Page 60 of The Wolf Lord's Mate

Nathaniel

Mira stirred slightly when I shifted her from my lap, her fingers clinging to my shirt sleeves. Slipping her slowly down onto the couch, I gently moved her hands away, pressing her wrists down into the cushion above her head. Leaning my body weight against her, Mira let out a content sigh, my presence soothing her as she slipped deeper into sleep.

I leaned up little by little, careful not to disturb her until I had removed myself completely. Wrapping a blanket over her prone form, I stroked her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Mira let out a small whimper as I went to move away, and my heart ached at the noise.

My instincts were at war with one another, and I wanted nothing more than to lay down next to her, to gather her in my arms and kiss her awake. But my instinct to protect her won out over all else, and I would not be able to rest until I knew that Mira was safe from any possible danger.

Mira only shifted slightly as I walked towards the door, turning over onto her side and pulling the blanket up to her chin.

Tearing my eyes away from her for only a moment was torment, let alone having to leave her there; if I had my way, I would have had her glued to my side, never having to deprive myself the pleasure of her company for even a second.

Rubbing my hand over my jaw, I slipped out of the front door of the cabin before I could change my mind.

I had learned to move silently when I was only a pup, adjusting my gait and learning how to carefully place my weight down on each foot. Moving as quickly and silently as possible was the aim of the predator; our goal to observe our prey and approach it without it ever realizing that we were there.

Darkness shrouded the trees outside, but my vision was sharp even at night. Shapes moved through the depths of the forest; night owls in the far trees, woodland creatures moving through the underbrush, but there was something larger on the crest of the hill just past the stream.

Large. Bipedal.

Male.

I inhaled deeply, catching the creature's scent on the wind. It was unnatural and acrid, like someone had rubbed soot and dirt over their scent glands, which meant that whoever it was, they were trying to mask their scent.

I let out a low growl, the very idea that someone would try and sneak up on me while I was with my mate raising my hackles. A cold rage burned inside of me, and I focused on the creature's false scent as I slipped into the tree-line.

It was easy for my instincts to take over, the Wolf in me coming to the surface. Just that morning I had let it take over completely, chasing the deer and hunting it down with only my hands and my teeth.

I had done that for Mira too; to make her happy, to keep her fed, to show her that I could provide for her. This was the same. It was for Mira. Everything that I would do until the day I died would be for Mira. And if Mira died first? Then I would pray for the Gods to strike me down on the very same day so that I would not have to live another hour without her.

My feet made no sound against the forest floor, and the male was oblivious to my presence as I came closer, his clumsy steps growing louder as I neared him.

I circled the male slowly, getting closer little by little, observing him in the dark. The shape of him became clearer—tall, broad but not exceptionally so, young and sturdy, but his gait was unsure. The male was growing tired, and his pulse was racing from a mixture of exhaustion and worry.

Even with the male's scent masked I could tell that he was human, and my anxiety waned just slightly. I had circled the perimeter of the cabin enough times to know that there was no one else nearby expect for this male, and the fact that he was human meant that he was no threat to me. Still, I didn't know why he was there or who he was, and though my panic lessened, my anger did not.

He could do me no harm, nor could he do any harm to Mira with me there, but that did not mean he had benevolent intentions. Humans could be arrogant and foolish when it came to facing Wolves, somehow believing they could stand a chance against a physically superior species. Or if they couldn't hurt us directly, then they would try and hurt our mates instead. My blood boiled at the thought of it, of this strange male even attempting to lay his hands on my precious Mira.

A growl ripped out of my throat, and I sprinted out towards where the male had been catching his breath by one of the trees.

I lunged, tackling him to the ground with ease, grabbing a fist full of hair to force the stranger to show his face as he let out a pained groan.

I blinked, looking down at the male, "Marcus?"