Page 1 of Aching for His Mate (The Wolves of Luven #5)

Summer heat was hell for wolves, and June was upon them in all her sunny glory. Iota finished his shift of patrolling, then found his discarded t-shirt and wiped the sweat off his brow. He ached for the cool days of autumn, which seemed eons away after a shift like that. The sun had beat down all day long with only a few puffy white clouds drifting by around midday.

It had been near torture.

Iota jogged through the woods of east of Luven until he came to the lake. Surprisingly, it was empty, but darkness was coming quickly, and most of the families that filled the water during the day would be headed home before full dark.

Good. Iota wasn’t in the mood to dive among splashing families or mates stealing glances and gropes beneath the surface of the water before heading home to be alone.

Iota dropped his shirt and stepped out of the rest of his clothes then dove into the cool water. On a day like this, it still felt warm to him, but better than the air. Autumn couldn’t come soon enough, and he still had a solid three months of this heat.

It had been a long shift. The roaming wolf packs were coming closer to Luven these days, so anyone working security had switched from twenty-four hours on, thirty-six hours off, to thirty-six hours on, twenty-four hours off. Plus, Gamma and Epsilon both had pregnant mates, so they were working the areas much closer to the city, while Iota and the other security workers were going much further out. It was a rule in place in case there was an emergency, or in Gamma’s case, if Jaine went into labor. Iota hadn’t seen her in a week or two but the last time he did, he could not imagine her not giving birth immediately, by both the swell of her belly and her insistence at lunging while walking to try to get the baby out.

Hopefully some of the younger wolves in Luven would choose to join the security team and the hours would go back to normal.

He ducked under the surface and tried to cool his head off. The water rushed through his hair, and Iota finally relaxed. He’d been feeling off lately. The weird hours at work alongside his entire friend group suddenly flush with mates and babies on the way had him bent out of shape. So much was changing.

Iota popped back up and shook out his hair. He was letting it get a little longer, and his beard was a bit wilder as well. He should shave it all off now that summer was here. Hell, if he weren’t a wolf, he’d shave the pelt on his chest, but that was considered nearly blasphemous. The Moon Goddess gave him his chest hair, and he wouldn’t offend her by shaving.

He floated on his back and closed his eyes, reflecting on his last shift. At least, his territories had been quiet. He caught a couple scents of unknown wolves on the wind, but they stayed away, far out of the scope of Luven. They didn’t police the whole of wolf territory, only made sure that none of the bands came too close. There were rules in Luven, ones most wild wolves didn’t want to follow, so they were not welcome.

He pulled himself out of the lake, shook off, redressed, and headed back into the city.

Iota could muscle together some plans tonight, even if they weren’t ideal.

*

“We’re planning a trip to Muchan for the winter this year. You should come!” Iota’s mom passed him a plate piled high with venison steaks, homemade bread, garlicky greens, and a fruit salad of strawberries and herbs with honey.

“I don’t think I can get work off for an entire season.”

“Oh, but just for a bit? You know Sayla would love to see you. And her twins are going to be five. When was the last time you saw the girls?”

“They were about three.” Iota’s older sister lived in the other major wolf city, about a four-day run or nine day walk south of Luven.

“It’s been too long. And it’s too hot to go there anytime other than winter.” His mom pulled a face.

Iota smiled. “I’ll think about it.”

“I heard,” his dad began coming to sit beside him, “there is another ritual tomorrow.”

“There is,” Iota confirmed.

“Crazy times. When we moved into Luven, there was maybe one human a year. Now, they’re flooding in.”

“I wouldn’t call less than ten flooding,” Iota pointed out. “And a bunch were traded. They didn’t really have a choice whether they came to Luven. Plus, Millonia left with Sigma.”

“Hm,” his dad grumbled. “I don’t like the attention it’s garnering from outsiders. Too many non-citizens sniffing around after these humans trying to find their mates. It’s no wonder Alpha has you working these crazy hours at security. If you ask me, we should be a little more critical as to who we invite into our borders.”

Iota fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, Iota didn’t love roaming packs hanging out at the borders of Luven, especially given his job was to deal with these wolves. But his dad sounded so…old. Luven, in this iteration, had been around for under fifty years. It wasn’t like some long-lived institution. So there were more humans now, what of it? Clearly the Moon Goddess had it planned out. Five of his friends had found their mates among humans. Four of them in the last half year. Who was he to disparage the plans of their deity?

“Let’s talk about something else,” his mom interrupted. “Iota, any plans to move out of the townhouse?”

He stifled a groan. “Not yet, Mom. The townhouse is working fine for me.”

“Yes, but what if you find your mate, and she wants six kids! Better to be prepared.”

“And what if I never find my mate? I can cross that bridge when I come to it.” He exhaled slowly. “Tell me about your herb garden, Mom. The salad is amazing.” Iota watched his mom light up, and just like that any thought of him moving or settling down was extinguished from the conversation.

He spent the rest of the night chatting lightly with his parents before heading home alone. They meant well, but the older Iota got, the harder it became to simply talk with them. Now that he was nearing thirty, there were always questions about the future, and frankly, he didn’t have any of the answers.

He turned down his street, dotted with lights, and looked down the row of houses. A few weeks earlier, Rho, Sigma, and Lambda would have been sitting on the steps, shooting the shit, drinking beers, and happy to see him.

Now, the steps were empty. Sigma had gone off to Juniper Knoll with his mate, Millonia. Rho and Lambda were spending their evenings with their own mates. Occasionally, they still had big dinners, but those were planned out ahead of time now. Spontaneous hangouts were over.

Iota looked up at the sky, the white face of his Goddess glowing among the fainter stars.

“Please,” he whispered. “I just want to find her.”

He didn’t pray often; it wasn’t a marker of his species. The Moon Goddess watched over them, but she didn’t expect worship. There were no temples or sacrifices made in her name. But on dark nights, Iota couldn’t help but call out to Her.

Iota wanted his mate. Badly. He tired of waiting, hoping for her to appear to him. He felt like he was trapped in a limbo until she arrived. He couldn’t make any plans. When his mother asked him to go to Muchan, all he could think was that he hoped she would be here by then. That he couldn’t go to Muchan because he’d be spending his first Midwinter in Luven with his mate. They’d buy cakes from Chi and spend cold, snowy mornings wrapped around each other.

He couldn’t conjure a face when he thought of her, only a feeling. That missing piece finally slipping into his soul and making him whole.

His mate.