Page 58 of His Wild Mate

By the time the sun started to set, I was miles away from the house. When darkness set in, I wasn't sure I should try to find my way back. I was hungry, cold, and tired. I hated it and missed Emmett.

Lonely and sad, I found a group of boulders and dug out a hole beneath them to lie down for the night.

I hadn't meant to sleep for so long. But the sun was rising when I awoke again, wishing I was back at Emmett's house curled up with him.

What was wrong with me?

I had always been a lone wolf. I was strong. I was a survivor. But the way I longed for him surprised me. How had things changed so quickly?

Knowing that leaving Collier was still my safest option for self-preservation, it terrified me that I cared so much for my mate. I needed him even if I did hate to admit it.

Suddenly, I had the urge to run home as fast as I could.

I froze.

Home?

I'd never considered any place home, not since I ran away from mine as a child.

The more I considered it, the more I realized that home was where Emmett was. He was home for me.

I was so screwed.

That didn't stop me from stretching my legs and then taking off at a full sprint for as far and as long as I could go, knowing each step was one more closer to him.

Home, I thought again.

Maybe it wasn't the worst thing that could happen to me.

Following my trail back proved a bit more difficult than I expected. No one ever claimed I was a tracker. If I'd had any sense of direction or a solid nose for scents, I never would have wandered into Pack territory. If I hadn’t though, would I have ever met Emmett?

There was no way to be certain, but the thought of it disturbed me.

After running in a circle, twice, I finally caught my own scent and this time I was pretty sure I was going in the right direction.

The closer I got back though, the more I felt like someone was watching me. It was creeping me out. I kept looking around, expecting to see the wolf or the man who had showed up at the house. There was no one though.

With a chuff and shake of my head, I pushed down my paranoia and kept running until, at last, I saw the house. My heart soared, only to come crashing back down when I noticed three cop cars in the driveway.

Emmett!

Emmett

Chapter 15

Leaving Paige was not easy. It never was really, but after our marathon love-making all weekend, I felt an even stronger desire not to let her out of my sight. I regretted my decision to leave her alone all day.

I kept meaning to buy her a cell phone since I didn't have a phone line at the house. When it was just me, why would I bother? But now that meant I had no way to contact my mate. That didn’t sit well with me.

Working through lunch, I headed home early. I couldn't wait to see her again. It was kind of disgusting just how much I missed her after only a few hours away.

The guys would have a field day and never let me live it down if I admitted it. I didn’t really care though. Was it really a bad thing I wanted to spend every second of my life with my mate now that I’d found her? A part of me hoped it would always be this way, but maybe without so much paranoia.

In my mind ran a hundred different scenarios of everything that could go wrong while I was at work. There were a thousand things out there that could hurt her. I knew she wasn't in heat at the moment, but what if the Alpha order broke and there was some sort of residual effects on people? What if she choked on a grape or slipped in the shower?

No matter how outrageous it was—like an alien attack or a lightning strike, despite it being a beautiful bright and sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky—I couldn't stop my brain from worrying about her. My wolf was feeding off the fear and compounding my emotions.

So, by the time I finally drove home, I was a complete wreck. And I knew I wasn't going to calm down until I saw my mate for myself.

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