Chapter Four

Tyler’s Pov

I laid on my Alaskan king bed finding it really hard to fall asleep. The sound of nature bursting outside my cabin did little in calming my frazzled nerves. I shut my eyes in an attempt to sleep and failed utterly. It was that zesty smell I couldn’t get off my mind. As I tossed to stare at the rustic light fixture hanging in the centre of the ceiling, my wolf became very jittery for some reason relatable to that zesty scent.

Ever since I bumped into Kaya by the lake, her scent lingered in the air, I could almost feel her delicate skin brush mine. Thoughts about Kaya seemed to make my wolf agitated. Was it because of her? Of the fact that she appeared miserable?

My wolf grew more agitated, urging me to go for a run. I groaned, got out of bed, put on suitable clothing and headed towards Lily’s room.

I knocked lightly on her door, waited a little while and opened it slightly. I noticed she was fast asleep but she appeared unsettled. I opened the door and walked in towards her to decipher the reason for her discomfort. As I reached her bedside, I noticed she was not covered properly so I adjusted her quilt to do so. I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before heading out, shutting the door behind me.

There was definitely something different about the air today, almost eerie making me alert. I made my way down the hill to the gathering hall and spotted Alex approaching me.

"Hey, Tyler," Alex said, wearing a silly grin on his face.

“Cut to the chase, Alex, what information have you gathered " I retorted.

It’s the Outlanders Alpha. We’ve discovered their location. The wolves that attacked were a part of Shadow Moon pack. It’s what we feared alpha" he replied.

"And where is the location?" I probed, ready to invade the place.

"On the other side of the mountain, right before the Deserted lands," he responded

"Great! Alert all combatant wolves to report to the gathering hall immediately!” I stated.

Alex nodded confirming the command and headed towards the group of cabins to assemble them.

I pondered on different strategies that would enable us to attack head-on with minimal damage to my pack. My wolf on the other hand was restless, eager for release so I headed towards the shoreline for a run. I shapeshifted and raced down speedily, my wolf was ardent and I found it calming to run on the shoreline of Meadow Lake.

After running for a mile or two, he seemed cool, I raced back towards my room, grabbed some clothes and headed towards the gathering hall. When I arrived, my warriors were already gathered. They grouped according to their ranks. My clan, Crimson Pack was known to be the strongest and most revered. We were the full package; a Pack mother, Beta wolves, Gamma wolves, a couple of elders, omegas, sentinels, scouts, hunters, guardians as well as salutary wolves.

As I entered the hall, the clutter of noise hushed; they stared at me awaiting an address. I quickly scanned through for a head count and noticed that one of my combatants, Luta was not present.

"The outlanders have been a thorn in our flesh for far too long. Intel gathered reveals that they are members of the shadow moon pack. Our clan has been revered since inception and now is not the time to take a hit. It’s time we attack and hit them when they least expect”

As my voice boomed throughout the room, I could feel how gingered and warmed up they were for a fight.

"Training commences immediately, any questions?”

Some wolves inquired about the combat strategy we plan on using and I explained making sure to leave no table unturned.

As we kept on deliberating about the tactics to be used, I felt a strong pull. I ordered Alex my second in command to stand in for me while I excused myself.

As I stepped out, my wolf took control of me, pushing me downhill, towards the lake. I had no idea why I was heading towards the lake. It all seemed strange. Soon, Meadow Lake came into view. The light from the full moon scattered on the water's surface leaving a long trail of shimmering light. Then it hit me, that intoxicating zesty scent ensnared my senses pulling strongly towards the lake.

My wolf edged towards the pull and then I spotted Kaya and Luta together. Luta’s hands were secured roughly around her throat and this infuriated me. While we planned an attack he was here, harassing a member of my pack. He was breaking not just one but two of my stringent rules.

Something in me snapped more surprisingly not of the fact that he was a no show, but that he laid his hands on her, on Kaya.

“Mine” My wolf growled.

I was stunned, was this weakling, my mate?

I've always pictured my mate to be strong and stunning. But then, finding a mate wasn’t on top of my priority list, I barely desired one because of the responsibilities I currently have.

Albeit, I couldn't even shake how that zesty scent sent thrills down my spine. I came to terms with the fact that my wolf was not agitated because of Luta’s disobedience or the impending battle. It was because Kaya was my mate.

In a blink of an eye, I dived into the lake, grabbed Luta by his neck and snapped him. His body grew limp and descended deep into the water along with Kaya’s.

Alarmed, I dived toward Kaya, retrieved her body from the bottom of the lake and lay her by the shoreline. Her body was cold, her lips blue. She wasn’t breathing.

My heart skipped, it seemed as if time itself stopped. I trembled from fear of losing her while applying slight pressure to her chest. Nothing I did to revive her seemed to work leaving me devastated.

I ached to see her intense green eyes again and just as I was about to give up, My wolf furiously growled” Mate”.

Kaya’s eyes shut open instantly and stared at me. In that second, I felt everything she did. Her pain, her fury, her burning desire, and I took it all in. Our soul linked that instant and we became one, I knew she was undeniably mine.

As fast as I could, I lifted her limp body up in my arms and made my way to the pack's salutary. I burst into his room frightening him in the process. ” Do everything in your power to make sure she is ok?” I said frantically. The herbal doctor stood there trying to process everything which irked me strongly.

"Do something!" I bellowed using my alpha tone.

He jerked towards her and carried her to the cot.

I growled impatiently as he inspected her to make sure she was ok.

“Say something” I growled

"Alpha, you need to back up a little,” he replied while attempting to place some sensors which were connected to a monitor on her.

I growled inside of me every time he placed his hands on her.

To make it worse, he held her neck up and attempted to remove her wet clothes which caused her to emit a groan.

I couldn’t believe I could be that fast because, in a second, I found myself holding his hand at a very dangerous angle.

“What do think you are doing?” I inquired ready to pounce.

“I am helping, I promise.” the salutary replied hastily to avoid any assault.

“I need to take her wet clothes off to prevent hypothermia, trust me I am helping here”. He stated and I nodded my approval for him to go ahead.

He successfully pulled off her cloth exposing a massive discolouration on her skin and I winched feeling her pain. Her body was laced with huge livid red and purplish bruises and I knew they caused her pain on the inside too.

Anger bobbed inside of me as I was vexed with my ignorance of her situation, of what was going on in my very pack.

“She has been through a lot, Alpha”. The salutary’s wobbly voice echoed my thoughts.

He placed what looked like sensors on her body to get a reading of her overall body functions.

Afterwards, he placed an IV warmer beside her and covered her with a warm blanket.

“That should warm her up.” He added.

Hearing that did little in calming my nerves.