A2. The Scent

It’s getting stronger when Caleb Andino was coming closer to the lone cottage that was on the center of the land that was supposed to be the neutral territory. He bared his teeth as the saliva was dripping from the side of his mouth.

Curse it, he thought as he was prowling along the edge of the territory where he can see the old man was sitting on the chair before the television and he was laughing at the show that he watched right now.

Curse him and his kind, Caleb said before he felt the brush of the mind l**k from his best friend and second-in-command.

‘Caleb, you need to get away from there now. Your father will have your tail if you don’t come home this instant. And your mother has been screaming at me for not telling her where you have gone to,’ Xavier said before Caleb huffed his breaths through the snout. Even the sunshine still there in the Wintertime, it did not make Caleb chill to his bone.

No, being in that condition right now, with brown fur covering all over his body, has kept him warm long enough to see that treacherous old man from the sideline.

Soon, your head shall be mine, he reminded himself before he shielded up his mind l**k so that Xavier will not be knowing what he was thinking right now.

Then, that scent hit him again.

Caleb turned around to see who was it with him in this dark, murky forest. It was later in the evening where most people in Paphos, Cyprus, would not dare to come out and staying outside after dark. They don’t want to get tangled up with the tight community that was the true ruler of Paphos.

The tight community that was known as Shadow Pack and he was the heir to the current leader of the pack.

Another sniff in the air told him that he can sense the scent was nearby. Caleb did not know where it was coming from but he knows it has to be near him for he can sense that his wolf was being relentless in his mind right now.

Mine, it purred before Caleb was scanning the area. There was no one in his proximity and right now, he did not care to see who it was. He has done for the day. He watched the old man was coming from the upstairs of his cottage before Caleb concluded that there was someone else inside the cottage.

Someone that he never knew before.

He turned his amber eyes from the lower part of the cottage to the upper part of the cottage. It was silent last month and Caleb bet that the old man did not have a lover. Maybe he would since he still like a rugged old man that woman would fall in love with.

He shook his head. Nonsense, he thought before he slipped away further into the forest his paws were silent across the ground. He had trained since he was a pup that he will not be alerting his enemies when he was near.

They will be least expected when he attacked and they never saw him coming.

Turning all four, Caleb ran past the pine forests and trees as he was making his way into the known territories that have been bestowed to the Shadow Pack since the ancient time where Ancient Greece was thriving in the world.

He ran as fast as he could before he can see the first torch that was shining in the dark, showing to any rogues that might be coming across here was a big mistake. He slowed down before he went behind a big tree and then shifted back to his normal human form.

His brunette fur eased into his skin before the clear, smooth skin appeared. He was kneeling down on all fours before all the fur has hidden underneath his skin. Only his hair was a brown, tousled mess before Caleb stood up.

He went across the big tree before he went into one of the changing rooms that has been prepped, thanks to his idea, for any wolves that needed clothes before entering into the community. He took on a pair of black trousers, for it was cheap and common since Caleb will be shredding it again anyway before he made his way to the packhouse.

The packhouse was busy and noisy as usual since he first moved in here after he was named as his father’s heir. Caleb did not have a home of his own yet, not until he met his mate, the other soul of his being before he can move out and live on his own.

But of course, most werewolves would have found their mates when they were 18 years old but unfortunately for Caleb, that never happened. Most of the wolves on the island were either too young or mate less as they have reached at that time in their life where Caleb and his other friends, have given up where their mates existed in this world.

The Moon Goddess must be laughing at them right now.

Caleb made his way into the packhouse as he opened the front door before he saw there were pups that were running around. He smiled before they stopped in front of him and bowed to him as he was their future Alpha and they should learn to respect him from early own.

Nothing more than boosting one’s ego than this, Caleb thought before he went to the kitchen where he can sense she was there, probably fussing around about the next meal for these pups that lived in the packhouse.

Most of the pups were parent-less and they have been strayed from their homes. Some of them have been abandoned for their parents died or escape from their tight community. Caleb felt sorry for them for he grew up with his parents’ love but these pups never knew them in their lives.

“So, you finally show up after snooping around that cottage for hours,” his mother’s voice boomed in his eardrums before Caleb was snapped to the present. Xavier was smiling sheepishly at him before Caleb was glaring at his best friend.

I swear I will kill him one of these days, he mused before he was making his way to kiss his mother, Luna of the Shadow Pack, and kissed her cheeks.

“Good evening, mum,” Caleb mumbled before his mother was narrowing her eyes on him. Caleb made his way to take a seat next to his Beta before he was glaring at Xavier. He shrugged at his glare.

‘You told my mother?’ he asked him through the mind l**k that they shared.

‘What can I say? She’s the Luna and I cannot defy her,’

‘At least, you can tell her lies about my whereabouts,’ Caleb growled in the mind l**k. Xavier flinched. Then, he sighed.

‘And she would know that I lie through my teeth. You know how she is,’ Xavier said before Caleb cut the mind l**k as his mother was staring at him.

“So, do you want to share why are you doing at that cottage house again?” his mother asked him as she was crossing her arms.

“I don’t think it would be interesting to you, mum,” Caleb said before he was reaching for the meat that was served on the table. His mother slapped his hand before Xavier was snickering behind him and faked a cough to cover it.

“Caleb Cavier Andino, I ask you a question and you will answer me,” the Luna of the Shadow Pack was now standing in front of him, not his mother anymore. Caleb gulped when her green eyes narrowed on him.

“You promised that you will not be going there anymore. Are you making fun of any promises that you made to me?” his mother asked him before Xavier was excusing himself, knowing that he did not want to be in between mother and son talk right now.

“No, I don’t think it would hardly be—“

“That old man was dangerous and he was the reason that your father was crippled the last time he comes to our territory. I think we can all agree that you, the future Alpha, was not to engage with him until we come out with a better plan,” his mother said before Caleb was gripping his hands into fists. Then, his mother was staring out into space for a moment.

Caleb knew that his father was talking to his mother right now. Caleb can see that his mother softened a bit after hearing his father’s voice. I wonder when it will be my turn to feel that way, Caleb mused before he shook his head.

He was 25 years old now, this year. It was too late to find his mate, his true mate when his father has made an arrangement for him 2 years ago. He sighed before his mother snapped at him. She grimaced.

“Your father called you to his study, apparently, he wanted to talk about the delicate situation,” his mother said before she softened up. Then, his mother was kissing his forehead before she hugged him.

“You’re my only son and the future of this pack. I don’t want you to get hurt, okay?” his mother murmured to him as Caleb was hugging her as well.

“But how do I rule when I don’t have my mate by my side?” he asked her before his mother spoke another word, he added,

“The true mate. The half of my soul, the one that Moon Goddess promised for me,” Caleb knows that he was whining right now but his mother chuckled.

“Do not give up home. Diana may not be your mate but if you work it out, who knows, she might be the one,” she said before she ushered Caleb to his father, knowing in his heart he would never see Diana, Xavier little sister, to be truly his mate.

I know you’re out there, I just have to find you first before the wedding, he mused as Caleb made his way to his father's room, knowing that his father’s Beta and his daughter, Diana, will be there.