Rejected His Miracle Luna (Dorothy and Ignatius)
Chapter 106

Chapter 106 -Dorothy-

The morning after we discovered the journal, Ignatius and I stood before the remains of what had once been a secret cottage in the woods. We tracked down what was supposed to have been Elliot's old cabin only to replace that the entire building had been burned to the ground some time ago. Barely any evidence of the building remained, except for a few charred bits of wood and what was left of the floorboards. The forest had long since reclaimed the small piece of land. Moss grew over the blackened ground, burying the truth beneath layers of green.

Ignatius suspected that this was where Elliot had been hiding the vampire woman. After closer inspection of the journal, we were able to piece together a few facts about her. Her name was Morgana, and according to Elliot, she was gorgeous and intelligent, and powerful. Ignatius had rolled his eyes at this

"Clearly" 1 muttered, turning on the spot to look around the dense foliage, "Elliot really didn't want anyone to know about Morgana. Nob*dy would have found this place if they didn't know to look for it." I turned to study my mate. Ignatius was staring intently at the wrecked cabin with a furrowed brow, his arms folded tightly against his chest. A vein in his forehead pulsed like he was straining to hold back a

roar.

"What is it?" I asked, walking over and attempting to uncross his arms. "Don't worry about the cabin. I'm sure there's more information out there, even if we can't replace anything here."

Nothing good could have come from that kind of union," he grewded, stiff as a stone against my attempted affection.

"Morgana had a hold on Elliot's mind, I ventured gently. "Whatever happened, it seems like he regretted it."

"Don't pity him!" Rather than wrap his arms around me, Ignatius turned away, striding back the way we had come with his shoulders hunched. "Whether she was toying with him or not, Elliot wasn't a victim. They were in a struggle for power, clearly Morgan was stronger"

It was a dark thought. I had only known Elliot briefly, and he had disliked me from the start. I hadn't been too fond of the old alpha either. But he never struck me as weak, at least not wak enough to be led on by a woman in the woods.

Whoever this Morgana lady had been, she was c nning enough to slip past Elliots defenses, smart enough to scramble his mind. And bold enough to birth his child. "Ignatious," I struggled to keep up with my mate, traipsing through the woods behind him. "What if the child did survive? What if they're out there somewhere!" "I'll kill them." was the growled response, with enough venom to send chills down my spine.

I sucked in a breath, practically running behind Ignatius to stay within earshot. "You can't-

"If they pose a threat to the shifters, to our people, they're dead, Morganna had that child for a reason. And whatever that reason was, it can't have been good." We burst from the treeline then, Ignatius angry and ashen-faced and me, breathless and sweating.

Ignatius climbed into his car, flinging the passenger door open for me to join him. Rather than drive off, he gripped the steering wheel, resting his head on his outstretched arms. He didn't speak, but he didn't need to. I knew my mate well enough by then. I knew that this mystery was eating away at him.

I leaned over, wrapping my arms around him and sighing deeply. "It's going to be okay. Remember what you said to me? Whatever happens, we'll fare it together"

Ignatious remained tense for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped and he sighed. I couldn't see his face, buried in the crook of his elbows So 1 lay on my back and wormed my way onto his lap, looking up at him. That was enough to score me a small suule, and Ignatious leaned down to plant a k*ss on my nose. "What did I do to deserve someone so sweet?"

Chapter 106

I reached up to caress his check. He leaned to my touch, closing his eyes and letting me sooth him for once

"You're the best leader the Bielke have ever seen, Ignatius," I murmured softly, running my thumb over his lips. "And the best mate could ever have asked for. Don't cut off the people who care about you. We're all on your side here"

He opened his eyes, his piercing gaze just as striking as the very first time we met. Ignatius didn't speak, staring at me intently like he desperately wanted to believe me. My words were a lifeline to him. "Elliot's gone," I whispered. "He can't hurt you anymore. And whatever he did here, with that woman, I'm certain we've already faced the worst of it."

Ignatius nodded slowly, fatigue lining his features as he sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I've been on edge lately. I just can't push the bad thoughts from my mind. That child, my sibling. I thought I was ready for whatever my father had done. But this, I could never have prepared for this."

We were interrupted by Ignatius's phone chiming and both of us started upright at the sound. Igantius pressed his cell to his car, immediately on high alert. I watched the icey mask slip back into place, and my gentle mate was lost to me once more

After a minute, Ignatius put down the phone, kicked the car into gear and reversed out of the cul de sac we had parked in "Angie's back early, this spells bad news"

Angie and Pae were waiting for us outside the town hall. Their expressions were strained, and their smiles didn't reach their

They stood beside the beat-up white van, still packed with all of their traveling essentials. They must have come straight here. Whatever news they had brought, it was urgent. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach the second I stepped out of the

"Angie" I hurried over to the two she-wolves, and flung my arms around Angie. "Why are you back already! What happened to taking a break?"

"We had to come back." It was Fae who spoke, wringing her hands and dancing from foot to foot in not right."

Angie explained what she and Fae had witnessed during their travels. Unease was spreading throug small alike. More vampire sightings had been reported, and shifters were mysteriously disappearing were never found, but trackers had stumbled across mutilated animals; bears and deer, foxes and rabb blood and ditched in the wilderness. And always covered in the lingering stench of metal and rust.

"It gets worse, Angie stated gravely. She eyed me warily, like she was afraid of my reaction. "It's just like we are talking about Johan. He's idolized by many shifters, they think of him as a martyr or some kind of under

"But they're not just rumors, Fae whispered. She looked to Angie, who nodded slightly before explaining. "We we camping near the Khall pack recently and." She took a steadying breath. "Something happened."

ethings

I slipped my fingers into Ignatius's hand, urging him to unclench his fist. His fingers relented, clasping my hand tightly we listened to what Fae had to say.

"The Khall were on edge. They refused to let us onto their territory. And it seems they're not letting anyone out either. They're guarding themselves against something"

I frowned at that. I had been trying in vain for the past few weeks to get in contact with Anita. My old caretaker resided in the Khall pack. She usually called every few weeks to check in on the children and me. But recently. Anita had been silent and none of my calls to her cell ever connected,

Fae noticed my expression and nodded. "It would seem the Khall have cut off the outside world. So we camped a little way oll to keep an eye on things. Two nights ago there was some kind of disturbance in the forest. We heard wolves howling, and something bad all the animals in the area tearing past our tent. And then there was a fire

"Forest fires happen all the time," Ignatius offered through a clenched jaw

This fire was started by a burning shifter. Fir and I were trailing the noise when we watched a flaming man barrel through

11:05 Fri, Jan 26

Chapter 106

the trees, burning everything as he went. We got out of there pretty quickly after that."

"How do we know this has anything to do with Johan But my fears were already all but confirmed.

Angie hung her head, passing a hand over her eyes. "The gatherers in the forest, They were chanting his name."""

Before either of us could process this, a new member joined our party. Plato came roaring down the road on a motorcycle he'd gotten from god knows where. He brought the bike to a half right in front of us, churning up clouds of dust around our

fect.

We all stepped out of the way while Plato scrambled to attention 1 hail never seen him look so disheveled. His clothes were torn and dirty, his face streaked with mud and dried blood.

"Thank god you're here?" He scrambled over to grip my mate's shoulders, and heaving in deep breaths. He was struggling to stand. "I came as fast as I could"

Ignatius hooked Plato's arm over his shoulder, holding him upright, "What happened?"

-1 followed a couple of shifters into the forest, near Khall territory, I saw him! I saw him with my own eyes!"

I swallowed, hard. But the stone lodged in my throat would not budge. "Saw who?"

"Johan. Plato wheezed, and nearly toppled over in exhaustion. "Johan is alive"

B

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