His Lost Mate (The Ward Wolf Pack Novella Series, Book 1)

by Theresa Hissong

  “I’m great, actually,” she admitted, running her fingers over his beard. He’d never tire of feeling her touch or the magic that jolted his soul whenever she was near. “Do you want some lunch? Aspen and I were about to make some sandwiches.”

  “I’d love some,” he replied, glancing over her shoulder to see his sister smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen after I file this paperwork.”

  Isabell told Aspen to finish what she was doing and she would take care of their meal. When Nash opened the filing cabinet, he felt Aspen approach once Isabell was in the kitchen.

  “I love her, Nash,” Aspen whispered, keeping her voice low. They had expert hearing, and it was obvious his little sister didn’t want his mate hearing her.

  “But?” Nash pressed.

  “No but,” Aspen cheered quietly. “She’s perfect for our family, and she’s perfect for you, big brother. She’s going to make for a wonderful mate and mother to your cubs.”

  “My cubs?” Nash balked, raising his nose to the air. He hadn’t noticed his mate scenting of a pregnant female that morning. If he’d missed it, he would’ve been an idiot. A shifter could scent a pregnancy from shortly after conception.

  “She’s not with young,” Aspen chuffed, slapping his shoulder playfully. “Yet. I’m ready to be an aunt. So, you need to get on that.”

  “Give it some time,” Nash warned with a grunt. “We’ve barely mated.”

  “Still,” Aspen pouted.

  “Go help my mate,” he ordered. “We have a full moon to prepare for.”

  He changed the subject and sent her to the kitchen, but Aspen’s soft chuckle echoed in the office as she left.

  He’d never thought about raising cubs, but the sudden thought of Isabell carrying his young sent his wolf into a frenzy. Having a little boy with her dark hair and his strength? Or a daughter with her tenacity and beauty? Oh, hell no to the female. He would kill any male who came within a hundred yards of a daughter.

  “Lunch is ready,” Aspen called from the doorway.

  Nash entered the kitchen as his brother was coming in the front door. Mason silently made his sandwich and left the room, preferring to eat at the desk to give Aspen a break from answering the phone should someone call to schedule a flight or delivery.

  “Booker Dupree is expecting a supply delivery in about three days,” Aspen mentioned as she ate. “I’ve scheduled a drop for you on Saturday.”

  “That’s fine,” Nash replied, thinking of their newest customer. He’d been living in the bush for about ten years, but recently hired them for his supply drops. There wasn’t any reason given, but Nash didn’t care. It was business, and he was perfectly happy staying out of the human’s affairs anyway. “After lunch, let’s close up and head home to prepare for tonight.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Aspen shrugged. “I’ll lock up if you two want to head home.”

  The thought of his home being Isabell’s too was making his wolf happy. A soft dusting of pink colored her cheeks as her mating scent filled the air. Aspen hurried along to clean her plate, making an excuse to see Mason about something.

  At that point, Nash didn’t care. He was only focused on his mate. “Want to go home?”

  “You say that like it’s mine, too,” she blurted, blushing some more.

  “It is, Isabell,” he admitted, reaching for her hand. When their fingers connected, he pulled her to his lap, cupping her face. “Forever, if you’d have it.”

  “Nash,” she breathed, but he didn’t give her a chance to say anything else before lowering his lips to hers.

  He didn’t care about the plates…he didn’t care about anything other than taking Isabell back to their bed. There were three hours left before they needed to be out in the clearing, and he was going to make love to her the entire time.

  Chapter 9

  Isabell held Nash’s hand, realizing she may have just found the place she was destined to be for the rest of her life. There was no explaining the feeling she had when she was around him. It didn’t matter if it was magic or some higher power’s plan, but it worked.

  She was falling hard for the wolf shifter.

  There was a question that kept floating around in her mind, and she was avoiding it at all costs. Do you love him?

  Did she? Maybe?

  “Tonight, I want you to not fight your wolf,” he announced as they walked down the path leading to the meadow. The tall spruce trees swayed in the breeze as snow fell around them. There wasn’t a lot on the ground yet, but that would change over the next few hours. “Let her run. She will return home by following our scents right before dawn.”

  “She will know how to return?” Isabell asked for reassurance. As much as they’d told her about the wolf, she was still uncertain how the animal would act on its first full moon run.

  “Of course,” Nash promised, squeezing her hand as they walked. “If she doesn’t, I will find you.”

  “Okay,” she breathed. “I think I’m ready.”

  “You will learn to trust the wolf,” Nash pressed. “She will take care of herself.”

  When they entered the clearing, Aspen and Harper were there to meet her. They would be shifting when the animals felt the pull of the full moon.

  “When you feel her pushing to get out, you will need to undress,” Aspen reminded her. They’d talked about it earlier in the day. Nudity was normal for them, and none of the males would look at her with lust during a shift. Isabell was certain Nash would kill either of the two males if they did.

  “Okay,” Isabell replied, feeling the wolf starting to prowl. The sun was only minutes from setting, and Nash was standing in the middle of the tiny meadow. He held out his hand, silently telling her to come to his side.

  “Tonight is the night of the full moon,” he began, taking a second to connect his gaze with everyone around him. “This is the night we let our wolves out as our ancestors did so long ago. Shift and hunt. Let your wolf rule.”

  At his words, Isabell felt the pull of the moon. She kicked off her boots, rushing to get the layers of clothes off her human body before the animal made itself known. She’d been warned that not being undressed before a shift could tangle the animal and ruin her clothes.

  A howl startled her as her jaw began to ache. Harper and Fury had already shifted, turning into large white wolves. They didn’t give any notice before turning for the forest and running away.

  “It’s happening,” Aspen chuckled as her naked body dropped to the ground.

  Isabell’s eyes widened. If she’d had blinked, she would’ve missed the shift. It had been so fast. One second, Aspen was standing there naked, looking like a snow princess...then fur appeared on her skin as she landed on four paws instead of hands and feet.

  Her own wolf howled inside her mind, and she knew it was time. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and felt the magic swirl around her. The raising of hair on her arms was not from the cold, but from the animal coming forward.

  Her mind closed off, and the wolf ran out into the darkness.

  Nash’s human eyes focused, staring at the snow that had fallen overnight. He grabbed his clothes and searched for Isabell. She wasn’t back from her run yet. Aspen was laying just on the edge of the woods in her wolf form, watching him as he waited. He tried to listen for his mate, but there was no sound of wolves anywhere. Harper, Mason, and Fury must have still been out as well.

  “We are the first ones back, huh?” Aspen asked once her wolf gave up the shift. She hurried along and grabbed her own clothes, dressing as quickly as possible. The morning air was barely below freezing, and snow was still falling from the night before.

  “They shouldn’t be long,” he replied, worrying his bottom lip.

  He couldn’t scent her, and that worried him even more. Wind slowly shook the tops of the trees, echoing a soft swoosh around them. Nash tilted his head back and looked up at the cloudy sky heavy with snow.

  “I hear someone,” Aspen announced righ
t as Fury retuned to the meadow. He shifted immediately.

  “Have you seen my mate?” he blurted.

  “No,” Nash responded. “Not yet.”

  The gods hadn’t created them to be perfect. There were flaws in their essential makeup. Any other time, his pack could partially shift and call out to him for help if it was needed, but on the night of the full moon, they were animals…apex predators.

  There was no connection between them, and his role as alpha didn’t rule them. He couldn’t find them on his own, either. The animal had to be just that…an animal. He wasn’t sure why it was that way. It was just something he had to accept.

  “Give them time,” Aspen said while she pulled a sweater over her undershirt. “It’s barely past dawn.”

  Nash walked over to the fallen log where Isabell had placed her clothes before her shift, and he picked them up, shaking off the snow. Lifting them to his nose, he was glad only her scent was there. Nothing had come by and touched them since they’d given themselves over to the moon.

  The wind shifted as he heard a branch crack, only to recognize his brother getting closer. He was naked and shivering when he entered the clearing. “Where are Harper and Isabell?”

  “They haven’t come home yet,” Aspen said, her voice shaking. “Maybe…”

  “Where was the last place you remember seeing them?” Nash asked, digging down deep into his alpha connection with the wolves. He still couldn’t find or sense them, and that alone started to worry him. Especially for Isabell. She was new to the pack and hadn’t learned the area well.

  It’d snowed the night before and her scent around the clearing was covered. If she shifted to human somewhere in the forest…and she couldn’t scent her wolf, she wouldn’t be able to find her way home.

  “When we left,” Mason replied. Aspen and Fury nodded.

  He’d taught her how to call out for him, but would she be able to shift twice? It was hard to pull the wolf out for days after the full moon even for a born shifter. Come on, Isabell. Shift your face just enough to connect with me.

  “Harper! Isabell!” Fury hollered, but only the sound of his voice echoed back.

  “They have to have shifted back by now,” Aspen fretted. Her earlier lack of concern was completely gone now, and from the look on everyone’s face, they were worried, too.

  “You don’t think they got lost, do you?” Aspen walked over and touched Nash’s arm. “We can start looking if you can’t sense them yet.”

  “I think that would be best,” he agreed, looking toward the sky. “We have enough daylight. Everyone, split up. Try to partially shift and call out to me if you find them or come across their scents.”

  Nash took off in the direction he thought his mate had gone. Her scent was very faint because of the new snow that had fallen overnight. He would have to rely on his wolf’s ability to track and find her.

  Thankfully, the snow hadn’t built up enough in the forest to hinder his path. Fury, Mason, and Aspen were calling out for them, but as he traveled, their voices were getting harder and harder to hear.

  An eagle flew out of the treetops, scattering snow around his head, but he didn’t care. With each step he took, his worry turned to fear when he felt Harper reach out to him, and her frantic voice echoed through his mind.

  Nash! Nash! Can you hear me? We’re lost!

  He immediately pushed out his alpha powers, calming his cousin.

  Where are you? Give me a landmark.

  Silence greeted him, and his wolf howled from the lack of instant communication. He wished his father had trained him sooner to lead the pack. There was a lot of knowledge he had never been taught when it came to his alpha magic, and right then would’ve been the perfect time to have some extra insight on what to do.

  We are between two mountains. I don’t recognize them.

  They must’ve gone south. The terrain was usually too hard for their human bodies to maneuver, and it was closer to town.

  Are there two peaks on the one to your west?

  He had a feeling he knew where they were, but without Harper’s guidance, he was blind.

  Yes!

  Thank the gods.

  Is my mate with harmed? Are you okay?

  Silence, again. He didn’t waste time, turning toward the south. He called out to the others, directing them to catch up with him.

  We are fine. Just cold.

  Their human bodies couldn’t stay warm without clothes. It was too hard to get their animals to shift right after the full moon, and unless Harper or Isabell remembered how to start a fire with two sticks, they were going to be hypothermic by the time he reached them.

  Aspen! Bring clothes for them.

  Nash hurried as fast as his human legs would carry him. They were probably forty miles away, and the trek to get to them was going to take the entire day. He had to stay focused or they could be in serious trouble once the sun set.

  Chapter 10

  “We’re going to be fine,” Harper said, holding on to Isabell as they hunkered down in a makeshift shelter Isabell had made out of limbs from some nearby spruce trees. Without a knife, she was able to make a small teepee out of downed limbs for them until Nash and Fury arrived.

  “I know, but it’s going to get colder,” Isabell admitted as she looked at the mountain ahead of them. The sun was already over it and sinking fast. “I can make a fire, but I need to do it quick. We need to find dry timber.”

  “I can do that,” Harper promised.

  “Okay, five minutes out of this hut at a time, Harper,” Isabell ordered. She sent a silent prayer up to her grandfather, asking for his help. It’d been years since she’d made fire with just a stick and a prayer. Modern items for camping helped her when she was out in the bush, but this was different. They had nothing.

  “Got it,” Harper replied. The tall, athletic brunette had been right beside her when she’d shifted back to human. When they realized their scent trail had ended because of the freshly fallen snow, they knew they were lost. Thankfully, Harper was able to connect with Nash and at least put out a call for help.

  The two women scurried out of their temporary shelter, searching for the wood they’d need. It didn’t take long for Isabell to construct everything she needed for a simple friction fire. Harper returned with small, dried limbs and just enough dry leaves to crumble and use to get the fire going.

  “Grab limbs,” Isabell called out. “I need small ones first. After that, make them gradually bigger. Hurry, the sun is getting low.”

  “Nash thinks he’s at least thirty miles away,” Harper announced.

  “This fire will help them find us easier,” Isabell promised. “Now, hurry.”

  As her friend ran off, Isabell worked on the two pieces of wood, rubbing them together until eventually, the friction made an ember. Her hands were being destroyed by the constant twirling between her palms, but her new abilities kept healing them as she worked.

  Would’ve been nice to have super healing when I was ten years old and my Pops forced me to do this until my hands bled.

  Harper dropped her small bundle of wood next to where Isabell was working. The other female built the stack of wood, leaving an opening for the ember. The longer Isabell worked, the more she twirled the stick. Until, finally…a poof of smoke swirled out of the little pocket she’d made.

  “Careful,” Isabell warned, moving the ember as slowly as she could. She held her breath when she rolled it off into the crumbled leaves, leaning over to blow softly on it.

  Harper gasped when the white smoke doubled, then tripled, in size. When the bright orange flame popped and cracked, Isabell knew they’d be rescued soon.

  “Hurry, get more wood,” Isabell ordered, sending Harper back off into the woods.

  She sat back on the green leaves of the spruce limbs and almost burst out into tears. But, she didn’t. Now was not the time to be emotional about being lost in the woods. They would be found, and she knew Nash would be heading up the search party
as soon as they arrived.

  “Do you want to try calling out to Nash now?” Harper asked as they settled in to their little shelter. The fire was close enough to give them a little heat, but not close enough to catch it on fire.

  “I’ve tried, but I’m just not doing it right,” she fretted. “My wolf won’t come out.”

  “Okay, let’s try,” Harper said, wrapping her cold arm over the back of Isabell’s shoulders. “Look, our wolves are tired. I don’t know how I found the strength to get her to allow me to partially shift my face so I could call out to him, but I did it. Now, I want you to try. It’s going to be awhile before they find us, and I know he’s worried about you.”

  “I’m worried about him,” she admitted, feeling a pain right in the center of her chest.

  “Go ahead and try,” Harper pushed. “Find her in the back of your mind. Use your human thoughts to coax her out from her sleep.”

  Isabell closed her eyes, concentrating on the search for the wolf. The magical animal was there, but it was like a barricaded door. There was no way of getting through easily.

  Come on, girl. I’m new to this, and my human body is going to suffer if I can’t call out for Nash.

  Nothing. The wolf wouldn’t even stir. For once, she felt human again…and she didn’t like it. Not having the beast taking up space in her mind was weird. Even though she’d only been changed less than a week prior, Isabell was already attuned to the animal.

  Wake up!

  She had to have been losing her mind, sitting naked in the middle of nowhere, yelling at an animal inside her mind.

  I need our mate. I must talk to Nash…your alpha.

  At the mention of the alpha, she felt the closed door in her mind rattle. “She’s responding.”

  “Persuade her to let you partially shift your face,” Harper reminded.

  Isabell dug deep, talking softly to the wolf. She was to the point of begging when she felt the animal stir. Shift just enough to call out to Nash.

  With a low growl in her mind, she felt it. The connection between her and the male who’d promised to protect her.