A Blood-Like Rain

— Kaden —

I began to panic.

We were heading to battle, but I smelled my mate. I smelled my mate!

I tried to track the direction the smell came from but it was so faint I could hardly notice it. I moved in circles half in a daze. I found a line, a line she must have been traveling, but I couldn’t tell which way she came from and which way she was going. And I tried to sniff both ways to see which seemed the strongest, the freshest.

Sam noticed my change in behaviour and got closer. When I noticed him, I raised my hand to make him stop. I was afraid his sheer presence would make me lose her scent.

It wasn’t completely irrational either as my own scent on her tracks was enough to nearly destroy what little clue I had.

I went in further.

I followed one side of the track all the way to a small stream, then I lost her. I checked all over, on the other side, everywhere. The track ended here. My best guess was she walked in the stream for a while, the water masking her scent.

I didn’t realize I had bolted in that direction, until I heard Sam running to catch up.

We were far now. The noise of my men, faint in the distance.

“What is it?” asked Sam worried.

“I found her,” I said in desperation. “I lost her.”

“Who?” he asked confused.

“My bloody mate.”

“Fuck! Now?”

“Yeah.”

“This is not a good time for this.”

“I know,” I growled in frustration.

I walked for a while, following the stream. I still couldn’t pick up her scent, so I stop.

“What now?” asked Sam.

“I go the other way,” I said.

I went back on my track. It was easier to go by the scent I just left than try and pick hers again. I went at a dead run, Sam could barely keep up.

When I reached the clearing again I slowed down.

“What are you doing?”

to where I

with my finger, going from where we just came from to the opposite side. “This is her track. I don’t know what direction she went from but I know this side leads nowhere.” I pointed at where we went. “Which means this is

Sam looked back at the direction of our convoy then back at me,

“I know,” I said. “It’s the worst timing in the world, but if I don’t give this a chance—.”

“I know,” he

just need to

is still time until nightfall,”

time,

nodded. “Keep this quiet. Just in case it

on your own?” It just

here,” I told him.

“No one moves alone. That’s your own rule.”

the direction I

it’s a

my head. “I don’t know, but I think I

make sense.”

I said in frustration. “Go,” I told

was about to

“I said go,” I

like he wanted to defy me

scent. I took my phone out and waved it at him behind me. “We keep in touch.” And I disappeared through the

followed the track. After a while, the smell got a little stronger and my heart did a backflip. This was the direction

I could maintain in the wood. I covered a lot of ground and I was

pace, she was probably walking, which explained why I was catching

it was hard to believe someone would travel here. A little further, there were some paths that would be far easier to travel. Was she lost, or was this

word of Sam resonated in my head.

What if this is

from civilization, from

down, think about this, but my feet didn’t seem to connect with

stream had been small, easy to cross, so why risk getting her feet wet far in the woods, otherwise? Then was she

visible anymore, the orange glow

I was running out

was getting limited in the thick forest.

close, I knew

suddenly stopped.

at this pace, I would have sounded like an

the forest cleared, the wind pick up speed, and I smelled her just before I

richer now, softer, it reminded me of playing in the dead colourful maple leaf on the autumn ground as a child, of the feeling of strawberry juices running on your tongue, of a stormy night of April, of a warm blanket in front of a fire in the dead of winter, of the silkiness of a woman’s skin

visible at the edge of my vision, but I knew it