Back in my room at Aethon Pack’s main estate, silence was supposed to mean peace–but all it did was roar louder inside my skull. My bed remained untouched. I hadn’t shifted out of this chair for over an hour, elbows on my knees, phone clutched in my palm like it might answer on its own if I stared hard enough.8
Rebecca still wasn’t answering.
I’d called. Texted. Even used the old wolfmark channel we used as knights–one most warriors forgot existed. Nothing. She was gone. And I hated how that made me feel.:
It shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t. She wasn’t mine to worry about. My duty was to Maurine now–always had been. The key, the prophecy. the balance… All of it pointed to Maurine. My mission, my purpose, was built around keeping her safe. I used Rebecca–gods forgive me -for cover, for access, for secrecy. If anyone found out who Maurine really was, what power she held…
They’d tear her apart
So I told myself I did the right thing.
Then why the hell did I feel like something inside me was breaking?
The door creaked and I didn’t look up. I already knew the scent.
“Beta,” I said, voice low.
“Alpha.” Reid stepped in quietly, then paused. He never used that title unless we were alone. The rest of the Aethon pack believed I was still just a loyal knight in service to Aethon. And that’s the way I needed it to stay.
“You’re late.
“I went to the Red District first.”
My jaw clenched. “About Rebecca… I can’t even reach her through any methods 1 know.”
Like she was totally gone?” Reid raised a brow and stepped further into the moonlight, folding his arms. “I thought you don’t really care about her, Alpha? That woman is just a thom on your side. Why are you still looking for her until now?“!
“I know where she is now. Thane Pack.” I swallowed the words like poison. “She will marry their vegetative Alpha.”
Reid blinked. “Maximus Thane? The one who’s practically a corpse?”
I nodded once. “The guy who got poisoned by a vampire hoodlum bite months ago? There’s no way she-” He paused. “Wait, is he even conscious?”
“No. Still in a coma.”
Reid whistled. “Why the hell would she marry him? That doesn’t make sense.”
I didn’t have an answer. That’s what drove me mad. I stood and paced, claws threatening to burst through my fingertips. My wolf was restless, pacing behind my skin. Agitated. Confused.D
“She wouldn’t…” I started, then stopped. “Rebecca’s reckless, yeah. Stubbom. But she wouldn’t throw herself into something like that
without a reason.
Reid shrugged. “Maybe she finally cracked. Or maybe she’s just following orders. Her father’s always been obsessed with alliance–building.”
I let out a growl low in my throat. The idea of her being used like that… it didn’t sit night. It never did. Not with Rebecca.
“Reid,” I muttered, “find out what you can. Discreetly.”
He frowned. “Alpha-”
“Just do it.”
His eyes narrowed. “You sure this is still about the mission?”
“I need to know what she’s playing at.”
A beat of silence passed between us.
“You’re too deep, Alpha,” he said finally. “She’s just a girl who clawed Mourine. You’re not thinking straight”
“I don’t know anymore, fuck. Just do it. For my peace of mind.” I said before I could stop myself.
Reid exhaled and looked away. “Fine. I’ll ask around.”}
When the door shut behind him, I leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. I’d convinced myself for years that Rebecca was
a stepping stone. That she was nothing but a pawn I had to play in this long game. But somewhere along the way…
She’d become real,
And now she was gone. Going to get married. To a dying Alpha who couldn’t speak, couldn’t touch, couldn’t protect her.X
Why? Why would she give herself up like that?
I gritted my teeth and glanced at my phone again. Still nothing.
Maurine’s scent drifted faintly from the hallway. Sweet like lilies and lavender. My official duty.
But Rebecca’s scent–feral and earthy like pine after rain–lingered in my memory stronger than I wanted to admit !!
threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor in pieces.
My wolf let out a low whine inside my chest. I’d made my choice. I reminded myself of that a hundred times. Maurine was the key
8:13 AM
I gritted my teeth and glanced at my phone again. Still nothing.
Maurine’s scent drifted faintly from the hallway. Sweet like lilies and lavender. My official duty.
But Rebecca’s scent–feral and earthy like pine after rain–lingered in my memory stronger than I wanted to admit.S
I threw the phone across the room. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor in pieces.
My wolf let out a low whine inside my chest. I’d made my choice. I reminded myself of that a hundred times. Maurine was the key.
Rebecca was a decoy. A shield.
And now that shield was gone, about to get married into the Thane Pack, leaving me with a gut full of guilt and no answers.
I collapsed back onto the chair, breathing heavy, claw tips barely sheathed. I didn’t know what this was anymore–regret? Guilt? Some twisted sense of loyalty I’d never truly buried?8
All I knew was that the bed still felt too empty without the echo of her voice mocking me. That I kept expecting to hear her stomp through the hall with that half–snarl of hers, teeth bared, daring me to challenge her again.
But she was gone.
And for the first time in years, I couldn’t tell if I’d won or lost.
