Chapter 4: Cruel Fate

Pov: Zade

[Dante, send the healer to my wing.] I pushed through the connected private mindlink.

[Got it, Alpha.]

His response came instantly.

I focused on the sound of my footsteps as I marched into the west wing of the pack house. The forbidden wing that belonged solely to me.

It was the only place where the whispers of the prophecy couldn’t reach me. 

Until now.

Mate. Xavier prowled through my mind, repeating the word.

I tried to block out the thoughts invading my head because of the fragile being in my arms. 

But my efforts went to waste as the sparks from my skin touching hers never ceased. The familiar jasmine and rain scent emitting from her worsened it all.

Making my way into one of the unoccupied rooms, I set her down on the bed gently. With my enhanced hearing turned on, I could hear her heart beating faintly.

My gaze drifted to her face caught in the moonlight let in by the window at the side. Other than the new scratches, it was just as beautiful as I remembered that morning.

The scent of her filled the room and my senses, making my fangs ache to drop. But regret followed shortly.

If I hadn’t let her go that day, this wouldn’t have happened.

I had spent years convincing myself distance to whoever my mate was, would be mercy. Then, spent weeks doing the same with the extra effort of pushing her out of my mind.

The prophecy demanded her death by my hand.

Staying away was supposed to protect her from that fate, not being led back into my arms as a debt payment.

A soft knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” I said, standing upright.

Elder Hestia, the pack’s oldest healer, stepped in.

“Alpha,” she voiced out hoarsely, dipping her head in a slight bow.

“Check her,” I gestured to the unconscious woman on the silk sheets.

Wasting no time, Hestia drew closer to the bed and began her examination.

I took a few steps back, my arms crossed on my chest, and watched the entire process like a hawk.

Finally, Hestia pulled the furs over her sleeping form. She straightened her back and turned to me, her eyes not meeting mine.

“She is stable, Alpha,” she whispered, her voice like dry parchment. “A large amount of Wolfsbane Mist is still in her system and it seems to have suppressed her wolf so badly that I’m not sure it could be reversed. However, it did not reach the womb. The pup there is resilient.”

My hands clenched into a fist.

“The pup is healthy. Stronger than anything I've seen at this stage,” she breathed out, a flicker of surprise on her face. “I've come across something like this only once in my lifetime, and that was… twenty four years ago.”

“How far along?” I frowned deeply.

“Six weeks,” Hestia replied. “Though the pup is healthy, with the mother exhausted and without her wolf, her healing will be slower. She needs plenty of rest.”

Six weeks along.

The number echoed loudly in my head.

Xavier didn’t pace this time. Instead, he went dead silent. 

I closed my eyes, and for a moment, I was back at the Inter-Pack Summit seven weeks ago.

That dark suite. 

My blood burning with what I hadn’t seen coming. 

The smell of jasmine and rain in the air. 

A she-wolf stumbling into my arms.

Not just any she-wolf, but my mate whom I had decided never to seek out. The very one now in front of me.

I glanced down at her still form as the memory played in my head once again.

The timing was too perfect.

No, not perfect. Cruel.

Because if my suspicion was right, fate had brought her right to my doorstep with what I couldn't turn away.

“Leave us,” I commanded.

Hestia’s mouth was slightly open, indicating that she had been speaking, but I heard nothing of what she said.

She bowed her head, packed up her things, and headed for the door.

“And Hestia,” I called out. “If a single word of her condition leaves this wing, I will let my wolf decide your sentence.”

The crimson glow in my vision flared, blurring the edges of the room. 

She gulped visibly and nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”

She exited the room, her footsteps fading fast down the corridor.

I remained where I stood, watching her.

It couldn’t be.

A knock came on the heavy oak door again, breaking my trance. 

I scowled. 

Only one person was brave enough, or stupid enough, to enter the forbidden wing without an invitation first.

“Enter,” I growled.

Dante stepped in, his expression uncharacteristically somber.

As my Beta and the only man I called a friend, he was the only one who didn’t flinch at the crimson glow that still lingered in my eyes.

He glanced at the bed, then at me. His eyes widened for only a few seconds before he composed himself.

“Let’s speak outside,” I said as I walked past him.

We moved into my study next door.

“That is Asha Ryder, isn’t it?” He asked the second he closed the door.

“Yes.” I didn’t look at him.

“After all that struggle to barely stay away from her, she shows up on your doorstep, huh?” Dante asked in a teasing tone.

I scowled. “No thanks to Marrok.”

“Speaking of the devil, he is screaming about how you stole his collateral, and he’s calling for a council,” Dante said, leaning against the doorframe. “He’s a fool to think he still holds power after you deposed him as Beta three years ago.”

“He can scream at the moon for all I care,” I sat on the edge of my desk. “But it’s worse than that, Dante. She’s pregnant.”

“She? Your mate?” Dante’s eyes widened, gesturing to the next room. 

“Yes, six weeks. And she claims it belongs to the Moonmere Alpha’s boy, but the timing matches the Summit,” I said, the words coming out as a low rumble.

A possessive rage surged in my chest as I remembered her saying it.

He frowned. “The Summit?”

My jaw tightened. “The night I was drugged.”

Understanding flashed across his face.

“You think the pup—”

“Dante,” I cut in slowly. “Where was Cole Evans that night?”