Chapter 108

Justin POV

The dinner is prepared and I escaped from my shower and brief nap to go get Helen so we could have dinner with the new extension of my pack. I knew it would be uncomfortable for her, knowing these wolves were there when she was ridiculed as my mate in the wolfen games.

But still, she was their Luna now, and I would protect her from criticism from them.

I slipped down the steps, my heart stopping when I saw her cell door wide open. There was no trace of her, but the key remained in the door. I leaned in close to the little brass key and inhaled.

Randy.

Of course, I growled. How could he do this to me? First he wants to rip my mate away from me like I’m hurting her physically, when in reality she is the one who stabbed me.

I dismissed that as a misunderstanding.

But to break her from this cell so I could shower and catch up on the sleep I’ve gone weeks without… this was personal. More than it was before.

I finally caught a whiff of his trail, seeing my beta hectically walk through the dark streets of the village, his eyes looking up by chance and catching my own.

He looked like he wanted to duck into an alley and run off, but he didn’t.

I approached my beta with a hard, furious shove. “What did you do with her?”

Randy showed his fangs in defiance and my Lycan hated seeing such hatred from a loyal beta like him. He reeked of my mates scent still and I took him by the shirt collar, pressing him into my chest.

“Where is she?!”

He fought my grip off at once and growled a noise of displeasure. “I took her from that damn cell of yours to come out and have some fun.”

“Then where is she?!”

My voice slapped everyone around us but I didn’t care. The campfire was running and the dinner made for the conjoining of packs was wafting through the air.

None of that mattered.

“Where is she, Randy?”

He only looked at me with a pitiful face. “Maybe she got tired of being your Luna prisoner.”

I snarled in the space between us, shoving him backwards. He caught his balance instantly and stormed off, still tucking his head into doorways and allies, looking for my mate.

The wolves from my new pack called for me to join them at the large, towering bonfire. The smell of food hurt my stomach but I waved them off within seconds of the invite.

I will not celebrate a moment, not a mere second, until I could find Helen.

I ran off along her most recent trail, my Lycan pulling a wafting scent of alcohol along her trek. It made me nervous beyond measure.

What if she got drunk, wandered off and then was injured or taken.

At first, I didn’t want to go rescue her from her father after she betrayed me. When I saw her treatment there, I knew they weren’t treating her like a hero who killed the Last Lycan.

She was suffering, and I never want her to suffer again, I just don’t feel like I can trust her when I close my eyes at night. I miss our nights together, especially on cold ones like this, and she would curl protectively into my chest and kiss my cheek.

My Lycan snarled in my head and I tried to straighten up, running to find the edge of the trail to find my mate.

I crossed through a gravel ravine, finding her scent clash with something new. It was male and rogue, but no blood could be seen from this path. I could hear steps in the mountainside.

My hearing piqued, my chest ached, and I readied myself to pounce.

A rogue strode out from the cave, wearing a simple pair of jeans and looking at the stars above.

I rammed straight into him, pinning him under my powerful weight, and holding a single hand up into the sky, my nails extended into claws with such ease.

“Where is my mate?!”

His eyes crossed mine and he seemed to relax. “You’re Justin, right? The Alpha King?”

I nodded, my Lycan begging to bring my claws across his throat very soon. “Yes. My mate, my Luna, Helen. Where is she? I can smell her all over you!”

He inhales slow and spoke calmly, more than I could. “I was just going to check on her, sire. Come with me.”

He managed to wiggle out of my hold and I sat there, baffled, for a long moment. He should fear me as a rogue but he seemed rather dismissive of my appearance here in the middle of the woods.

He waved me along, so I calmed my Lycan down and put away my claws.

I followed the young rogue towards the woods and found a thick brush of a hideaway in the forest. He tucked some of the curtained leaves aside, exposing the inner working of a willow tree.

Against the truck, curled up in a dress with the shiny fabric split up to her thigh, was my mate. She filtered her arms through the air in a smooth, beautiful manner, and little specs of light interacted with her movements.

It looked like she had wings of pure, innocent light maneuvering around her every motion.

“What is that?” I whispered, the young rogue coming to my side to watch my mate in all her innocent perfection. “How is she doing it?”

“They’re pixies,” he mumbled. “They seem to have taken a liking to her.”

“Of course they have,” I whined.

She had become a magnet for other creatures. Little Penelope, the young wizard in the trees had been on her hip night and day.

Helen even caught the eyes of the vampires, no matter how badly one of them wanted to take her from me, the rest where entranced with her beauty and aura.

Seeing how she played so joyously and comfortably with the pixies made me recall all those moments I had with my mate. Guilt nudged at my Lycan but he stood firm like a wall in my head.

[She hurt us.]

I waved that side of my thoughts aside. It doesn’t matter because right now, I couldn’t see anything but a perfect, harmless, beautiful mate with nothing but love and peace in her smile.

She glanced sideways to watch the pixies swarm her hands moving through the air and her light, widened eyes met mine. Her arms dropped and the pixies fluttered away in recoiling rejection, lifting into the top strips of the willow leaves, acting like a chandelier above us three.

I inhaled slow, seeing the pain and frustration return to her airy face. It ached me completely, even hurt my Lycan to see her hate me, or even just fear me a little. I didn’t want that.

“I’m sorry, Alpha,” she said, shifting onto her knees and bowing her head in complete submission. “There were rogues in the distance and it wasn’t safe to return to the pack. I got drunk with beta Randy and then I got lost. I’m sorry.”

I could feel the rogue watching me with a spiteful look in his eyes. She was obviously frightened of my reaction but I never wanted her to be like this. She is my mate. I suppose after our last interaction where I pushed her in the cell and left, it makes sense.

I haven’t slept well in weeks and my appetite is lost. The last thing I need is to witness her pain more.