The Alpha and the Princess

Lost and found

Victor POV

I listened to Claire's Troubled stories. Her voice was shivering and tears were like a river flowing from her pretty eyes. My heart was breaking for her, I couldn't understand why my precious mate had to go through all that pain and suffering living amongst humans. Our kind can cohabitate with humans, but a pup needs to be raised in a pack to grow strong and healthy. What makes us different, our special traits, could look like mental illness for humans.

But destiny brought her to me, her mate. I am here for her now  and I will make her feel better. I want to make her happy. I want to see her smile and laugh. But for now all I wanted to do was wipe her tears and comfort her. I was standing close to her, wanting but hesitating to even hold her hand. She dismissed my touch before, and I didn't to feel the pain of rejection again. She doesn't even know that I'm her mate, so I had to give her time to get to  know and trust me. 

Suddenly she leaned her head on me. I was so happy with this little contact and it sent a jolt of electricity through my body. It was another undeniable sign that she was indeed my destined half. I reached my hands patting her shoulder gently and caressing her beautiful soft hair. After a while, Claire rested her face on my chest and she hugged me. I was filled with excitement, happiness and emotions I never felt before. I didn't know that having a mate would feel like this. I wanted to enjoy the new found intimacy but my wolf had other ideas. 

My body started heating and my Wolf's long repressed lust was emerging from the depths of darkness. My wolf wanted to take her right here right now, but I am not a man who loses control. As much as it pained me to break our embrace, I had to push her away. That wasn't enough, though because I was still heating up. It felt like the mating season all over again. I had to cool off like I always do, I sprinted to the nearby lake. 

I hurriedly tore my clothes off and dived in the water. This lake was my safe haven, the cold water would usually calm down my urges. When I thought that I was getting back to normal, I got splashed with water, breaking my concentration. My little mate  wanted to play. She was so innocent. She had no idea what kind of things my wolf wanted to do to her body. Her very naked body was a silent invitation to bring the monster out. I kept my focus on her eyes and tried to stay calm.

"Claire get away from me"

"Fine I will swim away from you."

"GET OUT THE WATER NOW". Control was slipping away and I couldn't be calm anymore. She had to stay away as far as possible or I don't know what I might do.

"I'm sorry for bothering you. You don't have to yell." The tone of her voice made me regret immediately for shouting at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell. Can you please give me ten minutes? I need to be alone for now" I said hoping that she doesn't start hating me. Not after we made some progress.

Claire agreed to leave and I asked her to stay close. I didn't want her to get lost again. She gave me a sign to look away and she swam towards the shore.

As soon as she stepped on the shore, I dived to the bottom and sat there meditating. Being under water blocked my senses, not hearing nor smelling anyone or anything. It was like being alone in space, dark, cold and peaceful. Only a few minutes and the beast would crawl back to its layer and I was fully myself.

Claire was observing as I was going out of the lake but then suddenly looked away. I repressed a smile for not feeling shy or ashamed by my naked body. Nudity was a natural part of werewolves' life. 

I was still focusing on keeping my wolf under leash. While we walked back to the house, I made sure to keep a healthy distance between us. I asked her to go hang out with Hannah, because they seemed to get along well. I could have sounded cold to her but I will make it up later when I feel better and less tempted.

I ran back to the training ground and interrupted the usual program. I was burning with energy and pant-up s****l frustration. Usually, a punch bag would do the trick but today, that won’t do. I needed a real opponent, someone who could punch me back, if they could. I ordered the warriors to come at me all at once. It was a training scenario to prepare in case we are outnumbered. They hesitated at first, but then they started attacking me two or three at a time. I was so fired up that I countered every single attack and none of them could lay a finger on me.

The session finished before I knew it but I felt better than before. I straightened up and looked around me. All the men were lying in the ground, catching breath or retreating out of my reach. I held a hand at a warrior close to me to help him get on his feet, but he lifted his hands in front of his face. I couldn't understand why he was afraid, then I saw the black eye and split lip that I gave him. Some of the others were more bruised and bleeding. 

I didn’t hold back since it was one versus twenty, but I haven't realized that the gap in strength was this big. It explains why they were reluctant to attack at first. Maybe I was too rough and should show the true scope of my power only when needed. I held the warrior by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up before I addressed the group talking loud enough for everyone to hear me.

"Fear. That’s your true enemy. It paralyzes you, clouds your judgement, makes you hesitate each move you make. You can't face your enemies when you're crippled with fear. Rogues and other predators can smell your fear and take advantage of it in battle. You should not be afraid of an opponent because he's stronger. It should be a motivation to push your limits even further. You're our first line of defense and you'll have to face the danger with hearts full of courage and confidence not fear. You are the strongest members of our pack. Everyone is looking up at you and trusting you to keep them safe. And when you face your enemies remember the faces of those you are fighting for, remember your families, your mates, your children, your friends. Remember your pack now and always"

"The pack forever and always" cheered my Beta after he came out of hiding. 

And more voices followed. "FOREVER AND ALWAYS"

I knew Steven wanted to cut the speech short. He never liked listening to my speeches. And that always annoyed me but I kept myself composed as expected of me in front of my soldiers. 

"You can rest now and go to the clinic if you need medical attention" I declared, allowing the training to end earlier than scheduled.

Steven approached me carefully, he was my Beta and my friend but he had an expression on his face. One that meant that he was up to no good.

"I'm wondering who pushed your buttons"

"What do you mean?"

"That wasn't normal training, you treated them like punch bags. Were you out for blood or something?"

when I was fighting I felt stronger, faster and my senses sharper. I didn't realize it right away but looking back, he was right. 

"I don't know, I'm not feeling great right now." I admitted begrudgingly.

"Does it have to do with a certain girl? Your mate perhaps ?"

He was stating the obvious, her face raced back to my mind and I remembered our hug earlier.

"Oh you're blushing" he said with a squeal.

"Stop making that voice, it's freaking weird!"

"You're in loooove.."

"Shut up Steven!"

He was making silly faces and pouting his lips. I hated when he did that and he did it on purpose to annoy me.

"I'm gonna kill you if you don't stop right now" 

"You're gonna kill me with loooove"

That's it I was pissed off, my hands were in a fist and a loud growl escaped my throat. Steven liked to tease me since we were kids. He knew how to rile me up and when to flee for his life. Sometimes I manage to land a punch or two but this time I had too many emotions piling up, I could hurt him really bad if I lost control. And I was about to, as my wolf wanted to prove to him who was the Alpha.

My hands started to shift into claws and my back snapped. Steven ran away at the sound of the cracking bones. But I Didn't go after him. I didn't mean it literally when I said I would kill him. I let my wolf out and went for a run in the woods. I was still in control, but I had to compromise and give him something he wanted after denying him his mate. A good run would be great to calm him and myself down.

When the sun started to fall, the forest became chilly and I felt my energy drained after running for hours. I shifted back to human form before entering the clearing. I went home and took a shower, put on fresh clothes then headed to Claire's room. I wanted to ask her to join me for dinner. I knocked on the door. 

No answer.

"Claire, can I come in?"

No answer.

I went in, she wasn't there. The bathroom door was open, so she wasn't there. I remembered asking her to go find Hannah.

I went to Hannah's room, she was watching TV like always.

"Where's Claire?"

"Hello, to you too"

"ANSWER ME!!"

I didn't know why I was shouting at her. The smile on her face faded and she shrugged. "I don't know!"

"I asked her to find you earlier" I made sure to lower my tone.

"I didn't see her since noon"

Those words sent me into a whirlpool of confusion, stress and sadness. I was afraid she would run away again. I was afraid she would run away and leave me. I have to catch her before she's too far away. I had to find her, I can't lose my mate so fast after waiting for this long to meet her.

I ordered everyone who can move to look for her. I trailed her smell in the woods, her scent was fading and stopped near the border where I caught here before. She didn't come back to the lake nor the path she came from yesterday. It was getting darker and the others couldn't find her either.

I went back home feeling desperate and on the verge of collapsing into madness, but the beloved fragrance was strong and pulled me back to my senses. I assumed that she would run away that I didn't check the house. Every room I entered had a lingering reminder of her presence, but I couldn't see her anywhere. The office was the last place to check. I went in with anticipation and excitement, my heart and my legs racing to the door.

Another disappointment, I felt that Claire was close but I couldn't see her anywhere. I let my nose guide me to the pathway leading to the tower. I haven't been there for so long that I forgot about the secret hideout. As I climbed the stairs my heart started pounding in my chest. My eyes were eager to see her face, my skin aching to feel her touch again.

It was dark but the moon was shining through the window, revealing my beautiful mate sleeping peacefully. I got closer without making a sound, her hair was falling on her beautiful face. I took her in my arms carefully and brought her to her room. I put her gently on the bed and laid next to her.