there and seemed to be dragged instead of pushed, showing a clear sign that Kyle had been in this area before.

Kyle...

At the thought of my former mate, my ears swiveled and pressed against my head, wolf growling deeply in anger. Anger that was solely directed towards me.

My mind went to the last serious seizure I had due to my wolf, a seizure which scared my family to death. It had taken so long that they had called the pack doctor, who had dosed me with several sedatives before I was dragged under.

When I had awoken, it was to heavy doses of medication and a sense of lethargy, along with an underlining urgency to go out and find Kyle.

But, what will I do when I do find him? IF I find him... My paws curled before I jumped on a rock, sniffing at the stones before following my nose to where Kyle's scent was the strongest in the area.

It was still an old scent, fading away in the cool winter air. Denser when I managed to dip underneath an old rotten log that looked seconds away from splitting open.

The little den was sparingly decorated with pine branches and clusters of leaves, providing some cushioning against the cold winter soil.

My wolf instantly shoved my subconscious to the side, dipping down into the den to curl up in the branches, rolling around in Kyle's scent.

It wanted to coat himself in it, no matter how faint it was. Soft whimpers accompanied with content growls slipped from his throat, sniffing around until Kyle's scent was clinging to our fur.

How long would he have lived here?

My stomach dropped at the thought, eyes flickering through the clearing. From what I had seen from Kyle's form as it had flitted across the screen in the blink of an eye, he had been heavily injured on his hind leg.

People in the town had even openly remarked on their surprise that he had lived as long as he did. They had seen his injuries much closer, hind leg coiled up, seemingly unable to fully relax and the paw dragging over the floor instead of supporting any weight.

The reason of his injury was painfully obvious, as I , or rather my wolf had gone back to the enforcers and asked them to share their memories of what they had done to Kyle.

They had done so with great reluctance but after a snapped command from the Luna, they had complied.

An entire pack in an uproar because of a simple misunderstanding that ruined more than one life.

The Luna was anything but happy. She had always insisted in Kyle's innocence, told everyone willing to listen how Kyle had brought in the pup he was charged with, how he had saved the Luna and pups from harm, pushing the rogue away from the shelter so it couldn't cause a bloodbath within.

But her pleas were unheard, as the Alpha assumed Kyle had done so to give himself an alibi, garnering favor with the Luna to cover his betrayal. It was only after the truth was revealed that the pack had realized their failure.