With Eyes to See | ✔

|01|

The man was exhausted. A short week had passed since he left his territory hoping to find his other half. He had scoured the lands of several territories, searching the faces of countless women, but had come out fruitless. As he travelled further from his pack he wondered if he would have enough time to even search.

After a short summit with the entire pack, it was decided that the Alpha was able to be away from the pack until the next full moon. That gave him just under three weeks to find her. Considering the nature of the issue, the pack had been considerate. They could not be without their leader, but their leader could not be without his soul.

The frustration was rising within him, threatening to burst in a violent rage. His claws came forth from his fingers, long, sharp canines tore through his gums and his eyes darkened to an inhumane black. The man knew that he needed to stop, if only for a short while. However, the creature wanted to find his mate and was threatening to come out.

"Alpha, with all due respect, I think we should take a break." One of his men clasped a hand on his shoulder in a macho display of comfort.

He nodded. He always listened to the opinion of his pack, especially when he could not think rationally for himself. He was a fair, strong Alpha beloved by his pack. Such a fact only added to the confusion of the wolves he led. He was good in all ways, yet was punished with no mate?

The man walked on, stopping outside of a small coffee shop named 'Pressed'. It was a peculiar sight, these brutes of men standing outside the dainty little coffee shop. His six-foot frame barely fit through the door- his broad shoulders and large back taking up an impossible amount of space. His men followed silently, all taking up a small booth close to the door.

It was like all the humans could tell that he had some kind of power. There was a hush that came over them as they eyed the strange man with a mix of curiosity and fascination. A small nimble waitress came over to take their orders. Her brown hair tied in a messy ponytail, and a friendly smile stretched across her beautiful lips.

He sat at the edge closest to her; he didn't miss the way her eyes raked over his form appreciatively, stopping to look over the sharp ridges of his face and casting a quick glance to the small strip of visible skin from the top of his unbuttoned dress shirt.

Her body poised in a controlled façade of confidence as she spoke to these men twice her size. She'd never know, but her body gave her away. Her heart fluttered quickly in her ribcage, her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip and she continued to tap her pen against her order pad.

The man drank in her features carefully, she was a pretty little thing, but she was not his. So, after ordering a double espresso he diverted his attention to the street outside watching the people walking by.

The chime above the door twinkled as someone came in, her light footsteps immediately stirring the beast within the man into a frenzy. He could smell her light floral perfume as she stood behind him, a light airy laugh passing from her lips. He could tell it was her, everything within him reverberated with the knowledge.

He had to restrain himself from going over to her, throwing her over his shoulder and running off with her. He waited with bated breath to catch a glimpse of her, prolonging the eleven-year torture that he had already endured. It was peculiar that the moment that he had stopped searching, was the moment he found her.

Then she stepped into view, her head was turned towards the man that was with her. He had to suppress a growl at seeing her with him, worse yet seeing her hand in the crook of his arm. He knew it was stupid, she didn't even know who he was but he couldn't help but feel jealousy. He wanted to be the one who held her hand, the one that she looked to- he wanted it to be him and nobody else.