Page 17 of His Wild Mate

I had no idea how long we both sat there just looking up at the night sky before Emmett finally came back.

My heart flipped in my chest when I caught his nearby scent and my tail wagged happily.

He was back, and he was safe, though I smelled blood and that set my wolf on full alert.

As Emmett walked into camp with a small elk on his back, I relaxed, though my stomach lurched. I hated eating raw meat.

“Well done, boss,” Will praised as he went to retrieve the beast.

While my focus was on Emmett as he shifted, used a little of the water to clean himself up, and then dressed, I was only vaguely aware of Will cutting up the dead animal and hanging the meat over the fire.

“Wait,” Emmett said as he knelt down before me once more. “Do you want raw meat?”

I adamantly shook my head.

He chuckled. “Alright then. Go on and cook it all up, Will. We'll take back what we don't eat.”

While Will cooked, Emmett sat close to me in comfortable silence. He didn't seem to need to fill the space with idle words like Will had. And surprisingly, the kid was a lot quieter now too.

Once dinner was served, I tried to refrain from inhaling my portion, or begging for more. None of that was necessary though.

“Give her some more, whatever she wants,” he instructed.

“You got it, boss.”

Will continued to feed me until my eyes were rolling into the back of my head and I could no longer move. I never slept well, but that night, I drifted off easily and had never slept so peacefully. I think my wolf and I both trusted that Emmett wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to us.

Emmett

Chapter 5

When we started heading back to the ranch the next morning, the wolf seemed to be more relaxed and comfortable with me and Will. It was nice. I didn't think she'd shift for us yet, but she was definitely more at ease. She also had perked up some and didn't look like she was a breath away from death now. I supposed eating more than half an elk would do that.

“Where are you going?” Will asked when I ventured right instead of left toward the ranch.

“Head on back. We'll be fine. I'll check in on Brady and the boys later or have Clay give me an update. I don't want any trouble for her, and I don't want to put her in an uncomfortable position so I'm taking her back to my place. It's only a mile walk from here and away from the Pack enough that it shouldn't be a problem.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. She's calmed down so much it's almost hard to believe that's the same wolf that attacked the guys.”

“She was scared and defending herself, nothing more,” I insisted.

I didn't know if that was true or not, but I felt no threat coming from her and couldn't fathom any other scenario.

“Come on,” I told her as we parted from Will. “Feel like going for a run?”

I didn't wait to find out. Instead, I took off my clothes and rolled them up so I could carry them, and I shifted and ran. I didn't need to look back to confirm that she was following me, but I did anyway.

Even with her matted fur, she was beautiful, and she was mine.

Mine!my wolf growled as I pushed us faster ready to get her home and into our personal space where I could keep her safe.

Running with my mate was the greatest feeling ever. The wind in my fur and her scent surrounding me made me feel like the luckiest man alive, and I didn't have a clue what she actually looked like.

Once home, I shifted back and let us inside. She hesitated but followed cautiously.

For a moment, I wondered what all she'd been through and where she was from. Whatever her past, I knew it hadn't been good, and that angered me.

Things would be lot better for her now because I would ensure it.

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