Chapter 26: The Relic Choice. Lucas POV

As though mocking my hesitancy, the item rested in the middle of the table, its surface lifeless and unforgiving. It had been days since the forest, when I stood motionless in the dark, watching Anna sob in the moonlight. I hadn't said anything to anyone. How could I? The weight of my realization dominated every thought and every breath.

Anna.

She had been identified by the artifact. Not a lurking opponent, not a rogue. She.

Both then and now, I was unsure of what to do.

I kept walking around my room, feeling as though the walls were getting smaller with every step. The gang continued as if nothing had happened outside. A harsh reminder of the normalcy I had lost was the faint echo of their laughter coming through my window.

Frustrated, my hands reached for my hair and began tugging. In my mind, I could still picture her face, smeared with tears. She posed no danger. She was unable to be.

The relic, however, was truthful.

I had found Anna thanks to the relic. To her dismay, to her suffering.

I balled my fists. I had a strong responsibility to keep the pack safe at all costs. However, how could I balance that obligation with the frail child I had observed?

The prophecy of the elders hovered over me like a thundercloud. “You must destroy the threat, which the relic will point you in the direction of.”

Get rid of her.

I put my head in my hands and sank into the chair by the table.

The second day passed in a fog of regret and uncertainty. My sleep was erratic at best, and I had no appetite. I always saw her when I closed my eyes, vulnerable, shattered, alone.

She poses no threat. Like a prayer, the thought reverberated. She cannot be.

However, I was unable to ignore the relic.

No error would be made by the Elders.

I made an effort to divert my attention on the third night. I repeatedly polished my blade till the metal shone in the low light. I should have gained clarity from the exercise, but instead, it made me feel even worse.

My tolerance with myself had run its course by the fourth morning.

“Enough,” I whispered out loud. Even I thought my voice sounded strange.

I sprayed my face with cold water in an attempt to relieve my fatigue. A stranger’s eyes were lifeless, his jaw clenched, and his shoulders drooped beneath an unseen burden as he stared back at me in the broken mirror.

Even though my voice faltered, I stated forcefully, “This ends today.”

With a blade strapped to my hip and a determined gait, I walked out of my quarters. The warmth of the high sun did little to relieve the chill in my chest.

I tried to concentrate as I made my way across the pack grounds. My thoughts reviewed the actions I would take and the things I would say.

Then I caught sight of her.

Anna was cleaning the main hall’s stone steps before me. She moved slowly and deliberately, as though it took a great deal of effort to brush the fabric. She had yet to see me.

My chest constricted.

This time, it was not guilt. It was something else, something instinctive, something primordial. A tug that caused my wolf to rouse uneasily.

My breath caught in my throat, and I froze. All around me, the sights and sounds appeared to fade into obscurity. She was all I could see.

With an energy I couldn’t comprehend, the air changed. My wolf charged ahead, tearing at the rims of my awareness.

Then I sensed it.

The connection.

It wasn’t instantaneous, like a bolt of lightning. The understanding crept slowly but surely into my bones. My chest began to feel heated, strange but unmistakable.

My mate was Anna.

I staggered back and almost ran into a pack member who was walking by.

They complained, “Watch it!” yet their voice hardly made an impression.

Everything else was drowned out by the boom of my heartbeat in my ears. I turned and hurried away, my steps shaky as though the earth had turned to sand.

This cannot be happening.

She had been selected by the Moon Goddess.

That truth was like a mountain pressing down on me. Anna was more than simply the forest girl. She was not only the target of the relic. I had her.

My chest heaved as I fell back into the chair in my quarters. A bitter reminder of the mission I was no longer able to accomplish, the relic remained on the table, lifeless and motionless.

I tried to calm the fury inside of me by running a hand through my hair. Torn between the responsibility to the pack and the need to protect her, my wolf let out a frustrated howl.

“How?” I muttered to the empty room. “How is this even possible?”

She was my mate, chosen by the Moon Goddess. She was also identified as a threat by the relic.

I was reeling from the dramatic clash of the two truths in my consciousness.

I could feel the weight of the blade on my hip.

I could no longer remain confined. My mind was oppressive, descending into gloomy regions I didn’t want to explore. I needed answers, but this chamber would not provide them.

When night fell, I was determined to face Anna.

The stars were softly glittering when I stepped outside into the chilly evening air. Before I could reconsider, my feet dragged me to her apartments. I felt the bond tugging at me, pushing me forward.

Long shadows were cast across the path by the moonlight, adding an uncanny quality to the familiar area. With every stride I took, my heart grew heavier.

When I got to her door, I stopped, my hand hovering a few inches from knocking. Now the pull was too great, more powerful than any force I had ever experienced.

And then I heard it, like a whisper on the wind.

It’s her.

Even though the voice was kind, it pierced me like a blade.

You’re doomed.

The words made my spine tingle. My breath caught in my throat as I stumbled back.

“No,” I said in a whisper while shaking my head. “That isn’t possible.”

But there was no denying the reality.

The same conclusion was suggested by the warmth in my chest and the fact that my wolf had recognized her before I did.

My mate was Anna.

The weight of the knowledge stunned me as I stood there.

The decision made by the Moon Goddess felt both fortunate and unlucky.

Given that she was identified as the pack’s worst threat, how could I keep her safe?