Chapter 12 - Flynn

Everything around me becomes a blur as I rush down the flight of stairs, oblivious of my surroundings in my quest for fresh air. With my racing heartbeat matching every step I take, I throw open the door and finally breathe in the crisp night air.

It’s still not enough, forcing me out into the shadows toward the woods where I can’t be seen. My mind feels like it’s about to explode, so I clutch both hands on either side of my head until I’m deep into the forest.

Afraid that I’m going to stumble on a pair of feet that feels like both are left-sided, I will my wolf to the fore and crash forward on cushioned paws. A rippling cry rumbles through me from my chest and escapes my throat as a magnificent howl toward the moon.

The influx of emotions crashes into me like a thunderous storm, distorting everything I once knew to be true. When the powerful sound from my chest is depleted, I drop my wolf head and fall onto my belly with the weight of what I’ve just discovered.

Lila Hargis is not just my mate.

She is…

“Your fated mate,” my inner wolf confirms in a flat tone, loud enough so I’d catch its voice above the pervasive sound of ringing in my ears. I press my eyelids shut, trying to get a hold of my thoughts while fighting the urge to go back inside and embrace my fated mate.

I can barely wrap my head around it, the shock keeping me pinned in place as I try to regain my composure and sift through the endless thoughts in my mind.

It can’t be that Lila is my fated mate.

My wolf eyes blink fervently as if I’ll finally wake up from this dream. But Lila’s sweet scent like jasmine fields still lingers all around me, my wolf body bathing in those pheromones she left on my human flesh.

It was only when I spilled my seed deep inside her core, touching the depths of her womanhood, that I discovered the truth. Joined in the most primal act, the natural execution of the mating process between two preternatural creatures, I’d heard my inner wolf cry out that she was my fated mate. Right before it mentally smirked, as if satisfied that I finally understood why I felt drawn to her. The entire act was out of this world, her supple body beneath me pulsing with the sweet scent of jasmine while her every gasp and moan filled my ears with the sweetest song.

I should have known! I chastise internally, feeling like a fool for spending so much time trying to ignore my innate feelings and even going as far as rejecting her. All because of the “image” I was hell-bent on maintaining.

An image that would naturally exceed the bounds of an Alpha’s reign if he were to find his “fated” mate.

A fated mate means receiving the mystical, ancient gifts passed down from generation to generation. It skipped two generations, and the Lycoan family had been counting on Finch to find his fated mate.

Until he passed, and all hope was lost.

It was something I didn’t even consider for myself, being the second-born son in the family. Once Finch died, I knew I had to prove myself and make up for never being able to bring those mystical gifts to the pack. I had to work harder, I had to ensure I didn’t taint my image with any kind of mistake, least of all being seen with the Omega, only for her to turn out to be the key to those magical gifts.

This is something I do not deserve.

Not after how I’ve treated her. A fated mate yields the most respect, the most honor, the Alpha having to worship the ground his Luna walks on.

I have failed dismally. Perhaps that’s why I have yet to discover the gifts that would naturally come to me in a fated mate union. I am undeserving of such a fate, and my fated mate is a wolf-less Omega.

Perhaps this is my punishment.

Lila is without a wolf, and I’m not sure if I can protect her.

I can’t even tell her about this. She probably hates me more now for walking out on her in her most vulnerable moment. She made it clear that she couldn’t forgive me for the past, and she won't hear a thing I have to say now.

In truth, I’m afraid of getting close to her, letting her into my heart, in fear of being unable to protect her. Now more than ever, I can’t let harm come to her. If I am the cause of her troubles, I should stay away. It’s better if she doesn’t know about our fate. It’s the only way that I can protect her.

It’s the only way I can protect myself from the heartbreak of losing someone so important to me if something were to happen to her.

I couldn’t protect Finch. I wasn’t even there. I didn’t have my wolf yet, and I was too reckless. Losing him was the toughest blow, and I refuse to lose my fated mate.

Getting to my feet, I take a deep breath full of conviction as I decide that I will take this secret with me to the grave. It’s the only way I can protect the pack’s Luna, my fated mate—the only way I can protect myself from the pain of ever losing her. Perhaps it’s better that I haven’t marked her. I can stay without the fated mate powers if it means not opening myself up to a world of pain.

***

Two days later

“Psst…”

Miles nudges me in the ribs, pulling me from deep within my thoughts and back to the present.

“You haven’t said a word, Flynn,” he whispers, to which I frown.

“Why didn’t you ask me in private?” I murmur through gritted teeth as I take a look around the boardroom.

“ I tried,” he replies through the mind link. “ I couldn’t get through to you just now.”

“Hm. Did I miss anything?”

The Blood Moon Beta stares at me warily while he brings me up to speed with what’s been going on in the meeting. I already signed my part of the treaty and had somehow spaced out when I felt too uncomfortable in the room. The tension in the air is ripe with the members of the alliance gathered in the boardroom of the Moon Shine Pack in Mysthaven—the pack led by Alpha Cyrus.

A shiver passes through me as Miles explains that the brothers, Damian and Dorian, no longer see eye to eye since becoming Alphas of two different packs—the Valley Walker and Nightclaw packs, respectively. After the accident with my brother, Dorian joined his uncle’s pack, and has since become the Alpha.

I scan the room, inspecting the faces of the Alphas and their Betas, along with a Luna who joins Alpha Simon, the representatives of the Misty Creek Pack, and wonder if I should have brought Lila along with me.

I’ve barely seen her these past two days, steering clear of her only because I don’t have an excuse for what I did. Not the truth, anyway. I can’t tell her that we’re fated mates, lest danger follows her and I’m not there to protect her.

It doesn’t matter, I shrug inwardly, seeing that the others are still without mates. No one has questioned me yet, and I’d rather keep it that way.

“What do you think, Flynn?” Alpha Theodore, the leader of Blackmaw, leans forward. “Do you think there’s another pack in the area, trying to steal our territories?”

I take a deep breath and lean in, too, squaring my shoulders as a sign of confidence. “It’s not another pack, that’s for sure. Oklahoma is too crowded for another pack to settle anywhere near us. And territorial wars were never as severe as this.”

“It wouldn’t make sense for the kidnappings, either,” Dorian adds. “Nightclaw has lost four members already since we’re on the outskirts of the region.”

“Outsiders…” Cyrus muses. “And the scent was wolfy?”

Dorian nods, flicking a glance at me with a suspicious glint in his eyes.

I huff under my breath when a thought pops up in my mind. “Wait,” I interject with a frown. “You said the scent was wolfy?”

“Yeah…why?” Dorian asks, eyes narrowed at me.

“Were you able to track the scent?”

Dorian shakes his head, and I lean back in my chair while they throw around ideas and suspicions about the nature of the threat that has been abducting fellow werewolves in the area.

I purse my lips and remain quiet for the rest of the meeting, staving off the urge to take the leap of faith and explore my wolf’s abilities. With Lila as my fated mate, I would receive an ability like stronger telepathy that could connect me with other packs, or the gift of having visions.

Visions that might allow me to track the scent left behind in Dorian’s territory.

It’s not like I’ve received those gifts. Without a wolf, Lila won’t be able to unlock the side of me that will allow the Lycoan blood that’s withstood a century to give me those special powers.

After all, I hadn’t been counting on it, anyway. It would have been a useful tool to track the werewolves who had been kidnapped—now, between the six packs that have joined the alliance, we’ve instead formulated a strategic plan to ensure the protection of each border.

To do so, we'll have to train more wolves and get the younger males to volunteer for patrols. Despite Blood Moon’s special ops soldiers being well-trained for this kind of mission, I know I’ll have to bring more volunteers on board.

When the meeting is over, the Alphas proceed to leave Mysthaven, but I stay back to speak to Cyrus privately.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?” I ask Cyrus when we stand outside and watch the others leave, shifting into their wolf forms and crossing the Mysthaven borders.

“I have my eyes on Dorian, to be honest,” he reveals with a sigh. “Ever since being kicked out of Valley Walker, he’s been acting strangely. He might be Nighclaw’s Alpha now, but I don’t know if he can be trusted.”

I gulp hard, doing my best to remain calm when Cyrus mentions Valley Walker. It was on their territory that Finch lost his life, and Dorian supposedly got rid of the rogues who cornered him by running out of Rock Creek. Still, what happened that day was enough to get him kicked out of his own pack.

“Do you think he really did get rid of the rogues back then?” I ask, proceeding to tell Cyrus about Dorian’s visit to Blood Moon the other day.

“If he’s consorting with rogues, we’ll have to be very careful,” Cyrus huffs. “Perhaps the kidnapped wolves from his pack are just a cover-up for something else.”

Cyrus and I exchange a few more words before I head back to Zafra with Miles through the woods. With the unknown threat still looming over our heads, we have to get to work, recruiting younger werewolves to train in battle.

As soon as we cross the Blood Moon border into Zafra, my airways are filled with the sweetness of jasmine. I pause, taking a look around our surroundings as Miles shifts into human form.

Lila is nowhere to be seen out here in the woods, yet that distinct scent remains in the air so potently that it’s almost as if she’s right before my eyes. Reluctantly, I shut my eyelids and take on my human form, shoulders slouching as I stand beside Miles.

“You know…” he begins, crossing his arms and tilting his chin at me. “... We haven’t shared a drink in a while.”

I chuckle flatly. “There’s been a lot going on, bud.”

“Yeah,” he smirks, wiggling his brows. “You and my sister have—”

I grunt in warning. “Miles…”

He chuckles again, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Fine, we won’t go there. But I think you need a solid one after today’s meeting.”

“You’re damn right,” I snort, patting his shoulder and following him to his cabin, which he now has all to himself. The tension of today’s meeting with the Alphas of the region hangs heavily on my shoulders. With Cyrus being as suspicious of Dorian as I am, we have to ensure the safety of our pack, and I have to ensure the safety of my mate, who remains without a wolf. There’s a part of me that wishes I could tell her the truth, but I’m too afraid that it’ll be met with resistance.

It’s better to avoid her for now. After all, I only needed to name a Luna to step into my role as Alpha. Now that I have, I’ll stick to serving my purpose as the protector of this pack. Together with the other packs in the alliance, we’ll put an end to the threat and go on with our lives as they were meant to be.

I only wish I hadn't discovered that Lila is my fated mate. It changes everything.

Like the dire need to always be around her, even if she’s going to be cold toward me.