Soul Searching series.
Chapter One: A New Life.
Fandom: CSI/CSI Miami.
Pairing: Warrick/Eric.
Author: Aiden.
Rating: FRT 13
Warning: Language, fluff, angst, supernatural.
Beta: SRS/Silvia *hugs* thanks girl as always.
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
Summary: Warrick wants his mate.
Author's note: Third part of my Were Verse.

Once the gates opened, Eric looked around as he followed Warrick towards the mansion. He knew he was gawking as he took in his surroundings, but it was all so grand. He'd heard that the wolf packs were rich, but he'd had no idea they were this rich.

As he followed the tall, dark man into the building, he found his gaze straying to the other man's ass. It was hard to miss, seeing how it was right in front of him, he snorted. For years, Eric had always assumed he was ass-man because he had been constantly checking out the girls. Much to his surprise, as he grew older, his ogling grew to include men – and each time he caught himself doing it, he felt guilty. Some days, he could still hear his grandmother's voice, like broken glass, telling him he would go to hell for what he was thinking. Sighing, he really wished he could turn those voices off. He was tired of being at war with himself.

Shaking his head he looked up, trying to concentrate on his surroundings.

"Wait here," Warrick told him. "I'll find Horatio for you."

Once in the mansion, Eric looked around, surprised at the luxury and tasteful decorations; it looked like a home from one of those magazines his sisters were always looking at.

Eric followed the dark enigmatic man with his eyes as Warrick headed down the hallway. Damn. This was just wrong, he reminded himself, rubbing his forehead. This wasn't him; he wasn't even gay.

A few minutes later, Eric saw his boss coming down the hallway towards him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Horatio asked, smiling at his friend.

"I heard you were quitting your job," Eric said. He'd been confused since he'd heard the rumor back at the station. Not quite believing it, Eric had come out to the compound to see his boss.

Horatio nodded his head. "You heard right. I quit my job. I'm staying here at the mansion with my mate." Horatio's heart ached when he saw the emotions flashing in Eric's eyes - disbelief, shock… sadness.

"What? Why?" Eric asked, not believing his ears.

Horatio sighed, not knowing how much he should reveal. He'd known that someone would come by sooner or later to ask him why he'd quit his job – but he was still reluctant to reveal his motivation. "I'm needed here," he said simply.

"The city needs you, H," Eric said firmly, trying desperately to think of something that would change Horatio's mind.

"My mate needs me more, Eric. My pack is counting on me now," Horatio said softly, hoping his smile would convince Eric that he was exactly where he wanted to be. "And I'm sure you, Calleigh and everyone else at FPF will do an excellent job protecting the city."

Eric stared at Horatio. "You're giving up your job for…," he waved his arms around. "For this?"

"No, I'm leaving my job because I'm needed here," Horatio said patiently.

Eric shook his head, more confused than ever. "Have you really thought this through?" he asked his boss and friend.

"Yes, Eric, I have. There is no place else I'd rather be right now than here with my mate." Horatio had known his decision would be hard for Eric to understand. Considering the young man's religious background, Horatio wondered Eric would say if he found out that his mate was a man.

In that moment, Eric realized that nothing he said would change Horatio's mind. "Okay." he sighed, "I hope you'll be happy here, H."

"I will be," Horatio smiled. "Don't worry. I'll come to visit, and you and Calleigh are welcome here any time."

"Yeah, okay," Eric said softly, not sure what to do now that he'd failed in his mission to convince Horatio to come back to the lab. "I'll go now..." He turned around and walked away without saying another word.

Warrick had been waiting and watching, trying to take in every detail of his mate. Part of him was elated that he'd finally found the soul mate… He could barely wait to make that connection with Eric Delko… even the name sounded sexy and arousing. When he saw his mate's shoulders drop in defeat, Warrick wondered what the two humans were discussing. As Eric turned away, Warrick decided to follow him, hoping to get some more time with his mate before he left the compound.

"Hey, leaving so soon?" Warrick walked up to Eric, smiling at his mate.

Distracted by thoughts of the lab without Horatio, Eric turned around. "Uhm, what?" he swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. He knew he shouldn't be so emotional about one of his team mates leaving the lab, but this felt so… wrong. He'd never realized how much the lab was a reflection of the redhead – until the man had left.

"Don't you want to stay? I can give you a tour of the mansion, and you can meet some of my brothers," Warrick suggested, smiling at his mate.

Eric shook his head. "No, sorry, I've got to go."

Something about the way Eric dressed gave Warrick a clue of what his mate would like. "Why don't we meet up later? I know this great club. You'd love it," Warrick said, moving closer to Eric.

Did the wolf just ask him out on a date? Shocked at his boldness, Eric backed away from the other man. "Excuse me?" he said bitingly, wanting to make sure that Warrick would take the warning for what it was.

Warrick was getting a strange vibe from his mate, but he needed more information before he could proceed with a proper wooing. "I was wondering what you were doing tonight and if you wanted to go out to a club together," he said confidently. "On a date," he added to clear up any misunderstanding.

Eric frowned at Warrick. "No. Thank you," he said cuttingly. "I don't date men," he snarled. Eric knew there were better ways to handle this situation, and if he hadn't been so angry and hurt at Horatio's defection, he might have employed a little more finesse. But he was not in the mood to mince words.

Turning around, he stalked away, leaving the other man rooted to the spot.

Watching Eric chatting to the beta, Horatio noticed how close the beta was standing to the younger man. When his CSI, turned around and left the compound in a huff, he became even more curious about what the beta had said to his friend. Eric was normally friendly and easy-going, always ready with a smile or quip.

Nick who was standing next to him smirked. "That went well," he snorted.

"What do you mean?" Horatio asked the alpha.

Nick smiled. "Warrick has found his mate. Now the courtship begins."

Shocked, Horatio stared Nick, hardly believing what the alpha had said. "You've got to be kidding me. Eric? No way. He's as straight as they come."

With a smirk, Nick shrugged. "That's never stopped one of us before. And when Warrick wants something, Warrick finds a way."

"Well, in that case, I wish him luck, because I'm pretty sure Eric will never agree to a mating," Horatio grinned evilly.

Nick smiled confidently. "We'll see."

~.~

Later that night, Eric went in search of a much-needed distraction. Entering his favorite club, his mind was still wrapped around the conversation he had with the dark, handsome werewolf. Warrick. He still couldn't believe the man had asked him out. Eric wondered if there was something wrong with him… was he giving out some sort of vibes that invited that kind of attention? Did he look like the type that wanted a man to ask him out?!

Walking in, he was greeted by the bouncer. "Hey, Eric."

"Hi, John," Eric said, smiling at his friend. "Is it good tonight?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, the place is packed. I'm certain you will find someone to take home tonight."

"Nice." Nodding his head, Eric walked into the club. He knew that he was looking for company tonight, but he wasn't sure he'd find it here. This was not the first time in months that he'd felt that sense of dissatisfaction, but he'd been unable to do anything to make it go away. All the women he met where just interested in one thing, some meaningless sex. Once upon a time, that had been enough for him, but lately he started to feel restless, he wanted… no, he needed more.

Absorbed in his thoughts, Eric didn't notice the tall dark wolf standing in the dark corner, keeping an eye on him.

Warrick had followed his mate inside the club with every intention protecting him if needed. Now that he'd found his mate, he wasn't going to let anything happen to him. Eric was his to protect and cherish… and Warrick always took excellent care of his… possessions.

Warrick growled when Eric met up with a group of men and women sitting at a booth. His friends were a little more touchy-feely than what Warrick liked, hugging and touching his mate as if they had the right. Warrick growled. Eric belonged to him.

Stepping out of the shadows, he stalked towards Eric and his friends. "Good evening, Eric Delko," he greeted his mate.

Surprised at Warrick's sudden appearance, Eric asked, "What are you doing here?"

Warrick smiled at him. "Just clubbing, like you. This was the club I had been talking about earlier." Moving closer to his mate, Warrick laid his hand on Eric's arm, his fingers skimming over the warm, tanned skin he was beginning to yearn for.

Eric pulled away from Warrick. "What the hell are you doing? Don't touch me."

"Eric, is this man bothering you?" One of Eric's friends asked him.

Not happy with his mate's reaction, Warrick growled at the skinny man. "Stay out of this."

"I don't know what your problem is or what you want with me, but frankly, I don't care," Eric told Warrick, snarling angrily at the other man. "Leave me the hell alone. Got that?"

Despite the words, Warrick was happy with his mate's feistiness. Smirking, he shook his head. There was no way he would leave his mate alone in this club with all these people with sex on their minds. "That's okay, I'd rather stick around… unless… you want to come home with me?" Warrick knew that was probably not the best thing he could say to his enraged mate, but really, he could dream.

"Are you out of your mind?" Eric spat out. "Didn't you just hear a word I said?"

Warrick's affable expression disappeared in an instant. Letting his eyes glow golden for a second, he said very softly, "Oh, I am very serious." Stepping dangerously close to his wayward mate, Warrick growled, "We need to talk… in private."

Eric felt a small shiver of fear run down his spine. "No, we don't," said firmly, not wanting to betray how unsure he felt at the wolf's demands.

Sensing his mate's weakness, Warrick smiled and moved closer. This close, he could pick up his mate's scent, and it was making him impossibly hard. The heat and flush on Eric's cheeks was just icing on the cake. "Mmhmm," he murmured, coming very close to moaning in his mate's ear.

Reacting to Warrick's obvious arousal, Eric cursed when he felt himself get hard. "Fuck." Looking up at Warrick's wolfish grin, Eric panicked and pushed Warrick back forcefully. "Leave me alone," he warned.

Warrick backed up, holding his hands up. "Yeah, can't deny that, can you?" he said, pointedly looking down at Eric's obvious erection.

"Stay away from me," Eric spat out. "There's nothing here for you."

Right at that moment, there was only one thing that Warrick wanted, and it involved dragging his mate home to bond with him. But no self-respecting werewolf would even dream of forcing a mate to bond with them. And he could never bring himself to hurt his mate, even if it was painful to stay away from Eric.

"I'll leave you alone for now," Warrick said, licking his lips. "But I'll be around. When you least expect it, you'll look around and I'll be there… waiting for you." Turning around, Warrick headed for the bar.

"Are you okay, Eric?" One of his friends asked.

Eric nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." But he was far from fine. He could feel the wolf's gaze on him. "Damn." Turning around he saw Warrick sitting at the bar, his eyes never leaving him once.

Minutes later, he looked up again and saw that Warrick was still sitting there - his eyes fixed on him. Eric growled. "Damn it!"

As much as he tried to tune Warrick out, Eric found himself disturbed by the weight of the wolf's gaze on him. Feeling aroused at having the powerful man's attention on him, Eric decided to get out of there, before he did something he'd regret. Turning towards his friends, he said, "I'm leaving."

"What? Why? Because of that guy?" one of his friends asked him.

Eric looked away. "Uhm, yeah." Actually that wasn't the reason, but he couldn't do this. He was confused right now, he needed time to think. And that guy staring at him all night didn't help much. He stood up and left.

Warrick watched his mate leave the club and followed him out. "Leaving already?" he called out to Eric.

"Leave me alone," Eric said as he approached his car.

Warrick smiled. "Don't tell me you didn't feel it."

"Feel what?" Eric replied, surprised by the comment.

"Yeah, keep denying it," Warrick smirked, "but you will be mine sooner or later."

"Just leave me alone, I can't…I just can't deal with this right now."

Warrick walked after him. "You'll have to deal with it sooner or later. You're mine and don't you forget it."

Eric snorted, like he could forget his own reaction to the other man's arousing touch. Getting into his car, he looked at Warrick one last time. Starting his car, he drove off.

Warrick smiled as he recognized the lingering look his mate had shot his way. Oh, yeah. Eric wanted this, too. But Warrick acknowledged that he'd gone about this courtship all wrong. He couldn't push his mate; he had to be gentle. He would have his mate even if it meant wooing him to death.

Warrick turned towards his car, a plan already forming in his head. Smiling, he at in his car for a few minutes, deep thoughts. With a wolfish grin, he started his car and drove off.

Oh, yeah. Eric Delko wouldn't know what hit him.

TBC.