Aedan POV

"Aedan. Where are you?" Tye's voice echoes in my mind. Tye is my best friend and Beta of Blue Ridge pack. When I decided to split from Crescent pack, three years ago, he was the first of three wolves to follow me.

"I came across the scent from that rogue on my way back. I'm following it now to see where he's been," I linked him back. We had been coming across scent from a lone male wolf for months now. We had been trying to catch up with him, but so far he'd managed to elude us.

"Do you want us to come back you up?" Tye offered.

"No. The scent isn't from today. I'll just follow it for a while. See if I can figure out what he's been doing." I shut down the connection between our minds and follow the scent along a back alley in town. My senses picked up a lone car driving by out front, a cat slinking along at the other end of the alley, and unpleasant smells coming from the nearby trashcans. Not unpleasant... interesting, my wolf disagrees with me. Of course he would like that smell, I think with humor. Only a canine nose would think rancid Chinese smells good.

The humor evaporates as I catch another whiff of the rogue. Intruder, my wolf growls. He doesnt like the idea of an unknown male wolf in our territory. I tend to agree with him. I've been trying to find this wolf, but quietly, not drawing attention from the humans. Most of them don't have a clue about their supernatural friends, neighbors, and coworkers. It's in shifters best interest to keep it that way. The humans would lose their minds if they knew the truth.

No luck catching up with the rogue, so far.

Suddenly, a door bursts open to my right. A flash of long brown hair barrels into me. I instinctively grab the girl's shoulders to keep her upright. "Hey, are you ok?" The girl's face flames red and she rushes out an apology. She is turning her face up to mine when her scent hits me. It's a mixture of sun soaked outdoors and strawberries. Mine! My wolf shoots to his feet. I realise, with no small amount of shock, that I'm staring into the face of my mate.

I'm dumbfounded for a split second. This is the last place I would have expected to find my mate. The only wolves that are usually in this town are in my tiny pack. While not impossible, human mates are unusual. The very real possibility of never finding our mates is an every day reality for the Blue Ridge pack.

She's so perfect. Long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, large hazel eyes, tanned skin, and a slim build. She smells amazing. My wolf agrees with me there. He's begging me to pull her closer so we can smell her neck. I come to my senses in time to stop myself from actually acting on my impulse. I'm sure groping her and smelling her neck right now wouldnt make a great first impression.

I realise that she's stopped talking and is staring, a slightly disoriented look on her face. Her reaction to the mate pull is amusing and I let a light laugh slip.

She blinks and seems to come around. Then I feel her stiffen slightly and catch the faint scent of fear. Idiot. I'm still holding onto her and, smart girl that she is, it's starting to frighten her. Letting go, I step back. The last thing I want is to scare her. My wolf whimpers in agreement. Act human, I remind myself. What would an average, human male do right now? I hold out my hand, "I'm Aedan Carter."

She's still nervous, I can feel it vibrating in the air around us. She starts talking fast again and reaches to shake my hand. When our hands touch, I feel sparks shoot up my arm. I'm a little zoned out, enjoying the new feeling, when what she just said clicks. "You come out here alone like this often?" I'm alarmed. The rogue has been here. What if he had come across her. I stifle a growl with difficulty. I have to protect Elizabeth. She's mine. I take a deeper inhale of the air around us, checking for danger.

I look back to my mate and she is sending a quick wave my way. She's backing away, looking like she wants to be anywhere but here, turning and walking away fast. Crap. I can't let her leave yet. Say something, my wolf begs. Don't let her go yet. "Is it ok if I walk you to your car? You really shouldn't be out here alone. "

She looks back, hesitates, and to me immense relief I hear a small "ok." I walk quickly to her and we start walking together toward the lone silver car at the end of the lot. I'm intensely aware of everything around me. Wolf on high alert for the smallest hint of danger. The night is calm. My skin prickles with small bursts of electricity when we nearly brush arms. I look down at her petite features. She's not short, but at 6'2", I'm still significantly taller.

She tries to sneak a glance at me and blushes when she sees that I'm already looking at her. She looks down quickly. My mate is shy. It's cute.

We are nearly to her car. I can't just let her drive away. In a small town like this, I've no doubt I would find her again before long. But I don't want to waste the time. And I need to know she's safe. I ask if I can see her again, and wait. I'm hardly breathing and my wolf is paying close attention. If she rejects us, I don't know how we will cope. Being rejected by the mate that I wasn't really expecting to ever find has suddenly become my worst fear.

She seems to be deciding, I can practically see her thoughts. My attention is drawn to her mouth. She's sucked her lip in and is chewing it slightly. My wolf is mesmerized, eager to do some biting of his own, so all other wolves will know to stay clear of our mate.

After a long pause, Elizabeth tells me she wants to meet tomorrow at 2. "That's perfect. I'll meet you at The Country Inn." I name the first local place that comes to mind. I reach around her and open her car door. I know I'm standing a little too close, but can't seem to stop myself. The urge to just grab her already, and drag her to the safety of the pack house, is strong. I can feel my wolf encouraging me to just go with that instinct.

She moves slightly away, breaking me out of the semi trance. She slides inside, closes the door, and rolls down the window. She's thanking me for walking her to her car and I can feel a huge grin trying to plaster itself to my face.

"Anytime, Elizabeth. "

"Liz. My friends call me Liz, " she tells me softly. The grin escapes. I love her nickname.

"Liz." I try the name out, and like how it feels coming off of my tongue. "Tomorrow at 2." She's smiling back at me now and her whole face lights up. I take a careful step back, before I give in and do reach into the car, and watch her drive away.

As soon as she's out of sight, I sprint for the shadows of the alley. Once there, I give over to my wolf. He's anxious to follow our mate and needs no encouragement. He jogs to the spot her car was sitting, sniffs the pavement, and lopes off in the direction she drove.

The road is deserted so we make good time as my wolf tracks Liz. The moonlight shines on our glossy gray fur. Heated breath blowing clouds into the night as I pant. It's only a few miles before we turn down a gravel driveway leading to a big old farmhouse. There's a barn, and I can smell livestock. As I get closer, I pick up the scent of a dog. My wolf wags his tail happily. She's a dog person. I'm going to take that as a good sign.

The place smells like Liz. The house, the barn, and the garden. She's everywhere. The house is quiet, but I know that she is in there. She's already settled down inside. I let my wolf have his way, he wants to patrol the area around her home. As we near a stand of trees to the side of the property I catch a scent that makes the hair along my spine stand up instantly. The rogue has been here. A lot. His scent is deeply entrenched in this stand of trees. He's been coming here regularly for a long time. Maybe even months. Whipping my head back towards her house, I see that I have a perfect view of both the house and barn. He's been watching her.

"Tye!" I send out a distress call for my pack. "Pick up my scent in the grocery store lot and follow it to me. All of you. Come now."

They answer immediately, all business and ready for a fight. My pack is coming. That thought helps me to keep it together. I trust them to watch out for her at any cost. I'm not leaving Liz unprotected until we figure out where the rogue is hiding, and deal with him.

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Uh oh. I smell conflict in the future...

Updated AN, I am in the process of making some much needed edits to this story. I haven't decided yet, but may remove the unedited parts of this story while they are worked on, to help avoid confusion. If I do take it down, I will also pull the sequel, Laws Of Nature. But hang in there , they won't be gone for long and I will repost as the edits are made.

♡Haven84