She Cannot Be Dead

Kael’s POV

The sun sank behind the forest as I sat on the Alpha throne; the hall was full of warriors.

But my mind was not here, and my wolf moved inside me again and again.

It was restless and angry.

The broken mate bond still burned in my chest, and I pressed my hand against my ribs.

The pain grew stronger every time I thought of her.

Lyra.

I shook the thought away. I made the right choice.

Serena stood beside the throne, and her hand rested on my shoulder.

“You should eat,” she said.

“I am not hungry.”

“You have not eaten all day.”

“I said I am not hungry.”

She sighed, and then she sat beside me like nothing was wrong, like tonight was normal, like a girl did not run into the rogue forest because of me.

“Stop thinking about her,” Serena said.

“She was weak anyway.”

My jaw tightened, but I did not answer her. My wolf growled inside me, then the doors of the hall opened, and warriors walked in, looking tired.

Mud covered their boots, and they knelt before the throne as the leader lowered his head.

“Alpha.”

My back straightened.

“You searched the forest?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

My fingers gripped the arm of the throne.

“And?”

The warrior hesitated, and my wolf growled again.

“Speak.”

He then looked at the ground.

“We followed her trail deep into rogue territory.”

The hall became silent, and everyone listened.

“And?” I asked again, and his voice became slower.

“We found blood.”

My heart stopped, and Serena let out a small breath.

“There you see,” she said.

“Rogues must have killed her.”

I ignored her, and my eyes stayed on the warrior.

“Show me.”

He then reached into a bag, and he placed something on the ground before the throne.

A piece of cloth, red and torn, and my breath caught.

I knew that cloth, I knew it very well.

I stepped down from the throne, and my hand reached for it.

The scarf felt rough in my hand and old memories hit me at once: the forest, the night of the rogue attack with blood everywhere.

Lyra had pressed this scarf against my wound as her hands were shaking, her voice begging me to stay awake.

“Please don’t die, Alpha.”

My chest tightened. This scarf saved my life, and now it lies on the ground covered in dirt.

Serena then stood and walked closer, and she glanced at the scarf.

“Rogues probably tore her apart.”

My wolf roared inside me.

“Enough.”

The word left my mouth before I thought, and Serena blinked; the hall grew silent.

I then stared at the scarf.

“Where did you find this?”

The warrior answered fast.

“Near a group of dead rogues.”

My head lifted.

“Dead rogues?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“How many?”

“Five.”

A strange feeling moved inside my chest.

“Five rogues died?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see who killed them?”

The warrior shook his head.

“No, Alpha, but the bodies were torn apart.”

My mind began to race. Lyra ran into the forest. She was weak, broken from the rejection; there was no way she could kill five rogues.

No way.

Serena then crossed her arms.

“Maybe another pack passed through.”

Another warrior spoke.

“There were claw marks on the rogues, Alpha.”

“What kind of claw marks?”

He hesitated.

“Wolf claws.”

My heart beat faster, and a strange thought entered my mind.

Lyra’s wolf was weak, and everyone knew that.

Yet five rogues died, and my wolf growled again.

“She might still be alive,” I said, and Serena laughed.

“Alive?”

She then pointed at the scarf.

“There was blood everywhere.”

The warrior nodded slowly.

“Yes, Alpha. There was a lot of blood.”

Serena spread her hands.

“You see?”

“She is dead.”

My chest burned again, and something inside me refused to believe it. Then I walked toward the large window of the hall, and I stared at the forest that spreads far into the distance, dark trees and endless land.

Lyra ran into that forest, alone, and my hand tightened around the scarf.

I remembered her face at the ceremony.

The moment the mate bond appeared, the way her eyes filled with hope, and then the moment I rejected her, the hope disappeared.

My wolf growled again with a deep sound, angry and restless, and Serena stepped closer.

“Kael.”

I did not turn.

“You made the right choice,” she said.

“That omega could never stand beside you as Luna.”

Still, I did not turn.

“You have me now.”

Her hand touched my arm, and I pulled away; the movement surprised her.

“Do not touch me right now.”

Her eyes widened, and the hall became silent again.

I walked back toward the throne.

The scarf remained in my hand, and the warriors still knelt.

“Search the forest again.”

The leader looked confused.

“Alpha… we already searched the rogue territory.”

“Search again.”

“Alpha, the blood trail ended near the mountain ridge.”

“I said search again!”

My voice grew louder.

“No wolf in this pack stops until she is found.”

The warriors bowed their heads.

“Yes, Alpha.”

Serena then shook her head.

“This is pointless.”

I ignored her again, and my wolf refused to calm down.

Something was wrong, very wrong.  Lyra could not be dead; she could not disappear like this, not after three years, not after the mate bond appeared.

I gripped the scarf tighter, and my voice was lowered.

“You will find her.”

The warriors looked at me.

“Alive or dead.”

They bowed again.

“We understand, Alpha.”

They then left the hall, and Serena watched them go.

“You are wasting your time,” she said, and I turned to face her at last, my eyes burning.

“You should rest,” she said.

“You had a long day.”

I walked past her, the scarf still in my hand.

My wolf whispered inside me.

Lyra is not dead; she could not be, because something inside me still felt her.

Faint, but there.

I stopped near the door, and my voice dropped low.

“I will find her.”

Serena sighed behind me, but I did not care because deep in the forest, somewhere beyond the mountains.

My rejected mate was still breathing, and I would bring her back, no matter what it took.