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Sniff Sniff

Goddess, save me. The persistent sniffles that are coming from the passenger side are driving me mad.

Joel and I have been on the road for six hours straight, traveling to meet up with our trackers. And for the last two hours, I’ve been trying to ignore Gamma Joel’s sniffling. I turned the car to the right off the main road and onto a dirt path that goes through a state park.

Nixon’s mission to assist the hunters in replaceing the missing women has so far been a total bust. But our people were able to pick up on a few scents and traced them to the state borderline. The hunters agreed to join us in scouting out the area, and hopefully, this isn’t another dead end.

Sniff Sniff

I slapped my hand on the steering wheel and turned my head to the right, “Damn it, Joel.” I sighed heavily and squeezed the leather on the wheel.

Sniff “What?” Joel wiped his eyes with his arm and continued looking out his window. I shook my head and turned my focus back to the narrowing path.

“Dude, why are you crying,” I asked as I slowed the car down and stopped at the edge of the forest. I turned the ignition off and looked back at the blubbering idiot.

“Nix, Sniff, hates, Sniff, me...” Joel put his head in his hands and muffled out his sobbing.

I shook my head, “You’re an idiot. Why the hell would he hate you? Nix doesn’t hate you.” He looked up at me as big fat tears fell from his red puffy eyes.

“I’m being punished for something; I just know it.” Joel threw his arms and hands up. “Why else would he partner us up? This shit is boring as hell. I mean, you’re perfect for the job. But why me? Like, I should be back at home, enjoying the competition, and cheering up all the losing champions.”

I nodded, “I understand, but this is—Wait. Are you calling me boring?”

“Fuck yeah!” Joel wiped his face as I unbuckled my seat belt. “Loo...look at you. All safety first, and shit. We’re werewolves, Tanner. We can survive against anything.”

“Almost anything, Joel, and don’t forget that.” I stuffed the keys in my pocket and opened my door. “And what about you crying like a little bitch?” I asked as I stepped out of the car and straightened out my jacket.

“These are manly tears, mmmk,” Joel stated as he wiped his face with a shirt. “There is nothing wrong with salty man water; it will help grow out my beard as it rolls down my face.”

“Ha, that my friend is bullshit, and you know it.” The sound of crunching gravel and two sets of headlights caught my attention. “But I’ll dispute this with you later. Just act professionally in front of these hunters.”

Joel stepped out of the car. He walked behind the trunk and stood beside me, crossing his arms. “So, embody the word boring, and become the arid Beta Tann—”

I elbowed Joel and looked back to the approaching black jeeps. The two vehicles slowed to a crawl, and the first car’s passenger door opened just before it stopped. Black tactical boots landed on the ground and stepped from behind the door.

Tall legs and a slim waist came into view. My eyes went wide as I looked upon a porcelain face. The woman tied her onyx hair into a ponytail and came from behind the door.

It’s nearly impossible, but in a way, she resembled Aviry. But her facial expression was more…friendly. The goddess dressed in a tactical vest and black leather came to the front of the car. She crossed her arms and leaned against the hood.

“Hey, which one of you is Tanner?” Her voice was a beautiful symphony on my ears. Joel’s hand shot up, and I viciously snatched it back down.

“Continue trying to become me, Joel.” I pushed him back and stepped forward. “Hello, I am Beta Tanner. And who might you be.”

Other than fucking gorgeous.

The driver’s side door opened wide, and a tall blonde man wearing a similar outfit to the female stepped forward. The doors to the other vehicle popped open, and eight more burly men came to stand behind the woman.

She smiled, “I am Denver Smith. The hunter who asked for your assistance in this mission.”

Joel gasped, and I cupped my jaw. I was wondering if there was truth behind what she said. Nixon never had a face to face meeting with the hunters. All communications were done over the phone, but I know it was a male’s voice on the other line.

Joel stepped forward and cocked his head to the side. “Hold up. Denver is a man, you’re a…”

“Powerful female?” Denver stood tall and walked forward. “Yes, I am. But your probably familiar with my headhunter Gail.” She said, placing her hand on the shoulder of the blonde male.

“And these are a few of the men from my league, but we’ll have time for introductions later. For now, let’s head into the woods and see if we can pick up on the scents your trackers found.”

She looked behind us and narrowed her eyes. “Where are your trackers?” She asked, confused.

“They went ahead of us. They took the north side along the borderline; we’ll take the south. Since your human sense of smell is average, Joel and I will sniff out the area for you.” I stepped forward and stuck my hand out.

Denver followed suit and firmly gripped my hand. A sharp zap passed between us. I inhaled sharply and looked into her eyes.

“That was thoughtful of you.” She cleared her throat and released my now freezing hand. “I’ll send four of my men north to assist your guys, and we’ll meet up in the middle later.”

I nodded, and she turned to face her group.

“Cody, Drake, Gill, Maj.” The four men strapped with crossbows on their back, two pistols on their sides, and a scoped rifle in their hand stepped forward. “Take the north. I want you to stay behind the wolves, but close enough to attack an enemy.”

The men nodded and jogged in sync toward the tree line. “The rest of you will follow the same order but will follow me south. I want eyes alert, and your mind set on kill mode.”

Denver turned back to me. “After you, Beta Tanner. We’ll wait here for a bit, and then follow behind.”

Joel and I turned and led the way into the tree line. The sky was darker, but there was still a bit of residual sunlight. “Should we shift?” Joel asked once we were out of view.

I lifted a tree branch and stepped underneath it. “Our scents are stronger as wolves. We’ll stay human to avoid any rogues in the area. I don’t want an unnecessary fight with them.”

The soft crunch of twigs and leaves let me know that the hunters were close but purposely staying back. “ Besides, the humans wouldn’t be able to keep up if we did.”

Joel got in front of me and started walking backward. He placed his hand behind his head and flexed his biceps. “Man, talk about a plot twist. I was expecting Denver to be a guy, not a hot chick. And, is it me or does Denver kind of resemble—”

“I know,” I said as I sniffed the air.

Joel turned back around and jumped up to slap a hanging branch. “But her personality is so much calmer than—”

“I know,” I repeated myself. I kept my eyes on the ground, just speaking about Denver was making me blush.

“Exactly. And the way she commanded—”

“Listen, Joel,” I whispered. I stopped walking, and the party behind us stopped too. “Can we focus on the mission? Denver is Nixon’s ally, and the last thing I want to do is piss her off. If she’s anything close to you know who, I don’t want to be on her bad side.”

Joel rolled his eyes. “Tsk, I’m not afraid of Aviry. In fact, if Denver is anything like her, she should be afraid of—”

“Why did we stop?” Denver asked from Behind Joel.

“AHHHHHHH AVIRY!” Joel screamed and jumped behind me. I laughed as Denver covered her ears. “DON’T DO THAT!” Joel panted as he tried to catch his breath.

“Do what?” Denver asked. “Did you pick up on a scent?” She asked me directly.

“No. We just stopped to survey the area for any tracks.” I lied.

Denver nodded. “Ok then, I’ll have my men watch their steps.” She looked over to a shaky Joel. “And whos’ Aviry.”

“THE DEVILS SPAWN!” Joel seethed. He turned away from us and stomped ahead, disappearing into the trees.

“Don’t mind him. Aviry just handed him his ass and told him to wipe it clean.” Denver and I chuckled.

“She sounds like an ally to me then. Maybe I’ll get to meet her after we replace these missing women.” Denver tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Tanner, do me a favor.”

Anything for you, my gorgeous, little—

“SPEAK!” My wolf Lance barked.

Oh shit. I smiled gently and nodded. “Yes, anything, an ally to Nix is an ally to me.”

“Great.” She breathed. “I’m so glad to hear that. Listen, I need you to—”

“DENVER!” One of her men shouted. He ran up to the side of her and whispered in her ear.

Denver listened intently and shot her head over to me and back to her companion. “All of you head that way and aid them in any way we can. Gail, you’re in charge. I want answers, so keep a few of them alive.”

Gail ran off with his team toward the north. “My men found your trackers. They are fighting against a group of rogues. What do you want to do?” She asked, gazing into my eyes with her blue ones.

I cleared my throat, “We...we should lend them a hand; our trackers are mainly that. They have some combat skills, but we need to keep them safe, especially for this mission. I’ll mind link Joel, and then we’ll head that way.”

Denver smiled gently and nodded her head. I blushed and turned away to face any other direction. What is this woman doing to me, I need to focus on the mission.

“Joel, we need to head north. Get back—” ZIP I jumped back at the sound and turned to see a beautiful sight. Denver was unzipping her leather pants and wiggling out of them.

Now, any other time, I would not question this. I would join in, and we would have a hell of a night together. But now is not the time, and damn you, goddess, for not allowing this miracle to happen.

“Wait, wait…Denver, what are you doing?” I asked, shocked.

“I’m getting undressed.” She replied. As if that wasn’t obvious.

She kicked her pants to the side and unbuckled her tactical vest. “Well, I can see that but like…why?”

TANNER, why are you questioning this? A hottie is revealing her body without you asking. Just jump into the pool, and swim man.

No, inner mind. I can’t, now isn’t the time, I must…. RESIST!

“Why else?” she asked as she tossed her shirt on the ground. Denver just in underwear now. She undid her ponytail and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Do you mind unhooking this for me?” She said, pointing to the back of her bra.

GODDESS!!!! Why are you doing this to me!? Fuck it, when an opportunity like this calls, I must answer.

“Um...how…I…sure.” I slipped my fingers in between the bra and pinched the clasp together to undo it. My fingers were sweaty and slippery as I released the first two.

This is it, Tanner, only one more…

“Oooohh! So, this is what I came to rescue you from.” Joel came from behind the tree and cocked his head to the side. “I guess you’re not so boring after all, Tanner.”

“Joel! It’s…it’s not what—”

“Will you two stop it!” Denver snapped. “We need to focus. My guys are great, but if more rogues join in, I’ll need to be there to help them. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to hurry this along. The fastest way to get there is to shift.”

“SHIFT!?” Joel and I said at the same time.

“She’s riding on my back.” Joel mind linked me.

“Fuck you, Dude. I’m Beta, I pull rank, she’s my cowgirl.” I looked over Joel and smirked.

“Yes, shift.” Denver said pulling down her underwear. My inner wolf and I howled in unison.

Joel clapped his hands over his eyes. “Right. We’ll get there quicker, but you know you don’t have to undress, right?”

Denver looked over at me. I blushed again and turned around quickly.

“Do you guys shift with your clothes on? Damn, that must be one hell of a shopping bill. Anyways’ let’s get to it.” Denver concluded.

“Tanner, give me this one thing in life. You missed my birthday; consider this my gift.” Joel whimpered.

“No! She’s—”

CRACK CRACK SNAP

The familiar sound of bones breaking apart had Joel, and I turned to face Denver. Or better, the place where she once stood. Joel fell back on his ass and pointed a shaky finger.

Standing in front of us now was a huge snow-white wolf, with a black star in the center of its head. The lovely fresh scent of pine increased, but there are no pines in this forest. My heart hammered in my chest as I gazed into the glowing blue eyes of the wolf.

The powerful wolf stood tall on all fours and howled into the sky. She rushed forward and tackled me onto the ground, nudging and licking my face.

“MATE!” My wolf Lance shouted and yipped, “MATE! MAAATE! RELEASE ME, TANNER!”

“Wait, Lance,” I whispered, shocked and confused.

How is this possible? Denver is a hunter; she smells like a human. But besides that, is this really my mate? Am I really this lucky to have found her?

Wait…I pinched my arm and smiled. No, this is real. After all of my prayers to have a mate, you finally answered.

Thank you, Moon Goddess.