Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 14

Jax

I felt the beginning edges of panic creeping in as I sped through the forest as my abnormally large wolf, having shed my human skin as soon as I finished speaking with Reese.

My thoughts raced as I ran. I was beyond proud of her for running of course, but I did wish she had waited just a little longer to make her grand escape. If she could have held out until lunch, then we would have been there to rescue her.

Instead, she was running through these woods all on her own with Zeke and his warriors, while I raced to save her.

It was possible that she was already long gone. After all, she did leave several hours ago, but something in me was pulling me closer to the river, like she was reeling me in.

However, I rapidly became even more alarmed when I realized that Zeke’s scent was nearby.

I strained my ears to ensure none of his warriors were around as well.

The last thing I needed was an ambush, though I knew Reese had my back and several of his warriors would be hot on our tracks.

I heard Reese further behind me, but the upcoming river drowned out any further information I may have gathered from this sense unfortunately.

I could tell no one was in my immediate vicinity at least, but I could not hear Zeke. Adrenaline burned through my system as I rushed to rescue my mate before Zeke could put his grimy paws on her again.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me, what caused her to run at that moment?

From what I could tell, she had been here for quite some time, but barely anyone knew about her. That meant she did not frequent the outdoors often, so something must have pushed her over the edge.

Before I could question the matter more thoroughly, Zeke’s voice rang out above the river’s racing current as I neared its bank.

I swiftly glanced up stream and triumphantly realized that I had found him. I did not hear what he had said, but there he was, about to cross the river to the other side.

Splash!

As I was watching the scene unfold in front of me, I heard Reese run up behind me and stop.

A moment later, a trio of thundering furballs came to a stop a few feet off to the right as well, but I was too distracted by watching Zeke almost get crushed by several large boulders that suddenly came tumbling down from a natural ledge, that was probably carved into the rockface by the flowing water millions of years ago.

Unfortunately, he did not get crumpled like the piece of trash he was, but I noticed he did not escape unscathed if his pained howl meant anything.

However, Zeke’s pain meant little to me when I realized what had caused the mini avalanche of rocks.

I just barely caught a look at the back of her head before she was bounding off out of sight, but I did notice the miles of long, dark hair that trailed behind her.

I found myself desperately wanting to sink my fingers into her luscious hair when the first hints of her scent reached me. There was that heavenly smell of honeysuckle, a hint of vanilla, and something else that I still could not put a name too.

It was intoxicating.

I immediately took off after her like a bat out of hell. I trusted Reese to guide his warriors into a trap for Zeke. My only concern now was for my mate.

I quickly transformed back into my human form to cross the river easier. I kept running for a few minutes until I came across the best place to cross.

I sloshed into the ice-cold water without a second thought, though my balls certainly protested against the glacier-like water.

My wolf lurked just beneath the surface as I crossed the rushing river, and as I broke free of the water, he pushed forward in a rare show of dominance.

Normally, I could hold back from shifting, but this time, I had no choice. I found myself running on all fours before I knew it, the adrenaline having dulled the pain.

Further, my wolf zoned in on the scent of his mate, and he was on the hunt. Nothing could stop him now.

As I found myself being pulled along for the chase, I was shocked to realize I could hear my mate screaming vulgar words at Zeke. Well okay then.

There went any fears I had been having as to whether my mate would be some shy wallflower. I was Alpha of the Northern Province after all, and I needed a mate who could stand beside me.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had found just that in this wonderful woman, even before I had met her face to face.

Nevertheless, all thoughts ground to an immediate halt as I broke through the tree line into a small clearing.

A terrifying growl rang out through the night, and I was shocked to realize that it had come from me.

My wolf was near feral upon seeing Zeke with his hands upon our mate. I pulled on all my reserve strength to shove my wolf into the background. I retook my human form quickly.

I knew if my wolf remained at the forefront, my mate would be harmed in the process. He was too far gone to process the situation further than the fact his mate was in danger and the cause for it was right in front of him.

However, I froze momentarily as my eyes met her wide, chocolate covered irises, one word coming unbidden from my mouth, “Mine.”

The next few minutes seemed to pass in a blur. One moment, my eyes were locked with my soulmate’s and the next, she was falling to the ground in a heap, having twisted herself out of Zeke’s arms.

I darted forward instinctively, already knowing I was too far away to catch her in time but knowing I had to try anyway.

Yet, before I could cross the small clearing and pull her into my arms, Zeke dashed forward and roughly yanked her body against his chest yet again.

Zeke’s panicky motions became even more flurried as he shouted, “She’s mine! My mate, you have no standing here!”

He desperately cried out, as he hurriedly tossed his head back and forth, presumably looking for a route of escape.

I let loose a ferocious roar and was about to teach Zeke a lesson he would never forget about coming between an alpha and his mate, but, fortunately for him, Reese chose that moment to announce his presence.

I could see the b***d draining from Zeke’s face as he realized he would never make it out here alive with her in tow.

As I made my move to extricate my mate from Zeke’s slimy paws, he had apparently made a split-second decision to abandon the female and subsequently pushed her off to the right into a large cluster of rocks, while he attempted to turn tail and run in the opposite direction of Reese and me.

I quickly diverted my course of direction toward her, just barely managing to snag her around the waist before she went crashing into the rocks.

Unfortunately, the force that I had generated lunging after Zeke had slammed into her delicate body as I caught her around the middle, causing her to bow backward and her head to graze one of the large boulders.

Crack!

I heard the audible sound of her head smashing against the stone as I came to a complete halt.

I felt disturbed as I realized she had been injured in the process of me trying to save her.

I swiftly glanced down and noticed, to my horror, that the blow to her head had knocked her out.

I turned and ran flat out back to the pack house, uncaring that I was as naked as the day I was born while I sprinted through the densely interwoven trees with my precious cargo.

I knew Reese and his men would follow after Zeke, but I could not think about that right now.

She was the most important thing.

My heart felt a little lighter when I felt her stir in my arms, though a pang shot through it when a small g***n left her lips soon after.

I picked up the pace as I finally came upon the path that would lead me to the main house.

I quickly made it to the gaping hole in the side of the house, due to the lighter trekking through the woods that the path provided.

As I raced through the door and into the first room I found that had a soft bed I could lay my mate on, I noticed someone had removed the splintered wood from the doorframe that I had smashed earlier in my desperate bid to get to my other half.

I shouted loudly for Veronica. I knew she would be able to help, though if the female’s restless stirring was any indication, time was all she needed until she awoke.

Nevertheless, Ronnie would give her a full checkup, I reasoned. I needed to know that she would be okay.

I found a chair and settled in next to the bed. What I wanted to do was crawl into the bed with her and wrap her up tight in my arms.

Unfortunately, I knew that would probably scare her, so I settled for resting my head on my arms next to her on the bed and holding her hand.

I did not know how long it would take her to wake up, but I did know I would be here, whether it be twenty minutes or twenty years from now.

She was it for me.