Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The day after their meeting with the witches, Timber went early to the Southern territory to enhance the suits Andreas had completed, so they would be ready for the men Alpha Johnathon was picking up for territory disbursement. Upon leaving there, she checked in with Elder Selene and Elder Maira about the other supernatural communities and how to contact them directly when the war starts, which could be at any time. According to the Elders, ever since she had needlessly attacked the other communities they were more than willing to assist the Graves Pack in a moment's notice.

After working in his office doing alpha work, Alpha Johnathon picked up about a hundred more men from the Southern border to distribute to the other border areas. Each man was now equipped with the new stealth uniform. He checked in on Andrew to make sure the patrols were moving like he had requested and to add the new warriors to the schedules.

Andrew filled Alpha Johnathon in on everything he had done since that morning. Being pleased with what he saw and heard, he and Andew shifted, taking a border run check personally and to build morale for the men who were on the front lines for defense.

~~~~~~

Andrew was training the men that Alpha Johnathon, Timber and the boys weren’t training their special gifts on. Watching two men spar, he coached them through various situations they could find themselves in and how to get out of them easier with less effort while causing the most damage to their opponent.

It had been almost an hour when Andrew felt the air shift around him and the most amazing scent of raspberry and mint hit his nostrils causing his wolf Rusty to come forward. Eyes black as night, he inhaled deeply searching for the cause of it when his eyes locked on her.

It was Layana… and she wasn’t cloaked this time.

Stopping everything he was doing, Andrew walked over to where she was standing watching him from a short distance to not get in his way.

“You’re here?” he voiced in disbelief. “...and… you're not cloaked” he questioned, still in disbelief that she would show herself to him in front of his pack. She shook her head a few times gently in reassurance that she was indeed not cloaked this time.

A small smile made its way on her face at his reaction. She was hoping he wouldn’t be upset with her, as this was all new for her; this mate bond she was feeling.

Andrew’s body shook with delight as Rusty continued to push forward wanting to be near his mate. He wanted to mark her right then so she wouldn’t leave again, but Andrew knew she was still needing time to understand what she felt and that they weren’t going to hurt her like she’s been led to believe all her life.

Reaching his hand out, he caressed her cheek, rubbing his thumb gently over it. Rusty howled in his head because she let them touch her.

Layana closed her eyes at the gesture leaning into his strong hand. Breathing deeply she sighed in contentment. Her wolf, Mayra, also pushed forward and howled in delight that they were so close to their mate. Mayra wanted Layana to throw herself at him and never let go.

“You're not upset that I came unannounced?” Layana whispered as she opened her eyes to gaze in his beautiful amber orbs.

“How could I be upset with you wanting to see me?” Andrew cooed as a smile spread across his face and a chuckle escaped his lips. His heart was full being this close to her and knowing she wanted to be there with him. “I am just so happy you’re here.” moving a strand of hair behind her ear then moving the back of his fingers down the side of her face.

A throat cleared behind him causing them both to turn around to find the cause of their little interruption. “Alpha Johnathon. My apologies, I didn’t notice you came up.” Andrew said a little shocked that he was sneaked up on.

Wolves have impeccable hearing and smell, so to be snuck up on bothered him. ‘We’re going to need to be more alert when she’s around.’ Andrew thought to himself.

A smirk crept on Alpha Johnathon’s face knowing his Beta was entranced by his mate’s presence. “Be careful next time Beta. you cannot protect her if you don’t know the enemy is nearby.” Still smirking while speaking to him. HIs arms crossed over his chest being all intimidating like.

“Are you all done here?” He questioned motioning with his head to the warriors Andrew was supposed to be training.

“Uh, yes sir.” was all he replied back as his eyes filtered over to the warriors who continued to spar without him. A chuckle left Alpha Johnathons lips as he shook his head side to side releasing his arms to his side.

“Go on. Enjoy your mate while she’s here. Just be mindful of your surroundings, shouldn’t need to tell you that Beta.” Alpha Johnathon stated to remind him of who he was and his duties to not only the pack but his now his mate.

‘He’s right Andrew. We should have known he was standing behind us.’ Rusty growled in annoyance.

‘I know. Our mate is going to be our biggest weakness if we don’t get it together.’ Andrew replied back giving himself a mental facepalm.

‘Did we just get him in trouble with his Alpha’ Layana asked her wolf Mayra, not quite understanding their interaction.

‘No Layana we did not. Our mate is our protector, if he’s distracted and not aware around us we can get killed.’ Mayra explained. Layana gave her a mental ‘oh’. As a wolf she has insight on wolf behaviors and interactions. Without her guidance Layana would be lost having a wolf as a mate.

“How about we go for a run? Rusty, my wolf, and I would love to meet yours. What’s her name?” Andrew suggested wanting to do something with her, just the two of them. A smile moved over her face of him wanting to know more about her and her wolf. Mayra was giddy, jumping and howling in excitement at the thought of getting to go for a run with her mate.

“Mayra, her name is Mayra and we would love to.” Layana finally said after pausing a few moments before answering. Mayra was begging for her to say yes. As a wolf she needs to spend time with her wolf mate just as much as the human side needs to spend time with each other to make the bond grow stronger.

“Let’s go to the back of the pack house so you can strip from your clothes without prying eyes around. I promise to not peek either.” Andrew said with a sly smirk on his face as he winked at her. He saw the relief wash over her as he said the latter part putting her at ease.

“Thank you.” Layana softly said back shyly as she let him take her hand in his, although taken a little off guard, walking around to the back of the pack house for shifting privacy.

Her heart raced being this close to him. Holding his hand. Being physical with another like this was not something Layana was used to. She’s had hugs and has had someone hold her hand, but not like this. Not in an intimate nature. It scared her, how it made her feel. She wanted to run and hide from him but she knew she needed to give this a chance. Not just for her wolf, but for herself too. Her coven also needed her to gain their trust, and she knew it.

Andrew was elated she was there with him, letting him hold her hand. It may have been a simple gesture, but he knew for her it was a lot. He grinned so widely, he could feel his ears with his lips. Rusty was more than excited knowing he was going to spend time with her wolf. If their wolves could get more comfortable with each other, then maybe Layana would trust him more and open up to him, and hopefully let him mark and mate her.

As they walked the short walk, Andrew took a chance and rubbed little circles with his thumb on the top of her hand as he held it. His heart skipped beats when she didn’t yank it from his grip. ‘Progress. We are making progress.’ He thought to himself as Rusty agreed with him.

Andrew turned his back to her undressing, allowing her to do so privately. Although, every so often he would look over his shoulder and smile seeing she hadn’t left yet. Once his shorts were off he shifted into his brown wolf. Nudging her with his nose letting her know he had shifted, she turned to him over her shoulder and smiled.

Rusty huffed impatiently requesting her to shift too. She motioned with her hand for him to turn around which caused him to huff again. “Please turn around. I don’t like shifting in front of others.” she finally said. Rusty nodded his head curtly and did as she requested.

After shifting into Mayra, Mayra walked over to Rusty nudging him with her snout. Rusty turned and looked at her over his shoulder licking his snout with his tongue in approval. He walked around her sniffing and nudging her gently to get to know her. She let him before nipping at him playfully. She jumped herself around him while coaching him to run with her. Mayra was not shy and Rusty liked that about her.

Once Mayra got his attention, she took off running through the opening in the woods behind them. Rusty went right after her without hesitation. Mayra was faster than Rusty had first thought she’d be, causing him to actually work at catching up to her.

He loved the chase and this chase was going to be worth it when he caught her. Mayra zigged and zagged all over the place trying to throw him off but Rusty was an exceptional hunter, not losing her scent even though she scattered it all over the place.

Mayra kept this pattern going for a while until she didn’t hear his paws hitting the ground behind her, causing her to slow down and look around cautiously. ‘What’s wrong Mayra?’ Layana questioned. ‘I can’t hear him anymore. Where’d he go?’ She replied back. ‘You scared him off! Why did you do that! I was finally having fun.’ Layana whined, although Mayra knew he was still near, just not sure where until her nostrils flared catching the scent of… something.

‘What? What is it?’ Layana interrupting her concentration. ‘DO you smell that? It smells like the earth after a hard rain?’ Mayra purred. ‘That’s him.’ She confirmed. ‘So that’s what that smell is.’ Layana was so naive to these things, causing Mayra to roll mental eyes at her.

Even as a wolf in a witch’s body living in a coven, she still knew the wolf species. It was woven into her from the Moon Goddess at the start of all creation. All wolves knew what their mate smelled like as soon as it hit their nostrils. It awakened something dormant in them causing them to become alive with desire and love all at once. Wanting and craving nothing but them.

Just as Mayra turned her head once more in the direction she thought she smelled him, a large brown wolf jumped out from the bush towards her. Mayra being a fast little wolf anticipated the move and quickly ducked and rolled to the side just as he reached her causing him to slide into the grass covered ground beneath him.

Mayra huffed at his attempt to pounce on her. Rusty picked himself up from the ground shaking off the impact he just had with the earth. Licking his snout he growled lowly at her as she took a defensive stance and growled back. Circling each other, low growls could be heard radiating from within them.

Layana was nervous that Rusty was now trying to hurt them, getting scared watching through Mayra’s eyes. ‘Let’s leave please. Mayra, he’s mad! Please back down.’ Layana pleaded with her but she wouldn’t respond back. She refused to give her control when Layana tried to force it.

Mayra crouched down real low in an attack position. Her front paws low allowing her head to fall lower as she continued to growl at him. Even though she looked as if she was angry, her tail wagged gently behind her showing that she was indeed just playing with him.

Rusty still growling back at her playfully. Although, to an unexpecting eye they looked as though they were about to fight. He nipped at her paws while slowly circling her. She continued to growl at him as he did her. Myara’s head followed his every move waiting patiently for her chance to attack him. Rusty thought he had the advantage, but he was sorely mistaken.

As he slowly crept up her right side once more, she snapped her head in that direction growling. Once he reached her neck, she whipped around suddenly grabbing hold of his neck with her teeth biting down. Not hard but enough that it stunned him, causing Andrew to shift back.

Now Rusty and Andrew could have taken her down, but they were trying to gain her trust and acceptance. Allowing her this small victory was a win-win in both their minds if it got her to trust them more.

Mayra let go as soon as she saw Andrew sitting there in front of her. Sitting back on her hind legs she wagged her tail lifting her head in triumph while licking her snout. Andrew just sat there legs crossed smiling at her. He reached out his right hand to touch her and to his surprise she let him, lowering her head just a little.

“Now that was a sneaky little trick you did there, Mayra.” Andrew said, chuckling. She huffed at his comment and licked his hand. “Aren’t you the most beautiful thing? A little small for a she-wolf, but you are not a typical she-wolf now are you?” Andrew cooed over Mayra and she loved every bit of the attention her mate was giving her. Mayra laid her head down in his lap allowing him to pet her.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Andrew got up and said, “Let’s go take a swim by the lake, shall we?” laughing at her nestling her nose in his hand right before she started off towards the lake. “I’ll take that as a yes then!” he continued chuckling as he walked with her naked through the forest.