Ethan
I’d spent way too much time scouring the city looking for her. It was around mid-day when I realized there was no way she was here. I kept kicking myself over not leaving earlier. She told me she hadn’t left and that she wouldn’t leave but even as she said the words I knew she was lying. Deep down, I knew she was doing something.
I couldn’t stop wondering how long she’d been planning this. The insecure part of me thought she gave up on me and left me. After seeing that prick at the meeting, had she changed her mind about me? Could a mated wolf even do that? I felt stupid for questioning it. There was no part in wondering because I should know better. My Adea wouldn’t do that.
Knowing she was away from home, unguarded, kept me going. I worried for her safety and I wished she would have talked this through with me. When I couldn’t find her in town or outside of the pack lands, I started to panic.
Elijah wanted me to shift so we could run. He thought it would be quicker but we needed to conserve our strength. We didn’t know what we were going to find when we found her. We also didn’t know who we would find with her.
I worried for her safety and I wished she would have talked this through with me. When I couldn’t find her in town or outside of the pack lands, I started to panic. Odis and Darci hadn’t heard anything from any of the Deltas.
The only logical explanation was that she had left. Adea had gone to Desert Moon, she had gone to Shane. We received a tip and were told my Jeep had been spotted leaving the territory early this morning during the first shift change of the day.
I kept myself busy to distract myself from the thoughts that ran through my head. The ones that had been on repeat since the moment I left my room and had only worsened when I drove off my territory.
What was she doing?
Was she okay?
Why had she made this decision?
The only thing harder than the questions was ignoring the negative possible answers. Half Moon becomes visible in the distance and my suspicions are confirmed when the Jeep comes into view.
The shine off of the Jeep taunts me from the border. It was parked off to the side as if it belonged there. A few of the warriors sat on the hood. I wanted to laugh at the sight. Gabe had been so sure she wouldn’t come here.
My knuckles crack as my fingers grip the steering wheel tight. Even though I knew she had come here, I had hoped there was some truth in Gabe’s words. He had been so confident about it.
He really thought that she wouldn’t come back to Shane after everything the dickhead had put her through, had put all of us through. I couldn’t figure out what she was doing no matter how many times I tried to put myself in her shoes.
I just couldn’t understand her. Damn it, Adea. Why did you come here? What are you planning? Now that I was here, I was close enough to link her. I struggled with holding myself back but somehow I did.
The last thing I needed to do was let her know I was here. She shouldn’t even be here! That fact alone was aggravating. My future was sitting on enemy lines and I had to force myself to stay out here.
If only I left Desert Moon territory earlier in the day, I might have been able to catch her before she crossed into Half Moon territory. Even as the thought crossed my mind, I knew that wouldn’t have been possible.
She had left while I was sleeping. When I woke up I didn’t know where to run to. Now that I knew for certain where she was I couldn’t help the anxiousness that was building in my body. What was she doing? Was she hurt?
It didn’t matter how mad I was, I couldn’t help but worry about her. I hadn’t felt anything today through our bond and I thought of that as a good sign. It was the only telltale sign that she was still living and breathing.
I held onto it as my lifeline, my only source of some kind of communication with her since mind-linking her was out of the question. For now at least. The mate bond was still strong and she was okay, from what I could tell at least.
I just wanted to bring her home, I wanted her in my arms, I wanted her safe. In our last conversation, I had begged her to stay and she didn’t. My mind couldn’t make the connection from how it got like this. We went from making love to her leaving.
My mind couldn’t help but focus on the fact that she had begun the rejection process. She had started to reject me. That could have killed her, it could have killed me. As Alpha and Luna, we had higher survival rates but even if we survived the rejection, living without your other half was unimaginable.
From the stories, your chest felt hollow from the rejection. It was as if your mate had pierced your flesh and ripped out your heart themselves. Most wolves didn’t live much longer after rejecting their fated mate but most wolves also didn’t do this.
Just knowing that she thought about it, considered it, and started to was mind-blowing. It didn’t sit right with me and my chest was tight and uncomfortable to the point of it hurting.
Why would she do that? Why would she make the choice to live in agony? Why make the choice to sever our bond? The only thing worse than rejecting your mate, especially after completing the mating process, was death.