Mating Bond Problems

Anthony

“Alpha Anthony! You need to wake up! It’s a mess out here!”

I was jolted awake by a panicked sentry who burst into my tent at the edge of Fort Vulpes, panting heavily.

“What’s happening?”

“Almost half the pack, sir… I think…they’ve lost their minds?”

“Lost their minds?” I echoed. “What are you talking about?”

The sentry stuttered, struggling to find the right words.

“I… I…don’t know how… But they’re all attacking each other? With such brutality…”

I groaned.

~Infighting.~

In my experience, it was typical for disheartened armies to behave this way.

Usually, it sorted itself out.

The strong would kill the weak, and then everything would return to normal.

“Let them sort out their own petty fights,” I said, dismissing the sentry. “But I need some sleep. You can deal with them if you want.”

As I settled back into my cot, I heard a sleepy voice ask, “Anthony, what’s wrong?”

I glanced over my shoulder to see my mate Melanie, awakened by the commotion.

“Don’t worry, Mel. Just a jittery sentry.”

“Sir,” the sentry interrupted again, “this isn’t just men fighting men. It’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” I growled. “Just say it.”

“It’s all mates, sir,” he said nervously, “mates fighting against each other.”

~Mates against mates? This guy must be shell-shocked or something.~

I scoffed and threw off my blankets.

“You must be seeing things,” I told the sentry as I got up from my cot and walked over to the tent flap.

I poked my head outside. What I saw made my jaw drop.

The ground was covered with bodies.

Bodies of my subordinates.

Half of my remaining soldiers or more.

~Dead.~

Men and women alike lay with their throats torn open, bleeding out.

Among the carnage stood a few lone wolves, not looking at each other.

Their eyes were glazed over, as if they were in some trance, unaffected by the corpses at their feet or the blood dripping from their claws.

“What have these bloodthirsty fools done?” I exclaimed as I quickly pulled my head back into the tent. Our numbers were already dwindling! And they’ve wiped out half or more of their own ranks!”

“They didn’t seem to be in their right minds, Alpha,” the sentry said.

“One moment, everything was normal. Everyone was heading to their tents for the night. Then the next, all of the mated pairs in the pack turned and started killing each other!”

“Stop with that nonsense!” I yelled.

There was no way that was what had happened.

Mates just don’t kill each other.

They might have a little tooth and claw fight when they’re really mad at each other, but they won’t kill each other. It’s said that the murder of one’s own mate carries a pain so great it drives a person to suicide.

~Besides, if that were the case, wouldn’t Melanie and I be fighting?~

I turned back to see my mate, resting peacefully on her cot.

Or…was it my mate?

~My damn eyesight must be going.~

I strained my eyes, squinting at the woman in the cot.

She looked like my mate. But…now it didn’t feel like her.

It was as though she’d been replaced by a stranger. A stranger whose beauty I could no longer appreciate.

~What the hell happened?~

My mind raced as it tried to find an answer.

But it only kept coming back to one, harsh fact.

This woman in my bed wasn’t my mate.

She was an imposter!

~This must be some cruel trick by my enemies.~

~How are they doing this?~

~They’re trying to drive me mad! But I’ll show them! I’ll show them that they can’t get to me!~

I bared my teeth and stomped over to the cot where Melanie’s imposter lay.

“Sir… What’s wrong? What are you doing?” the sentry asked nervously.

“Shut up and get out of here!” I demanded. “I have business to take care of.”

I heard the cowardly watchman whimper as he ran out of the tent.

Now it was just me and this imposter.

I threw the covers off of her and opened my jaw, ready to sink my fangs into her delicate neck.

But all of a sudden, the woman rolled off the bed, kicked my shin and sent me to the ground.

She quickly jumped up from the ground and pounced on me, pinning me down.

With a crazed look, she growled in my face.

Her eyes burned with blind rage.

No matter how I tried to wrestle her off of me, she was unmovable.

“What have you done with my mate?” she growled.

~What sort of trickery is this?~

“I don’t know about your mate,” I grunted. “But if you want to leave this tent alive, you’ll tell me what you’ve done with mine!”

With a loud, malicious snarl, she opened her jaw and sank her teeth into my neck.

I tried to scream, but no sound came.

Darkness closed in on me.

My senses faded.

But I didn’t care.

All I could think of was Melanie.

~Where is my mate?~

Zara

A violent scream echoed from the parlor.

Alex, Harper, and I exchanged panicked looks as we sat around the dining room table.

We jumped up and ran toward the doorway.

“Quinn, what the hell are you doing?” Sky’s voice echoed through the corridors of Pack House.

We entered the parlor to see Sky lying on the floor, streaks of blood on her cheek.

Harper’s eyes widened with worry, and she ran over to help Sky up from the floor.

“What on earth happened?” she asked, helping Sky to her feet.

Sky just shook her head, too shaken to speak.

She lifted her trembling arm and pointed up the stairs.

We all followed her gaze.

At first, I saw nothing.

Alex and I exchanged puzzled looks.

Then, two gleaming eyes appeared between the broken balustrades.

A low, menacing growl echoed along with the wild gleam in the eyes.

“What in the world is that?” Alex asked.

“Quinn,” Sky said, her voice heavy.

“What?” I blurted out in disbelief.

“What are you all gawking at?” a sharp voice, laced with malice, echoed from upstairs.

It sounded like Quinn, but it was darker, more suspicious, unlike anything I’d heard from her before.

“Quinn,” Harper called out, “what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” she laughed, the sound chilling. “As if you traitorous dogs didn’t know?”

Her voice was thick with anger.

We all exchanged confused glances, but no one had any idea what she was talking about.

“Quinn,” Alex said, his voice steady, “it’s just us. Your friends. If someone’s hurt you, tell us. We’ll find them together.”

“Did someone hurt her, Sky?” I whispered.

Sky shook her head.

“One minute she was fine. The next, she was like this,” she said.

“Like this?” Quinn’s voice echoed from the shadows. “You dare to say I’ve lost it, when you’re the ones who’ve stooped so low?”

“Low?” I asked. “What are you talking about, Quinn? We’re your friends.”

“Friends?” she yelled. “Friends don’t tear mates apart. They don’t drive wedges between those destined to be together. Because of my ~friends,~ my mate is gone, vanished without a trace.

“Quinn, we didn’t have anything to do with Jax leaving,” I reminded her.

“That was Matheius, remember?” Harper added.

“Ha! Our god Matheius is too kind! Too good to cause such pain. Only backstabbing scum like you could do such evil.”

“Matheius? Kind?” I wondered.

“This must be some trick of his,” Alex said. “She’s the only threat to his power. He’s trying to make sure she doesn’t get anywhere near his throne.”

“You think you’ve won, don’t you?” she cried. “That you’ve broken me? Well, I’ll show you! You won’t beat me!”

Quinn sprang from the shadows onto the banister.

We all gasped. She was going to jump!

Before any of us could react, she bent her knees and leapt into the air.

I watched in horror as my friend began to fall.

But before she cleared the railing, two arms reached out and wrapped around her.

“Let me go, you jerk!” she screamed as the arms pulled her back over the railing, kicking and screaming.

Once Quinn’s feet were back on the floor, another pair of arms shot out of the darkness and pinned Quinn’s arms behind her back.

When Quinn was securely held, the two shadowy figures stepped into the light.

It was Theodore and Isabelle.

“What the hell is happening?” Theodore yelled.

“Matheius has gotten to her,” Alex said, his voice heavy. “He’s convinced her that we’re the ones who took Jax from her.”

The twins exchanged a worried look. Like us, they hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly.

“You need to find her mother,” another voice called from behind.

We all turned to see Selena, standing under the Pack House archway.

“I’ve seen this kind of trick before,” she said.

“It can be undone by triggering the subconscious memory. Since Quinn’s mother has known her longer than anyone, you’ll need to find her. Plus, she’s fully human, so she hasn’t been affected by Matheius’ presence in Astria.”

“I’ll go.” Alex stepped forward, his loose clothes hanging off his thin frame.

“You’re not in any condition to go anywhere alone.”

“Maybe...you’ll come with me, then,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips.

I returned his smile and nodded.

“Alright,” said Selena. “You’d better hurry before Matheius catches on. The consequences could be severe. But it’s a risk worth taking.”

Alex and I exchanged a look of urgency.

“We’d better get moving,” I said.