Chapter 5 Bonds Of Fate

• The Alpha's words echo in my head, each repetition feeling like a physical blow. "They were after you." The phrase bounces around my skull, mixing with the lingering scents of vampire and blood that permeate the pack house.
• I stumble backward until my back hits the wall, needing something solid to ground me. Everything feels surreal, like I'm trapped in some horrible nightmare. Just twenty-four hours ago, my biggest worry was being late to meet Kevin at that party. Now...
• Now my aunt is gone. Taken. Because of me.
• My hands shake as I raise them to sign, but I can barely form coherent gestures. How? Why? What did I do? The questions tumble from my fingers in a desperate rush, even though I know most of the pack members watching can't understand them.
• Alpha Marcus steps closer, his expression grave. "We don't know all the details yet, Evelina. The vampires were... specific in their attack. They weren't just causing chaos. They were searching. House by house, they were looking for you."
• My legs give out, and I slide down the wall to sit on the floor. The cool hardwood beneath me feels distant, unreal. Around me, pack members whisper and shift uncomfortably, but I barely notice them. My mind is racing, trying to make sense of everything that's happened.
• Meeting my mate. His rejection. The vampire attack. My aunt's kidnapping. It's too much, too fast. My simple life has shattered into a thousand pieces, and I don't know how to put them back together.
• The guilt hits me in waves. If I had been here instead of running away from Kevin, could I have prevented this? If I hadn't gone to that party, if I hadn't been in that park... would my aunt still be safe? She protected me, refused to tell them where I was, and now she's paying the price for my absence.
• But why? Why would vampires be looking for me? I'm nobody special. Just a mute werewolf who's never quite fit in anywhere. I've never done anything to draw attention to myself. I've spent my whole life trying to blend in, to be invisible.
• And now my aunt...
• The memory of her last words to me yesterday morning plays in my mind. "Be careful, little wolf," she'd signed, using the special name-sign she'd created just for me. "And remember, I love you." Had she known something was coming? Had she been trying to warn me?
• I'm so lost in my thoughts that at first, I don't notice it. But then it hits me – a scent that cuts through everything else. Pine and wild places and something uniquely male. My head snaps up, my heart suddenly pounding against my ribs.
• No. It can't be.
• But it is. The scent grows stronger, more distinct. My mate. He's here.
• Everything else fades away for a moment – the guilt, the confusion, even my worry for my aunt. The mate bond flares to life inside me, responding to his proximity. My body betrays me, yearning toward that scent even as my mind remembers his cold words from this morning.
• "I'm not looking for a mate."
• The rejection still stings, fresh and raw. But I can't stop my reaction to him. Can't ignore the way my skin prickles with awareness, the way my wolf stirs restlessly beneath my skin. The connection between us pulses like a living thing, desperate to be acknowledged.
• "Ah, Anton," Alpha Marcus says, his voice cutting through my internal turmoil. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
• Anton.
• The name triggers something in my memory. A flash of a small face, bright eyes, and a gap-toothed smile. Layla, the little girl who'd been watching me when I woke up. She'd said that name too, hadn't she? Anton. Her brother. My mate.
• But I hadn't made the connection then, still groggy from my injuries and overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Now, though, the pieces click into place with devastating clarity.
• Slowly, feeling as though I'm moving through water, I turn around.
• He stands in the doorway of the pack house, his powerful frame filling the space. He's changed since I last saw him, now wearing what looks like tactical gear instead of the casual clothes from this morning. But his face... his face is the same. Strong jaw, stormy gray eyes, that hint of stubble I'd noticed before.
• Our eyes meet, and the world stops spinning.
• The mate bond surges between us, strong and undeniable. I see him tense, his hands clenching at his sides, and I know he feels it too. No matter what he said this morning, no matter how much he might want to deny it, this connection between us is real.
• For a moment, it's just us. The crowd of pack members, the vampire attack, even my missing aunt – it all fades into the background. There's only the pull between us, the invisible thread that ties our souls together.
• But then reality crashes back in. My aunt is still missing. Vampires are hunting me for reasons I don't understand. And this man, my supposed mate, has already made it clear he wants nothing to do with me.
• The conflict of emotions is overwhelming. Part of me wants to run to him, to demand answers about this morning's rejection. Another part wants to turn away, to focus on finding my aunt and figuring out why all of this is happening. And underneath it all is a current of anger – at him for rejecting me, at myself for still wanting him, at this entire impossible situation.
• His expression gives nothing away as he looks at me, but I can feel the tension radiating from him. Does he regret his words from this morning? Or is he just here because duty demanded it?
• Either way, I'm about to get answers. Whether I'm ready for them or not.
• Anton breaks eye contact first, turning his attention to Alpha Marcus. My heart clenches at the dismissal, but I force myself to stay still, to not show how much it affects me. The two men begin discussing something in low voices, but their words seem to blur together, meaningless against the roar of thoughts in my head.
• What is he doing here? Hasn't he caused enough turmoil in my life already? First the rejection, and now he shows up right when my world is falling apart. The universe must have a cruel sense of humor.
• I'm so lost in my bitter musings that I almost miss them approaching. When I finally notice, my heart rate spikes. Alpha Marcus and Anton are walking toward me, their expressions serious. Confusion washes over me as they stop just a few feet away.
• "This is her," Alpha Marcus says, gesturing to me. "She's the one I was talking about. Please, keep her safe."
• Wait, what?
• My head snaps up, eyes wide with disbelief. Keep me safe? What is he talking about? Why would he be asking Anton to...
• The realization hits me just as I see Anton's eyes widen in recognition. His composed expression cracks for just a moment, surprise and something else – dismay? – flickering across his features.
• Alpha Marcus looks between us, his brow furrowing. "Hmm, am I missing something?"
• "No!" The word explodes from Anton at the same moment I frantically shake my head. Our simultaneous denial hangs in the air, making the situation feel even more awkward.
• Alpha Marcus raises an eyebrow, looking more intrigued than convinced. "Friend, hmm... Have you two met before?"
• Another synchronized "No" from Anton while I shake my head again, perhaps a bit too vigorously. My heart is pounding so hard I'm sure everyone in the room can hear it. Please, please don't let them figure it out. The last thing I need right now is for everyone to know about the mate bond – and the rejection.
• "Well, then," Alpha Marcus says, though he still looks suspicious. "Let me make the formal introductions. This is Evelina." He gestures to me, then turns to Anton. "And this is Anton Blackwood, Alpha of the Emerald Pack."
• Alpha? My mate is an Alpha? The revelation sends my thoughts spinning, but Alpha Marcus isn't done.
• "Evelina will be staying in your pack for her safety," he continues. "You're one of the strongest Alphas in the region, and the Emerald Pack's territory is well-defended. It's the best place for her while we search for her aunt."
• What? No. No, no, no. This can't be happening. They can't seriously be planning to send me to live in his pack? With the mate who rejected me?
• I want to protest, to argue, to tell them this is a terrible idea. But how? My hands start to move, forming desperate signs that neither man understands. I look around frantically for something to write with, but there's nothing within reach.
• The frustration is overwhelming. I've dealt with communication barriers my whole life, but never has my inability to speak felt more like a prison than in this moment. I'm being handed over to Anton like a package to be protected, and I can't even voice my objections.
• Oh my God, what am I going to do?
• I want to scream, to tell them about the mate bond, about the rejection, about how this is quite possibly the worst solution they could have come up with. But I'm trapped in my silence, forced to watch as decisions about my life are made without my input.
• Anton hasn't looked at me since that first moment of recognition. His face is a mask of professional detachment as he discusses arrangements with Alpha Marcus – when I'll be moved, what security measures will be taken, how long I might need to stay.
• The irony of the situation isn't lost on me. My mate, who less than twelve hours ago told me he didn't want anything to do with me, is now being tasked with my protection. The universe really does have a sick sense of humor.
• And through it all, I stand there, mute in more ways than one. My hands clench and unclench at my sides, useless without anyone to understand their language. My wolf paces restlessly beneath my skin, agitated by the proximity of our mate and our inability to do anything about this situation.
• I've never felt more helpless in my life. My aunt is missing, vampires are hunting me for reasons I don't understand, and now I'm being sent to live with a mate who doesn't want me. And I can't say a word about any of it.
• The mate bond pulses between us, a constant reminder of what could have been – what should have been. But Anton continues to ignore it, to ignore me, as he finalizes the details of my protection with Alpha Marcus.
• And I'm left standing here, screaming silently into the void, wondering how my life spiraled so completely out of control in the span of a single day.