Thankfully, he didn't have any clients today, so he could sleep and try to understand what had happened the previous evening. He didn't want to obsess, which came easily to him. He wanted to put it away and not have it in the forefront of his thoughts all the damn time.
After a few deep breaths and some basic stretching, he headed for the shower. Sleeping on the forest floor was not something he'd planned, and he was feeling a bit stiff. He didn’t stop to think that the stiffness may have had a completely different cause.
CHAPTER THREE
Lev heard the intruders approaching and quickly made sure Kyle was dressed, then placed the rolled jacket under his head before disappearing into the woods. They were human, like his mate. He stayed close in case his mate needed him, but the interaction with the strangers was brief and uneventful. He followed Kyle out of the forest and watched him get into his car and drive away.
Kyle's scent was strong and clear, and Lev knew he could follow him anywhere. Now he needed to find the strangers and make sure they left the forest.
His patrol contacted him, letting him know they were in pursuit and the strangers might be hikers scouting a new trail. Lev had the feeling there was more to them than marking a trail.
His men assured Lev they would make their time in the forest as bad as it could be. No hiker ever left here thinking that the Aveline Forest had good trails. They always left vowing never to return, and the Wilder Pack made sure of that.
"Deal with them." He stated, and they knew what to do.
Lev headed back to the Pack house. His brother and Beta Mykel had already called, but Lev was saving the informationabout finding his mate until they were face-to-face. Mykel was younger than him by a few years and had often said they had many years to wait before, hopefully, being blessed by Fate. Lev was optimistic that since he found his mate, Mykel's would be coming soon.
It had been many years since anyone in the Pack had found their mate, but he remembered being told that when one family member found theirs, other members were sometimes similarly blessed. Lev still found it hard to believe that his mate was just out there in the woods waiting to be found. He was a human, which was not uncommon for their Pack.
They had five human mates within the Wilder Pack, all strong and loyal members who absolutely adored their wolf mates. They loved hard and completely. Kyle was marked and claimed, and would soon feel the pull to return. He would be filled with wild, unsettling visions of a union and a life that now belonged to him, even if he didn't understand what it was.
The Pack had occupied this forest for centuries and continued to thrive and grow within the secrecy, mystery, and deception they’d built to protect themselves from the world at large. The closest town was over thirty miles away, so they didn’t normally have people casually tramping through the forest, but still, they had to be diligent and on their guard.
Mykel met him as he was coming up onto the porch of the Pack house. He handed him a hot cup of coffee, and they sat down together. "You have more to say than what you told me during the call. I could feel it." He gave a half grin, took a sip of his coffee, and waited.
Lev gave him a friendly side glance. “You know me too well.” He said. "The human I was following turned out to be mymate." He stopped there when his brother's eyebrows shot up, and he smiled broadly, surprised and delighted.
"That's amazing." He gasped. "There hasn't been a mating in the Pack for decades. This is great news." He was referring to the idea that one mate often led to more being discovered. “Where is he? Did you bring him back with you?” Mykel looked off into the distance and then back at Lev. “Did you leave him?” He sounded completely incredulous.
"He's human, and it will take time to acclimate him to his destiny. He's gone home, and I will follow." Being away from him was starting to wear on him. His mood was a bit off, and his thoughts were becoming laser-focused on finding him.
“You won’t be able to stay away if you claimed him. The pressure to be close will crush you, and your wolf will eventually take over.” It was a valid warning, and Lev knew it was true, but he also knew he needed to give Kyle a few hours to process and for their bond to strengthen. It didn't make the waiting any easier.
"The trespassers interrupted us. He was asleep, so his recollection of last night might be a little scrambled." Lev explained as best he could.
"The trespassers have left, and we have their scents, so if they return, we will know," Mykel told him and then added. "They weren't hunters or hikers, Lev, they were looking for the waterfall." That did not surprise him, and Lev stiffened as he gave Mykel his full attention.
"Someone has been talking," Mykel stated. "No one among us would ever say anything, so it had to have come from an outsider."
“An outsider with information about the falls?” Lev asked. It seemed unlikely, but what other explanation could there be? “Who outside of the Pack knows about the falls?”
"John," Mykel said, turning to look directly at Lev. "He died recently."
"My mate, Kyle, is a photographer, and he had his camera with him. Conditions were right last night for viewing the falls' power. We didn’t talk about his purpose for being in the forest, but it seems that the falls might be the reason." Lev did not want to consider the number of people John had contact with and the number he might have told. John worked in a café and met many people. The thought was troubling.
“Have Ivan look into it and find out what he can about John, and have him also look at the current myths about the falls. There might be new information circulating, and if there is, then we know someone has betrayed the secret." He finished his coffee and then headed to one of the cars. It was time to go after his mate.
****
Kyle slept as well as he could, catching a couple of hours before images and memories forced him awake. The man or beast, he wasn't sure what he'd encountered, but he did know that the event was etched deep in his psyche. He'd been gentle and yet forceful and demanding, but he never hurt him, never took what Kyle didn't give.
It was a coming together that seemed destined. It was weird to say such a thing, but it was what he felt. The man appeared to recognize him, although Kyle did not know him. Hewas large and wild in a dark, sexy way, and even when he looked fierce, Kyle still saw him as enthralling and captivating. There was no way Kyle would say no to such a man.
Now he had to decide whether it had been real or a very intimate and erotic hallucination. He wanted to call someone and talk this out, but he didn’t have any friends left after Ethan betrayed him. That thought brought a sad smile and a shake of his head at the memory.
After their breakup, friends had all taken Ethan’s side and cut Kyle off. That had been nearly six months ago, and no one had ever called, asked for his side of the drama, or even checked to see if he was okay. He and Ethan had been together for three years and had talked about moving in together. Then Ethan suddenly decided he was wasting himself with Kyle and needed to move on.
Ethan broke up with him, saying that he could do so much better than Kyle, and everyone agreed. They said that Ethan needed to find someone more ambitious and goal-oriented, and Kyle was too dull and stuck in his ways. It sounded like trash talk, but that's apparently how they saw it or how they justified turning their backs on Kyle.
