Chapter 17: Reunion

Unlike the bustling, joyful scene at the clearing in front of the pack house, the prison of the Blood Moon pack was dark, oppressive, and bitterly cold. Cara curled up in a corner, using a pile of straw to cover herself, hoping it could offer some warmth. Her eyes were filled with nothing but confusion, helplessness, and sorrow.

As the daughter of Alpha Genaro, she was locked in a separate cell instead of being crammed in with the warriors and civilians of the Dark Eclipse pack. She wasn’t sure whether to feel lucky or pitiful about this treatment. Technically, she was Genaro’s daughter, but since arriving in their territory, she hadn’t received a single privilege. On the contrary, she had been imprisoned like a criminal, stripped of her freedom, her rights, and her hope of ever finding her mate again.

The Dark Eclipse pack had fallen. Alpha Genaro was dead. His son, his mate, and all the loyal warriors who once followed him had been killed by the enemy. Only Cara remained alive, simply because, unlike those strong, defiant wolves, she didn’t fight back, didn’t resist, and posed no threat.

Truthfully, Cara felt a deep sense of satisfaction at their deaths. But more than that, she regretted not escaping in time. Now she was still a prisoner, the only difference was that her captors had changed from the Dark Eclipse pack to the Blood Moon pack. Freedom was something far beyond her reach, and worse, her very life now hung by a thread.

In her darkest moment, she turned to the one place she could still find comfort: the happiest memories of her time with Gray Wolf. His gentle care, his warm embraces, his passionate kisses, and the nights of burning intimacy became a refreshing stream that soothed her dried-up soul.

As the memories drifted through her mind, image after image of tender moments with her mate, her heart trembled with emotion. A soft smile played on her lips, while tears quietly gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Perhaps she had loved Gray Wolf too deeply, so much that just thinking of him was enough to make her heart flutter uncontrollably. Those memories stirred her so much, it felt like their mate bond still existed, untouched and unbroken. She could even smell his scent lingering faintly in the air, that familiar, masculine mix of pine and wood that had once completely captivated her.

Cara closed her eyes, letting herself sink into the beautiful dream. But suddenly, her eyes snapped open. No, this wasn’t just a fantasy. She could truly smell her mate’s scent, and even their bond had reawakened. Gray Wolf was near, very near.

Cara jumped to her feet, ran to the iron bars of the cell, and gripped them tightly, shaking them with all her might. She could feel her mate, he was close. She had to get out, had to chase after that scent. Her eyes were shining with a fierce light, and a low growl rumbled from her throat, born from sheer excitement.

The torches lining the prison corridor flickered dimly in the darkness. Raven’s steel-toed leather boots, etched with intricate patterns, stepped slowly across the stone floor. The clack of each step echoed loudly, sounding especially sharp in the heavy silence of the place.

“Because she’s Genaro’s daughter, I ordered her to be kept in a separate cell, away from the other prisoners,” Draken explained as he led the way.

Raven glanced around, then the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.

“The death row wing, huh? You made the right call.”

That she-wolf would soon die beneath his blade, there was no place more fitting than this.

But then, Raven’s slow, steady footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

A strange yet unmistakably familiar sensation surged through him, wrapping around his mind and body like invisible threads. A sweet, fresh scent lingered at the tip of his nose, deadly alluring. In that instant, Raven felt a wild, unexplainable urge, he would die to protect the one who carried that scent.

This bond...

Draken, noticing the shift in Raven’s expression, asked cautiously,

“Alpha, is something wrong?”

Raven narrowed his eyes, a sudden sense of unease rising in his chest.

“Keep going,” he said, shaking his head and trying to maintain a calm, commanding tone.

Before long, they reached the innermost cell of the death row wing. Behind the iron bars stood a small figure, clutching the door, her pale gray-blue eyes flickering in the darkness.

It was Cara, the one driven nearly mad by the familiar scent and bond of her mate, desperate enough to want to tear through the bars with her own teeth just to reach him.

As the scent grew stronger and the sound of approaching footsteps became clearer, she slowly calmed down. She stopped moving, lifted her gaze, and stared out through the bars, waiting, hoping to see the one she longed for.

The moment their eyes met, the bond that had always existed between them flared to life, stronger and clearer than ever.

“This is Genaro’s daughter, Alpha,” Draken announced.

The confirmation hit Raven like a blow to the chest, flooding him with confusion and fury.

The she-wolf standing before him was the daughter of the man who had murdered his father, his sworn enemy.

And yet… she was also his fated mate, chosen for him by the Moon Goddess.

Was this not the cruelest joke fate could play?

In stark contrast to Raven’s storm of emotions, Cara felt nothing but overwhelming, almost delirious joy. Her mate, the one who had vanished for over two years, had finally returned.

The years of searching and waiting in hopelessness had finally come to an end. All the suffering, all the injustices she had endured - now, upon seeing the one person she could truly rely on - they rushed to the surface, turning into heavy tears that streamed down her face.

“Mate… Mate…” she choked out, sobbing the first words she’d spoken after two long years of imprisonment.

Raven didn’t understand why, but the sight of her tears made his heart tighten painfully, as if each drop was boiling oil searing his very soul.

“Open the door,” he ordered.

Draken obeyed immediately, stepping forward to unlock the cell.

Like a bird escaping its cage, Cara rushed forward, desperate to throw herself into her mate’s arms. But just as she reached out, her movements halted, stopped by the cold, gleaming tip of a sword pointed straight at her.

In the next instant, fresh blood bloomed across her delicate chest.

Cara froze. She looked down at the blade stabbing her, then lifted her eyes to meet her mate’s. Her gaze filled with disbelief, confusion, and heartbreak.

***

Author:

They’ve only just reunited, and already blood has been shed.

Do you think what awaits them ahead will be storms and turmoil, or peace and calm?