aggravate
those around him, and he did a mighty fine job of it. “You know, Connor, it's a miracle some wolf hasn't tore your ass up already,” he finally bit out. “It's just a matter of time.”
Connor sighed, looking bored as he quickly buffed his fingernails on his shirt. “Many have
tried. Once I hand them their ass back on a platter, though, they generally leave me alone.”
Marrok set down on the edge of his bed, raking his long, black hair back from his face. He was tired and lonely, and he desperately wanted to escape back to his dream world with his mate, at least for another two hours. “Get to the damn point, Connor. I'm not in the mood for your shit at this time of night.”
He missed the sad look Connor had on his face as he looked down at him. It was common
knowledge throughout the pack that Marrok had lost his mate. None of them knew the details, though, and none of them would ever be rude enough to ask. Not even Connor, the most outspoken werewolf at Wolf Town.
Marrok had transferred into the Missouri pack fifteen years before. He was well-known and
respected as a wolf devoted to his role as guardian. He didn't talk much, didn't make trouble, and was honest and reliable. Marrok didn't expect pity and didn't want it. Secretly, the pack commiserated with him. Most of them wouldn't have been able to survive a tragedy like that, and they didn't see how he had. It spoke of his strength more than anything else ever could.
“Marrok, I don't know any other way to say this so I'm just going to say it. About an hour ago, two wolves stumbled into волк города. They are only moments away from death, and the doctor isn't sure they will last the night. All we could get out of them is that they're from New Mexico, and they were being held in some type of secret research facility.”
Marrok tensed again. Slowly, he raised his head to meet Connor's eyes. His features were frozen in shock, but his eyes were hard and alert. There was more, of that he was certain. “And?”
Connor blanched, before groaning. He hated to be the one to break the news to Marrok, but
there was nobody else to do it. Turning, he walked to the only window in the room and looked out at the inky darkness. “They said there was a female human in the research facility, and she was known only by the name of Taylor. It was due to her they were able to escape, and she asked only one thing of them in return. To come her and tell us, specifically you. Marrok, your mate is alive.”
* * * * *
Marrok walked briskly to headquarters, the wolf inside of him wild at the thought of his mate
possibly alive and caged up. It was unimaginable. He couldn't make sense of any of it, but he couldn't allow himself to hold hopes that it was true. He wouldn't survive the loss of his mate again, even if the hope was founded upon the mistake of two beaten werewolves.
His legs quickly burnt up the distance between his room at the barracks on the edge of Wolf
Town, and the building that was office to the Guardians. His thoughts were locked in the past. After he'd woke up alone that morning, so many years before, he'd damn near gone mad. Immediately, he'd turned to wolf and attempted to track her, determined to find her and bring her back.
He'd failed. It was as if his mate had disappeared into thin air. There were no explanations. It hadn't taken long to find out where she lived, or who her family was. For a year, he'd done nothing but exist on the hopes of finding her. Every avenue was explored, every lead followed. The New Mexico pack had assisted, but it didn't do any good. If not for Sheriff Brown's find, he'd all but wonder if she hadn't been anything more than a dream from a love-starved werewolf.
She never returned back to her job or apartment again. He'd discovered quickly how little her
parents had done for her. They never even bothered to clear her apartment. Instead, he'd paid the grateful landlord himself and packed it all up. Her