Chapter: twenty

Aylin sucked in a breath, her eyes darting around the unfamiliar woods. The silence was deafening. No city sounds, no hum of passing cars.

“Where the hell am I?”

“You’re in the place where I first saw her,” a voice echoed.

She spun around, her heart pounding as she faced the demon who’d been tormenting her. “Stay away from me!”

“I said I would show you. I think it’s time you understood.”

His sudden change in tone threw Aylin off balance. She couldn’t figure out why he was acting this way, but she wasn’t about to drop her guard around this dangerous higher demon.

With a snap of his fingers, Zagan vanished.

Voices drifted from behind her, and Aylin turned to watch the unfolding scene.

Zagan looked much younger, strikingly different from his current appearance. His hair was a golden brown, his eyes a deep ocean blue.

His body was different too, more muscular, yet still slender. He was as attractive as Ezekiel.

Her gaze shifted to her mother. She looked different too. Her hair was golden blonde instead of auburn, her eyes green instead of hazel brown.

Her appearance was disheveled, dirt smeared on her face and under her nails.

Aylin remembered that her mother wasn’t an original member of the Dark Moon Pack, but had been brought in.

What really threw her off was their clothing. It was old, centuries old. Another piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit.

Suddenly, as if pushed by an unseen force, Aylin found herself in a different time.

Her mother was walking away from Zagan, who was on his knees pleading. “I thought you loved me,” he sobbed.

She paused, turning back to him. “I’m sorry. I don’t love you anymore. I’m not your true mate.”

“But, my blood—”

“I have to leave. Goodbye, Zagan.”

Time shifted again.

Aylin followed her mother through a familiar town. She rounded a corner and there was the iconic diner that everyone in the Dark Moon Pack frequented. “Holy shit.”

As her mother entered the diner, Aylin caught her father’s scent. Unseen, her father walked right through her like a ghost.

He was with other warriors from the pack, and she recognized the small scar above his left eye. He too entered the diner, and Aylin watched the exchange from a distance.

Their eyes met, and her mother bolted from the diner with her father hot on her heels.

“Wait!” he called, chasing her down the street. But no matter what he said, she wouldn’t stop. Eventually, he gave up, watching her disappear into the distance. “Mate,” he whispered.

Another shift in time sent Aylin to her knees, clutching her head. “When does this end?”

She found herself back in the woods, by a clear pond where her mother was bathing in the sunlight.

A rustle in the bushes startled her mother, and she came face-to-face with a large gray-and-white wolf. Her eyes widened as she tried to back away slowly.

The wolf leapt into the water and didn’t resurface. Confused, her mother scanned the still water, worried.

Suddenly, he popped his head up from the water, startling her.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“You know what I want.” His voice was deadly serious, but his eyes held warmth.

Another rustle in the bushes caught Aylin’s attention. She squinted and saw a figure. She moved closer. It was Zagan.

Tears streamed down his face as he watched the interaction between the two mates. His sadness quickly morphed into anger and resentment. “I’ll make you pay.”

Another leap forward in time made Aylin fall to her knees, clutching her head. “This is too much! Get to the point!” she screamed into the void.

The final shift brought her to the day of the attack, a memory still fresh in her mind. It became even more vivid as she relived it.

People were running, screaming. Children cried next to their dead parents. Warriors shifted, trying to slow down the onslaught of demons.

Across the field, she saw her mother and her younger self talking.

As the younger Aylin ran towards the woods, her mother watched her retreating back, tears streaming down her face. She begged for forgiveness, repeating “I’m sorry” over and over.

Her mother ran in a different direction, and her father yelled for her to wait, but she didn’t stop. Aylin followed her to the same pond where she’d seen her father again.

“I knew you’d come for me.”

An evil chuckle echoed from behind her. “Oh, did you now?” Zagan walked through Aylin and faced her mother. “I suppose this is your punishment.”

“What happened to you, Zagan?”

He clenched his jaw, brushing off her question. “Not that it matters to you, but I told you not to leave me. And then you go and mate with a werewolf! I saved your life, and this is the thanks I get.”

“Saved my life?! You forced me to stay with you!”

“Forced? ~Forced~?!” In a flash, he had his hand around her throat. “You loved me, and you deny it now? As payment, I’m going to take something you love.”

Her mother clawed at his hand. She knew what the demon meant. “You... you can’t have her,” she gasped.

He pulled something from his pocket and showed her. Whatever it was, Aylin couldn’t see it.

“Actually, I can.” With those final words, he plunged his hand into her mother’s chest, ripping out her heart.

Aylin screamed at the sight as he walked past her, tears in his eyes.

She woke with a start, back in the library. The rising sun cast an orange glow on the room.

She buried her face in her hands, struggling to process what she’d just seen. The pieces weren’t fitting together like she’d hoped. Instead, they were just becoming a bigger, more confusing mess.

A thunderous growl echoed through the halls, making her heart pound. “Oh no,” she muttered, recognizing that voice instantly.

She bolted from the library, the sound of raised voices guiding her towards their bedroom.

“Where the hell is she?!”

A wolf was kneeling before the king, his body shaking with fear. “Y-Your Majesty, I swear I didn’t leave my post.”

“Then why isn’t she where I left her?!” Ezekiel’s veins bulged, his muscles straining with tension.

“Enough!” Aylin’s voice echoed down the corridor.

Every head turned towards her. The kneeling warrior’s face flooded with relief.

Ezekiel’s fists remained clenched as Aylin chose her words carefully. “Let him go. He’s not at fault.”

Ezekiel’s gaze shifted to the others. “Leave us,” he commanded.

The wolves scattered.

Ezekiel flung open the door to their room and then slammed it shut. “You have three seconds to explain why you left this room when there’s a demon out there who wants you dead.”

“Zeke, I…”

Her voice cracked, and Ezekiel’s anger melted into worry. She buried her face in her hands, and he could feel her fear through their shared link.

His anger forgotten, he moved in front of her, lifting her chin. “What happened?”

“I saw things.” Her voice was a whisper, choked with tears.

Ezekiel didn’t press her. Instead, he pulled her into his arms, sharing his warmth. “You’re safe with me, baby. Nothing’s going to hurt you.”

“Please don’t leave me,” she sobbed.

Ezekiel backed into a chair, holding her closer, trying to soothe her.

Her tears fell onto his skin, burning him. He was too scared to ask what she had seen.

He was angry at himself for not being more vigilant. If he had been, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

Slowly, her sobs subsided. Looking down at her, Ezekiel brushed her hair aside to see Aylin sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Regret washed over him as he ran his fingers through her hair. He sighed, resting his forehead against hers.

“Are you still with Aylin?” Quill’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Yes, she’s asleep. What’s up?”

“We found the demon’s body.”

“Did you capture it?”

“No need. It’s headless.”

“Call everyone back. I don’t want anyone left in the woods.”

After ending the link, Ezekiel huffed in frustration. He couldn’t make sense of the demon’s actions.

He had fought demons before. They were usually chaotic, unpredictable.

But this demon was different. It was taunting the queen, leaving a body out in the open. What was it after?

The answers seemed to be getting more elusive.

Ezekiel remembered the lower demon mentioning Aylin’s mother. But she was supposed to be dead. Then, a thought struck him.

“Quill, when you get back, I need you to bring me the folder Morris gave us.”

“Sure. What for?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Aylin stirred in his lap, and Ezekiel looked down at his mate. Her small hands were clutching his shirt, holding on as if he might vanish.

But her face was peaceful, unlike other times when her eyes would dart around, and sweat would bead on her forehead.

He realized he had taken his calming powers for granted. He calmed her as much as she calmed him.

A soft knock pulled him from his thoughts. “Zeke?”

“Come in.”

Quill entered, folder in hand, and took a seat across from Ezekiel. “So, why did you want this?”

“Remember when we were at Dark Moon, and the demon mentioned Aylin’s mother?”

He nodded. “Yeah, he said her mother might still be alive. What about it?”

“As I look at these photos, I don’t see her mother. But her father is in several of them.

“And look at his injuries. They’re much worse than the others.”

“Demons, Zeke. They’re reckless,” Quill replied, shrugging.

“Look closer. Compare his injuries to the others. They’re not the same.”

“You mean someone was angry and took it out on him?”

“Exactly!” Ezekiel pointed at the picture.

Quill flipped through the photos, pausing on one. “I bet you missed this. I know I did.”

“What?”

Quill turned the photo around, pointing to a young girl crying next to two bodies. “Isn’t that the luna of the Dark Moon Pack? And what’s that black mist next to her?”

Ezekiel snatched the photo, examining it closely. “Son of a bitch,” he growled. “Get him on the phone, now.”

“What should I tell him?”

“Just say it’s urgent.”

Quill nodded and hurried off.

Ezekiel lifted Aylin in his arms and laid her on the bed. He wanted her to rest a bit longer.

Watching her chest rise and fall, a smile tugged at his lips. His life hadn’t turned out the way he’d planned, but he didn’t regret a single moment.

He’d wasted years in hatred, wrapped in a blanket of ignorance, never giving anything a chance.

He’d used his body with someone who never appreciated him, only wanting him for his status.

No one had been able to break through the iron wall around his heart. Not even his own flesh and blood.

Yet here she was, asleep beside him. The lost woman from the woods who had done what no one else had dared.

“Thanks,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She snuggled in closer, and he chuckled softly. His heart felt full.

~“Zeke, Morris is on his way. And there’s something else.”~ Quill’s voice was strained, like he didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news.

~“What’s up?”~

~“He’s bringing his luna.”~

~“Hmm. Good. We can fill him in on everything we’ve found out. Make him face the consequences of his actions against the queen.”~

~“Why would he?”~

~“Don’t worry. When they get here, everything will come out. For now, the queen needs to rest.”~

~***~

Daemon hung up the phone with the delta from the Royal Outland Silver Blood Pack, a knot of unease in his stomach. There was something about the guy’s tone that suggested there was more to the story than he was letting on.

He sat in his office, staring out the window, wondering what could be so urgent. The thought of traveling that far and seeing his first mate again was heavy on his mind.

“David.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Get ready to go. Bring half of our warriors. Leave the rest here.”

“Where are we headed?”

“The Royal Outland Silver Blood Pack.”

“But—”

“I know, but Delta Quill called and said it was urgent. Just get things ready. I’m going to tell the luna.”

He cut the connection. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

Something deep inside was nagging at him to dig deeper with the delta, but he knew better. That pack was notoriously secretive. Secrets were their currency.

Heading upstairs, he could smell his luna in their room. Honestly, he didn’t really like her. But, he had to choose someone for the good of the pack.

Seeing Aylin again had stirred up all the guilt he’d been carrying, and he hadn’t been able to sleep with Ophelia since then.

Walking into the room, he noticed the shower was running. He took a deep breath, wondering how he was going to break the news to her.

His luna hadn’t taken it well the first time his rejected mate came back. Now they were going to be in the territory where even a minor slip-up could mean her death.

Lost in thought, Daemon didn’t notice his luna had wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Daemon?”

He gently unwound her arms and went to sit on the window ledge, facing her. As usual, she was wearing a barely-there negligee.

“We have to leave in the morning for the Royal Outland Silver Blood Pack.”

“Wha— Why? They’re monsters in that pack!”

“I got a call. There’s urgent business the alpha needs to discuss. He might be the Rogue King, but I still have to listen.”

Ophelia’s face twisted in anger. “You just want to see her, don’t you?! Ever since she came here with that beast, you haven’t even looked at me!”

“No,” he shouted back, standing up. “That’s not what this is about! It’s my duty as an alpha to help when others need it! Aylin being there has nothing to do with it!”

“I am your mate! I am your luna! And all you can think about is some pathetic wolf who ruined this pack!”

Not wanting to keep arguing, he shook his head. “I’m not doing this with you, Ophelia. I’ll sleep on the couch tonight. We leave in the morning, and you will be ready.”

He used his alpha tone, and she flinched slightly. “End. Of. Discussion.”

Grabbing a blanket off the bed, Daemon headed back downstairs to the living room and flopped onto the couch.

Closing his eyes, he thought back to when Aylin was in the pack, always keeping to herself, treated poorly, living alone in the house her parents left behind.

As the alpha of the pack, it was his job to make sure everyone felt like they belonged. He had no one to blame but himself for her mistreatment, which led to her running away.

But a small part of him was glad that she found someone who could love her when he failed to see what an amazing mate she could have been.

He had wanted to go after her when she went rogue but was talked out of it.

As he lay there, a sense of foreboding washed over him. He snapped his eyes open, but there was no one there. No distinct smells. Nothing.

Then the feeling was suddenly gone.