19

Stevens P.O.V.

I stared at the food in front of me, lost in thought. It was already cold by now, but I wasn't hungry. Who knows if she gets enough to eat, I can't just sit here and eat.

"Steven, you have to eat something. You should be invigorated once you find her and a fight ensues." I lifted my head and looked into my best friend's concerned blue eyes. Knowing that worrying about me isn't doing her any good as she's only a week ago her daughter got it, I picked up the cutlery and started to eat my steak, albeit without an appetite.

"You know that Arsen is trying to find her. She's part of our pack.", she tried to cheer me up, which unfortunately didn't really work. I wanted my mate back now. And the fact that there weren't even any traces worried me even more.

Suddenly the little girl in her arms started screaming. "What's the matter, little mouse?" Aurelia asked. Now I had to grin, because she apparently didn't smell it as a human.

"Diaper," I said with a smirk.

Aurelia looked at me and smiled at me. "Yes...now I can smell it too." She said amused and then got up, probably to go change Felia's diaper. "Could you please continue feeding Steven?" she asked, pointing to the little boy who was in beside her sat in a high chair and looked expectantly at his mother. He was probably waiting for the next spoonful of porridge.

I nodded to her and then gestured for her to leave. Then I walked around the table to little Steven and continued to feed him his pap.

"No," said the little boy in front of me suddenly.

I looked at him a bit confused. As far as I know he doesn't talk much yet, so why did he say 'no' now? "What?" I asked him.

The answer I got was 'No' again. Seems he has a new favorite word.

"Sorry Uncle Steven," said a childish voice behind me this time. I turned and met the future Alpha's blue eyes.

"Sorry about what?" I asked, a little confused at what a 4-year-old boy is apologizing to me for. Aurelia's kids really all confused me, too.

"No," said little Steven next to me again, which made me laugh again.

"I wanted to help find your mate, but Dad won't let me and I don't know if they can do it without my help," Arian said quite seriously. It was a serious subject, after all it was about my mate, though I thought that line from Arian was just cute. He wanted to help find my mate. That was really thoughtful of him. He would be a very good alpha someday.

"I thank you for your help anyway," I said. Then the little one hissed off again.

Aurelia ran back into the room, only this time without the baby.

"Where's the little one?" I asked as Aurelia took the spoon from me and sat on the other side of the high chair to continue feeding her son.

"After changing her diaper, I breastfed her and then she fell asleep. She's sleeping in her cradle now.", she answered and then held up a baby monitor. "If anything happens, I'll hear her. You heard yours, but I didn't."

"Okay. Do you mind if I go now? I'd like to go for a run." I asked. I had to think of something else because I still couldn't forget my mate. Arian and little Steven distracted me for a moment, but I felt guilty again that I had already for a moment. Just like I forgot her that night and now that's why she's gone. I promised her I'd protect her, but I didn't keep my promise. I was a bad mate.

"No, everything is OK. Go ahead, I'll be fine." She said while pushing another spoon into little Steven's mouth and opening her mouth as if the spoon was meant for her.

Shaking my head at the gesture, I ran out of the pack house. Once outside, I took off my t-shirt and pants and transformed. I walked a bit into the forest and enjoyed nature. The smell of wet wood and flowers filled my nostrils, urging me to move even faster on the damp moss.

My paws smashed across the forest floor, occasionally throwing sand away.

But then something bothered me about the silence in the forest. I also smelled a different smell. I kept walking and what I saw next I really didn't want to see. For me it was beyond disturbing.

The sound that bothered me was male moans, the smell was the smell of sex and in front of me Cody and Marius above him were lying naked on the forest floor while they were doing to each other...whatever.

Totally disturbed, I turned around and wanted to quickly walk away again before they notice me and that everything becomes awkward for more than one. However, I suddenly heard a 'fuck' and 'shit' from the two men behind me.

"Steven? Fuck wait! Let's explain that to you." I heard Marius say.

So reluctantly I turned around again. "I have not seen anything. I just forget that I've ever seen you like this." , I told the two in the Mindlink and wanted to leave again. But the young didn't let it be good.

"He's my mate, Steven," Cody suddenly said. I looked at them both curiously. Same-sex couples are very rare among wolves and thus was not able to find my mate."

"Nevertheless, I knew even then that you were something special for me." Marius added and gave his mate a loving smile. "After all, I was already 16 and you were my best friend for a reason."

Cody also smiled fondly at his mate and then continued his narration: "After you were back on our territory, I was the first to recognize you, or rather the first to recognize Marius, even if I only recognized him after he first recognized me . That's when I realized. I immediately felt that he was my mate and his smell seemed familiar to me. But we can't make it public." Cody's expression turned sad again.

"I'd like to tag him, but we're afraid that if they find out that we're gay, no one will take us seriously as warriors." Marius continued for his mate. "We warriors are just these big hard straken Men, but it could be that other wolves despise us, precisely because, as I said, it is very rare."

"I'm sure the Alpha won't mind. After all, it's not your fault who your mate is." I tried to calm them both down. However, Cody just ran his hand through his brown hair tensely.

"And what if not?" he asks.

"I think you'll have to find that out for yourself. But I think you should make it public before someone else discovers you and makes it public. I also think that the alpha is most understanding of you. After all, he couldn't choose who his mate was, and yet he loves Aurelia the way she is." I nodded to them both again before actually turning around this time and walking back to the pack house.

I was still trying to block out what I just saw. At least that could take my mind off things.

I charged back through the forest and was almost at the pack house when the alpha connected to me in the mindlink: "I think we have a lead. Please come to my office." was all he said, but that was enough for me to run even faster.

He has a lead. So there was a chance for me to find my mate. This time I would take my task seriously and protect her from all dangers.