Chapter 1: In which we meet our Heroes

“Cut me a break,” Blaine said with a charming smile directed at the pack's healer, Tina. Sitting in her home in the center of the Dalton pack territory, Blaine made grabby motions to the chocolate pie that Tina is currently holding hostage.

“Not till you tell me what happened yesterday. Blaine. I smelled cat the minute you walked in my door. So. What. Happened. Spill,” Tina countered, not at all fazed by the devil may care shrug and the brilliantly alarming smile that Blaine flashed her way.

“Nuh-uh. Mister. You're not getting away from me so easily. Tell me what happened” Tina continued, holding the pie out of Blaine's reach, because, well, Blaine's not all that tall to begin with. At just 21 years, he still had a bit of growing to do, scented future alpha and all that. Blaine tried to make a run for the pie, but Tina was well prepared and managed to evade him.

“Dammit Tina, can't a guy just have pie without all these nosy Q&As” Blaine growled, putting on his best hurt puppy dog look.

“Well. What do you expect. You're pack. Future alpha pack. Pack is nosy. So deal,” she said matter of factly.

Blaine sighed. “It's nothing. Some of us hit up the club with a bunch of other friends…”

Tina shot him a death glare.

 “Fine…a bunch of cats. And we drank, and danced and had a good time. Tell me, how is that a crime?” Blaine tried to make it sound casual.

“In fact, isn't it good for the new alliance we've got with Mckinley? Hanging out, getting to know one another and all that,” and again the puppy dog pout made an appearance.

 “Oh no. Oh no. No wonder Hawke was walking around looking like he ate a sock,” Tina tried to stifle her laughter as she was reminded of earlier in the day, when the Dalton alpha walked past the den, muttering what could only be choice obscenities under his breath, looking a bit worse for wear.

 “But seriously Blaine, shouldn't you be…a tad bit more careful. Especially with the alliance being so new and all. I'm just worried for you,” Tina moved to give Blaine a hug. Blaine welcomed the touch, rested his chin into her beautiful, long, black hair. Touch was an important part of changeling make-up, touch affirms the bonds between pack and skin privileges outside of pack far and few between.

“I know, Tina. But, it's starting to feel so stifling here. I just…” Blaine tried to articulate his confusing emotions tentatively.

“Yeah, and that's why you got caught in an extremely uncompromising position. In the bathroom, with a cat. By Lucas and Hawke! What in the world were you thinking?” Tina asked incredulously, but with a small smile.

They have been best friends since they were pups, and truth be told, Tina did have a crush on Blaine a zillion years back. But she had long since found her mate, Mike, and the little crush was ancient history for the both of them. She had noticed that Blaine had been restless for the past few months and wondered if he needed a new environment.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tina asked, softly.

 Blaine considered her offer, still hugging her tight. So many thoughts were running through his mind. He couldn't really put a finger to it, why he was so restless and well, purposeless. It's just been a constant and insistent nagging ache in his heart, like a tugging that was pulling him in a direction he couldn't figure out. It was frustrating as hell, and he didn't know how to make sense of his scrambled thoughts.

“Not now,” Blaine told Tina, giving her one last squeeze and letting her go. “But thank you, Tina. You know I love you, right?”

Tina smiled sweetly at the sincere expression on Blaine's face. She could never be angry or heck, even annoyed with this crazy charmer for any length of time.

“I do. I love you too, Bee” Tina replied.

“Good. And thanks for the pie,” Blaine grinned widely, the whole pie now in his hands, having taken advantage of Tina's distracted thoughts. He ran out of the healer's room, leaving a trail of loud laughter in his wake.

“Damn it. BLAINE ANDERSON. Those were for the pups!” Tina shouted after him, knowing he'd hear it because he was a wolf, enhanced senses and all. She sighed and picked up her phone from the marble counter that held more desserts and dialed Hawke.

“He's fine. But you might have to keep a closer watch on him,” Tina informed her alpha.

“Got it. Thanks Tina. I'll drop by later,” said alpha to healer.

Tina hung up, and wondered if her best friend was really all right.

Kurt heaved a huge sigh. He was off duty, and currently stretched languorously on a slab of stone, sunbathing. He knew it was bad for his skin, but he can't help the lovely feeling of sun on his skin. It was warm and comfy dammit, and his inner cat growled, also enjoying this time. Besides the few rabbits happily frolicking a few feet away, he was blissfully, alone.

He stretched luxuriously, unknotting the tense muscles in his shoulders and back and almost purred in delight. This was one of the rare moments that Kurt could steal to be truly alone with his own thoughts. Most of the time, the pack inundated him with requests for his time. It's hard being popular, he mussed.

Kurt didn't know how it happened, but he became the go-to person for, well, everything. Fixing cars, fashion advice, cooking, babysitting, patrolling, and most tedious of all, being in charge of the prepubescent physical training. The whole month, he had been at the disposal of his pack, and now, he vowed, in the next 2 hours, no one, and nothing, will disturb his much needed rest time.

 Well, if he was being completely honest. He was also avoiding his father and his annoying albeit caring, best friend, Rachel. They had been nagging at him non-stop, about his love life, or rather, lack thereof, and he really didn't want to go back and listen to the, go out and find someone nice Kurt, put yourself out there Kurt, grandbabies Kurt, grandbabies. Kurt sighed again. As much as he loved his family and friends, they are impossible.

And if he were being completely, completely honest, he would also admit that his dad and Rachel are right. He was touch-starved. He had been for the past 2 years. He knew it's such an absolutely baffling thing for a changeling in his prime. Kurt just hadn't found anyone appealing, nor did he feel any connection with any of his potential lovers.

And so, here he was, skin itching with tension, he felt this cat trying to claw its way out of his skin, perhaps chastising him for the lack of touch, of skin privileges. While the contact between family and friends helped, it is starting to affect him on a physiological level.

Keen ears heard the sound of soft rustling. Kurt's slumberous body came on alert. Since the Psy-civil war had started, pretty much the whole of Ohio were on the edge. Especially for Mckinley, his leopard changeling pack. Trouble was brewing and it was better to be prepared than not, which explains his more frequent patrols around pack territory and the neighboring towns.

The wind was unfortunately blowing in the opposite direction and he couldn't smell the intruder.

Leaping up to his feet with the natural grace of a cat, he made his way to the dense foliage of trees. Footfalls hardly making a dent or sound, he prepared his body for an attack.

But Kurt found no one. Frowning, he took a closer look into the ground and found 2 pairs of boot prints on the soil. He sniffed and the distinct smell of cold metal and ice hit his senses. Following the metallic odor, he tracked the smell a few feet, up. Climbing the tree with the feline efficiency, claws barely marking the tree trunk, Kurt stopped when he found a miniscule brown box, made to look like part of the tree, save for its distinct smell, not quite discernably if one weren't looking.

He made a 10 feet drop easily, running toward his alpha's office. 30 minutes later, Kurt burst into Lucas' office, disrupting his meeting with the other sentinels.

 “Lucas, I think there might be a security breach in the Westwoods. I found Psy-surveillance devices in our territory” Kurt gave a succinct report.

There was a collective shock among the people in the room, all of whom were high ranked sentinels. They realized the extent of the trouble that was to come with this piece of information that Kurt had unearthed. Kurt too, worried, for his family, friends, his pack. 

“Alright. Kurt, Puck, Santana, Finn and I will go to the Westwoods. The rest of you make sure everyone is accounted for and the safety measures are up,” Lucas commanded grimly.

Kurt shed his human skin in a burst of pleasure and pain and ran after Lucas, the sleek white leopard taking over the purely physical act of running, leaving the human half of him to worry.

 The white leopard stood guard, eyes watchful as his alpha and pack mates discussed the potential threat to the den's safety. He sniffed an unfamiliar scent, turning, Kurt's body poised for an attack.

 A few moments later, a group of wolves, wolves, appeared. Kurt recognized Hawke, the alpha and relaxed his stance. Hawke must have called the wolves. Without preamble or greetings, the two alphas talked, Lucas briefing Hawke about the suspicious incident.

 While this was happening though, Kurt's fur was bristling. He felt unsettled. There was a strange smell in the air that he could not quite make out. It was not an unpleasant scent though, not at all, in fact, it was delicious. Maple with a hint of cinnamon spice. It was mouth-watering, actually. The cat's piercing blue eyes scanned the area meticulously to no avail. The seductive scent was slowly dissipating. It took all of Kurt's willpower not to run after the smell. He had a job to do. Protect the alpha, protect the pact.

 “I'll make sure Dalton searches our grounds too,” Hawke told the group. With that, the wolves left.

 Lucas gave the command to go back to the den. Kurt, the last one to leave, tried once more in vain to catch that delicious scent. After a few sniffs, he turned to follow the rest of his pack mates, disappointment clear in the animals' eyes.

Blaine, run to the den, round up the rest of the lieutenants and start searching for any signs of intrusions. Hawke commanded telepathically. Blaine, who was about to join the rest of his pack mates at the cats' territory, stopped short, and made a turn.

 Sure thing boss, Blaine replied. The tanned coloured wolf readied his body to cover the miles to his own den. The wolf paused before running however, having caught a scent of something completely delectable. It smelled like a mix of his favourite fruits, strawberries, raspberries and cranberries, with vanilla undertones. It smelled like home. The wolf wanted to bask, burrow and just roll around in the scent. The wolf made to turn.

The human side of Blaine however, reminded of the alpha's order, forced the animal to turn back, toward the direction of the den. As the wolf ran, it growled, angry with its human half for not finding that smell of forever.

“Hey buddy, you alright?” Burt called out to his son. Eyes of an indefinite blue, green, grey made its way to the figure currently working on a beautiful black Impala. 

“I'm fine, Dad. Stop worrying.”

“I can't help it kid. You're walking around like a lovesick puppy. Anything I should know about?”

“Dad.”

“Yeah. Okay. I'll stop asking. But, I know you son, want to tell me what's going on?”

“It's nothing. Just tired from the extra work we have to do because of those surveillance equipment we found. I'm tired, is all.”

“Come here.” Burt opened his arms. Kurt didn't hesitate, walked into the embrace of the one constant figure in his life. Kurt closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of familiarity, his wolf basking in the unconditional love captured in that one hug.

“I love you, Dad.” 

“Love you too, kiddo. I'll be here if you want to talk, hear that?”

“I know, Dad.”

“Dad, how did you know that Mom was the one?”

“You mean, how did I know she was my mate?”

“Yeah.”

“She smelled like my forever. That's how I knew.”

Kurt was silent for a while. He slowly ended the hug, adding an extra squeeze before letting go.

“Forever? What does that smell like?”

 “I don't know, kid. When you smell it, you just know.”

Kurt was silent for a while.

“Was it worth it? You know, despite…”

“Kurt, I wouldn't trade any minute I spent with your mom, no matter how short. It was…indescribable. Being with your mate. I'll never regret it.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“No problem, son. Now go on, I'll see you on Friday?”

“Wouldn't miss it for the world, Dad.”

As Kurt made his way out of the garage, Burt's keen eyes followed. He had a feeling something big was about to happen to his son.

That something big was of course, watching his older brother stuffing his face with an unhealthy amount of burgers.

“Are you going to finish that?” Cooper asked Blaine, pointing to the extra burger on Blaine's tray.

“Coop, you already ate 6 burgers.”

“Yeah, so? I'm a growing wolf.”

 “I give up. Just take it.”

 “Thanks bro.” Cooper said with relish as he snatched the last burger off of Blaine's tray. As Cooper started munching on his seventh burger, Blaine's mind began wondering again, as he was wont to do since the first time he smelled that scent.

 “Earth to Blainey!”

 Blaine was at his wits end. He had trawled the entire city, ten times, trying to catch a whiff of that wonderful scent. It was futile; he barely even got close to that amazing mix of berries and vanilla. His wolf growled again, you should have ran after the smell when you could. See, now it's gone.

 “Blainey-days!”

 Blaine was startled out of his reverie.

 “God, Coop, don't call me that. It's embarrassing.”

 “You were spaced out, man.”

 “Sorry. I was just…thinking.”

 “About?”

 “Coop, I think I might have smelled my mate.”

 “Seriously? Wow. That's great. Congrats, man.”

 “I said smelled, Coop. I haven't met my mate.”

 There was a tense silence as Cooper tried to digest this new information.

“Are you stupid, Blaine. You smelled your mate and didn't run after him?”

 “It might not be a him.”

“Are you kidding me, of course it's a him.”

Blaine smiled at the conviction in Coop's voice. He knew he could always count on his brother for support, however unorthodox that support was.

 “I had direct orders from Hawke.”

 Understanding dawned on Cooper's face.

 “When did this happen?”

 “On my way to join Hawke and the other lieutenants to the Mckinley territory.”

As the words sank in, Blaine realized something important, something very, very important. He stood up abruptly.

“Oh my god, Cooper, you're a freaking genius.”

“I am? Of course I am.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Blaine repeated his thanks as he hurried out of the diner. He felt so stupid, of course he couldn't find his mate in the city. Of course. Because his mate was a cat. A McKinley cat. Now, he just had to find out who. The wolf inside the man nodded his approval. Find him. Our mate.

Blaine approached Hawke's office. Gathering up his courage, he knocked on his alpha's door. 

“Come in.”

“Hawke.”

“Blaine, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I would like to be more involved with our merger with Mckinley. Anyway I can help, I will.”

Hawke considered this, eyeing the young wolf critically. Carrying the scent of future alpha, Hawke had been paying close attention to Blaine. This request was an unexpected and surprising one, well, maybe not that surprising, Hawke mused, thinking about the compromising incident he had caught Blaine in just a week back. There was definitely more than meets the eye.

“Why the sudden…enthusiasm?”

“You know, just…wanting to be involved in pack business.”

“I see. Hmmmm.”

Blaine eyes pleaded to his alpha, trying his very best to convey his desperation.

“I guess we do need someone to be in charge of the pups, making sure they don't go crazy with this new treaty. You know yourself what happens when cats and wolves meet.”

“Yes. I…er…I'm sorry about that. I promise it will never, ever happen again. Let's just say, it was an extremely poor lapse in judgment.”

“Make sure it doesn't happen again, Blaine. You need to set a good example.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Great. I'll connect you to Lucas and we'll see if you can find a way to make this integration less…difficult than it already is.” 

“Sure thing. You can count on me, Hawke, really.”

“I know, Blaine.” Hawke said, conveying his sincerity in that statement. Hawke knew that Blaine would make a great alpha, someday. He would hate for Blaine to doubt himself.

“Thank you, Hawke. This means the world to me. I won't disappoint you.”

“See that you don't.”

Blaine left Hawke's office, heart beating so hard he could feel it trying to escape the confines of his skin. This was it; he was one step closer to meeting his mate. He couldn't wait.

“You've got to be kidding me,” Kurt spat out, glaring daggers at his alpha. There was no way, in hell, that he was going to agree to Lucas' request.

“Kurt, its either you, or… Puck,” Lucas commented slyly, knowing just the buttons to push.

“Oh my Gaga. I don't even want to think about the repercussions of that.” Kurt shuddered, the very thought of Puck being in charge of integrating the young cubs and pups was not something he wanted to think about, in any lifetime.

“Someone has to watch over the cubs, Kurt,” Lucas emphasized.

“What about Finn?”

“He's dealing with the Birds.”

“Quinn?”

“She's got the maternal females under her care,” Lucas answered, knowing he had his sentinel cornered.

“Rachel?” Kurt offered hesitantly. Just as quickly, “No. That's a bad idea right there.” Kurt heaved a heavy sigh. He couldn't see anyway out of this assignment.

“But Lucas. I hate dogs,” he pleaded, one last attempt at wriggling out of this impossible situation.

Lucas just shrugged. “We gotta do what we gotta do,” he smiled, objective accomplished.

“Fine. Fine. I'll do it,” Kurt conceded. “Just know that I hate you.”

“I love you too,” Lucas replied, grinning widely.

“So, what do I do?” Kurt asked.

“Well, you'll need to liaise with your counterpart, the wolf-in-charge from Dalton. In fact, he'll be here soon,” Lucas said quickly.

“WHAT? NOW? I don't even get a chance to come to terms with this…this…”

“Don't be so dramatic, Kurt.”

“I'm being dramatic?” Kurt countered. Kurt was beginning to feel pissed off.

Suddenly, there was a thudding sound from the door, paws scraping on wood. The door opened, and in came two adorable cubs, golden rosette fur gleaming. They scrambled into the office, launching themselves at Kurt. Bracing himself to make sure he didn't fall to the floor at the sheer force of the cubs enthusiasm, Kurt embraced the cubs.

“Ellie, Ethan. Come on, we're having a meeting,” he chided gently.

The cubs licked at his face, mewling quietly. “Okay guys, come on, cut it out.” The twins continued nuzzling at Kurt, who was helpless to the onslaught.

Lucas smiled, watching his cool eyed sentinel with his niece and nephew. It was a rare sight to see Kurt so open with his affections. He hoped that Kurt meets his mate soon, because it saddened him to see his pack-mate so lonely and touch-starved.

“I'll bring the cubs back to Rachel. See you in a bit,” Kurt hurried to say as he picked the cubs up.

“At the entrance of the forest, in an hour, Kurt,” Lucas replied, laughing at the cubs, cradled like babies in Kurt's arms, who had now directed molten-brown eyes on Lucas. Those laughing eyes bade farewell to their alpha. Lucas shook his head, if he didn't know better, Rachel definitely let the cubs loose to wound up her best friend.

“RACHEL. Your evil spawns interrupted my important meeting. Please come and collect them,” Kurt said with a touch of annoyance laced with affection. The cubs were now playing catch around him. “Guys, stop it, come one. Give me a break.”

Rachel walked leisurely from her room to the kitchen. The cubs, seeing their mother, rushed toward her. “Elizabeth, Ethan. Change back now. How many times did I tell you not to go running around?” Rachel scolded gently. “Change back. Now. I mean it,” she wagged an imperious finger at her cubs. In a dazzling flash of blinding colour, the cubs changed back into their human selves, brown-haired and brown-eyed cherubic one-year olds who leveled a shy and apologetic grin at their mother and uncle.

Kurt just shook his head at their antics, more than familiar with the constant trouble making that the twins tend to find themselves in. Curiosity was, unfortunately, a big part of being a cat.

Rachel carried the twins, and placed them in their playpen. Satisfied that they were busy with the new, oddly shaped toys that Auntie Brittany had recently got for their birthday a week back, Rachel turned to face her best friend and brother-in-law.

“Well. Give me a hug!” she demanded. Kurt rolled his eyes, completely aware of her streamrolling tactics. Giving her a tight hug, he said, “Don't think I didn't know you did it on purpose, Rach.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Rachel replied innocently, eyes going wide with feigned shock.

Kurt smirked.

“Okay, you caught me. How else was I supposed to get my best friend to come and talk to me? Better yet, to spend some quality time with his niece and nephew?”

“Rachel, we see each other every Friday.”

“Hmmmph. That's not enough.”

“And I'm practically here for at least half the week,” Kurt sighed exasperatedly.

“That was months ago, Kurt, months. You're lucky the cubs still remember what you look like,” she replied just as exasperatedly. Kurt fell silent. It was true that he had been a bit distant lately. It was not something that he could put to words, just a deep-seated ache that burned slowly in his chest.

“I'm here if you need to talk, you know that, right?” Rachel whispered quietly.

“I know. I love you,” Kurt replied.

“Have you eaten? I can whip up something quick. The two devils need to be fed, too.”

“Sure. Why not?” Kurt said as he followed her into the kitchen.

“Where's Finn?”

“Patrolling,” Rachel told Kurt, as she heated the pan. Taking a slab of butter, she greased the pan, picking up the long, thick slab of meat on the counter and placing it into the pan. The sizzle of meat made Kurt's stomach rumble, it had been a while since he had eaten.

“Kurt, have you considered… roaming? Maybe a year away to New York or San Fran or wherever might do you good?” Rachel asked tentatively. She had noticed that her best friend had been acting a little out of sorts, and it worried her.

“There's so much to do here, I can't just up and leave,” Kurt said curtly, even though the thought had crossed his mind. Truth be told, it was highly tempting, and he wanted more than anything to be able to get away from all the pack responsibilities. But, it was not in his nature to leave, especially in such a tumultuous time.

“Then, at least find someone to tide things over, please? Kurt, the whole pack might just catch on to your touch-deprivation. We're not made to be lone wolves.”

“I can't. I've tried. It just doesn't work, Rach,” Kurt admitted slowly. Sex was an integral part of the changeling make-up. It was more than just the pleasurable release, it was also the affection and intimacy that the animal in him needed, craved.

“You'll tell me if it gets bad, won't you?”

“You'll be the first to know, I promise,” Kurt assured her. Placing a hand on her shoulder.

As Rachel finished up with the cooking, Kurt went into the living room to grab the children. They squealed happily when Kurt approached, and Kurt couldn't help but grin back, love for his niece and nephew near to bursting. He carefully placed them in their high chairs. Rachel put a sizable amount of food in front of the twins, and he watched as they attacked the food with gusto. Watching Rachel and the twins, Kurt's heart ached at the domesticity of it all. His cat settled, happy to be with those he called his own, but also wanting more, more than he could ever dare speak out loud. Kurt braced himself against his cat's desire, knowing that it was impossible. He would not submit. It was not in his nature.

“Kurt, come on, food's ready,” Rachel called out. He lifted himself from the wall and went to join his family at the dining table, shoving dangerous thoughts in the deepest recesses of his mind.

Blaine adjusted his bow tie, looking anxiously at the rearview mirror. This was it, if he was lucky, he'll be able to scent (even meet!) his mate. He's so ready. He knew it might be a tad bit difficult to overcome the animosity between the animals, but he vowed that he would make it as painless as possible for his mate. He would shower his mate with so much love that he would want for nothing. His wolf growled, ever in agreement with his human half. They were ready to commit themselves to their mate.

Blaine carefully made his way out of his car, noting that he was 10 minutes early for the meeting with Lucas and his cat counterpart for this project with the pups and cubs. His wolf was edgy, trying to crawl out of his skin. It must be nerves, he thinks, as he forced the wolf to calm down. You don't want to look like a crazy person, he scolded his wolf. It settled, reluctantly.

A waft of captivating scent swept over him, as he heard footfalls in the distance. A few seconds later, Lucas appeared, and behind him, the most gorgeous man that Blaine had ever set his eyes on. Blaine had to stifle a gasp. He was otherworldly, skin as white as snow, high cheekbones and a strong jawline. His perfectly coiffed brown hair felt soft, soft enough to touch. And those jeans, Blaine gulped, it must be illegal for anyone to look that good. Come closer, Blaine thought, wanting to see this beautiful creature's eyes. It felt like every cell in Blaine's body demanded he look into the stranger's eyes.

Kurt walked a little ways behind Lucas, still a little bit annoyed at his alpha for putting him in this undesirable situation. As they neared the clearing where the meeting was supposed to take place, Kurt smelled something really, really good. Even after that filling lunch at Rachel's, he felt his mouth water. As they neared the clearing, Kurt could see the outline of a well-dressed man. Well, thank god for small favours, he thought, at least I won't have to deal with a Rachel-like fashion idiot. As he neared this stranger even still, he noticed his slicked back gelled helmet of a hair. Stifling a laugh, because who the hell told him that that much gel looked good, he tried to settled his face into a neutral look. The thick triangular eyebrows were endearing and Kurt approved of the tanned, olive tone of his skin. But the clincher was those eyes, eyes like pure honey, hazel flecks dancing with the molten gold. Kurt felt a stirring of desire. It barely registered to him that this was the scent he had scented once before, the delectable maple and cinnamon.

Blaine, too distracted trying to decide the exact shade of this ethereal creature's eyes, did not register that the stranger smelled a little bit like that forever smell that he was searching for. It's blue, no, green, no grey. The colours swirled in his eyes, more alive than anything that Blaine had ever seen before, and Blaine thought he could spend the rest of his life trying to decide the exact shade.

Get a hold of yourself, this is business, he thought, as he reluctantly turned to look at Lucas, offering his greetings. “Hello, I'm Blaine Anderson. Hawke sent me.”

Lucas shook the hand that was offered to him, replying jovially, “very nice to meet you, Blaine. I think you know who I am, and this is Kurt Hummel.”

Blaine reached out to offer his hand to Kurt, who politely took it.

The moment their hands met, there was a jolt of electricity that swept the entire of Blaine and Kurt's bodies. Every cell in their bodies felt charged, and their animals came on alert. It was not unpleasant though, as along with the jolt came a warm feeling, like drinking really good wine during a cold, winter night. Kurt and Blaine shivered.

Kurt, the first to recover, snatched his hand from Blaine. Purely on instinct, in a flash of pleasure and pain, he transformed into his white cat, and started running, away from Blaine.

Blaine, stunned and not quite there yet, finally registered that wonderful smell. The one he was searching for. Just as quickly, the scent left, along with the beautiful cat that was running more gracefully than Blaine ever could.

Go after him, the wolf urged. Go. But Blaine stood rooted to the ground. His mate, his forever, had ran at the very moment they met. What did I do wrong? He's legs felt like dead-weight.

As all this was happening, Lucas looked on, amused. His amusement paved way to bewilderment however, when Kurt changed and ran. He trained a dangerous stare at the wolf that had caused his sentinel to run for the hills, without any explanation.

“What's going on here?”

Blaine, barely registering Lucas' question, could only stare into the forest, trying his damnest to catch the lingering scent of his forever. His forever that had just ran away from him.

“Mate. My mate. Kurt,” he whispered brokenly.

“Well, shit,” Lucas grimaced. This was not going to be pretty.