Page 3 of Entering a New World

My wolf huffed, unimpressed by my ability to express myself.

But it was the truth. He was beautiful. To me, and objectively. Even though his eyes were puffy, his cheeks splotched, he was still stunning. High cheekbones, red, plush lips, a pointed face with a narrow, straight nose, and big eyes. A light stubble covered his jaw and chin.

He looked young. Like, really, really young, but he had to be legal, right?

No one, not even people with a death wish like his manager—because I would tear him apart should I ever come across him—would send a minor out here.

What kind of stupid idea was that, anyway? Sending someone out here in this weather wasn’t just reckless, it was outright dangerous. Walkie-talkies didn’t have a large range. What he desperately needed was a satellite phone; a chance to actually get help. There were storms coming, winter was fast approaching… what and how was he supposed to eat? The salal berries were long picked, and the guy didn’t sound like he knew how to fish—besides, he’d have to find a good place to fish first.

My mind was spinning, my wolf edging me on to avenge my mate—and to get him out of here.

Which was definitely where I should start. Getting him to safety first, tearing his fucking manager apart second.

“Soo… here I am, with a backpack full of… mainly clothes, rope, tarp… and I think a fishing pole, a suitcase full of camera batteries and memory cards, and no idea how to survive for a week.” He sniffled, his free hand rubbing at his eyes again. “If I survive this—and that’s a big if—let me tell you what I’ll do. I’ll fire him and sue his ass for… reckless endangerment? Kidnapping? I swear, I’ll find something to sue him for. If I actually die out here, I really hope it’s not him finding this camera. Kind stranger, whoever you are, please get these tapes to the authorities. I was murdered. If you see this, Alistair: FUCK YOU!”

He dropped his arm, apparently turning the camera off, then started sobbing again. His whole body shook as he sat there in the icy wind, getting hit with sea spray.

Seeing him like that physically hurt me. It shredded my heart to pieces, made my wolf howl in desperation, and urged me to make everything better, to make things okay for him, all the while leaving me utterly desperate because I didn’t know HOW.

I didn’t know how to make things okay. How to tell him everything would be fine. How to help him.

I was currently a fucking huge, two-hundred-forty pound wolf, and I had no clothes with me to change back into my human form. Fuck, I needed clothes, right? I couldn’t very well walk out of the woods stark naked and introduce myself as his mate. He’d think I was a serial killer or a madman or… no idea. I just knew that, if I was in his place, I’d fucking run as fast and as far as I could if I saw a naked giant coming out of the woods in ten degree weather miles away from civilization—and rightly so.

But running all the way back to town, our packhouse, or my house to get clothes, then running all the way back here? I’d never make it back before nightfall.

Approaching him in the darkness, even as a clothed human, didn’t seem like the best idea either. Besides, he didn’t know the woods. He wasn’t an experienced hiker, and he only had human vision. We’d never make it back without him breaking at least one bone. That was if he would even consider following a random stranger into the woods, of course. Which I wasn’t sure he'd do.

But… I needed to do something. He couldn’t stay here.

Granted, there weren’t that many real predators left on our packlands—mainly bears; the real wolves had left a long time ago, but it was still dangerous. The tides were about to change, and I knew for a fact that in a couple hours’ time, there wouldn’t be much of this beach left.

Mate, safety, my wolf agreed, trying to force me forwards, but I shut that motion down quickly.

I need to think this through, I told my counterpart, then searched for my mate again.

He was still sitting on that piece of driftwood, but his loud sobbing had turned into quiet sniffles, and he seemed to have come to some kind of conclusion about what to do; at least, he was now meticulously unpacking the big, red backpack he’d placed next to him.

Out came a sweater—again, no wool—a coat, two empty bottles, rope, more rope, even more rope.

“Of course, I only get fucking useless empty water bottles,” he muttered quietly. “What do I get in abundance? Rope. Earth to Alistair. I’m not about to give some kind of shibari workshop out here.” He snickered, but it sounded hollow, desperate.

And I got it. I had no idea what kind of workshop he was talking about, but I did know that empty water bottles were useless to him.

Please, let him at least have some kind of filter. Or the means to make a fire, I prayed to the gods and stars above. The gods knew he desperately needed both.

The unpacking continued and my heart sank with every piece he pulled out that wasn’t fire steel or a gas cooker or even a damn lighter. This was going from bad to worse to worst-case scenario fast.

I needed to do something.

Go, my wolf told me, rolling his eyes at me. To him, the solution was obvious. Head over to our mate and protect him.

Which was exactly what I wanted to do. It just wasn’t as easy as that, was it? Going out there as a human was out of the question, and going out there in my wolf form was equally crazy, wasn’t it?

I paused, cocking my head, watching as my mate finally put on the coat he’d pulled out of the backpack.

If I was in his shoes… would I be more frightened by a wolf or a naked man? Definitely the naked man. I’d consider him either crazy or dangerous. So… a hundred percent a threat.

But a wolf? Any person who lived out here knew to be wary of predators, but if he really was a city boy… maybe he was one of those ‘wolves are so cute’ guys? What if I tried behaving like an overgrown puppy? Make myself look as friendly as possible?

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