Her Chosen Mate

Part 9

(POV - Marcus)

Panting, Marcus tracked the scent of the last rogue, trying desperately to stay focused despite his growing fear for Helena's safety.

With the rest of the rogue pack taken care of, he was free to track down the last one, but the gaping wound in his heart made it so difficult. He found himself constantly looking back over his shoulder, towards the house where Helena was giving birth to their son. Where he was supposed to be but couldn't be, because the rogue was an expert at evading his every attempt to catch him. Just when Marcus thought he and Jaden were closing in, the damn wolf slipped through their claws, leaving Marcus seething and urgent.

A number of times, Jaden had darted off in a different direction, Marcus skidding to a halt to follow after him because he'd fallen into the depths of his fear again. But the scent of the rogue wolf was still strong, and it spurred them both on, their paws shredding the ground in their haste to catch him.

He twisted and turned, dodging trees and boulders, narrowly missing the sharp, gnarled roots of a tree that had collapsed, the harsh ends catching on his fur. He was sloppy. Too distracted to pay attention to the woods, which he usually knew better than his own hometown. Everything suddenly felt unfamiliar and daunting, taunting him with new bends and unexpected streams that cut across their path. He felt like a brand new wolf who had shifted for the first time and had no idea what he was doing or where he was going.

His heart thrashed in his chest, blood roaring in his ears and clouding his thoughts because he needed to get to his mate. She needed him, and he wasn't there. The urgency made him gag on a choked sob. He couldn't think past that pain, the very obvious agony telling him that Helena was in danger, that something had happened and he was too far away from where he needed to be, from where he should have been.

He knew he was fucking up, making mistakes that had him and Jaden circling back to catch the scent again before following. It was maddening. And the rogue seemed to know that Marcus was distracted, and when that scent veered off towards the house, towards his mate, Marcus roared.

Chunks of wet dirt flew as his paws shredded earth, sprinting towards his home where his keen ears picked up screams.

He wasn't going to make it in time.Something had happened to Helena, and he'd been stuck tracing and retracing the rogue's scent because he couldn't focus. It would be his fault that something happened to her.

He didn't bother shifting, and could smell the rogue all over his home. It made him see red.

He'd never hated the layout of his own home before.

With Jaden at his flank, Marcus struggled through the house, having followed the scent of the last rogue there. All the way to where his mate was giving birth.

Jaden followed close behind, his muzzle stained with dried blood. They were both careful to avoid smashing into the walls that would crumble under their weight and made it up the stairs in a single leap.

The door spun from its hinges when he burst in, an icy rage washing over him.

The rogue had its jaws locked around the doctor's neck; the nurses laying dead on the floor, their throats ripped open.

And Helena...

Every sound faded, his ears ringing, when his eyes landed on his mate.

She was still on the bed, eyes closed and looking for all the world like she might be sleeping, their son cradled in her arms.

But there was no life in her skin, no breath in her chest, and her legs and lower abdomen were a bloody mess of gore.

And their son, so small, so fragile, didn't move.