LEON ADLER

"Do you have an idea where these shrines are?"

Ethan shakes his head as he lets out a shaky breath, his hair a bit disheveled. We just woke up in the middle of the night, so we can prepare for our departure without anyone noticing. If my mom and dad know of the place, they wouldn't let us leave and my mate will be forced to leave without me, and I can't simply let that happen.

His shirt is wrinkled from turning around in his sleep, and there's a dry stained of saliva near the edge of his lips. I chuckle, reaching out with my thumb to wipe it off. Ethan looks at me and blushes, looking down. My heart tugs at the innocent gesture.

"You were to go north, right? Maybe we can start there."

"Are you really sure you want to come with me?" My mate asks me as he grabs a hold of my hand.

Ethan has a worried expression on his face, probably because he knows that I'm an Alpha and I've got a pack to lead. But I'm ready to throw that away if Ethan is not going to be beside me. I know there are Alphas who are willing to sacrifice everything just to protect their pack, but in my case, I'm different. If Ethan will stay here, then I guess I can do that.

We all have choices that may seem wrong as normality has already been set and decided by the society, but I couldn't care less on that. I want my mate, and I'll do everything just to protect him. I have already wasted years by denying that I didn't know him, that I wasn't aware of him being my mate, and I'm not going to waste more time. This time, I'm going to be with him throughout his journey whatever it takes.

"Ethan, we've talked about this."

"I know," Ethan moves forward and puts his hand on my check affectionately, looking at me with emotions swimming in his beautiful eyes. He rests his forehead against mine, his thumb drawing circles on my cheek. "I just want to make sure you're okay with this, and that you're not forced to do this. If you don't come, that's okay, I promise you, I'll come back for you."

Grabbing his hand, I give him a small smile and shake my head. "Ethan, wherever you go, I'll follow you. I'm not forced here, I promise you that. I just want to accompany and support my mate whenever he goes, and if he wants to find answers or discovers a part of himself, I'll always be there. I've wasted a lot of time, Ethan, and I'm not going to make the same mistake. Ethan Kennedy, I accept you as my mate. I should have said that a long time ago, but I guess I was born dumb." I chuckle.

"Thank you, Leon."

It's already just past midnight, around 2 in the morning. There are a few patrols roaming around the area, and since I was the one who made their routine, I know which section of our territory they should be checking. We've already packed, and the bags we're bringing are quite big. There's a bunch of clothes folded neatly and placed inside, and we've got a few wads of cash just in case. We're going to take the high road as it will be easier and less chance of meeting other packs. I'm going to bring my old truck that I usually use to go to the city and buy stuff.

I know I can simply just tell the pack warriors that I'm just going to go somewhere, but we're bringing a lot of stuff, so it'd be quite suspicious. The lesser people see us, the less suspicion it would bring.

Loading the truck with our things, I motion for Ethan to come follow me. Ethan looks to his left and right, trying to sense if there's a werewolf doing a patrol near us, and I just smile at my mate. My mate is surely an expert in hiding and camouflaging, and no wonder it took me a lot of time to find him. If it weren't for the strings connecting us, I doubt I would have already found him.

We've only changed into simple clothes and have already eaten, as we don't know where we're going to end up and how many miles we're going to drive. Ethan climbs into the passenger seat, then he bends his body until he can't be seen from the outside of the truck. I roll my eyes at his silliness, but a smile tugs on my lips as I watch my mate does his antics.

I start the engine, and few minutes later, we're getting out of the Crescent Pack's territory. One werewolf who patrols the area sees us and I grumble in annoyance. The patroller raises his hand, and I stop. Once he recognizes me, his eyes widen and he starts apologizing.

"That's okay," I tell him. "I'm glad to see you're doing your job."

"Thank you, Leon."

"I just have something to take care of, so if anyone asks for me, please tell them that I'll be back soon. Can I count on you on that?" The patroller nods his head, giving me a salute and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "All right, you may go back to your duty."

Once we're clear, Ethan sits properly and looks at me with amusement in his eyes. Then he mimics the patroller, saluting me. Ethan laughs when he sees my expression, putting a hand on his tummy. I make a face at him like a child I am.

"It's so funny that they are always saluting you,"

"Tell me about it,"

We're not running the pack in a military way, so I'm not sure where that greeting began. It hasn't been implemented by my dad since it leaves him baffled as well whenever someone salutes him after greeting or meeting him. But I do have my suspicion, though. My best bet that it would be Shane, and it's something that Shane would put up considering he's an idiot.

Ethan pulls up a map and checks for the possible locations of the hidden shrines. He looks at it with pure concentration that his forehead creases, and his eyes squinting a little. My mate looks fucking cute and adorable.

"What are you looking at?" I laugh, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Drive."

My mate blushes, rolling his eyes as he focuses his attention back to the map in front of him. "How can I focus on driving when my mate is looking so adorable as he tries to figure out where we're going? Have I told you that I always thought you were cute? You really made me question my sexuality back then."

"You always thought I was cute?" Ethan asks, and it's my turn to blush. "And I made you question your sexuality. I must have been really special. The Alpha, who I was just admiring from afar, had always thought I was cute."

"Shut up," I laugh as I throw him a small pillow that I've brought.

"Perhaps we should stop at Sudbury first," Ethan says as he marks the map with the black marker he brought. "It's a 3-hour drive from here. We can buy a few things there, and rest for a while, then hit the road again. I have a feeling that the first shrine is near... Kesagami Provincial Park."

"Hold on, hold, there's more than one shrine?" I ask, perplexed. I rack my brain for anything that Nigel might have said, and suddenly remember that shrines were built across the United States. I groan, slowing down a bit. Ethan looks at me and something in his eyes flicker. Now, he's probably thinking that his initial decision to not include me in this trip is correct. "All right, good thing I'm up for adventure."

"Leon..."

"No," Stopping the truck for a while on the left side of the road, I take his hand and give it a light squeeze. "I was just shocked that we were going to a lot of shrines and didn't expect that we'd try to find them all. Look, it's... okay, we're going to drive for a thousand miles and we don't even know where these shrines are located, so I guess anyone would have the same expression, I guess, but I'm not leaving you, I told you. I'm going to drag my own ass just so I can be with you and not let you get out of my sight."

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome," I give him a small smile, lean forward, and presses my mouth against his, which he gladly accepts then I pull away before this escalates further. We still have a long way to go, and the sooner we get this done, the earliest I can be with my mate without any interruption. "So don't try to bring this conversation up again, all right?"

My mate nods, then I begin driving again.

The drive to Sudbury is quite a vibe. Our windows are rolled down, and the radio is turned up to a low volume but we can still hear the song playing. I look at my mate from the corner of my eyes and see him bobbing his head up and down, his arm stretched out through the open window, feeling the cold breeze of the wind against his skin.

My heart swells in happiness when he looks at me with a genuine smile, and a laugh escapes his lips as he turns the volume up a little. I grab my phone from my pocket and point the camera to him, and he grins widely, his hair a bit tousled as the wind passes through them. Ethan grabs the phone and takes a picture of me, and I wink at the camera.

Our antics continue as Ethan turns up the volume a little louder this time, and this time half of his body is already out the window as he screams. I laugh, pulling the hem of his shirt, a little worried that something might hit him as I drive. We eat the chips I've brought, and sing along to the song playing on the radio.

When we reach the Sudbury, the sky is a bit clearer and bluer now. The clouds are looking magnificent as it spreads across the blue sky. The birds are happily chirping. There are only a few people walking across the sidewalk. Buildings greet us as we enter the city. We stop at the nearest gas station, and my mate climbs out the truck, stretching his arms out. I look at his exposed stomach when his shirt is lifted, and I gulp, attempting to look away but unable to do so.

My wolf, Apollo, agrees at the sight and I calm myself.

We enter the convenience store near the gas station, and decide to buy a few stuff we can eat while on the road. I scan the area, looking for any suspicious person or a werewolf that has seen us. We're in a different territory, and the last thing I want to happen is to get in a fight with a bunch of werewolves. Although we're in the city and not in the forest where most werewolves live in, we can still be attacked. Werewolves always have an instinct to go to the forests as it's our primary habitat, and if we give into that temptation, then we might be in a big trouble.

I'm an Alpha, so it really shouldn't be a big problem to me, and my mate is a powerful werewolf as well, but sometimes, numbers are one's strength. If by any chance we run into a powerful pack, then we're doomed unless we discover our powers, which I've been trying to discover. I wonder how my powers are going to be, and I have an idea that it might be related to a brute strength. I mean, I already know I'm strong, but I feel like I could punch a big boulder without getting hurt.

That's a shitty ability, though.

My mate picks up a few chips, and I return some of them. Ethan pouts at me, giving me those puppy eyes and I huff, getting the chips I returned and handing it to him. Ethan immediately brightens up, putting the chips on the table. The lady at the cashier begins scanning it with a bored expression, and when her eyes meet mine, she immediately smiles and tucks a strand of her hair at the back of her ear.

Ethan frowns and grabs my hand. The lady looks at our entangled and rolls her eyes, punching a few buttons on the screen before asking for the payment with a bored tone. My heart somersaults as my mate displays his jealousy publicly, and Apollo practically jumps in happiness as my mate glares at the poor lady.

Once we get back at the truck, I say, "You're jealous."

"Of course, I am." Ethan huffs as he crosses his arms, looking at afar. A grin tugs on my lips as Ethan calms himself, then an irritated look crosses his face. "I don't like when women, or any person, look at you with motive, like they're planning to get your number or something so you guys could be in touch. I've always hated that, and now that you accepted me, I have the right to be jealous. What would you do if someone looks at me the way that lady looked at you?"

That thought alone is enough to send Apollo into frenzy. Of course, I'd be angry.

"I'm going to break their bones," I let out a feral growl. "Seriously, I'm going to tear their eyes out. I don't like it when people give you look that is way too romantic. They are not supposed to do that, not while I'm around."

"See, so you know why I'm pissed."

My arms immediately wrap around my mate's waist. I pull him close and press my mouth to his. I don't care if people are seeing us being intimate with each other; they can screw themselves. What matters is how I treat my mate and how I make him feel that I'm his and only his, and there's no one that's going to take me away from him.

"I really like it when you kiss me," he murmurs as he pulls away, a blush forming in his cheeks as he looks down shyly. "Come on, let's hit the road. Let's get this done as soon as possible, and after this, we can go home together."

"I like that,"

Going home sounds really nice, especially those words have come from my mate. Although, I wish we were going home under a different circumstance, like after our honeymoon, but I'm not complaining. Ethan wants some answers on his questions, and I should help him with that.

With Ethan in my head, we both climb into the truck and head north, to Kesagami. I really wish the shrine is there, otherwise, it'd take us a long time to discover the others.