" ZEV walked out of his parents’ house and over to his truck, dropped
his head against the door, and took in a deep breath, letting the fresh air
cool his lungs. Standing up to his family once again and garnering their
support for his future mating was all well and good, but none of it
meant a thing if his mate didn’t return and accept his place in the pack
beside Zev. If Jonah didn’t come home soon, Zev wasn’t sure whether
there’d be a Hassick male available to lead the Etzgadol pack.
He looked up at the sky. The stars were beautiful out here. They
sparkled above him, showing the spirits of those who came before.
Come back to me, Jonah. Our spirits are intertwined, and my body
cannot endure without its other half for much longer.
He felt the pain deep in his bones, the urge to shift and run. But
he pushed it back, grateful that, at least for now, his human could still
exert his will. His wolf was tired of waiting for his human to find their
mate and the wolf wanted control of their form so he could go find
Jonah and claim him. But their mate was long gone, well out of scent
distance, and the chance of Zev’s wolf finding him before running into
hunters or vehicles was slim.
Zev knew that unless he claimed his mate the time was fast
approaching when his human would no longer be able to control his
wolf. When that happened, the fear driving the intervention his family
had staged that night would become a reality: Zev’s human would be
forever lost. And without his human’s wisdom to limit him, Zev’s wolf
would likely end his life trying to find his mate. "
― Cardeno C. , Wake Me Up Inside (Mates, #1)