Chapter 4

Thorian

"What's going on?" A few folks in the meeting room stopped and asked as the guards' voices from the hallway echoed into the hall.

"I don't know...." someone started to reply when the door got shoved open all of a sudden, and a guard strode in. He bowed his head while reporting the problem to the beta sitting with us.

"Beta, the girl you locked in the dungeon has escaped, and lord Kaelen is badly injured by her," he reported.

Everyone let out a gasp, but I could hardly wrap my head around whatever was going down between them, and honestly, I didn't give a damn.

Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with me. I'd only shown up here for one main purpose, and I had to get that done before heading back.

"Alpha, is the issue out there serious? If it's not, then I'd recommend putting the meeting on hold so we can all head back to our spots, and the beta can handle the mess fully," I suggested after spotting the change in the beta's expression. From his look, it was obvious he wanted to jump up and trail that guard right away to hunt for the girl the guard had mentioned.

"You're right about that, Alpha Thorian. We'll keep going with the meeting," the Alpha agreed, and we carried on.

Sneaking a couple of looks at the beta, I saw he was fighting to stay composed while fidgeting, just waiting for the meeting to wrap up so he could bolt. Good thing it finished up not long after.

Heading out of the meeting room, I frowned noticing the entire pack in total chaos with guards scrambling everywhere. But I couldn't care less about their frenzy, and instead, I headed out of the pack house and into the thick woods where my wolf started acting all restless out of nowhere.

I could sense it itching to break loose from inside me.

It was like my guts were knotting up. This was the first time anything this weird had hit me, and I froze in place as the sensation ramped up the more I tried to brush it off.

There had to be danger around; that had to be why it was so worked up. I decided as I finally tuned into the uneasy vibe.

"What's the issue?" I asked.

"Mate... our mate is out here, and she's in danger. She's hurt," my wolf let me know.

Mate? I had a mate, and she was out here? I glanced around in total confusion. I'd figured I didn't have a mate, and this bombshell made me stop to try and process what was really going on. My mate was here, and she was injured?

Where was she? I raised my head, sniffing the air for any scent. Anything that could set off my wolf now would help, and sure enough, mixed with the bush and dirt smells, I picked up this unique scent I'd never caught before.

I tracked the scent right away while pushing through the thick forest. It was getting dark already with the sun sinking below the horizon, throwing an orange glow over the woods. I came to a sudden stop when I spotted something on the ground... or was it someone? I narrowed my eyes, but the fading light made it tough to figure out who it was.

As I got nearer, I saw it was a beautiful girl.

She was at my boundary. The scent came from her, and as I approached, the smell of blood blended with that amazing aroma. I knelt down, and I felt my wolf scratching at my insides again.

What happened to her? She seemed all beaten up and roughed up. Who did this to her?

Her face had smears of blood, and her exposed skin was marked with wounds as she lay there naked on the ground.

She looked half dead and defenseless. Something about how she appeared made me clench my jaw in rage. I slipped off my coat, wrapped it around her, and scooped her up in my arms without wasting time.

She needed care fast since her heartbeat was fading slowly. Through the mind link, I reached out to my brother quick.

"Soren, I need you in my room right now. I just found my mate," I told him via the link while hurrying back to the pack house. The guards nearby eyed her form in my arms with worry, and some offered to lend a hand, but they assumed she was just some random find from the woods, not knowing she was my mate.

I couldn't fault them for thinking that way since it was pretty unusual to see me carrying another woman in my arms like this. After making it through the dimly lit and silent hallway, I reached my room and set her down softly on the bed.

Where was he? I linked him again just as the door swung open and Soren came in.

"What's the problem, Thorian?" Soren asked as he hurried into the room.

"You said you've found your mate," he sounded puzzled but moved fast toward the bed to begin checking her, though he stopped short with an intense stare fixed on her.

What was up with him? Why wasn't he examining her like he should?

"What? Is something wrong? Is her condition that bad?" I asked, trying to read his stunned look.

"Is she dead?" My heart skipped as the thought crossed my mind.

No, I could still pick up her heartbeat, so she was alive, but why was he staring at her like that? I was starting to lose my cool, but he turned to me calmly.

"T-the girl. Your mate. She's also my mate," he revealed, leaving me shocked as this hit me hard. My mate was also his mate? How was this even possible?

The door to the room got pushed open suddenly, and Vaelin walked in.

"Brother, what's going on? I came right away when I heard you'd arrived," he said while heading to the bed, but he froze a few feet back as he looked down at her. His eyes went wide with shock all over his face.

"Mate?"