by M. Ekman
Seeking to Belong
Wolftale Series Book 1
Written By: M. EKMAN
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
SEEKING TO BELONG
Copyright © 2021 by M. Ekman
All Rights Reserved
Written by Makinsey Ekman
Edited by Courtney Aintablian
All rights reserved. No excerpt of this novel can be reproduced in any way whatsoever without expressed written consent of the author.
This novel is a work of fiction and any names, characters, and places are used fictitiously as a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, or historic events is purely coincidental.
CHAPTER 1
Tyler pressed on his dry eyes, trying to bring some life back to them. He had been working through an immense tower of paperwork since a little after dawn and it was now creeping towards midnight. His hands dropped back onto his large coffee colored desk, but before Tyler could drag himself back towards his work there was an incursion in his mind.
“Alpha, I found a wolf in the territory not of our pack.”
Tyler recognized the mental trespasser as his Beta, Jason.
His mouth quirked in wry amusement as he responded back via their pack mindlink, “Yes, and…?”
“I need your input, Alpha,” was Jason’s only response. Tyler rolled his eyes at his overly dramatic and ever formal Beta.
He could simply dismiss Jason’s concerns and tell him to kill the rogue, but he had the nagging feeling that this was not a simple intruder issue. As he pushed his plush chair back from his desk and stood Tyler mindlinked, “on my way.”
After taking a brief moment to stretch, he made his way out of the office towards the stairs. The silence that permeated the short hallway Tyler now walked felt almost suffocating for him. Shaking off his morose thoughts, he hurriedly descended the staircase and threw open the front door.
As soon as he stepped outside Tyler shifted into his tan-colored wolf. No one he’d ever met could shift faster than him, and it was something he prided himself on. Taking a quick second Tyler stuck his furry nose into the air to catch Jason’s scent.
The lingering smell of fern indicated that his Beta’s path veered in the direction of the eastern pack territory border. Tyler emitted a huff of amusement, as he thought, “already this is proving more exciting then my night up to this point.”
That particular border divided their territory from another pack that nothing short of hated the Blood Mountain Pack. After running at full speed for about 15 minutes, he reached a frustratedly pacing Jason.
Tyler couldn’t see anyone with his beta, incapacitated or no, and so found his head tilted in confusion. Light bronze colored fur and amber eyes melted away as Tyler shifted back into his human form. The movement caused Jason to still but as Tyler’s rumpled suit pants and shirt appeared on his body the beta gave him a knowing look. Jason was constantly telling the alpha he pushed himself too hard, and Tyler hated it when his appearance accorded with the lecture.
Ignoring Jason’s expression he asked, “Where is this rogue threat?”
Wordlessly Jason moved a few strides toward a small smattering of trees revealing a she-wolf collapsed on the ground. The smaller wolf was panting hard and seemingly unconscious.
She had a beautiful silver-grey coat, which caused Tyler’s eye’s to widen in shock. “What is a blessed one doing here?”
“Uncertain, Alpha. I found her like this before I contacted you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. There is no way a pack would let such a token of good fortune just wonder off,” Tyler muttered as he bent to inspect her closer.
Taking a breath Tyler realized that while this she-wolf still smelled of her pack, her pack scent was recognizable to him. Looking up at Jason he remarked, “she must have traveled far, as none of our bordering packs have a wolf with her coloring.”
“Yes, Alpha. There’s no trace of wolves other than ours in this area either, so she wasn’t dumped.”
Taking this information in as Tyler turned back to the still form he found himself reaching towards the girl. Not thinking it through he gently placed his hand on her head causing Jason to inhale sharply. His beta was a worrywart always fearing attack, even from an unconscious she-wolf, apparently.
Despite the building of tension, Jason didn’t move. Tyler was thankful that even when his beta didn’t agree with his choices, he wouldn’t interfere. There was just so much that didn’t add up, and Tyler needed answers. Since he was not her pack alpha, Tyler could tell very little about her state of mind while she was out cold. Though through physical touch, he was able to glean that there was some kind of deep sadness that suffused her entire being.
Then, slowly, so as to not disturb the she-wolf too much, he pulled her into his arms and stood. As swiftly and smoothly as he could, Tyler began walking in the direction of the pack house. His only thought being that he didn’t want her out in the elements where any harm could come to such a precious one.
He could feel Jason’s penetrating gaze slicing into his back, which is exactly why Tyler kept his head high and face ahead. There just wasn’t a way to accurately explain the sudden knowledge that this creature needed him, or at least his protection.
True to form Jason scowled all the way back to the pack house, but said nothing, letting his indignant silence do all the talking. Tyler continued to ignore him as he attempted to balance the silver-haired wolf on one arm while he reached to open his bedroom door.
Jason loudly cleared his throat causing him to stop and glance backward with a furrowed brow. Without saying a word, Jason looked from the girl to the alpha’s room and back. Understanding crossed Tyler’s face as he, without missing a beat, swung around to carry her to the unoccupied room across the hall from his.
Cautiously he entered the room, clutching the supine wolf tighter. Tyler sniffed at the air and swiveled his head around to check for danger despite, the knowledge that there would be no threat in his own pack house.
He knew that his wolf side was causing an almost Jason like paranoia. Though, while Jason’s worry was always for him, Tyler’s worry was for a girl he didn’t know. He didn’t bother trying to analyze why that would be as he fully entered the bedroom and softly set down his charge on the four-poster queen sized bed.
After releasing her, Alpha Tyler bent down and softly uttered, “SHIFT,” using his Alpha Command.
Almost instantly the girl began to stir and make small painful yips, though she kept her eyes tightly shut through the process. For a moment he almost reached for her, but mid action Tyler stopped himself. He backed towards the wall as her paws gradually turned to hands, and her fur began to retract back into her body. After a few minutes, her transformation was complete and Tyler stood as far as he could.
He needed to get a grip, prote
cting her was one thing, but nothing more could ever happen. No matter how adorable she now looked as her pajamas came into view, showing off a top that had the words “bite me” emblazoned in bold rouge lettering. He held in his smile and nodded towards a grim faced Jason, giving the man the unspoken cue to take over questioning the now awakened she-wolf. His beta quirked an eyebrow but nevertheless followed orders, and walked until he stood over the girl.
After taking a moment to look over her appearance Jason’s voice came out softer than Tyler expected, “do you know where you are?”
The girl’s eye’s, which had remained closed throughout her transformation, popped open wide. “What? How did I—Who…”
She didn’t seem to be able to form a full sentence, and when she tried to shoot up out of the bed her face paled. Falling back with a groan she raised a shaky hand to her head.
Jason took pity on the girl answering her broken questions, “we found you unconscious within our territory boarders. From what we could tell you must have been running for some time. Are you in danger?”
Keeping a hand pressed over her eyes she murmured a soft, “no.”
There was so much sadness in her voice that Tyler almost moved to cradle her in his arms again. He shouldn’t; the consequences of becoming too close to this girl would be great.
With a grunt she removed the hand that covered her eyes and tried once again to get up, though thankfully she moved more slowly this time. Jason moved and placed a hand on her back to help, however, as soon as he made contact she started to shiver violently.
Through gritted teeth she spat, “don’t touch me.”
Almost before the she-wolfs words left her lips he was across the room ripping Jason away from her. He pinned his beta to the wall beside her bed with one forearm rage nearly consuming him.
“What did you do to her?” Tyler growled in a voice that almost sounded more wolf than human.
Jason’s eyebrows were nearly raised to his hairline in shock, but before he could answer Tyler became distracted by the creak of the beds springs. Turning his head he stared into a pair of mesmerizing ice blue eyes.
The girl had finally managing to sit up on the bed with her feet dangling over the side. Her faced was furrowed, “it’s not his fault.”
Without so much as a backwards glance Tyler released his beta and knelt in front of the weary girl. “What happened?”
Her eyes dropped to the floor as she chuckled bitterly, “I found my mate.”
Tyler hadn’t realized he had been leaning towards her until she uttered those words, which caused his body to snap back taught, as if struck. He wanted to simultaneously rip the throat out of this so-called “mate” and gather her in his arms.
Somehow Tyler knew that this mutt, whoever he was, could in no way deserve this beautiful apparition before him. His murderous train of thought curbed as her body began to curl inwards and he could feel despair radiating off of her in waves. As suddenly as it had come Tyler felt his anger fizzle into nothing.
He finally looked back at Jason who was still against the wall where he’d left him, though the beta appeared completely unruffled by Tyler’s earlier aggression. He knew the beta would question him about it later, but would remain silent in front of the stranger before them. A question formed in Tyler’s mind causing him to face her direction once again.
“If you are feeling the pain of touch, then this mate of yours is still alive. Is he injured somewhere?” His voice was soft and gruff at the same time a combination he’d never heard cross his lips before.
Her eye’s rose to meet his once again and for a moment he felt the connection of another deeply pained soul. Tyler was unable to speak, and it seemed so was she as they both took one another in. Their interlocking gaze was broken as Jason shifted his weight causing the wooden floor beneath his feet to make a slight squeak.
Without preamble he spoke, tell us what happened. We will do our best to help you.”
The girl snorted and shook her head at Jason, “there is nothing that can be done. No one can help me.”
For some reason Tyler didn’t like that her focus had shifted away from him, so he found his mouth opening with no clue what he was going to say. At his slight inhale her head tilted in his direction and he found the only word he could utter was “please”.
For a heartbeat she paused before letting out a long-suffering sigh, “okay. I owe you something for not killing me on sight when you found me your territory without permission. But to be honest, I’m not positive where to begin.”
For the first time that day Tyler felt a full smile spreading across his face, “well, you could start with your name.”
Looking down with a blush that belayed her youth, she couldn’t be over 20, the girl mumbled, “Ruth. My name is Ruth.”
The smile Alpha Tyler sported didn’t dim despite her sudden and unnecessary embarrassment. Instead it somehow seemed to grow stronger.
“Ruth,” he whispered more to himself, before speaking with a louder voice. “Well I am Tyler, alpha of the pack, and this is my beta, Jason Gold.”
Ruth looked up at him with her own crooked smile. “I figured you were high up, but alpha... Impressive. Well Alpha, Beta,” she said, gravely nodding to each man in turn as if she was a queen addressing her subjects instead of a girl in covered in dirt sitting before two strangers.
Taking a breath and dropping the humorous façade she began, “A couple hours ago…” Ruth’s eyes drifted towards the window beside where Jason stood.
“Wait a second, what time is it?”
Curiously Tyler responded, “Close to midnight.”
Ruth’s eyes widened, “what? That can’t be possible I had to be running for a least a few hours....” She trailed off before growing quiet.
Suddenly her eyes snapped back to Tyler’s, “hold on...today’s still the 27th right?”
Tyler felt even more perplexed than before, “no it is the 28th.”
There was a beat before Ruth burst into hysterical laughter that was edging towards sobbing territory. Tyler’s whole body froze, not knowing what had caused such a reaction, but before he could say anything, Ruth smothered herself with a hand.
Her hand moved towards her head that began to shake in wonderment. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, “I didn’t realize...anyway, if we could just pretend that little moment didn’t just happen…”
As Tyler didn’t respond or so much as breath Ruth seemed to take this as her cue to continue, “Let’s begin again, not a few hours ago, but rather yesterday, the 27th. You see the 27th, well, it was my 18th birthday.”
Jason voice interrupted her, “Did something happen at your celebration? Was your mate attacked?”
Emitting a soft chuckle Ruth responded, “No, nothing as dramatic or violent as that. It’s, perhaps, a little more complicated.”
Bringing her attention back to himself, Tyler soothed, “Don’t worry we’ve got all night. We’ve dealt with complicated before.”
Glancing between both men she rolled her shoulders and sat up a little straighter, “I suppose I’ll have to delve somewhat into my past for you to fully understand why today, er I mean yesterday was such...Well, anyway…when I was a pup barely in my fifth year my mother and I were attacked by a wandering rogue. My mother… she died protecting me and with her death came a whole new life for me.
Without warning we moved from my childhood home into a small house in the middle of town. In addition, my already often absent head enforcer father, became a whole new kind of distant. My one consolation to my abruptly lonely life was finding my mate when I turned 18.
I figured if I could find my mate then my father would be…He could be free and I wouldn’t be alone anymore. Anyways, I couldn’t have been more wrong—"
Tyler interrupted Ruth’s story with an angry growl sensing where she was going with her tale.
CHAPTER 2
48 hours ago
“5…4…3…2…1,” Ruth softly counted down until her digit
al watch set off her midnight alarm. She was so excited she hadn’t even attempted sleep. It was finally August 27th, the day of her birth. She was 18 and could get out of her wretchedly forlorn ghost of a home. Ruth jumped up and sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of her mate. Not smelling anything out of the ordinary Ruth ran to her open window and stuck her head out closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Nothing. Dejectedly she brought her head back into her small room. Ruth’s wolf didn’t feel any different to her or seem to stir at all.
As the day of her 18th birthday had drawn closer, Ruth read as much as she could on mate bonds from books in the pack library. She’d discovered that exactly 18 years from the second of your birth you would get the ‘mate call’, where your inner wolf would sense and incessantly urge you to find your mate.
However, Ruth didn’t know what time she was born, so, unfortunately, she was just going to have to wait it out. Ruth had thought she was born sometime before dawn, since she vaguely remembered her mother having said something about the dark sky during Ruth’s birth. She couldn’t be sure though, since Ruth had been little more than a toddler when her mother had last told the tale of her birth.
Shaking off her thoughts before they could go down that depressing rabbit hole, Ruth started to do training warm-ups. To perform the routine properly she knew she would have to clear her mind, which would hopefully help Ruth to get rid of her whirling thoughts. Hour after hour she attempted to flow through her stances only to be thwarted by her own inability to focus. Her brilliant plan to rid Ruth’s mind of her “mate dilemma” for a time had been less than successful, until she’d finally had to forgo her efforts in order to make it to her session at the training grounds.
Ruth tried to look her best before heading out, but not having another woman in her life meant she was sorely lacking in beauty regimen knowhow. She took a brush to her silver hair and combed it until it was glistening before pulling the flowing strands into a high ponytail. Next Ruth went to the small closet that was built into her bedroom wall, but she only had a handful of outfits. Ruth had no idea what was fashionable or not, and so didn’t really purchase clothing outside of what was comfortable to train in. Sighing she grabbed a fitted green t-shirt and a pair of black leggings.
