Jade woke up feeling strange, she didn't know why but something was drawing her towards the outside that particular day. So she didn't find it surprising when after finishing her chores for the morning and leaving Adonis at the daycare centre, she ventured out on her own to explore the pack territory, but she didn't know where she was going, it felt as if her legs had a mind of their own as they carried her past the packhouse, which was alive during that time of the day.

She could see men leaving for the border patrol, mothers fussed after their energetic toddlers, teenagers leaving for school, and some of the pack members even called out to greet her, to which she greeted back with a smile on her face.

It was a chilly kind of day, the wind kissed her bare arms, making her hair fly softly in the wind. She walked past houses that belonged to the pack members, not everyone in the pack stayed in the packhouse, some liked their privacy and decided to move into a house after finding their mates and starting a family of their own.

As she continued walking, she came across the training grounds, where the morning training session for the pack warriors was still going on in full swing.

Some of them were fighting in their wolf form, while others were in their human form doing combat, most of the men were shirtless with sweat dripping down their bodies while the females were in their sports bras and shorts. Some wolves had stopped training, acknowledging their Luna's presence by bowing their head in respect which made Jade turn red with the attention, even though she wasn't officially declared one, almost everyone in the pack seemed to know who she was to their Alpha.

She didn't notice when she had stopped walking, but her green eyes seemed to roam around the large open area, looking for something or someone in particular.

It seemed like she didn't have to look for long as the person she was unconsciously searching for, stood at the front training with his beta, and he was shirtless with a light sheen of sweat coating his muscular body, and sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips showing off his impressive v-line.

Lastly, when her eyes moved up towards his face, her own eyes widened a bit in surprise to find his ocean blue eyes already staring back at her with amusement glinting in them. Jade's cheeks reddened in embarrassment knowing that he had caught her ogling him shirtless. She ducked her head with her long hair curtaining her face in hopes that he wouldn't be able to see her embarrassment at getting caught.

Jade realized that it would be better to continue on her journey to the unknown place and continued walking, she was almost out of the place when she felt his presence behind her before he even chose to speak up.

"Where are you going?" his deep voice sounded from behind her, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn around to face him. The scent of vanilla hit her in the face like a ton of bricks which she unconsciously seemed to inhale greedily.

The other thing that distracted her was his shirtless upper half, she had a tough time not glancing at his eight pack that was glistening with sweat or the light peppering of hair that disappeared inside his pants. With great difficulty on her part, she met his eyes which still seemed amused at her actions.

"I just wanted to check out the clearing" the lie just tumbles out, it startles her for a moment how easily she lied to him when usually she had a bad time lying to Adryan.

Adryan looks into her eyes, moving back and forth, and when he comes to the conclusion that she isn't lying he replies while nodding his head.

When Jade turns to continue on her journey, a firm grip on her arms stops her, tingles crackling between them like fireworks in the sky, "Okay, but stay alert we have had more rogue sightings this past month than ever."

She nods her head at his words but is left shocked the next second when she feels his lips pecking her forehead, her eyes widening at his affection. She thought she might be dreaming but that thought quickly diminishes when she hears hooting and laughter coming from the direction of warriors that were training.

Jade takes a peek over Adryan's shoulder to see that all of them were staring in their direction, her eyes catch that of Brian's who just gives her a thumbs up with a smile on his face, her cheeks reddening at all the attention.

Her eyes meet Adryan's amused ones for a moment before she turns away, willing her legs to walk faster. A smile forms on her lips, when she hears him chuckling at her actions.

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When she had lied to Adryan she didn't expect to actually end up at the clearing. Her eyes take in the beautiful scenery ahead. In this part of the forest, the trees stood far from each other, a considerable amount of distance, but the canopy they formed overhead was enough to make up for the distance casting a shadow on the area. Through the spaces between leaves and branches, a small amount of sunlight managed to escape, casting enough light. Lastly, most of the forest floor was covered with wild flowers and vines that climbed up trees.

She kneels on the ground spotting a flower that caught her interest, her eyes inspect the reddish brown flower blooming among the other wild flowers. Her fingers delicately touch its petals, and she moves forward to inhale its scent, its rich sweet fragrance causes her eyes to close in delight.

He was content with watching her from a distance, for now.

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His eyes take in as she kneels on the forest floor. Her long red hair fluttered in the wind. Her fingers found the red flower growing among the wild ones. He watched with warmth in his usually cold heart as she closed her eyes after scenting the flower as if she was saving it to her memory.

He was mesmerized by her beauty. Her eyes caught under the sunlight appear like gems. He takes a step back, his foot accidentally stepping on the dried leaves on the ground, causing a crunching sound, he closed his eyes in slight anger and curses internally. He opens his eyes after a moment to watch, only to find her standing now, her emerald green eyes trying to find the source that made the noise.

She couldn't find him, he had done a good job at concealing himself. He was used to being in the shadows his whole life, blending in came to him so naturally. He could hear the fast thumping sound of his heart beating.

She was nervous, he could tell. She had detected his presence but she couldn't spot him. She thought she would get attacked if she didn't stay alert. But, what she didn't know was he could never hurt her, even if she tried with his everything. She wasn't someone meant to be hurt, she was meant to be cherished.

She was busy looking for him that she didn't notice the male wolf approaching her.

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Jade could feel her heartbeats in her ears, surprisingly she didn't feel afraid, she was more nervous not knowing what was out there watching her.

A hand comes to rest on her shoulders, making Jade jolt away from the touch in surprise. She turns back to face the culprit only to see a man with his hands up in surrender motion.

"Woah," the man says.

"Who are you?" She asks, ready to attack if he pulled any surprise moves on her.

"Ouch, I thought since we went on one date, you'd at least remember my voice," he says with humour lacing his voice, now that she took his appearance in, he was an attractive male, with messy brown hair and baby blue eyes that twinkled. Her eyes widen when his words register.

"Nathan?!" she asks not sure.

"Voila!" he exclaims with a smile on his face.

"What are you doing here? and why didn't I see you before when I came to the pack?" she asks.

"Well for your first question, I should be the one asking you that. It's not safe to be here especially when you are alone, all by yourself. Secondly, Alpha had sent me away to train a pack down east for a few months, I just arrived yesterday, probably the reason why we didn't meet when you came a few months back."

She nods her head, "Well it's nice to finally put a face to the name." her voice filled with humour.

Nathan's eyes light up at her words. "You know even though I was gone for a few months, I've heard everything that happened between you and Alpha, and about your eyesight, and I also heard that you have a son now?" he asks her, even though she and Nathan went on a date together, he didn't sound bitter about the fact that she never got back to him or about the fact that she hid the fact that she was his Alpha's mate.

She smiles at his words, "Yes, the past three years have been crazy."

Nathan nods his head, agreeing with her. "Tell me about it," he says, "Come one, let's go back to the packhouse, It's almost time for the lunch to be served and I'm so hungry." As if on cue his stomach rumbles causing Nathan's cheeks to redden in embarrassment and Jade to let out a laugh. Both of them turn to way away towards the pack house.

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He feels warmth fill his insides hearing her melodious laugh, the arrival of the male had strayed her earlier search for him, he watched as the pair turned to walk away. He was about to walk away as well, but he was surprised to see Jade turn back to look back at the trees where he was hiding in, his eyes flash violet when they meet her green eyes, her eyes widening after catching his. To his surprise once again, she doesn't give away his presence to the male beside her.

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Jade felt her heart almost stop when she spotted a pair of violet-colored eyes staring back at her, but what scared her was how she felt inside when their eyes met for a moment. She felt like she could drown in those violet eyes that stared back at her with so much intensity. She felt a slight fluttering in her stomach. Jade didn't dare mention about the unknown person's presence to Nathan.

The last thought on her mind before she left was confusing even to her, 'was he the reason drawing her to this place?'

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A/ N : I'm back after not updating for a while, hope you liked the chapter.

Please do comment and vote ❤️

- Naomi