FOUR

Ozzie's pov

*THE RUNNING*

I couldn't get her out of my mind.

My Val.

I stood impatiently beside the rest of the eligible men from the other packs and my own. They were talking amongst one another and normally I would be joining in the conversation, but my thoughts were occupied by my gorgeous mate.

Everything about her fascinated me. Her smile, her attitude, her gorgeous body, the way she plays hard to get. And much more.

I know she was unsure of me at first, but I knew I could charm her. I'm glad it worked out, and she is accepting our bond. My heart soars at the thought that after tonight I would have her coming back home with me.

"Oz," I bring my head up from my thoughts and look to my Alpha and best friend, Sebastian. I smile towards him, but he has an angry look on his face. I swear, he's rubbed off too much on Kai. They're both so grumpy. "Kai told me that you had personal matters at the Lupin Pack. Is there anything that I should be aware of?"

I gave him a smile and shook my head, waving it off, "I'm actually going to tell you about it at the banquet after this." I tell him, feeling excited to tell him. Between him and Kai, they were the closest people to me and Kai already knew. I just wanted to be able to show off Val to him. Maybe I should go ahead and tell him- my thoughts are cut off as I caught a whiff of her undeniable scent. My Val.

"She's here," he growled and I shook away my thoughts, seeing that he was fighting for control over his wolf. He was clenching his fists at his sides, and he was looking almost animalistic. "My mate.."

"Seb!" I smiled happily at the thought that he and I would both have our mates here for the Running. I was especially glad that she would have her. He needed a little light in his life- other than me of course. "I can't wait to meet her."

Val's pov

Once I had come to stand out in the field where we would be starting the Running, I had been hit by two scents that made my wolf want out. The first was of course the rainy-earthy scent of Ozzie. The second was unfamiliar to me, but equally just as irresistible which was a mix of a campfire and wood. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what the second scent could possibly be. And why it was affecting me so much.

The Running had started before I collected my thoughts and suddenly all of the other she-wolves began to make their way towards the forest. I pushed myself to run fast, darting past trees and other wolves. The girls get a head start before the guys come out.

I kept running, pushing my body to the limit and trying to keep going. I could hear the males catching their females from behind me and could smell both of the pleasant scents getting closer to me; however it was the unknown scent that was the closest.

Something in me told me to worry about that scent. It was almost like a feeling of dread, like it would turn my world upside down. On the other hand, my wolf kept reaching out to whatever- whoever - had that scent.

A low growl sounded behind me, bringing with it the woodsy scent. I froze, partly due to my wolf, but also from fear. This person had a dominant and dangerous aura, one of a powerful Alpha. 'Mate, turn around,' a deep voice said through mindlink and I almost shivered at the feeling of need the voice brought me. My wolf was reaching out even more, and this feeling was very similar to Ozzie, but this werewolf was clearly not Ozzie.

I slowly turned around and viewed the wolf who brought so much force with just his presence. He was a very large wolf, maybe a little bigger than Ozzie's. His fur was slick black, a very obvious contrast to my white fur. Once I had him in my gaze, my wolf, body, and soul wanted to mate with him right here. These feelings scared me, but also made me want to explore this. What about Ozzie? What are these feelings? How is this possible?

The wolf stalked over to me slowly, staring at me as if I were his prey and I had to keep reminding myself that this was also an Alpha and not to make any sudden moves. He stood in front of me, staring me in the eyes. I could see that his wolf had taken control based on his black eyes. He brought his head into my neck and my body fought between the urge to tense or accept it. I felt like this way for Ozzie, but this Alpha felt like an imprint as well. It wasn't possible to have two imprints, was it?

'Mate,' he growled into my neck and started to nip on my marking area, not being gentle like Ozzie would be, but rather needy and forceful. As much as my wolf was willing to accept it, I wasn't ready for it. I don't even know who this is. 'Mine.'

'Wait, I don't want to-' I pulled back from him, trying to create as much distance as I could between us. His loud growl echoed through the trees, although it wasn't because of me, it was because someone else was here. Ozzie.

The Alpha turned himself around, attempting to block me from him, but I ducked my head to the side, spotting Ozzie's undeniable fur. My heart and wolf wanted to reach out to him, but until I could figure out what was going on, I had to stop my wolf and my feelings from doing anything reckless. Ozzie found my gaze and I could see his eyes flashing from his wolf and human.

I hoped for his sake he could keep his wolf under control. This Alpha was scary powerful, and if by some Goddess-given nightmare he's imprinted on me too, then Ozzie needs to be careful.

I could tell they were mindlinking each other, every so often they would let out a few growls to themselves. I furrowed my eyebrows, expecting the Alpha to attack Ozzie, but he didn't. Did they know each other? Realization came to me and I looked between them, hoping I was wrong. Was this... his Alpha? Alpha Sebastian?

'Ozzie, what's going on?' I asked him through mindlink. Although he wasn't responding, I could feel his hurt, anger, and jealousy through our bond. I'm sure the Alpha was telling him that I was imprinted. Was it true? To me and my wolf it felt true, but again how was this possible?

Suddenly, the Alpha untensed and turned to look at me. 'Follow me, mate,' he said to me before he started to walk back towards the banquet area. I followed behind him and stared at Ozzie as the Alpha, then I passed him. He caught my gaze and I could tell that he was hurting at the realization that had come out about the Alpha and I. After I passed Ozzie, he followed closely behind me. I thought back to yesterday and let out a huff. He was supposed to be the one to find me. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else, just him and I.

I kept glancing back at him and he would always catch my gaze, which I appreciated. I had missed him the day that he was gone and wanted to tell him that, but that would obviously have to wait.

'Mate,' the Alpha ahead of me let out a warning growl and I brought my head up to see he was looking back at me too. 'Come to my side.' He demanded. I wanted to tell him to shove off with the demands, but knew that this was probably Alpha Sebastian, one of the most feared Alpha's.

I trotted up to his side, trying to keep a bit of distance in between us. As much as my wolf and body craved his touch, it also craved Ozzie, and I hate that he was behind us having to watch. The Alpha had other plans as he pushed his body into my side. He let out a warning growl to me, but also I think to Ozzie. I didn't want anything bad to happen, so I stayed like that.

The trot back to the front felt awkward to me and I'm sure Ozzie does too, but soon we were back to the front. They walked me over to the girls side, where a few other wolves had come back to drop off their mates. Once we got right beside the building, the Alpha stopped and turned to me. 'Go get changed then I will meet you inside.' He told me, almost like an order, before shoving his head in my neck and nipping at it again. This time my body tensed because I was very aware of Ozzie's burning gaze on us.

Luckily the Alpha let me go then walked off with Ozzie beside him. I turned to the entrance of the changing rooms and was almost numb from what had happened. I went in and shifted before pulling on a sundress that Ozzie had complimented on me. I had chosen this dress for him, but now I was most likely going to spend this night with the Alpha.

It was bitterly ironic.

Once I had changed, and somewhat collected my thoughts, I went inside to the banquet, overcome with both of those delicious scents. What should bring me happiness is now bringing me anxiety.

Why can't anything be simple?