Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO:

 THE BOND THAT SHOULDN'T EXIST

Nyx POV

"What is this?" Derrick's voice was rough, almost angry. His blue eyes locked onto mine, and I could see the confusion and pain swirling in them. "Who are you? Or what are you?"

I couldn't speak. The mate bond was overwhelming, pulling at my chest like a rope tied around my heart. Every cell in my body screamed at me to run to him. To touch him. To complete the bond that I'd thought died with Lora.

But Lora had died. I watched her die. I *was* her dying.

"I asked you a question, rogue." Derrick walked down the steps slowly. Each step made my wolf whimper with need. "Your name. Now."

"Nyx." My voice came out steadier than I expected. "Nyx Brooks."

"Where are you from?"

"Nowhere. Everywhere." I forced myself to stay still as he circled me like a predator. His scent hit me, pine and rain and something uniquely him. It made my head spin. "I've been traveling for years. No pack. No home."

"And you just decided to walk onto my territory?" He stopped in front of me, so close I could feel the heat from his body. "You must have a death wish."

"Maybe I do." The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Something flickered in his eyes. For just a second, he looked almost... sad, Mixed with a little pinch of surprise. 

Then Vieve appeared on the pack house steps, and that look vanished.

"Derrick?" She walked down gracefully, her silver eyes narrowing as she looked at me. "Who is this?"

"A rogue who crossed our borders." Derrick's voice was flat, but his eyes never left mine. "Says her name is Nyx Brooks."

Vieve came closer, studying me with an expression I knew too well. Suspicion. She'd looked at me like that in my final days as Lora, always watching, always waiting for me to slip up.

"She looks dangerous." Vieve moved to stand beside her brother. Her hand rested on his arm, possessive and territorial. "We should execute her. You know the rules about rogues, there's no need for her pleading for mercy. Her fate has been decided the moment she stepped her feet into our territory."

My hands clenched into fists. She wanted to kill me again.

"No." Derrick's answer surprised everyone, including me. "Not yet."

"But Derrick….. the rules.."

"I make the rules and for now I say no, Vieve." His voice was sharp, commanding. The voice of an Alpha who wouldn't be questioned. "Something about this rogue is... different and weirdly familiar."

"Different, familiar how?" Vieve's eyes flashed with anger.

Derrick didn't answer. He was still staring at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve. "Take her to the holding cabin. Post guards. I'll question her in the morning."

"You can't be serious!" Vieve's perfect mask slipped for just a moment. I saw rage and fear flash across her face. "After what happened with Lora, you……"

"Stop!!!!!!!!. Don't." Derrick's whole body went rigid. "Don't say her name."

The pain in his voice made my chest ache. Even after everything, even after he'd let me die, part of me still loved him. Still wanted to comfort him, tell him I'm here for him. 

I hated myself for it.

"Beta Martin," Derrick called out. "The rogue is your responsibility. If she escapes, it's your head."

Martin stepped forward, his amber eyes thoughtful. "Yes, Alpha."

As the guards moved to escort me away, Derrick's voice stopped me. "Nyx."

I turned back.

"Why did you really come here?" His blue eyes searched mine, looking for something. "What do you really want?"

*Revenge*, I thought. *Justice. The truth.* Closure. 

But I couldn't say any of that.

"A home," I said instead. "I'm tired of running."

Something in his expression softened. Just for a heartbeat. Then the cold mask slammed back into place.

"We'll see," he said quietly.

---

The holding cabin was small but clean. One room with a bed, a table, and a tiny bathroom. The windows were barred, and I could sense the guards posted outside.

I was a prisoner.

Again.

I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands. What was I thinking? Coming back here was supposed to give me answers, supposed to help me prove my innocence. But I hadn't planned on feeling the mate bond again.

That complicated everything. Putting me in a tight spot. 

A soft knock made me look up. The door opened, and a young girl peeked in. She had kind eyes and Asian features, her black hair pulled into a ponytail.

"Um, hi." She smiled nervously. "I'm Izzy. Isabella Yenche. But everyone calls me Izzy. I'm supposed to... well, guard you isn't the right word. Keep you company? Make sure you don't feel too alone?"

Despite everything, I almost smiled. "They sent an omega to guard a dangerous rogue?"

"I'm stronger than I look!" Izzy puffed up her chest in defence. Then deflated. "Okay, that's a lie. I'm probably the weakest wolf in the pack. But Beta Martin thought you might want someone to talk to. He said you looked... sad. And lonely."

Martin always was too perceptive of people. 

"I'm fine," I said with a weak smile. 

"Nobody who says they're fine is actually fine. My mother taught me that." Izzy sat down on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. "I say I'm fine all the time, and I'm usually lying. So I understand when someone says they are fine, most of the time, they are lying."

I studied her. She couldn't be more than nineteen, with open, honest features that reminded me of myself before everything went wrong.

"How long have you been in this pack?" I asked.

"My whole life. Eighteen years." She played with the edge of her shirt. "Things used to be better here. Before... well, before the Luna died."

My breath caught. "The Luna?"

"Luna Lora." Izzy's voice went soft and sad. "She was executed three months ago for treason. But I don't think she did it. She was always nice to me. She used to bring me books and teach me to read better. She didn't act like a traitor they painted her to be."

Three months. I'd been dead for three months.

"What happened after she died?" I asked carefully.

Izzy looked toward the door, making sure no one was listening. "Everything changed. Alpha Derrick became... cold. Mean, sometimes. He doesn't smile anymore. And his sister, Vieve, she basically runs the pack now. She basically makes all the decisions, leaving few decisions to Alpha Derrick to make."

"The Alpha lets his sister run things?"

"He doesn't seem to care anymore." Izzy hugged her knees tighter. "It's like when Luna Lora died, a huge part of him died too. Some people say the mate bond breaking destroyed him. Others say he's just guilty because he let her die without protecting his mate. Some say it's the moon goddess punishing him."

Good. He should feel guilty. He deserves it. 

"What do you think?" I asked.

Izzy met my eyes. "I think he made a mistake. A costly one. And now he has to live with it forever."

We sat in silence for a moment. Then Izzy's face brightened. "But hey, at least something interesting happened today! You're the first person who made the Alpha react to anything in months. When you two looked at each other, I swear I felt something in the air. Like lightning or magic, I don't know but it was something."

She had no idea how right she was.

"Izzy," I said slowly. "If you don't think Lora was guilty, why don't you say something?"

Her face fell. "Because everyone who questioned her guilt had accidents. Marcus Fell broke his leg, now he's crippled. Sarah Chen got sick and is at the brink of death. James King fell down the stairs and hit his head so hard he can't remember anything anymore, even his own name"

Ice filled my veins. "Accidents?"

"That's what they say." Izzy's voice dropped to a whisper. "But between you and me? I don't think they were accidents at all."

Someone was silencing anyone who questioned Lora's guilt. And I'd bet everything I had that someone was Vieve.

Before I could ask more questions, the door opened. Beta Martin stood there, his expression unreadable.

"Izzy, go back to the pack house. I need to talk to the rogue alone."

Izzy scrambled to her feet. "Yes, Beta." She gave me a small wave before hurrying out.

Martin closed the door and leaned against it, studying me with those sharp amber eyes.

"You remind me of someone," he said finally.

My heart started racing. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes, you do." He crossed his arms. "The way you move. The way you talk. Even some of your expressions." He paused. "You remind me of Lora."

Panic clawed at my throat. Elder Mergan's warning echoed in my head. *If you directly reveal your identity, you'll die. Immediately*

"I'm not who you think I am."

"I didn't say you were her." Martin held up a hand. "I said you remind me of her. There's a difference."

I forced myself to breathe normally. "Maybe she and I just had similar personalities."

"Maybe." He didn't sound convinced. "Or maybe the Moon Goddess has a strange sense of humor."

We stared at each other. Martin had been my best friend growing up. We'd trained together, laughed together, told each other our secrets. If anyone could see through my disguise, it would be him.

"Why are you really here, Nyx?" he asked softly.

I thought about lying. But Martin always knew when I was lying.

"I want justice," I said carefully. "For someone who was wronged."

His eyes widened slightly. "You know about Lora, how?."

"I know she was innocent."

"How?" He pushed off the door, moving closer. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I..." I stopped. Took a breath. "Because I make it my business to know things, do my own personal findings. And from what I've gathered, she was framed."

Martin's jaw clenched. "I've been trying to prove that for three months. Do you have evidence?"

"Yes but why would I trust you with it?."

"I understand but I'm happy that we're on the same side." He extended his hand. "Help me clear her name, and I'll help you survive in this pack till we clear her name."

I looked at his hand. Martin was risking everything by questioning Lora's guilt. He was one of the few people who still believed in her.

I shook his hand. "Deal."

"Good." He nodded. "Because Alpha Derrick plans to question you tomorrow, and he's not in a gentle mood lately. You'll need all the help you can get."

After Martin left, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow I'd face Derrick again. Tomorrow I'd have to pretend my heart didn't break every time I looked at him.

Tomorrow, the real game would begin.

My hand went to my chest, where the mate bond pulsed like a second heartbeat. In my past life, completing the mate bond with Derrick had been the happiest day of my life.

Now that same bond might destroy everything.

"I'm sorry, Moon Goddess," I whispered to the darkness. "But I can't love him again. Not after what he did."

Somewhere in the pack house, I felt Derrick's presence through the bond. He was awake too, probably fighting the same pull I was fighting.

Let him suffer.

Let him feel a fraction of the pain I felt when he turned his back on me.

And this was just the beginning.