The Unwanted Wolf
The Hunted Wolf – Chapter 23

ADIRA

Alpha Lyna’s facial expression shifted from shock to anger as he processed what he was seeing. His fingers curled, and he seemed to grow taller. I found myself shrinking in his presence. Growing up, I wasn’t scared of him. He was a loving and caring father, but he could be extremely stern when he wanted to be. I hated getting on his bad side and getting scolded. I always felt bad for his enemies, too. There was a reason he was an extremely admired alpha, even though his pack size was relatively small compared to others.

Standing there, I knew I was the enemy he always feared, and that broke my heart more than anything my mother said. Luna Freya had always been colder to me, constantly telling me how I should act like a proper daughter so I would fit the image of the child of the alpha and Luna. It was always rules with her, where Alpha Lyna would play with me and read to me. He was more of a parent to me than my real parents, so as I stared into his eyes and saw the hatred for me in this, I almost lost it.

“What are you doing here?” Alpha Lyna’s voice boomed, echoing through the front room.

The confidence I had before fell to the ground, and I couldn’t speak. I was terrified and heartbroken as I stared into the eyes of the man who used to love me like a daughter. My entire body started shaking.

Mark slid in front of me, separating me from Alpha Lyna. “We were here on official business with Luna Freya.”

Alpha Lyna c****d his head to the side as he looked at Mark. He looked him up and down, trying to decide how to act. “And who might you be?”

“I am Alpha Mark, leader of Pack Aphelion.” Mark’s voice was strong and commanding. He wasn’t as tall or as threatening as Alpha Lyna, but he held all of the command of an alpha.

“Pack Aphelion,” Alpha Lyna said, mulling over the words. “Your grandfather was Morris Aphelion, wasn’t he?”

Mark nodded. “Yes, that was my grandfather.”

“Shame what happened to him.” There was no indication of how Alpha Lyna felt about the situation based on his inflection alone.

“It was a great loss. He was a great man,” Mark said without missing a beat.

I wondered what Alpha Lyna had heard about the situation. Mark told me that his grandfather had been painted in a pretty poor light after the coup, but many people knew his grandfather personally, and I hoped they would have made they own opinions about the situation, instead of listening to the rumors that were spread.

“Indeed he was. I worked with him briefly when I was a child. He was a strong alpha,” Alpha Lyna agreed.

Mark’s shoulders seemed to relax at the statement. “Well, if you excuse me, my mate and I must be going, since we finished our business here.”

Alpha Lyna’s eyes fell onto me, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His eyes were cold and gave away no emotion. I stepped closer to Mark, wanting to feel just a little better in this awful situation.

Heels clicked in the hallway behind us, and a woman gasped. “Reyland. You’re home.”

Alpha Lyna’s demeanor shifted as Luna Freya walked into the room. “Darling, you didn’t tell me we were expecting guests. An alpha, no less.”

Luna Freya forced a smile onto her face. “Yes, it was a bit of an unexpected visit, but don’t worry. Our business is finished here.”

“Nonsense. They are our guests. You shouldn’t rush them out the door so eagerly.” Alpha Lyna turned back to Mark. “You and your mate should stay for dinner. I’m afraid we have not had a chance to get to know your pack, Alpha Mark. We have been out of touch with the ongoings in Ashville for some time now.” Alpha put his hands behind his back, as he waited for the answer.

Mark, I really don’t want to stay, I linked him. I knew Alpha Lyna was extending a courtesy, which would have been beneficial to our pack, but I had had enough of this house, and I needed a moment to breathe to get my head situated.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid we have prior obligations,” Mark said with a smile, acting like I hadn’t linked him.

“A shame. We should schedule something for the future,” Alpha Lyna said.

I felt weird listening to the conversation. Everything about it felt fake. They were both acting pleasantly as one did when they came across other alphas. It was how bonds and alliances were forged, even if the politeness was all a ruse.

“Surely we’ll replace a more suitable time,” Mark agreed. Then he turned to me and grabbed my hand, guiding me around Alpha Lyna and towards the door. “It was a pleasure officially meeting you.”

“Same,” Alpha Lyna said. His eyes never left me as we walked away.

Just before we left through the door, something came over me, and I pulled on Mark’s hand, stopping us. I turned back to Alpha Lyna. “You were a great father at one time. I’m sorry you found out the truth about me in the way you did. I can only imagine how upsetting that news was. It wasn’t easy for me when I found out recently. It really is a shame how things went down.”

Alpha Lyna’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. He was shocked, and didn’t know what to say to me.

I forced a smile and nodded before turning back and leaving with Mark. We went straight to the car without saying a word to each other. After climbing into the car, I shut the door, and I could feel my damn breaking. This was harder than I had even anticipated, and I felt completely overwhelmed by everything. All of the pain from five years ago came back. I thought it would be easier knowing the truth of why my parents kicked me out, but knowing the real reasoning and hearing it from the woman I once called “mother” was much worse than knowing.

Mark started driving the car, and I told myself to keep it together for just a few more moments. I didn’t want to risk anyone in the pack house seeing me break down. They would only see it as weakness. The farther away from my childhood home we got, the more my walls started breaking down. The tears spilled out of my eyes, silent at first.

Mark glanced over at me, frowning when he saw my face. He reached over and grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

I squeezed his hand back, grateful he didn’t ask me if I was okay. It was obvious I wasn’t okay at this point. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. I didn’t know what to say. I was still trying to process how I felt. How could my mother think of me like that?

“How could my mother resent me so much?” I whispered. “If choosing me over her mate was going to make her hate me so much, then why pick me in the first place? I deserved to be loved, don’t I?”

“Of course you do. Your mother’s actions reflect nothing about you. Hey, hey, it’ll be okay.” Mark pulled the car over when he saw the tears flowing freely now.

He got out of the car and ran around to my side of the car. He opened my door, unbuckled me, and pulled me into his chest, holding me tightly.

“I always tried to be a good daughter. I know I wasn’t b***d related to him, but I loved him. Didn’t he love me? How could he just abandon me like that because of what she did?” I was now sobbing uncontrollably into Mark’s shirt. None of this made sense anymore, and the pain was too much.

“I’m so sorry they hurt you like that. You don’t deserve this, and I wish I could take away all of your pain.” Mark rubbed my back as I continued sobbing into his shirt. “We should get you into the car. Come on, let’s sit in the back.”

I pulled back from Mark, trying to understand the sudden urgency in his voice. When I saw my hands gripping Mark’s shirt, it clicked. My hands were glowing blue as the tears continued to stream down my face. I have never glowed like that before, and we couldn’t risk anyone seeing me like this.

Mark opened the back door and slid in first. He quickly pulled me into his lap, shutting the door behind me. He grabbed his jacket and hung it up in the window, giving us some more privacy until I could get my magic under control. I tried to focus on my breathing, and I was going through cycles of calming down and then bursting into tears. The entire time, Mark held me in his lap, comforting me in every way he could think of.

He stroked my hair while assuring me he would always be there for me and he loved me. I was so grateful Mark insisted on coming with me for this. I thought I could handle it on my own, but it was much harder than I anticipated. If Mark hadn’t been here with me, I didn’t know how I would have handled everything. I felt so lucky with him here with me, and no matter who came after me, I knew I would get through it as long as Mark was by my side.

After some time, I was completely exhausted from crying and fell asleep in Mark’s arms. When I opened my eyes, I was in my familiar unconscious mind where I could talk to Moon and Shadow. There was running water in the distance, but something felt different. I didn’t feel safe here.

I walked around, looking for Shadow and Moon, wondering where they were hiding. I continued on, walking towards the water. Eventually, I came across a stream of water where Shadow was drinking. Moon was nearby, cleaning herself. She was a safe distance away from the water though. They were on the other side of the stream as me. When I got closer, I sat down in front of the water and pulled my legs into my chest.

The two of them paused what they were doing and watched me. I could feel their eyes on me, waiting for me to say something, but I was too tired to talk. The exhaustion from crying was still lingering in my head, even though I knew my body was asleep.

Eventually, Moon approached the water, sitting next to Shadow. She looked at me carefully. “He’s watching us. Do you feel it?”

I nodded slowly. It felt like eyes were everywhere, but I couldn’t see anyone. “I feel it, but I don’t know who it is. It doesn’t feel familiar.”

“I can’t figure it out, either,” Moon admitted. “I can feel his intention, though. He wants you for your magic. With you by his side, he’ll have everything he needs.”

“It’s the Son of B***d and Magic, isn’t it?” I wasn’t really asking the question. I already knew the answer. I could feel the pull of the darkness, and it was the same darkness I had seen before. There was something else about it that felt familiar, and I couldn’t quite figure it out.

“Our mate won’t let him take you,” Shadow chimed in. “We’ll be safe with Mark.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Moon said. “I don’t know if Mark will be able to protect us from this. This might be something only we can figure out.”

“I don’t know how,” I admitted. “How do I stop all of this from happening? I’m not skilled enough or strong enough.”

Moon jumped over the stream, sitting down next to me. “We have the power inside of us. We just need to replace it.” She sprang to her feet, quickly running away.

Shadow followed suit, quickly catching up to the cat. I stood up, unsure of what was happening.

Moon paused and looked back at me. “Are you coming?”

“Where?” I asked, feeling confused.

“To replace the strength you’ve always had inside of you.”y