Matthew had just stepped out for a smoke when he felt it. The unmistakable entry of another entity into pack lands that wasn't wolf or man. Matt had a few vampires and humans that where mated to wolves scattered across the pack and he knew how their presence felt so he knew that whatever had just crossed in wasn't a vampire.
It wasn't the first time he felt it but most times it hadn't been threatening or malicious. This one felt a bit raw and untamed. And he could feel the pack's uneasy within those seconds of uncertainty.
Matt's alpha instincts flared and he mind linked his beta and warrior wolves and headed for where he felt the presence the most, which just happened to be leading towards the southwest entrance of the pack grounds. Meaning whoever it was just entering town area.
However, before he could phase, the feeling disappeared. Literally. Like he had just dreamt the whole scene up. It literally didn't even take a full minute before everything settled back like nothing had ever happened in the first place. Matt froze, then first told his people to pause and directed them to just scout the area around for anything suspicious and unfamiliar.
Matt to his annoyance phased either way and his huge grey wolf took over. He followed in the wake of his warriors as he sniffed the air trying to catch even just a whiff of a different scent. He didn't have a particular scent attached to it; he just followed his instincts and looked for anything slightly odd. Matt took a trail he hadn't in a long time. The road led way out of town area into a particularly quiet neighborhood.
He used to come here often. Before he took up pack responsibility and became the man, he was now. before everything changed.
When his childhood sweetheart was still the only candidate for being his mate and before she got paired instead with one of the visiting warrior wolves from another pack. It was one of a few memories Matt never wanted to relive, ever. Matt wasn't particularly interested in his mate yet. Sure, he would love to find his forever after but what if he hates them? what if it's someone he can't stand. Do not be deceived werewolf matings aren't exactly as books portray them to be. In fact, you can be in love with your mate and yet still hate their fucking guts.
His wolf moved to the surface of his mind, as he felt an intense bust of adrenaline and need from his wolf instincts. His nostrils flared when a particularly nice scent blew his way, iron and earth enveloped him like a blanket. It was the most interesting thing Matt had ever smelled in his life. He didn't particularly know why he was so vested, but he just liked it so much that he followed it. It was very hard to follow a scent that had passed a while ago as it faded with time, but he could get a bit of whatever it was from the surrounding. Matt knew in the back of his head that he was getting distracted. He had a mission but then the smell was too overwhelmingly hard to ignore.
Matt could detect exactly where his warriors were. South of his left just past the stream leading to the small falls bordering his pack and the central hills leading to the traditional council pack which comprised of peculiar wolves that were either rare or extinct and sat on the high council. His pack rarely interacted with them because the traditional pack didn't allow entry for anybody, unless they needed to or with exception.
"...alpha where are you?"
Austin's voice came through the mind link panting like he was running a mile a minute.
"... am at the foot of Greyson Road heading up"
"Can you smell anything; I have since lost the sense and can't get anything from all the scents surrounding the forest because of the town nearby" Austin mumbled jumping over a log then bumping into a warrior wolf who was distracted by a firefly moving past him. He snorted at the young wolf who growled at him from the ground where Austin had crashed into him and let his tongue hang out in mockery and started trotting ahead to meet up with his alpha.
"It's okay, let us just patrol the area for anything suspicious at this point. Whatever it was has already left because I can no longer feel it. And the pack has settled down so we can just scout the land for assurance."
Matt answered. The air around him intensifying with the earthy scent he had followed. It didn't take long before he saw a brick red old house come into view. Matt remembered that Austin had approved an outsider who wanted to buy the house a while back, but he couldn't remember who it was. He figured it was occupied but not by who.
Matt could see the lights in the house were on. At least from where he stood overlooking the property from the east side. The scent would shift around the area depending on how the wind moved but it seemed to be coming from inside the house.
"Austin, who moved into the Briar house?" He asked his beta wolf who was on the other side of the property.
"...that should be the new guy, Stacy's new boss remember." Austin replied as he trotted to catch up with Matt.
"...right, the one my mom is obsessing over"
He tuned him out after that and made to move to the front of the house when he heard the sound of a door opening. Matt took a few steps ahead and inhaled. His mind freezing.
Is that? he thought as his heartbeat picked up pace. Could it really be his mate. Matt had been without a mate for the past fourteen years. In fact, he gave up on ever finding his mate when he turned twenty-five. He hadn't met a single person in his life who had not met their met below twenty years of age. So, you can understand just how skeptical the alpha was.