Her Last Hope

LAKE

“What’s your name?” I can feel his warmth on my cheek. His other hand wraps around my waist and pulls me in close. I lean into his touch and smile. ~

“Lake Mavris.” People begin to gather around us and stare in awe. ~

My mate takes notice and immediately pulls his hand away. “There’s no way I could be mates with a warrior’s daughter. I reject you as my mate. Get out of my sight!” ~

My eyes bolt open to see a dirt ceiling. Roots from trees and other plants dangle from it and form a cocoon all the way to an entrance on the other end of the room.

The smell of freshly killed and cooked deer fills my nostrils.

Lynne is anxious and ready to get food. I cautiously get up from the bed of dried mud and dead leaves. I’m careful not to make any noise before emerging from the exit into the fresh winter morning.

I do a slight shiver before getting used to the cold atmosphere out here. Benefit of being a werewolf—constantly overheating body and weather-resistant skin.

I see a good amount of a deer carcass spinning on a spit over a campfire pit nestled away in the trunk of a large, hollow oak tree.

I jump at a presence behind me. I turn quickly and take a defensive stance. A boy about three inches taller than me stands with his arms crossed and feet far apart.

The aura he gives off is that of an alpha.

“Morning to you too, Moonlight.” The man rolls his eyes and snickers. “Sorry if I startled ya. I didn’t expect you to be awake so soon.”

The man is wearing a pair of black jeans and biker boots. He also has on an old-looking winter jacket that grips his muscled body quite nicely. His light-brown hair complements his gray eyes to a T.

“For one, my name is not Moonlight,” I growl through my teeth. “And two, who are you, and where am I?” My defensive stance only tightens up as the man takes a step toward me.

“Whoa, there.” He puts his hands up in surrender. “No need to be hostile before you even eat to the guy who saved you from a rogue or two last night.”

I give him a confused look and loosen my stance briefly. “Rogues?”

“Oh yeah.” The man walks around me and grabs a stick. He sits down on a log in front of the oak tree and pokes the fire.

I keep my eyes on him the whole time before going over to enjoy the warmth from the fire itself.

“You were passed out on that cliff after destroying ten trees or so in the valley.

“Naturally, seeing as you were on a piece of my territory, I was going to see what the hell you thought you were doing, but then you talked to the moon as if you knew it personally.

“I watched until you screamed and fell to the ground and passed out. Before I could get to you, though, there was a rogue or two circling around.

“So I took them out quickly and brought you here to my den.”

The man motions to the area we’re in. I notice that it’s camouflaged with hundreds of bushes all over, with small trees surrounding the den and a big oak tree in the center.

There’s barely any snowfall from the tree canopy above that lets hints of sunlight through.

I look at the man, then at the fire. “Well... Thank you for saving me. I apologize for my threatening manner but not for my reflexes and defense.”

“My father raised me with the sense of protecting myself in an unknown territory before anything else.”

The man chuckles and looks at me. “I understand. I would be the same way if a stranger saved me and gave me his place to sleep. Then went hunting and cooked it, all for me to heal.”

“When you put it that way, I seem like a bitch.” I huff.

“I’m just messing with you.” The man chuckles again.

“You look like you haven’t slept for eighty-four years, though, and from last night, I can tell you haven’t had the best couple of weeks. What’s a little pup like you have to worry about?”

I suddenly remember what happened last night and hold my chest tightly. “Just... I just...”

The man throws his stick into the fire. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m not one who’s close to you. Forgive me.”

His manners take me back a couple of mental steps when he allows me to dig into the deer before he even inches near it. It’s unusual for an alpha to let a lower rank eat before him.

The fats and rich, blooded meat is enough to satisfy my wolf and her hunger. For that, I’m grateful.

After a couple of moments of silence as I pick the bones of the deer, I finally ask, “What’s your name?”

The man sighs heavily and closes his eyes briefly. He seems to be in deep thought before turning to me and saying, “My name is Jake.”

I can’t help but ask, “From State Farm?” Jake shakes his head and immediately laughs.

“Yes. From State Farm.”

“Where are you from?”

Jake smirks and gives me a side glance. “From nowhere.”

It’s not long before it’s midevening time. Jake has taken me on a tour of his territory and has shown me a couple of his favorite spots to hunt and the lakes with the cleanest water.

“Do you live here all alone?” I ask. We make eye contact briefly. I can see the loneliness hidden within them.

Jake clears his throat and looks beyond the lake into the brush on the other side. “Yes. I have since I can remember.”

“What about your pack?” I follow his gaze and spot something peculiar as the leaves begin to ruffle.

“That’s a story for another time.”

“Thank you for all you’ve done for me.” I smile at Jake as he pokes the fire with his stick.

After trying and trying, I can’t get anything else out of him. I may have touched a nerve or two, but it doesn’t read on his face.

“I think I should get out of your hair now. My parents are probably worried sick.”

There’s an unspoken respect between us.

“You’re welcome back any time, Moonlight,” Jake stands and reaches out his hand. “If you’re ever in any trouble, you’ll always be welcome back here.”

I reluctantly say my goodbyes to him a couple of minutes later at the edge of his territory.

“Just keep going straight until you see the giant river, then follow it down, and you’ll eventually hit where you want to go.”

Jake nods goodbye as I take off running. My adrenaline starts to pump, and I can feel my bones begin to crack and reshape themselves. I take a jump off a large oak log and land on all fours.

Lynne is ecstatic to be let free. She jumps and feels free as the nippy winter wind flows through her fur.

In all her excitement, Lynne knows not to stray from the path as we come across the river Jake was talking about.

My wolf takes time to enjoy the fresh spring waters before happily trotting with her head and tail held up high. Like a true luna would do in an unknown territory.

It’s not too long before we come to the pack’s borders. Lynne is bombarded with warriors and guards from the group that my father oversees. Landon’s and Riley’s solid-white wolves are among them.

“Lake!” My father’s voice is irate mixed with relief in the undertone. “We’ve been worried sick!”

Lynne bows on her stomach to my father in respect. Her ears are bent back, and her tail lies flat on the ground.

It’s her way of apologizing, seeing as she was mostly the reason I ran away from the territory.

“Lake Mavris.” The alpha’s tone rings through the air. Everyone stops and bows their respects to our leader, both wolves and human forms alike.

“I hear you’ve caused quite a worrisome night for everyone present.”

My mind is immediately tainted with the sight of my mate standing beside his father. His scent fills my nose. My sense of smell is heightened thousands of times over in Lynne’s form.

Lynne can’t handle seeing him. She forces a painful shift. The bones crack back in place painfully, and I can’t help but let out a slight yelp.

My face is stained red with embarrassment as my father quickly puts his coat over my body when I’m back in my human form.

All the unmated male wolves present perk their ears and take in my sight. Most of them are staring at my neck and not the rest of my body.

“Where did you go?” The alpha looks at me, unfazed by what just transpired. “Surely you have a good reason for abandoning the pack’s territory.”

I bow my head toward the ground in respect. “A certain matter drove my wolf into a state of unrest, Alpha. I needed to leave before the humans attending the school saw me shift.”

“Surely you could have returned by nightfall.” The alpha takes a step toward me. His hand is placed under my chin and lifts it so that my eyes to look into his. “My child, what troubles you?”

The wolves around us move uncomfortably. My mate clears his throat. It’s obvious the alpha hasn’t been made aware of the situation between his son and me.

“Lynne is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her mate, Alpha.” I struggle to speak my words. It’s like they’re blocks of metal being lodged into my throat.

“Seeing everyone else with their mates made her uncontrollably jealous and unjust.”

“I see. Well,” the alpha pats my shoulder and clears his throat. “Your mate will show himself soon. You’ve recently turned eighteen. It’s only a matter of time.”

I can’t help but make eye contact with my mate. His expression is tight with his lips in a thin line and jaw muscles protruding. His striking green eyes hint at an emotion.

“Lake…” Landon shows up behind me and ushers me away from the crowd. We go behind a nearby supply shed that the warriors use to train.

“Thank you,” I mutter once we’re away from the view of almost everyone. My heart is racing by this point. It takes me a moment or two to catch my breath.

“Let me see your neck.” Landon moves the coat my father draped over me. His face turns grim and tense. “I knew it.”

My twin brother curses under his breath and kicks a rock toward the back of the shed. Confusion and anxiousness flood my mind and body.

“Landon, what is it?” I ask. He ignores me and curses under his breath again.

“It’s nothing,” Landon replies. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

***

It’s been a couple of hours, and I’m finally in the warmth of my own mattress. I let my comforters and pillows engulf me in a comforting state. And for the first time in a while, I get a good night’s sleep.

***

My alarm clock is blaring in my ear, and I groan. Once I snooze it, I get up and stretch. Lynne is groggy but feeling better than we did yesterday and the night before last.

I flip the light on and yawn. It takes my eyes a minute to adjust to the light, and once they do, that’s when I see it.

Placed on the left side of my neck. Something I never thought would be placed on my body.

There are dark veins protruding from it, and it’s bruised. The canine marks and the dried blood.

My skin isn’t healing like it normally would, and there’s evidence of irritation in the red rings surrounding the teeth marks. White pus is coming from the swollen, surrounding skin.

The Betrayal Mark.