My Eternal Mate
Chapter Eight

What was ten minutes seemed like an actual hour. No matter how much we walked, we just seemed like we were never reaching our destination.

The further we walked in to the woods, the more my breath got caught in my throat. I pondered on mind-linking Alexander, to fill him in on what I was currently doing only for him to tell me how absurd it was.

But all those thoughts emptied from my brain as we approached the part of the woods where the younger pups were currently play fighting.

My eyes scanned over every one of them, there were about five female pups and eight male pups. Three of the male pups had blond hair, and definitely did not look like Alexander. Out of the remaining five male pups, three had auburn hair, again not resembling Alexander.

Before I could search the remaining two male pups, they sprinted away, play fighting. From their scent, I knew they were from my pack. Both had dark hair but I couldn't see what they looked like.

"Where is the pup?" I asked Jaxon, my eyes searching the area in case we had missed the pup in query.

Jaxon grunted, before he cleared his throat. "Oi!" he bellowed, his loud voice echoed in the woods.

My eyes scanned the now frightened pups apologetically, as I eyed their shakiness. The girls must have immediately known who I was because they gasped, eyes widened and bowed slightly. My heart sank, they were mere pups, hardly above the age of ten.

The two sprinting pups were now back with the group, and I finally caught a glimpse of their appearance. But again, neither of them looked like my mate. The pair had dark hair, with green and brown eyes respectively.

Waving at them to not scare them, I clenched my teeth together as I muttered to Jaxon, "Are you messing with me right now, Jax?"

Jaxon didn't respond to me, his eyes scanned the area narrowly. He must have found the treasure he was looking for because his brows twitched.

Nodding towards where his gaze had been, he said, "That one."

Frowning, I turned my head in the direction of his gaze. In the distance, two pups were play fighting. One was a girl with short brown hair, and the other was a boy, with dark brown hair.

I still thought Jaxon was being absurd, since I couldn't see the male pup's face. But in that moment, I honestly wondered why I was bothering with this in the first place. I was a Luna, this wasn't what I should have spent my free time on. I decided to visit the orphanage later to make sure that I hadn't just wasted the day.

Except, when the little pup turned around and I finally saw him, I gasped, lowly. My legs felt weak, and I stumbled back slightly, falling in to Ava.

The boy in query, the pup that Jaxon had told me about, did in fact look exactly like Alexander. There was no doubt in that. My wolf snarled loudly, but I was confused.

My heart was beating loud in my chest, my brows furrowing as I glanced at the little pup in the distance. He was an innocent pup, but I couldn't help when anger built up inside of me.

"Call Jenna," I ordered Jaxon through gritted teeth, my voice filled with authority.

"Jenna? The orphanage carer?" Jaxon asked, confused.

"What other Jenna do you know?" I spat, my voice filled with venom.

"Jheez, no need to get nasty," Jaxon interjected, before he scurried away.

Ava wrapped her arm around me, brushing her hand up and down my arm. "Hey," she whispered. "I don't know what's going on but we can kill him together if you want."

I raised a brow at her. "I'm not killing the pup, Ave."

Ava frowned. "God forbid, Lyra. What kind of a person do you think I am?" she said, pretending to be offended. "I was referring to that handsome mate of yours."

Ignoring her, I turned my head to glance at the pup in the distance. The resemblance was uncanny. The little pup had dark brown hair, with pale skin and even from a distance, I had a perfect view of his ocean blue pearled eyes.

Before I could speculate or jump to conclusions, Jenna, the carer at the orphanage approached me. At the same time, I pulled away from Ava and stood strong.

"Luna," the blond haired middle aged woman said, respectively, bowing. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Prying my eyes away from the pup in the distance, I turned to the woman. "That pup there," I said, nodding toward the pup in question. "I haven't seen him around here before. Who is he?"

Jenna frowned before her eyes travelled in to the distance where the pup was currently still play fighting.

Smiling, she turned her gaze back on me when she must have noticed which pup I was referring to.

"Oh," she said, chuckling softly. "I was hoping that you would meet him at your next visit. He's the newest pup in our little house, one that you must be really excited to meet."

I was always excited to meet the new addition of pups in the orphanage, but I was a bit wary with Alexander's mini pup look alike.

Narrowing my eyes, I turned my glance back on the pup. "Where did he come from?"

Jenna sighed. "He was recently abandoned, his mother was, erm, killed, Luna," she explained, shifting uncomfortably. "As you already know."

"Killed?" I repeated in horror, my eyes returning back to Jenna. "Who's the mother?"

The middle aged woman frowned before she nodded. "Yes," she confirmed, her voice croaky. "The pup's mother was called Jessica. After her death, he was found in the woods, roaming around alone."

Jessica? My wolf growled loudly, making Jenna cower back slightly. It was as if the words were registering at an incredibly slow speed. As if my brain knew already what the hell that meant, but again, I just stood there, gaping.

I heard Ava and Jaxon mutter something along themselves, but my thoughts occupied my brain and altered my hearing senses.

Surely, this couldn't be the same pup that I had experienced hell because of last year, the same Jessica that had tormented my mate in the past and tormented us just a year ago. It couldn't be. It shouldn't be.

"What's the pups name?" I blurted, my eyes already teary. "His full name."

As if his appearance wasn't confirmation enough, when Jenna spoke, I gasped.

"Kai," Jenna responded, eagerly. "Kai Rathborne, that's his full name."

"Jesus Christ," I muttered, my heart sinking deep in my chest.

The pup clearly held the Rathborne title to his name. For some reason everything that Alexander had promised, that the pup was not his, suddenly emptied in my head. With how similar this pup appeared to my mate, it was hard to believe the pup wasn't his.

My eyes dark, and my wolf on bay, I turned to glare at Jenna, whom appeared confused at first

Her brows twitched and her eyes widened in horror as if she must have finally noticed my uneasiness. "I'm so sorry," she quickly apologised, lowering her head. "I thought you were already aware. Please, punish me for speaking so thoughtlessly."

"Jenna," I whispered, confused by her outburst. I placed a hand on her arm to bring her gaze back on me. "Aware of what?"

Her brown eyes scanned my face before she lowly muttered, "That the pup is the Alpha's nephew."

"Excuse me?"

"Aspen dropped Kai off and asked to keep this private but I assumed you already knew," Jenna cried, her voice unstable. "I apologise for my runny mouth."

"Aspen?" I asked, my brows knitted together as I ignored the rest of her words.

Jenna, frowning, raised her head to glance at me. Nodding, her lips parted as she spoke her next words.

"Of course," she replied, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Aspen Rathborne, the Alpha's brother."

Alexander had a brother? What?