An unexpected twist

Killian’s POV

For the first time in my life, I caught her scent—my Mate.

I ran through the woods as something primal yanked me forward. My muscles tensed, heart pounding, her scent teasing me along the trail. 

Kale—my wolf pressed at the edge of my mind, urging faster. “We are losing her.”

Today, I was doing my morning patrol when an intoxicating scent dulled my senses, forcing me to shift. Now as we moved, it felt like she was slipping away until nothing was left.

“We lost her scent.” 

Kale wasn’t the only one disappointed. But some part of me didn't want to find her.

How would I explain things to Freya if I truly found my fated mate and it wasn’t her? Not that I expected it to be.

Reluctantly, we moved back to the tree where I kept my clothes. Shifting for me was done on a daily basis, but it didn’t help the pain that tore through my flesh with each transformation.

“Luna, are you okay?”

I slid my pants on, narrowing my eyes toward the voice.

It was that Gamma, Rapahel, always hanging around Freya. 

My fist clenched when I noticed how he wrapped his hand around her unconscious figure.

I stepped forward, trying to reach Freya. Raphael’s hand shot out, grabbing my arm. Kale growled, flashing our teeth.

Something about Raphael's stance and that familiar defiance sent a chill through me—like a ghost from my past.

One I had long forgotten.

“Alpha Killian…”

Before he finished, I snatched Freya away from him and gently settled her head against my chest. Her body was turning cold, yet sweat clung to her skin, pressing her hair against her face.

Turning to Raphael, I snapped in a cold tone. “What did you do to her?”

Raphael narrowed his eyes, his face etched with that intense disdain I always spotted in him whenever he saw me. “I should be asking you. Isn’t she your Luna? Your responsibility?”

My fingers gripped tighter against Freya’s shoulders, holding her firmly against me. I narrowed my eyes, watching her squint. Was she comfortable?

Tucking her hair behind her eyes, I answered. “This is none of your business, Gamma.”

My arms roped over her knees, taking her up into my arms. Her head swayed, burying itself at the crook of my neck. 

“Freya is a nice lady. Can’t you stop treating her like she’s one of your possessions?” Raphael’s voice edged with warning as he grabbed my arm. “If you don’t treat her right, someone else will.”  

My heart skipped a beat and raced through my bloodstream.

“If that someone values his life, he’d keep his hands off my mate.” I pulled my shoulder back, letting my arm slip from Raphael's grip. I ran my eyes over him carefully. 

His expression flickered. Worry, maybe. Or may be something more dangerous for a man to have toward another Alpha’s Luna.

“Careful, Gamma,” I warned, stepping past him. “I let you speak only because you guard her. Next time you forget your place, I won’t.”

With those words, I moved towards one of the patrol sheds so wolves on duty could take refuge from the sun.

Freya's body was stiff like ice. My heart raced as I pulled her closer. Without a wolf, her stress made her cold. Yet even in sleep, she stirred in my arms. 

My lips curled.

No wonder she always wanted to stay close at night, I'd fought it before, but I never knew just how much she suffered until after my death.

According to the ancient lore of the Greenville pack, if your mate is overcome by immense grief and unwilling to let you go, they have the ability to preserve your spirit for a while until the moon goddess sends you from the world.

Freya protected mine for seven days.

I watched her grieve, refusing meals but never faltering with pack responsibilities. At night, she slept on the floor beside my coffin, shedding tears that shattered my heart every time I saw her. She shivered, but she wanted to keep me company, so she stayed, personally cleaning my body every single day.

Now I was back, and the first thing I heard after my rebirth was divorce.

“How can a person change so much?” I whispered, setting Freya’s body on the grass and taking a seat beside her.

Was it the stress from her responsibility? That was the only possibility I could think of.

Her bite on my shoulder still made the spot ache. 

She was quiet, dutiful, always ready to please others even when they stepped on her. 

But now, this Freya is a fire I’ve never seen, and I don’t mind if it consumes me. I want to know why she’s this way.

Even her tone changed, and she addressed me with my title. Freya never did that in the past.

“Why are you acting like this?”

Hearing my voice, Freya stirs in her sleep, and my heart races even more. Faint traces of sunlight highlighted her features.

Leaning forward, I lowered myself and pressed my lips against her head. My thumb brushed over the spot, and I froze, yet my eyes never left her.

I always wanted to be with my fated mate, which is why being shackled to Freya in my past life by my parents drove me on edge. Each time I spent with her made it seem like I was dishonoring my fated mate.

Now, I want her to be my mate. Fated or not, she is mine. 

Even though I don't love her, I will still treat her well. That’s what I owe her. 

My ears perked when I heard rustling leaves. Instinctively, I whipped my head to see Hansel, my Beta, marching toward us. “Alpha—”

I crossed a finger over my lips, hushing him. Hansel lowered his head, pausing his step.

“Alpha, I’m sorry, but I have something I—”

“Let it wait. If you disturb her sleep, you won’t have something to report,” I said, tilting my head as I caressed Freya’s hair.

Hansel lowered his tone even more. “It’s about what you asked, Alpha. Concerning the Masked Doctor. There are no leads.”

I arched my brow.

“Yet,” he added.

A plague would soon befall the pack. With this second chance, I hoped to hide this Masked Doctor, fund his project, and get a cure to avert the impending danger.

“And the other thing I asked?” I turned to Hansel.

He pressed his lips together. “There is also no lead as well.”

My palm curled into a twist until my knuckles drained of color. In my past life, I was murdered. In this life? I will find out who did it.