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.

clearing again I slowed

are you

I was back to where I was when I

side. “This is her track. I don’t know what direction she went from but I know this side leads nowhere.”

looked back at the direction of our convoy then

if I don’t

know,” he

said. “I just need to

still time until nightfall,” he said looking at the

too. There was time,

this quiet. Just in case it leads nowhere.”

on your own?” It

“Keep things tight here,” I

That’s

in the direction I had

“What if it’s a trap?” he

“I don’t know, but I think I need to do this on my

make

I said in frustration.

He looked like he was about to argue.

“I said go,”

He looked like he wanted to defy

followed the scent. I took my phone out and waved it at him behind me.

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

in the wood. I covered a lot of ground and

increase in her smell and my pace, she was probably walking, which explained why I was catching on, the track being a few hours old now.

would travel here. A little further, there were some paths that would be far easier to travel. Was

resonated

What if this is

civilization, from my men, from any resources or

about this, but my feet didn’t

feet wet far in the

was not visible anymore, the orange glow slowly turning

running out of time.

wolf eyes, my vision was getting limited in the

I knew

suddenly

didn’t expect to meet someone so far in the forest. I had run relatively silently, but at this pace, I would have sounded like an elephant to anyone with heightened senses. I slowed my trek to

I got closer to the river, the forest cleared, the wind pick up speed, and I smelled

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

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