Chapter 13 -She is gone

Kael’s POV

I turned to walk out, trying to ignore the look of disappointment on her face.

Clutching my chest, I made my way to my room, trying to shut out the painful feeling spreading through me like slow poison.

And this wasn’t because of the blood bond between us.

This was different.

It was because of the hurt on my mate’s face.

I walked down the long hall, trying to block out the sound of my wolf.

He was clawing at my chest, growling at me to go back…

To claim her.

To protect her from the pain I keep causing.

But I can’t do that ,not now.

Elera stood at the end of the hall, right outside my door, wearing that same smug smile I wanted to rip off her face.

She looked so much like Selene…,

But how could two sisters be so different?.

I ignored her, walking straight into my room.

She walked in too, shutting the door behind her.

Without a word, she came closer, wrapping her hands around me from behind as we both faced the mirror.

“You made the right choice handing the banquet over to me,” she whispered in my ear, her breath warm against my skin.

“Eventually, you’ll realize I’m the right Luna for you…”

My jaw tightened.

Slowly, I turned, facing her fully.

I cupped her face…not in a gentle or loving way .

Just enough to make her meet my eyes.

“The next time you interrupt when we’re talking…”

My voice dropped, low and cold.

“I’ll snap your neck.”

Her eyes widened, but the smug smile didn’t fully vanish.

She liked playing dangerous games.

“You wouldn’t,” she whispered, lips barely moving.

I leaned in closer, my grip tightening just a fraction.

“Try me.”

Then I dropped my hand and stepped back, the air between us thick with warning.

“You can feel the tension between us, Kael,” Elera said, stepping toward me again.

“I know you want me, just as much as I love you.”

I didn’t move. I didn’t blink.

“That flimsy mate bond between you two means nothing. We have been in love since we were kids, Kael. You used to belong to me…”

“Shut up,” I snapped.

Her mouth parted slightly, startled by the sudden shift in my voice.

I stepped forward, my eyes burning into hers.

“Whatever we were… it’s dead.

“Selene is the cause of all this, isn’t she?” Elera’s voice cracked, trembling with emotion she barely contained.

“She’s the reason you can’t see me the way you used to.”

I didn’t answer.

“She planned with Moonshade Pack to have me kidnapped and killed,” she went on, her tone sharpening with every word. “You have no idea what I went through to survive, Kael.”

Her voice broke then, and she clutched her chest. “Before you came for me, I was dying every single day… and I couldn’t think of anything more than you.”

I looked away.

“Even when I was a child, you’d always tell me you’d make me your Luna. You said it like a promise. You used to look at me like I was your whole world.”

She stepped forward, desperate now.

“What changed, Kael?”

I turned my face away, refusing to look at her, refusing to let her see the storm building behind my eyes.

I didn’t answer…because I didn’t trust myself to speak. She took that as permission to keep talking.

“Anyway,” she said, smugly, “you have to play by my rules for now… and you know why.”

I clenched my jaw.

“Get out,” I said, voice tight, barely controlled fury threatening to spill.

My fists trembled at my sides.

“Before I forget why I haven’t snapped your neck yet.”

She must have seen how serious I looked, because this time, she stepped out quietly.

Good.

After a few moments, I pulled off my shirt and changed into my training gear.

But even that wasn’t enough to quiet the noise in my head.

Using the mindlink, I reached out to my beta.

“Meet me in the training field. Now.”

I needed to hit something.

Hard.

Before I lost whatever control I was still hanging onto.

I didn’t have to wait long before I saw him walking across the field, already in his training gear.

“Is something burdening you, Alpha?” he asked, eyes narrowing just slightly, the way they always did when he was trying to catch a lie.

“Nothing,” I said quickly. Too quickly.

He didn’t push.

Instead, I cracked a grin, pulling my hair up into a ponytail. “You ready to get your ass handed to you today?”

“Right back at you,” he said, smiling as he rolled his shoulders.

Here…out on this field,we didn’t need to be Alpha and Beta.

We were just two brothers who didn’t need words to understand each other.

And today, I needed that more than anything.

Rushing toward me, he shifted midair, slamming into me with full force.

His wolf was large…larger than most betas I’d seen, and his golden eyes gleamed with a violent intensity against his smoky grey fur.

I hit the ground hard but rolled with the momentum, shifting as my bones snapped and reshaped mid-motion.

My wolf…

A midnight-colored beast with eyes like burning coals… rose out of me with a snarl.

We didn’t waste time.

We circled once, twice, then lunged at each other.

Claws collided midair with our Fangs bared. My wolf slammed into his side, but he rolled, fast and agile, swiping at my hind leg. Pain flashed through me, but it only made the rage burn hotter.

We crashed into each other again, this time with more force. His wolf snapped at my side, but I twisted, slamming him down with a thud that sent dust into the air.

I growled low, circling him as he jumped back to his feet.

He pounced.

I met him midair, our bodies colliding in a blur of dark fur and brute strength. We tumbled, rolled, clawing and snapping until I pinned him, my teeth inches from his throat.

He stilled beneath me, panting hard.

“I told you I would beat you,” I said, panting slightly as I brushed dust off my shoulder, a smug grin on my face.

He was just about to reply…probably something smart-mouthed when a breathless voice cut through the air.

“Alpha!”

We both turned instantly. Maria stood at the edge of the training field, her apron fluttering from how fast she’d run. Her face was pale, eyes wide with panic.

My chest tightened before she even spoke.

“It’s the Luna,” she said breathlessly. “Something’s wrong.”

“What’s wrong?” I demanded, chest still rising and falling from the fight.

She looked shaken, her hands wringing the edges of her apron.

“Sir… the Luna… she’s gone.”

“What do you mean gone?” I growled, stepping forward until the scent of fear thickened around her.

“I…I went to take her breakfast like I usually do after the talk you had with her…but she wasn’t in her room. The guards outside thought she was with you.

No one knows where she is, Alpha. She’s vanished.”

My pulse roared in my ears.

The bond felt distant.

Too distant.

“Find her,” I barked, turning to my Beta. “Send scouts. Search the village, the forest, the roads. I want eyes everywhere.”

And then, almost to myself, I whispered…

“Selene…where did you go ?”