The Alpha Without a Mate

Chapter 2 – The Alpha Without a Mate

Killan’s POV

“The Luna has disappeared!”

Those words still echo in my head whenever I think about the night my Luna disappeared. I wish I had chased after her that night when she left in anger.

I thought she needed time to calm down, that we could talk about it later. But if only I had known that was the last time I would ever set my eyes on her.

It has been five years since Alora disappeared.

My mate.

The only woman who ever made me understand what true love meant.

She was also the only woman who ever broke my heart.

I have never felt so heartbroken the way I felt that night.

How I waited all night for her to return after our fight.

The prophecy wasn’t my biggest fear.

Losing Alora was.

And when it finally dawned on me that I had lost her…

A part of me died.

Yet, every year on our mating anniversary, I waited patiently, hoping and praying that a miracle would happen—that she would suddenly come back to me.

But it never happened.

And here I was, on another mating anniversary, staring at her portrait.

Her delicate smile and her eyes had always been my favorite features.

“Five years, Alora.” I brushed my fingers over the portrait. “Five years, and I still don’t know whether to hate you… or spend the rest of my life searching for you.”

It was one of my favorite paintings of her. I had made sure to hire the best artist to paint it.

“Killan, what are you doing here? The council has gathered, and we’re awaiting your presence.”

Xavier, the Pack Beta, spoke as he walked in.

He knew exactly where to find me.

Since Alora disappeared, I had stopped sleeping in the room we once shared. For the first few days after she disappeared, I tried to, but I just couldn’t.

Our last memories together still haunted me to this day.

The way she screamed and begged me to protect our baby…

And yet I couldn’t.

“Do you think I did the right thing that night?”

I turned to Xavier, who must already have been tired of hearing the same question every one of our anniversaries.

“Killan, you did what you had to do. It was your duty, and hers, to protect this Pack, and you played your part. You did the right thing.”

That was the answer Xavier always gave me.

“Do you think the seers’ vision was true?… That she—”

I couldn’t say it.

After months of searching everywhere for Alora, her mother and I sought the help of the seers.

They had a vision…That she had taken her own life.

I couldn’t believe it.

It wasn’t possible.

I couldn’t believe it because I could still feel her presence.

Alora was still alive.

I just hadn’t found her yet.

“I think she is dead. Her mother was so sick she was at death’s door, and she still didn’t show up. The Alora we both know would never leave her mother to suffer.”

He was right.

Alora never would.

“So what’s this feeling I always get… like she’s here with me?” I asked, turning to Xavier.

He stood up and walked closer.

“Maybe it’s because you’ve refused to move on. How about finding a new mate, for instance?”

He paused.

“You have been without a Luna for five years. Do you really think she’s going to return? Is that why you’ve decided not to take another woman as your mate?”

“That’s enough!”

“I am not just your Beta. I am also your friend, your adviser. You cannot continue to live like this.”

“You need an heir.”

“Your first child has already fulfilled the prophecy, and now you can have another. It is important to act fast before the council begins discussing your impeachment.”

“You have mourned her long enough.”

“And yes…”

“I think she is dead.”

“It’s time you accepted that too.”

At the mention of the prophecy, I felt a fresh wave of regret.

Surely there had been something I could have done to make her stay.

But I had done what was required of me…As Alpha even though it cost me the woman I loved.

“Alora is not dead.”

I looked him straight in the eyes.

“I will find her, and I will bring her back to this Pack as my Luna.”

Xavier took a deep breath.

“And why do you think she’s going to come back with you? We planned to kill her baby."

He sighed

“If she truly is alive, then she will be very far away from any of us…from where you cannot hurt her or her child.”

“You say that as though the child wasn't also mine…” I frowned

“Killan…”

He sighed.

“Take my advice and search for another mate,you cannot remain the Alpha without a Luna. Do you want your legacy to die with you?”

It was at that moment, after five years of Alora’s disappearance, that the thought crossed my mind for the very first time.

The thought of finding another mate.

If one woman had left me broken…

Maybe another could fix me.