Esra
When we reached our border, the scent of the Darkwood forest entered my nostrils. The air here was refreshing, but not as refreshing as the air by the mountains. The Wind Winder Pack was a lovely pack with a wonderful view of almost all of Clythian. I wanted to visit other packs to see what they were like, too.
As we arrived at the pack house, Maristela was playing outside with Jackson. I was glad to see that she recovered so quickly. As soon as she saw me, she ran straight for me.
"I wondered where you had gone," she said.
I hugged her back. "It was just some pack business Alpha Zade and I had to sort out. I'm sorry for not telling you," I told her.
"It's okay," Maristela said.
She went and hugged Zade, who looked at me speechless. I held my laugh. Zade didn't know what to do. I wanted to tell him to hug her back through mind link, but I had to be marked to mind link him, and I wasn't officially Luna or a pack member yet.
But I guess I didn't need to mind link him because Zade hugged Maristela back, the stiffness of his body relaxing.
Zade was never good with kids, and I was glad Maristela liked him.
We all entered the pack house. Jackson informed us that the five men we sent to the Darkwood pack had arrived back safely, and with news. They waited patiently in Zade's office.
"Ah, Cortez. What news do you have for us?" Zade asked when we entered.
Cortez briefly explained everything. "The Alpha of the Darkwood Pack is Donovan Manchow. He knows Azrael. We managed to ask him a few questions. He said that Azrael accidentally killed the Alpha and had no interest in the pack, so he gave it to Donovan."
Cortez handed Zade a thin file. "Everything you need to know is in that file."
Zade scowled. The darkness danced across his face, reaching his eyes and intertwining with his black pupils.
"Was he friendly?" I asked, cutting through the tension.
"Very much," the guard replied.
Zade dismissed Cortez not long after a few more questions he'd asked.
"Donovan was the Beta of the pack," Zade mumbled as he read the file.
"So Azrael was friends with Donovan?" I asked.
"Seems like it," Zade said.
"What about the Silver Star Pack?" I asked.
"Not sure. It's too early for us to go there. It will raise too much suspicion."
"True," I said. "But we need to do something. We need to act quickly."
"If something goes wrong, this could start another war. You should leave it to the council, why are you getting involved?" Zade asked.
"Because..." Because there was something worth fighting for. I wanted to kill the person responsible for my parents' death. I wanted to prevent things from escalating further. If Maristela lost her family, how many others would lose theirs too? "Because it's the right thing to do."
"I've been through exactly what she's been through, only difference was that I was a baby and lived an abusive life with my aunt."
Zade's throat bobbed. He knew my parents died when I was young, but he didn't know what kind of life I had after that.
Zade came beside me, holding my shoulders and forcing me to look into his eyes. "We'll take care of her."
My heart skipped a beat. "Really?"
His fingers traced the bottom of my lips, sending shivers down my spine. "Yes."
Alphas always wanted sons so that they could take the Alpha title in the future generations. They never adopt. Which Alpha would?
Did Zade really care about her or was he just trying to win my heart back?
The only problem we had was convincing the elders in the council. They would object because Maristela was a himalayan wolf. The last thing they would want is to have a pack with mixed breeds.
But... the moon goddess paired a dire wolf with a tundra wolf. Maybe we were meant to show others that it was okay and that no one should be afraid of anyone. Maybe. Or maybe I was just imagining things.
"If the moon goddess paired us together, a dire wolf and tundra wolf, then it won't hurt to adopt a himalayan wolf," I told Zade. "What if this meant something?"
"Likely," Zade replied, glancing at the flower garden outside the window. I didn't remember that being there.
Zade saw me admiring it and said, "It's my mother's garden."
"Oh," I said, "Is she...?"
"The garden is a remembrance of her. Sometimes when I go out there, I catch a faint scent of her on the flowers or leaves. It's like they hold onto her scent," Zade explained, his eyes clouding over with memories.
"I'm sorry," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
She had been alive before I left. Even his father, but I didn't want to pry open any wounds and ask about his father.
Zade must have read my mind.
"My father is a coward through and through. He had let her die. Let her suffer. It's his fault," Zade said, his voice laced with anger.
Before I could say anything, he continued, "But the fact that I'm an alpha..."
He turned around and stared into my eyes.
"A dire wolf..."
He walked slowly towards me.
"And has a Luna that's a beautiful tundra wolf..." He whispered in my ears. It sent shivers up my spine, but I tried my best to ignore the feeling.
He grabbed my chin. "I promise to take care of you and Maristela."
Hearing that from him sent butterflies erupting in my stomach. I couldn't ignore the sparks igniting between us, but I grabbed enough confidence to pull away.
"I know."
___________
Later that day, Zade and I announced our decision at the council meeting. I was worried that the elders would object, but surprisingly they accepted. They didn't want a child and future alpha of the Silver Star Pack to become a rogue.
I asked the Omegas to prepare a room for Maristela. They obliged and decorated it with all her favourite things. I was happy she loved it. It warmed my heart.
Zade tried to keep an alpha face on, but deep down I knew it warmed his heart, too.
I decided to go to bed early. But before I could enter my room, Zade appeared from behind me. I faced him, not realising he was so close.
He had me pinned onto my door.
"Let me mark you." He begged. His head lowered down beside my neck. "Please."
I shuddered as his hot breath brushed against my skin. "Zade." I gasped when he licked my collarbone. Close to the spot where I'm supposed to be marked.
"Please." He pleaded.
I swallowed. "You're not thinking straight."
He ignored my words, and before I could easy anything else, his lips brushed against mine. His arm snaked around my waist and I found myself melting into his touch.
He deepened the kiss, biting my lower lip.
It was only then I managed to step out of my haze and push him away, shoving him out the door and locking it afterwards.
What did I just do?