Chapter 19: Rogues and Hunters

CONNOR

“Let’s check out the area by the river,” Elaine suggested, nodding in that direction.

We both moved quickly, darting along the river’s edge. It was late, and snow was already starting to fall. We needed to move fast to ensure no one was nearby.

As king and queen, it was our duty to patrol our borders with our warriors. But for us, being lycans made it more challenging, especially since Elaine didn’t want to be seen by the others just yet.

~“Do you feel that?”~ Elaine asked through our mind-link. I turned to look at the dense forest. Someone was nearby, but who?

~“We should split up,”~ I suggested, but Elaine growled in response.

~“Are you crazy? We can’t!”~ Elaine shot back.

I cursed under my breath, remembering the shackles on our wrists.

~“We haven’t tried it yet, have we?”~ I countered through the mind-link. ~“We haven’t tested if our wolves can be apart from each other.”~

I saw Elaine’s wolf, Ashina, staring back at me. There was something about her behavior that really got under my skin.

~“We did try, remember?”~ Elaine retorted. ~“At the river?”~

~“Let’s try again,”~ I insisted, making her grunt in annoyance.

We both stopped, looking at each other.

~“The presence is close. Once we’re near, we’ll surround it,”~ I instructed. Elaine nodded, and we both dashed off in opposite directions.

I sniffed the air, trying to pick up the scent of the intruder in our territory. As I hurried through the dense forest, I glanced at Elaine, who was moving around the area. What was she looking for?

Suddenly, I stopped, causing Elaine to stumble a few steps ahead.

~“Connor?”~ Elaine called, but I was focused on the faint scent coming from nearby.

~“Do you smell that?”~ I asked her.

~“It’s not one of our pack,”~ Elaine replied. ~“Could it be a rogue?”~

~“I hope not,”~ I responded, and we both sprinted eastward.

Our paws pounded the snowy ground as we raced down the path, heading straight for the intruder. The closer we got, the stronger the scent became.

I quickly mind-linked my beta, instructing him to have the warriors surround the pack.

~“Wait!”~ Elaine suddenly linked, causing me to stop abruptly.

~“What?”~ I snapped, irritated.

~“Look,”~ Elaine said, and I followed her gaze.

In the middle of an open field was a wolf. His brown and yellowish fur glowed under the moonlight. I growled a warning, but Elaine nudged me with her snout.

~“What the hell is your problem?”~ I snapped at Ashina, who growled and paced in front of me. ~“Elaine.”~

~“Calm down, Connor,”~ Elaine replied after a moment. ~“Look closer.”~

Confused, I looked past her and noticed the wolf whining. His body was on the ground and something else was with him. I tried to move closer, but Elaine blocked me.

~“Move, Elaine,”~ I warned, but she just looked at me. Her eyes were a mix of emotions. ~“Elaine!”~

I bared my teeth, frustrated with her, but Elaine shifted to face me.

“It’s a she-wolf,” Elaine said softly. “Can’t you see she just gave birth?”

I stepped back, taken aback by the news. Elaine turned away from me and approached the wolf.

“ELAINE!” I shouted, shifting, but she ignored me.

I stayed where I was, ready to shift if she attacked. Even though I knew Elaine wouldn’t let her guard down, I was still cautious as I approached her.

A rustling near the wolf made me move forward instinctively. My heart pounded in my chest as I watched the wolf growl at Elaine. I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Elaine,” I growled, causing the wolf on the ground to growl back at me.

“Connor, stop it!” Elaine said, raising her hand.

I watched as she crouched down and spoke softly to the wolf. I was puzzled by her actions. This wasn’t safe, or even right.

“Hunters?” Elaine suddenly exclaimed, catching my attention. I furrowed my brow and moved closer until I could see the whole scene.

Just as Elaine had said, the she-wolf had given birth to two little pups, both of them shivering on the cold ground.

“What’s going on?” I asked, shocked by the amount of blood staining the snow.

“The hunters, they tried to kill her,” Elaine explained. “She’s from the Lunaria Pack.”

“What?” I exclaimed, my eyes darting to her figure.

I quickly mind-linked the pack doctors and some warriors. If she had made it to our territory, it meant hunters were close by.

“Can you shift?” Elaine asked the wolf. The wolf whimpered and tried to stand, but fell back down. “I’ll carry the pups. Can you carry her?”

I raised an eyebrow at Elaine. Was she serious?

“Connor,” Elaine said, standing and pulling me aside. “Please, I’m begging you. Let’s help her!”

I studied Elaine’s face, which was filled with concern for the wolf and her pups.

“Please,” Elaine pleaded. I grumbled in frustration and nodded. She squeezed my hand in thanks and walked over to the wolf.

Elaine seemed to mind-link with her, explaining what we were going to do.

“Wait,” I stopped her. “Put something on.”

Elaine frowned, then, realizing she was naked, she quickly turned away. I sighed and walked over to a nearby tree where I could smell clothes from another pack member.

They belonged to someone in the pack, so I had no choice but to use them to keep everyone from seeing my mate naked.

I pulled out a shirt and handed it to Elaine, who shyly took it. I put on the only pair of denim shorts available and moved towards the she-wolf.

“Excuse me,” I said, lifting her up. My eyebrows rose in surprise as I saw the blood on her.

“She’s hurt, and it’s bad,” Elaine noted, her gaze fixed on the deep cut on her back. I slung her over my shoulder, waiting for Elaine to gather the pups. “We need to move fast.”

I nodded, heading toward the pack house. It wasn’t long before some of the pack doctors and warriors joined us.

“Take care of her injuries and check on the pups.”

“She just gave birth?” the pack doctor asked, shocked.

“Yes, and she’s hurt too.” I glanced at Elaine, who was directing the other doctors.

The doctors looked concerned, but I didn’t press for more information. My attention was on Elaine.

“Alpha!” My beta’s voice made me turn.

“I need your help,” I said quietly, pulling him aside. “I want that wolf secured, with warriors watching her, got it?”

My beta nodded, a puzzled look on his face, but he left without asking any questions.

I turned back to find Elaine. Her face was filled with worry. What was bothering her so much?

“Are you okay?” I asked, coming up behind her. Elaine had blood on her arms, and she was staring at it.

“Is that how you give birth?” Elaine suddenly asked. I looked over at the wolf being carried away.

All the wolves that carried pups would give birth in their wolf form. It was a whole different experience than what a human would go through.

I looked down at Elaine, who was shaking.

“Hey,” I said, trying to hold her hands, but she pulled away.

“Let’s go back,” Elaine said quietly, not looking back.

***

I closed the book I was holding and looked over at the bed where Elaine was sleeping. Her chest rose and fell gently. I lowered my gaze to her hands.

Elaine was clutching the blanket so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

I sighed and got up from the armchair. I moved closer, put the book on the nightstand, and sat next to her. Elaine turned away, her hair falling to the side, revealing the mating mark.

“Heat season,” I murmured. I reached out to touch her but stopped myself.

I knew Elaine hadn’t said anything since our parents mentioned that heat season was coming, but I could feel it. She was worried about the heat arriving soon.

Even though this was all an agreement, avoiding the heat season would be difficult.

The thought of it soured my mood. I had no plans of having a child with Elaine. I didn’t even love her enough to consider such things. We were just forced into this.

I looked at the shackle around my wrist. The faint white light it gave off felt cool against my skin.

But it was the complete opposite of comforting when we tried to separate from each other.

I didn’t understand why the Moon Goddess did this. It was unfair. What if my true mate was out there? What would happen if I found her while I was mated to someone else?

I clenched my fist and stood up from the bed. I looked out the window at the bright moon.

“What kind of punishment is this?” I muttered, feeling defeated.

My hand curled into a fist as I stared bitterly at the bright moon, and all I felt was anger. I despised the Moon Goddess for putting me in this situation.

I couldn’t let things continue as they were. We both wanted nothing to do with each other. We wanted our freedom.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my anger. The morning sun would rise soon, and a new day would begin.

I glanced over my shoulder at Elaine, who was softly snoring. I swallowed hard as my gaze fell on her lips, the same ones I’d kissed a few times.

All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind, making me upset. Shaking my head, I pinched the bridge of my nose and decided to finish my work before Elaine woke up.

I sat down and grabbed some important files that needed to be reviewed before the meeting. As I searched for a pen, I noticed a blue folder with a tag that read ~search~.

I leaned back in my seat, staring at it. It was the file I’d asked my men to compile. Everything about the Moon Goddess was in there.

Hopefully, there would be a clue about these shackles. I needed to find a way to free myself from all this and let Elaine go, or I would regret not doing so.