Out of The Woods (COMPLETED)

Chapter ten

Esmerelda and Finn stood unsure as what to do. They had been living with the wolves for the past 24 hours, both refusing to return without Aurora. The alpha seemed sensible enough and treated them with respect, setting them up in lavish rooms in the pack house. Esmerelda was only too thankful that they hadn't been placed in a cell and treated with hostility.

The door opened, the large heavy oak groaning sigh protect as the old wood slid over the marred wooden floors. Isaac stepped into the room and Esmerelda couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes.

He nodded at the two strangers in his office. His beta followed him in as he quietly shut the door.

"I'm sorry for calling you here." He said stiffly as he walked around to the front of the cluttered desk, running his hand through his wild curls. "I think it's time we had a talk."

Esmerelda stayed silent while Finn was the one who stood up and voiced his thoughts. She was still gauging the alpha, trying to suss out his personality and traits.

"Have you found her? Or any leads?"

The alpha gave him a tired and defeated look, but there was an underlying anger lying behind them.

"No." His answer was abrupt and stark, causing Finn to grow silent. Esmerelda could sense that Aurora was still alive, call it intuition, or something stronger that connected them, she just knew.

"Even if you do find her," Esmerelda started, "What do you plan to do with her? I don't understand the weird fascination you have with her."

Truth be told, Esmerelda knew very little about mates. She knew it consisted of some sort of bond formed between werewolves, but was confused as to how Aurora was pulled into it.

"She's my mate."

Esmerelda looked up at him blankly. He sighed slowly. "Do you have any idea what that is?"

"I have a small grasp on it. But I don't fully comprehend it."

Isaac nodded, contemplating in his head how to explain this to someone. "A mate bond is sacred to my kind. It's a bond formed a wolf and their chosen mate, chosen for them by the moon goddess. Aurora is my mate, the other half of my soul. Without her, I'll eventually die. Without her, I feel empty and incomplete and that won't fade until I find her ."

Esmerelda took in the information before scoffing.

"And you've decided that this gives you some kind of ownership of her?"

Isaac's eyes grew hard. "I never aspired to  own her. I few her as my equal. All I plan to do is keep her protected. If you've never felt the mate bond, you wouldn't understand what it is. To part with me would be damaging to her also now that we've met."

Esmerelda put her hand up. "This sounds like absolute bullshit."

"Would you rather she died?" Isaac snapped, his voice laced with venom and anger that pierced through the room. Logically, it probably would not kill her to leave him as it would do to him, but it would have a permanent effect. But the mere thought of her leaving him caused him such inexplicable pain that it caused him to lash out and be irrational.

"I know it's a little difficult to understand Esmerelda. But he speaks the truth. The mate bond is... remarkable. I think you should consider that being with him would benefit her more than being without him."

Isaac turned his eyes on the male, narrowing in confusion and Skepticism. The way he spoke of the bond was almost as if he had experience with it. Finn in turn, grinned at the alpha.

"I suppose I might mention that I'm mated to one of your pack members. That's why I'm here, to look for her. She disappeared two weeks ago. But now everything is all over the place with Aurora going missing also."