Found Ch. 03

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

"LUCAS!"

Melania quickly rushed home after running into Calen. She had to tell her brother the news. She knew Luke had searched for a few years but gave up. But now, the search is about to end.

"WHAT! I'M IN THE STUDY!" Lucas responded hearing Melania's shouting of his name. Luke was unpacking boxes that contained files from the last company he worked with. Putting the files into the desk he went to greet his lycan sister.

"There you are!"

"What is it Mel? You sound like you saw a ghost or something." Lucas replied.

"I have to tell you something, but you have to sit down for this. Because what I am about to tell you is HUGE!"

"What is it Mel-you know I don't like surprises!" Luke said sitting down and crossing his arms.

"I found him!"

"Who?" he asked.

"Maybe this will refresh your memory." Melania raised her right hand to her brother to smell. She knew what she had on her hand was precious treasure.

Grabbing Melania's hand, Luke took in a hard sniff. The sweet smell of gardenias hit his heart like a ton of bricks. The memories of him being injured and being rescued by his future mate all rushed back.

"CALEN!"

"Where is he?"

"Where did you find him?"

"How did you meet him?"

"WHERE IS HE MELANIA?!"

Luke's inner wolf rose. The beast within wanted to be released to find his lost love. The years of waiting and searching have been long and in vain. And now, after a decade, Lucas' mate is soon to be found.

"Calm down my brother. I'll tell you everything."

"Calm down! How the hell can I calm down when Calen is out there...I need to find..." Rushing through the study Luke was stopped by Melania.

A growl from inside of Luke emerged. He felt threatened by his own sister by keeping him from Calen. He didn't like the years of waiting and wasn't about to wait again!

"What's going on?" asked Marko seeing the commotion that was going on in the study.

"I found Luke's mate and now he's growling at me."

"Look, I'm sorry to growl, but I've waited all these years Melania!"

"AND...you can wait just a bit longer with that I'm about to tell you Lucas."

All three sat down on the couch waiting for Melania to give the details about Calen and his whereabouts. Luke started shaking his leg not wanting to waste any time. The prolonging of the info was driving him nuts and he wanted to scream.

"I went to that little café down main street. While there I noticed 4 people at one table. I over heard one say something about their company being sold and someone not quite ready to be manager. I instantly knew they were talking about us buying Smith's."

"Keep on." Luke urged.

Rolling her eyes, Melania continued.

"Anyways, one of the guys there asked the other one about a pet wolf he had. So I immediately tuned in. that guy responded by saying that yes he had a pet wolf and that it was hurt. He also said he rescued the wolf and took it home. Then said that the wolf ran off a month later."

Lucas felt a surge of regret and shame for leaving Calen the way he did. But being gone for a month, Lucas had to go back to his pack. Not only to return but to finish off his healing. Being with the teen sped up his healing process and this in itself was a rare occurrence. He has never heard of any other lycans being able to heal themselves quickly without their pack. He attributed it to Calen being his future mate.

After returning to his pack, Martin, sent Lucas out with a few others from the pack to find Braydon. The search for Braydon lasted for four months. Longer than what Lucas expected. When Martin called off the search, Lucas went back to find Calen. The shear excitement of it was only to be turned into sorrow. Upon returning, Calen graduated from high school and went to college.

"When the guy asked Calen what the name was; I literally froze in my seat when he said 'Lex'. I had to get up to meet him and somehow try to touch him to get his scent."

Tightly shutting his eyes, Lucas couldn't help but smile huge. He is so close now to finding his mate.

"I haven't said the best part about it all Lucas...he works for us!"

"WHAT?! What do you mean he works for us?" asked Lucas standing up in excitement. Each second that passed buy felt like torture. He wanted to know where Calen is NOW!

"Well when I met Calen, he said he worked at Smith's along with a friend of his. He is the assistant manager there."

"This is a dream Mel. I mean this isn't happening. You are telling me that you met Calen...MY Calen. The Calen who rescued me. This is my Calen we are talking about right?"

Standing up to meet her brother, Melania grabbed his shoulders and gently squeezed them. She saw the happiness in his eyes light up. It has been years since she saw that look. Her own heart lifted with joy. This was a long time coming.

"Yes this is YOUR Calen. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

"No Melania you haven't, but I've waited long enough. I need to find him."

"Lucas I know you have waited this long, but you will need to wait a bit more. I mean if you running up to him now acting like a kid hyped up on chocolate, who was hit by cupid's arrow, he's going to think you are just a tad weird." All three laughed.

"Also there's something else. He was going to be the manager of Smith's, but he declined it. From what Lisa said, he was going through something personal but she didn't elaborate. Seeing him in the café, whatever it is, I saw it in his eyes. I could sense the pain and it left a lasting impression on him."

Lucas' inner wolf whimpered at the thought of Calen being hurt. It also became on the defensive. Knowing that someone hurt his make sent Luke's inner wolf in protection mode. He hasn't even seen the guy yet and already he wants to grab him and hold him and protect him from every bad thing in the world. If he could just get Calen into his arms, he could make everything better.

************************************************************************

"Ok Miss Velarde, your son seems to be in perfect health and has some good weight on him and is growing fine. Since he is already 1 years old, I would start giving him children's liquid vitamins just to help him out more." suggested Dr. William Roman. New to the town, he was eager to get to work and build up his patient list. Natalie was smitten with the Dr. Raul was right on him being blond and good looking, but she didn't expect him to be down right gorgeous: dark green eyes, dimples, baby faced, tall with a muscular build. It was all Natalie could do to keep from staring.

"Thank you Dr. Roman."

"Here's a lollipop for Miggy. Now remember in three months you will have to bring him back for his second set of shots." exclaimed the doctor to Natalie. Admiring her beauty. William was taken aback by her. Natalie was of average height and slender. She has light colored skin, dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair that went past her shoulders. She was the epitome of beauty. Natalie did some catalog modeling in high school, but quit to concentrate on school.

"So how do you like being the new kid in town?" Natalie asked.

"So far its been good. I was a little worried about being the new doctor in town after Dr. Riley retired. I wasn't sure how people would have reacted. But so far it's been good."

"That's good to hear! Dr. Riley has been here forever it seems. He was my doctor when I was a baby and has done Miguel's check ups when he was born."

Giving Miguel one more look over, William wrote in his paper work and caught Natalie looking at him. He gently smiled at her causing Natalie to quickly look away. His inner wolf was awaken.

"So have you check out any of the town?" Natalie asked, hoping the answer would be NO.

"No I haven't had any time to look around. Been meaning too though."

BINGO!

"I was suppose to be here a few days sooner, but something came up and well I had to deal with that. But I will check out the town today actually. I want to check out that little Italian restaurant that's in town. Heard the food is amazing."

"Oh it is. My best friend and I eat there almost daily. They know us so well that we don't even have to look at the menus." Natalie said hoping something more came out of this.

"Hmm, well I guess I will have to take your word on it. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I know its sudden and we don't know each other that well, but I hope you'll say yes."

"I'd love to." Natalie answered with a smile on her face.

"Wonderful! You can bring little Miggy with us."

"My best friend Calen can watch over him. He's like Miggy's dad. Ever since Mitchell was killed over 2 years ago, Calen has been there for me and him."

William heard the name Calen before but couldn't place it. He felt a little bit uneasy not knowing if Calen was a love interest to Natalie. But the more they talked the more his memory on Calen began to get clearer. He remembered the situation with Lucas and his rescuer and couldn't wait to tell Lucas about it. William, being a werewolf, was part of Lucas' pack. His inner wolf rose when he first saw Natalie. Her sweet scent leaving William in a daze. William snapped out of it to tend to the toddler.

"Yes, Dr. Riley told me about your fiancé and you have my condolences."

"Thank you. It was hard in the beginning, but if it wasn't for Calen, I would have been a total wreck right now." sighed Natalie.

"Calen is important to you?" William asked.

"Yes he is. He is like a brother to me. Well more than a brother. We have been through a lot together and our bond is stronger than anything." This proclamation made William's inner wolf happy. He knew now that Natalie is open for the taking, and that Calen didn't pose a threat. He knew now that he had to make good with Calen, after all they will ALL be pack mates one day.

"Hopefully I will get to meet him soon." William said as he smiled at Natalie.

"You will. We are attached at the hip it seems." Heat began to fill Natalie's cheeks. She wanted to leave the office quickly to call Calen about her date. Emotions ran through Natalie. She never looked at another mad since Mitchell died and she had closed that possibility for good. However, meeting William brought up new feelings in her that she has longed for.

After exchanging phone numbers, William escorted mother and baby out of his office. He was anxious for tonight but also anxious to tell Luke about Calen. Reaching for his cell phone, he called Lucas.

"Luke?"

"Hey William how's it going?"

"Going good. I just finished with a patient...guess what?"

"What?"

"I have a date tonight!"

"Awesome! With who?"

"The mother of the patient I just saw."

"Nice- what's her name?"

"Come on Luke, you know that's strict medical information I can't give out!" teased the blond lycan.

"Then why the hell tell me?!"

"Just to aggravate you of course!" William said trying to hold off a laugh, as he continued, "Her name is Natalie Velarde. She brought her son in for his yearly check up. We got to talking and I asked her out."

"Is she single or divorced since she has a kid?" asked Luke.

"No, her fiancé died in a car crash a couple years ago."

"Dang," Luke said with a heavy sigh.

"But there's more Luke!"

"What? She can't be pregnant with your kid already?" joked Lucas.

"NO! But it does deal with you though. She talked about her best friend Calen!"

"WHAT?!"

"She talked about her best friend Calen. When I heard the name I thought it sounded familiar. At first I thought maybe he was her boyfriend or something. Then it hit me where I heard the name and remembered the whole situation with you and him."

"I can't believe this; Melania and now you!"

"Melania met him already?" asked William.

"Yes. She was at some café and over heard a group of people talking. She heard about the company they worked for being sold. Then she heard one of them ask about a wolf that was rescued. Then it left after some time."

"Wow!" exclaimed William.

"Then she heard the name 'Lex'. That is what Calen called me when he rescued me."

"Whoa that is incredible!" William said as he sat at his deck, staring at the piece of paper with Natalie's phone number on it.

"She went up and met him. She then shook his hand and came here. She gave me her hand and I took a whiff and smelled Calen's scent. It was as if I got hit in the stomach with a baseball bat."

"So why haven't you gone to see him yet?"

"Because Melania thinks that since I haven't him all this time, she thinks I would pounce on him or something."

"Sounds like you!" joked William.

"There's more to it too- he works for us!"

"Oh hell you're joking?"

"Nope! He is the assistant manager at Smith's Realty. "

"Well shit Lucas, he's right there for the taking."

"Well I would if I could, but Melania overheard them saying something about Calen turning down the job as manager. She said that when she talked to Lisa, he was going through some stuff and didn't feel he was quite ready to fill that position yet. She said that when she saw him, she saw it in his face." Luke's inner wolf began to pace inside. Not knowing where his mate is, was driving him crazy. He wanted to go out and track him himself, but took Melania's suggestion to wait until the meeting.

"Wow Luke! I'm sorry to hear that about Calen. But I think Melania is right. I mean knowing you, you'd run up to him like a kid hyped up on chocolate who got hit by cupid's arrow and..."

"NOT THAT AGAIN!"

"What?" asked William.

"Nothing Will."

"Well I just wanted to call you to tell you that and to tell Martin I won't be home for dinner."

"You didn't call him yourself?" asked Luke.

"I did, but I guess he was still conversing with Travis on the whole Braydon thing, to answer the phone."

"Oh yeah. Apparently Braydon and his guys turned a few others and killed one person. Martin, Travis, and a few other alphas are mapping out the area and keeping guard on the borders." Luke explained.

"I'll have my cell with me and if its an emergency I will get back here as quickly as I can. I need to get off of here cause I have another patient coming in 10 minutes."

"Good luck on your date and if you happen to have leftover's..."

"I'll bring you a doggy bag!" Both lycans's laughed and said their good bye's. Now another person knows about Calen and that was too much for Luke to take. His inner wolf paced impatiently inside making him feel uncomfortable. Luke shut his eyes and breathed in deeply. Melania and William were both right. Luke WOULD be like a kid hyped up on chocolate and he didn't want to risk freaking out Calen in any ways. He had to compose himself for that sake. Knowing that Calen was dealing with something also played a part. Luke desperately wanted to know what was going on with Calen. He wanted to know what he was doing now. Was he at work? Is he checking his email? Is he talking with a new client? Luke himself had paper work to do, but it took a back seat to his thoughts and memories. He slowly leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes again. Remembering the first time he saw Calen. A fresh faced teen of 18 years. He remembered how gentle Calen was to him and his wounds; his caring nature for a wild beast. Luke felt his heart beating fast and a smile began to spread on his face. He knew it will take some time to claim Calen, but he was willing to wait for him.

Snapping out of his daze, Martin, the alpha to Luke's pack, came into the office. He, along with Travis Levy and his mate Eugene Parker, came into the office after the hour long meeting they had.

Standing up, Luke greeted his alpha.

"Hi Lucas." Martin said as he embraced Lucas.

"Hello Martin." Luke said as he reciprocated, embracing Martin tightly. His scent mingled in Luke's nose. The scent was a security blanket of sorts to him. Martin is his protector; the pack's protector. He hoped one day that if he ever became pack alpha, he would be just as good as Martin.

"Lucas, I'd like you to meet Travis Levy."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Levy." said Luke extending his hand for a hand shake.

"Nice to meet you too, but call me Travis."

"This here is my mate Eugene Parker."

"Nice to meet you Lucas." Eugene said as he shook Luke's hand.

"Likewise." Luke responded.

"So what's the situation?" asked Luke.

"As of right now, we both decided to have men out and scope the borders every few hours. That way if we find any traces of Braydon or his thugs, we will be ready for them." explained Martin.

"Martin tells me that you have dealt with Braydon before?" Travis asked.

"Yes I have and it didn't go too well."

"What happened if I may ask?"

"Well, I had went out to clear my head. And the other place the pack used to live in, there is a huge wooded area that I normally go out to run or walk. Usually my sister Melania and her human mate would come with me. But at the time I wanted to be on my own. Anyways, I came across Braydon, and his two thugs jumped me from behind. I held them off as much as I could but they got me. They held me down and Braydon then dug his claws into me and left me for dead."

"FUCKER!" Martin growled.

"Wow! How did you get back?" asked Eugene.

"Well I had some help from someone and then..." Lucas hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go down memory lane again.

"Someone helped him and took care of him for awhile before he came back to us to completely heal." finished Martin. "Then I had him lead a pack to find those losers, but they had moved on."

Lucas sighed. Martin proceeded to discuss with Travis more plans for the border watch. Eugene noticed Luke's somber attitude and went up to talk to him.

"So what's his name-assuming it's a 'him'?" Eugene asked.

"What....oh...his name is Calen Ortiz. He is the one who rescued me. He took me in and helped me heal." answered Lucas.

"What clan is he part of?"

"No clan; he's human."

"Oh, a human rescuer; sounds romantic."

"It was until I had to leave him. I was with him for a month and knew Martin and the rest of the pack was probably worried on where I was. I was going to come back after I went back and healed. But then Martin had me be leader of the search party to find Braydon and that took longer than what I expected. I finally went back for Calen and he was gone."

"So I take it Calen is ok with your other form?" asked Eugene.

"Well...he...uh..." Lucas stammered out.

"He doesn't know." Eugene answered.

"No he doesn't." answered Luke with his head down.

"So how long have you been seeing him Calen?"

"Well that's the thing. When I went back for him, he had moved away for college. I tried for years to find him when I could. But it was as if he never came back. I figured he would come home for the holidays, but there was no trace of him anywhere. I did however see his friend a lot, but didn't make myself known to her."

"How come?"

"Well when I was with Calen when he rescued me, both of them would always be together. They were real close to each other. So if I would of went up to her and asked about Calen, she would of wondered who I was and why I wanted to talk to him. Calen only knows me in my wolf form."

"I see. That's complicated Lucas."

"Yeah and it's been 10 years since. The company Martin just bought, well come to find out that Calen is the assistant manager!"

"So he works for you?"

"More like I work for him since I am the project manager."

"Wow!" Eugene said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah I know. We are going to have a meeting with the staff and the previous owner. We are just going to introduce ourselves and where we want to see the company go to."

"So you haven't seen him since you figured out you are going to be working with him?" Eugene puzzling asked.

"Well I want too badly, but after not seeing him in 10 years, I'm afraid I might do something to freak him the hell out! Plus from what my sister tells me, Calen is having some kind of problems and if I try to meet him now and get all giddy and stuff, I might screw up any kind of relations with him."