The fire inside me hadn’t settled since the night before. I paced the floor of my quarters like a caged beast, the soft glow of the moon filtering through the tall windows of the Aethon manor. My claws ached to shift, but I kept myself still.
Even as I tried to convince myself that Rebecca was irrelevant to our mission… I couldn’t stop thinking about her!!
Why marry a man in a coma? Why would she do something so reckless, so permanent?;
The vampire venom in Maximus Thane’s blood had sealed his fate. Everyone knew that. Once infected, your soul rots from the inside out. Even a bom Alpha couldn’t recover from a wound like that. So why tie herself to a corpse?
She didn’t even know who was the cure. She didn’t even know how to s
save him.
I mindlinked my Beta. “Reid,” I growled. “You got any leads on Rebecca?“)
Beta Reid’s voice crackled in response. “No. I tried asking around, but no one knew how she was inside the Thane Pack’s territory” That made my blood stir with something uncomfortably close to panic. “Check again. Go through the Thane territory. Discreetly.” There was a pause. “Alpha… why? We’re here for Maurine. That’s our mission, remember? She’s the one who needs protecting. Not Rebecca.T
I clenched my jaw so hard I thought my molars would crack.
I know,” I muttered. “I just… guarded her for years. Hard to ignore her being married off like cattle.”
Reid snorted. “You’re sounding like a wolf with a leash around his heart. You don’t have that luxury anymore.”
“I said check again,1 snapped, cutting off the comm.
What the hell was wrong with me? Reid was right. My loyalty was to the mission. To Maurine. She was the key. I learned that the hard way years ago–when I heard it from the seer of the Silvana Pack.
The girl who would determine the fate of all vampires and infected werewolves.8
That’s why I attached myself to Rebecca back then. She was the perfect distraction. Everyone thought I was her knight, protecting the quiet, damaged she wolf no one dared get close to. But all I’d really been doing was staying close enough to Maurine without raising suspicion.
If anyone found out what Maurine truly was, she’d be hunted, devoured by the very beasts we were hiding her from.
So why was I losing sleep over Rebecca?!
To rid myself of the noise in my head, I set out that morning for Silvana Pack. I needed to talk to the Elders. Maybe get my mind straight. again.”
The journey took half the day, through forests thick with the scent of pine and snow. Fag crept low across the mountains, clinging to the terrain like ghost’s breath. Silvana was the most elusive of the allied packs–some even whispered our blood ran ancient, older than the moon itself. Our territory sat nestled in a hidden valley, protected by wards and the bones of fallen wolves.
When I crossed their borders, the air changed. My wolf bristled beneath my skin. A hum of power vibrated through the earth itself.! The guards at the threshold stiffened but didn’t stop me. I was expected.
Inside the council hall, the Elders sat in a half–circle of carved obsidian thrones. Their eyes, clouded with time but sharp as blades, pierced through me the moment I entered.
“You reek of conflict, Alpha Lucas, Elder Ilya rasped. “Speak your purpose.”
I knelt low in respect. “I came for an update. And to offer a warning. The infected are growing bold.”
Elder Merck leaned forward. “How many?”
“More than a dozen new cases in the eastern packs. Same symptoms. Unnatural aggression. Rotting wounds. Eyes black as pitch.” A low murmur rippled through the circle
“That’s why vampires and some infected packs are desperate,” I continued. “They’re searching for the key. The one in the prophecy. But want it known: they won’t lay a single claw on my fated mate. Not even a strand of her hair. If they get her, she will die. They will get every ounce of her life essence. I will die if my fated mate dies. You know that.”
At this, the Elders fell silent. Then Ilya spoke again
They grow bolder because the blood moon approaches,” she said, voice gravelly. “The hunger in them will rise. They will feel the pull of the key more strongly
“She’s still hidden in plain sight,” I said. “As long as I am here, I will protect her. No one suspects who she really is.“)
“I know. She can’t die, Alpha. Because if she does, you will too. That’s how powerful fated mates are. We can’t afford to lose our Alpha. The entire pack will full, Elder Merek said with narrowed eyes.X
The words dug deeper than I expected. I stood and bowed. “I’ll do what must be done.”
But as I walked away from their stone hall, those words echoed in my skull.)
Back at the Anthon manor, the moon was starting to rise over the ridge. The scent of night–blooming wolfsbane filled the air. I stood at the balcony, watching the pack warriors train in the courtyard below!
Ididn’t know what I wanted from Rebecca. I didn’t even know why I cared. I had a duty. A secret to protect. But even with all that, some part of me–the old part, the raw part–still remembered her scent. Her voice. The way she used to smile when she thought I wasn’t looking.K
8.13 AM
I knelt low in respect. “I came for an update. And to offer a warning. The infected are growing bold.”%
Elder Merek leaned forward. “How many?”
“More than a dozen new cases in the easter packs. Same symptoms. Unnatural aggression. Rotting wounds. Eyes black as pitch.” A low murmur rippled through the circle.
“That’s why vampires and some infected packs are desperate,” I continued. “They’re searching for the key. The one in the prophecy. But I want it known: they won’t lay a single claw on my fated mate. Not even a strand of her hair. If they get her, she will die. They will get every ounce of her life essence. I will die if my fated mate dies. You know that”
At this, the Elders fell silent. Then Ilya spoke again.
“They grow bolder because the blood moon approaches,” she said, voice gravelly. “The hunger in them will rise. They will feel the pull of the key more strongly.”
“She’s still hidden in plain sight,” I said. “As long as I am here, I will protect her. No one suspects who she really is.“%
“I know. She can’t die, Alpha. Because if she does, you will too. That’s how powerful fated mates are. We can’t afford to lose our Alpha The entire pack will fall, Elder Merek said with narrowed eyes.
The words dug deeper than I expected. I stood and bowed. “I’ll do what must be done.”
But as I walked away from their stone hall, those words echoed in my skull.
Back at the Aethon manor, the moon was starting to rise over the ridge. The scent of night–blooming wolfsbane filled the air, I stood at the balcony, watching the pack warriors train in the courtyard below.
I didn’t know what I wanted from Rebecca. I didn’t even know why I cared. I had a duty. A secret to protect. But even with all that, some part of me–the old part, the raw part–still remembered her scent. Her voice. The way she used to smile when she thought I wasn‘ looking
Damn her
And damn me even more.
