Chapter 6

"Raphael!" She had said his name. He couldn't describe how happy he was. His wolf could though, howling and jumping for joy.

He turned around, "Yes." He replied, his voice tight with emotion, and a huge grin on his face. He couldn't help it. He saw her she was standing in the doorway to the room, smiling back at him, but looking unsure of what to do.

"Um." She looked at him then looked away with a confused expression. She was biting her lip a little bit, and he wanted to kiss her again. 'Ugh, why is this so difficult!' He asked himself. He needed to tell her about the mate bond. He hated seeing her so confused and muddled in her thoughts. Telling her about the mate bond would take too long, and he was supposed to be on the west coast right now.

He decided that instead of a kiss he would hug her, it wasn't too intimate but he needed to touch her and to hold her. He walked closer she didn't even notice until he was a foot away from her. She started to stutter and tried to object. But nope. He wouldn't let her, he had to hold her. He gently wrapped his arm around her small frame. She was small but sturdy, he liked that. He breathed in her warm, cinnamon and ginger scent. He never wanted to let go. He could feel her warm, soft body against his firm one, he could hear her breathing, her head resting against his chest. Where she had just shot him minutes ago.

Raphael wanted to stay in this moment forever. But he couldn't, being rudely interrupted by Thomas

-Come on man! What's taking so long?- Raphael blocked him and reluctantly pulled away from her.

He looked at her and she looked away. She was blushing, and seemed even more confused. 'Okay, maybe the hug wasn't a good idea.' He told himself.

-Sir, we have to go.- Raph heard James, the tracker, mind link him.

-Yeah- Raph replied - be out in one second.- Then he blocked James.

"Brooke." He had a slight smile on his face.

Yes." She said quietly.

"Goodbye."

"Wait your wound." She said hurriedly with real concern in her eyes. Raphael just pointed to the hole where it had been to show that he was fine.

She smiled, relieved "Goodbye. Raphael." She added his name and it made his heart soar. Raphael was happy to see her care so much about him.

He smiled sadly, then turned around and left.

~~~~~~~~~~

Raphael got into the car that he had previously been in, on the way to the west coast. Thomas had parked it at the base of the driveway.

"What?" He asked, because of the heavy silence that had been present since he'd entered the car.

"What! Seriously, you're gonna ask me why were being quiet. Like you don't already know."Thomas muttered that last part.

Raphael glanced at James, who was sitting quietly in the backseat. Now, Raphael was considered fairly tall for a Lycan, but James was a giant. He was seven feet tall and had a massive build. Most hunter Lycans were big, but James was the biggest that Raph had ever seen.

"I." Raphael was reluctant to tell them about Brooke, "I found my mate." He said quickly.

"What! Really man! Why didn't you tell us sooner? Oh wow Raph, congrats! I couldn't be happier for you, I mean if I had a mate I could be, but…" Tom showered him with praises. Raph smiled slightly.

James just showed his congratulations by patting Raph on the shoulder. He was a man, or Lycan, of few words.

Raphael was the second one of the three that had found a mate. James had been mated for six years now to a female Lycan, he was around one hundred years old so pretty young for a Lycan to have found a mate. Raphael was two-hundred and fifty years old, so pretty normal to find a mate at his age. Thomas was eighty-nine, so he still had a ways to go.

"Hey James you got the snacks?" James held up the chip bag signalling 'yes'

"Okay. Could you open it and hand it to me please." James did and Thomas munched on them happily as he drove.

They drove for a couple hours on a nice road with a beautiful view then they hit the next stretch of road. It had potholes and patches, twists and turns, never-ending. Luckily none of them got sick, being Lycans they all had pretty good stomachs.

But Raphael still asked Thomas if he could drive on the way back. Thomas was a little reckless on the road.

By the time they stopped at a gas station it was getting dark. And they had to find out where the Alpha that was in charge of this part of the island lived.

James had stepped outside to get some air after being cooped up for so long. Raph and Tom were looking over a map of the area, when James suddenly opened the door and said, "Elves." In a shaky voice.

That one word chilled Raphael to the bone. "Elves?!" Tom whisper yelled, clearly frightened too, "Where, here in the town or-"

"Yeah, here in town. I can smell their stench just a couple kilometres from here." James cut in, wrinkling his nose. He was a hunter, good noses. Raph was glad that Thomas had called him in, or else he and Tom would most likely have been walking into a trap.

"Tom contact the Alpha here and see if he knows about them, or is even still alive." Raphael said as he started the car.

Tom dialed the number. After a couple seconds he looked up, and made a strangled sound then his eyes turned black, Raphael glanced at him worriedly, "Tom, hey buddy you okay." Even though he knew he probably wasn't.

Then Thomas or what looked like Thomas, said with a hissing voice, "If you want this Alpha to live, you will have Alpha Thresh bring our king here in three days." Then Tom gasped and slouched in his seat. Unconscious.

"James, is he alive?" Raphael asked as he drove dangerously fast on the dark, narrow, broken road.

James could smell if people were alive with more accuracy than he could.

"Yes, he's alive." James said, then paused, "Sir, what just happened?" He asked.

"That." Raphael said with dread in his voice, "Was an Elf."

"An Elf? I've never seen, or heard one. I've only smelled them, from our prisons." James said.

"Yeah? Well you're lucky. Just over one hundred years before you were born was the last time that we've seen them. I was fifty at the time, and was working in strategy. But we still had our fair share of Elves." Raph explained.

"And what they did to Gamma?" James wasn't really comfortable with using his superior's names if he didn't have to, which Raphael was used to by now.

"They took over his mind. Fairly common tactic of theirs." He said as he turned a sharp corner. "Only way to avoid it, would be either to have a chain." He held up his own. "Or a Fae fighting with you." To which he smiled sarcastically as Fae, although they were allies in the fight against Elves, we're not fighters in the least.

"Hmmm." James replied. "What about the 'request'?"

"Yeah, we'll deal with that but, I have to get something before we do."