Chapter 3 She's Our Mate!

• Adella knelt in the darkness and pain.
• It pulsed in every part of her. The sharp, cold and aching pain made her body feel foreign and broken. Every breath clawed at her ribs. Her skin burnt, and her limbs were too heavy to lift. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood. Her blood.
• After a long time, she heard footsteps, then low voices, the scrape of keys and a gate creaking open on rusted hinges.
• Suddenly, light cut through the shadows. She blinked slowly, wincing.
• It was Beta Xander.
• Beside him was Willow, the Beta's second. Behind them, whispering and crying, were Whitney and Lightney, dabbing their eyes like they were in a play.
• “Beta...” the twins chorused, voices fragile and wet with performance.
• Xander lifted a hand, and the twins lowered their eyes in silence.
• Adella’s hair hung like a curtain, matted and dark with dried blood. Her skin was torn, with red welts carved into her arms and neck, silver burns still weeping. Her wrists were shackled and raw from struggling.
• Xander’s gut twisted.
• “Is this her?” he asked.
• “Yes, Beta,” Willow said, voice tight.
• Slowly, painfully, Adella looked up.
• Those eyes were wide, glassy, and exhausted. They were not feral or crazed but maybe broken.
• Xander cleared his throat. “What happened?”
• Whitney stepped forward like she'd been waiting for the cue. “We just asked why she wasn’t eating,” she said, lips trembling. “She attacked us and shifted without warning. She even bit Lightney.”
• “She lunged at us,” Lightney sniffled.
• Xander stared at Adella.
• “That... was a lie,” she whispered. Her voice was like ash, cracking from dryness and pain.
• Willow moved first. He unlocked the gate and knelt at her side, hands moving quickly over her scorched skin.
• “Silver”, he confirmed.
• Xander’s jaw clenched and his hands curled into fists at his sides. Using silver on a wolf is beyond cruel.
• “We were defending ourselves—” Whitney tried again.
• “Get out,” Xander snapped.
• “But—”
• “I said get out.”
• Lightney opened her mouth, then thought better of it. They hurried out, skirts swishing behind them.
• “She’s burning up,” Willow said. “She won’t last much longer.”
• “Call the healer.” Xander paused. “No, take her to Ashley. Now.”
• Willow nodded, then scooped Adella into his arms with shocking gentleness.
• She didn’t resist. She was past resistance.
• **
• Adella’s eyes fluttered open.
• Her body tensed.
• She was in soft blankets and clean sheets. The scent of herbs wafted, instead of sweat and stone. There was a white ceiling above her. Warmth.
• Was she dead?
• She sat up with a start, scrambled to her feet dizzy, and crashed into someone standing beside the bed.
• A gasp tore from her. She stumbled back and hit the ground hard.
• "Well, that was dramatic," said a cool voice.
• A woman stood over her; tall, elegant, and terrifying. Not like Whitney or Lightney with their sugar-sweet cruelty, this one was carved from shadow and snow. Her eyes were pale gold, cold as moonlight. Her gown hung like smoke around her, black and soft and final.
• She crouched slowly, inspecting Adella like a specimen. “All that noise over a trembling little thing like you,” she said, almost bored.
• She reached out and took her chin in a firm grip. “You were dying, you know. Torn to shreds by silver. That’s usually fatal for omegas.”
• Adella blinked. Her arms… where were the burns?
• They were gone without a trace, not a single scar to be found.
• The woman tilted her head, thoughtful. “There’s something strange about you. Not just the skin. You don’t belong here.”
• Adella found her voice. “I just want to go home. To my mother.”
• The woman rose to her full height.“Then listen very carefully. If you want to survive, you’ll leave. Now. Before the Alphas hear you're still alive.”
• Adella’s heart stuttered. “You’re... letting me go?”
• “You were never supposed to wake up,” she said flatly. “But you did. So now I’m doing damage control.”
• Adella swallowed. “Thank you. For healing me.”
• The woman’s smile was tight and humourless. “Don’t thank me. You’re a problem. I’m removing the problem before it spreads.”
• The door creaked open behind her, soundless and slow.
• Bare feet slapped against cold stone as she bolted down the corridor, limbs shaking. She passed unfamiliar faces, but no one stopped her. The castle’s front doors loomed before her; giant, engraved things that looked like they could swallow her whole. She shoved them open with all her strength.
• “Marietta?” she whispered.
• Her wolf stirred sluggishly. I’m here.
• “They let us go.”
• That’s not mercy, Marietta said. It’s a threat with a pretty bow.
• “I know.”
• The canopy above was thick, the ground damp. Her legs shook beneath her, but she kept walking because she had to make it home to her mother. She was unfamiliar with this part of the woods; she had lived in the meadow all her life. She tried getting to the road that leads to the meadow, but she couldn't.
• Suddenly, she heard the rampage of hooves hitting the ground; before she could react, a herd of deer ran straight into her. She fell on the ground, curling into a ball as the animals soared over her, running for their lives.
• Then she heard the growls.
• "Rogues?" She whispered. She scrambled up and began to run, but it was too late. From the corner of her eye, she saw the shadows of the two big wolves lunging toward her, and she screamed out.
• **
• Orion sat upright in bed, eyes open and mind racing. The silence pressed in, too thick to breathe through. Sleep had abandoned him years ago, and tonight was no different.
• He stared at the moonlight bleeding through the stone-slit window, white and pitiless.
• Get Xander, he mind-linked his chamber guard, his voice cold and curt.
• Right away, Alpha.
• Orion rose. The chill of the floor bit into his feet as he crossed the room, pulling on a plain dark tunic. Simplicity suited him. He didn’t care for velvet or gold threads, not when his mind was always wading through war.
• By the time he stepped back into the chamber, Xander stood waiting, one brow lifted.
• "You called?"
• "I need to run," Orion said, already moving past him.
• Xander’s gaze was steady. "The moon’s high tonight. Might be good for it."
• A diplomatic way of saying you’re unravelling again. Orion didn’t reply.
• **
• The castle gates groaned open to reveal a wall of forest, dark and endless. Orion and Xander led the front, both on horseback. The elite guard trailed in disciplined silence behind them. Hooves crunched over earth and dead leaves.
• At the treeline, Orion dismounted wordlessly. Xander followed suit.
• Inside him, Asher stirred. His wolf was especially restless tonight, itching beneath Orion’s skin.
• “Shift”, Orion commanded, low.
• Bones broke and skin stretched. The shift was brutal and fast. Where Orion had stood now towered Asher. His wolf was enormous and silver-grey, the moon catching on his fur like frost. Every inch of him screamed dominance. He threw back his head and howled, shaking the forest awake.
• Behind him, Kian, Xander’s wolf, answered the call, deep and thunderous. The others followed.
• And then, the scent hit him.
• It was sharp and earthy, but beneath it, there was something unbearably sweet, like crushed flowers in rain-soaked dirt.
• It struck Asher in the gut like lightning, and he bolted, the forest blurring past him.
• There, by the riverbank, was a girl.
• Her skin was ghostly pale, lips trembling. She looked up at him with dazed confusion and then passed out completely.
• Asher froze, his heart exploding in his chest.
• Mate.
• The word thundered through him.
• He howled in declaration.
• Kian skidded to a halt behind him, and Xander took over. “It’s... her?” he muttered, voice low. “The omega from the dungeon?”
• Asher snarled, his fur bristling. She’s our mate, he growled into Orion’s mind. Orion's presence pushed back. She’s weak.
• She’s ours.
• Asher crouched beside her, head nudging her shoulder. Orion battled for control, but Asher dug his claws in deep, refusing to yield.
• Bring her back, Asher demanded.
• She doesn’t belong in my world, Orion snapped.
• She’s our mate.
• The growl inside him shook his bones. Orion wrenched back control. The shift reversed and he emerged in human form, breath ragged, chest heaving from the internal struggle.
• Xander stepped forward. “Alpha?”
• Orion didn’t speak. He just stared down at her. This filthy, fragile girl.
• Not just an omega. His mate.
• A mistake.