Chapter 2 The Wolf Who Wouldn't Die

• Pain was a sea, and Jenna drowned in it.
• Each breath was a battle. Each heartbeat a broken promise. But beneath it, something stirred. Not Remi, who was silent and stunned, but something deeper. A pulse. A presence. A tether.
• Heat.
• Scent.
• Mate?
• She surfaced from the darkness with a gasp, eyes flying open. The ceiling above her was unfamiliar, vaulted beams, warm light, the scent of cedar and…something unknown.
• Her fingers trembled slightly as she pushed herself upright, the sheets tangled around her thighs like vines trying to hold her still. Her skin was slick with sweat, her heart pounding too hard in her chest for someone who'd barely moved in days. There were bruises along her ribs, hidden beneath the fabric of a soft cotton nightgown someone had dressed her in. She didn’t remember being touched. Didn’t remember being cared for. And yet… she was here. Alive.
• She touched her throat, pain, fire, the taste of blood. She winced in pain, memory of their broken bond lived with every stab she felt. The echo of Sean’s cruelty still ached like a phantom limb.
• Remi? she whispered internally.
• Her wolf stirred sluggishly. I’m here... but I don’t know ... Everything hurts.
• Jenna closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the room wrap around her like a balm. And then she felt it again... that presence. Steady. Powerful. Nearby.
• Without warning Jenna Jumped out of bed almost out of a primal instinct. Remi jumped up with in her too.
• She had jumped from the bed as if pulled by an invisible string. Ignoring the pain she and Remi felt they couldn't control themselves. The presence she felt, powerful and magnetic, wrapped around her like a thread, tugging at her instincts. Her body protested with every step, muscles tight with pain and memory, but her feet moved anyway.
• She stepped carefully through the halls of the unfamiliar mansion, her fingers brushing against cold wooden paneling as she passed. The place was enormous, regal and quiet, filled with shadows and history. She followed the pull like prey drawn to something far greater than itself, guided not by logic, but by something buried deep in her bones.
• The corridor opened to a broad landing. She descended a grand staircase and crossed a wide expanse of polished stone that gave way to a glass door leading outside. The scent grew stronger.
• The cool night air hit her like a kiss of clarity as she stepped onto a wide lawn. Moonlight bathed the grounds in silver, revealing neat hedges, towering pines, and a distant structure glowing faintly beneath the stars.
• She crossed the lawn barefoot, driven by that unshakable instinct. The grass was cold and wet beneath her feet, but she didn’t stop. Not until she reached the training grounds.
• The door stood ajar. Moonlight spilled through it like invitation.
• Remi now filled with a bolt of energy said " There, in there, the scent is ther-"
• As Jenna stepped in to take a look They froze.
• There, shirtless and sweat-slick, was Alexander.
• He moved like shadow and flame, blades flashing in each hand as he sliced through a routine with deadly grace. Muscles flexed beneath inked skin. Scars. Power. Control.
• He turned, and their eyes met.
• Jenna’s breath hitched.
• His presence shook something loose in her. Her knees wobbled as she tried to turn away to run. Her body reacted with heat, though her mind was still sluggish with pain and memory.
• Alexander’s voice was calm, but firm. “Don’t run.”
• She didn’t. Couldn’t. Her body remembered pain, but her soul remembered...
• “I—I don’t understand,” she whispered. “Where am I? How long have I been here?”
• Alexander sheathed his blades, but hesitated. He didn’t answer right away. He studied her, watching the confusion in her eyes, the way her arms curled slightly inward like she was bracing for pain. He feared that if he said too much—if he reminded her of what had happened—she might break all over again.
• She looked up at him, her voice smaller now. “I remember... I remember Sean saying things. Hurting me. And Maris... she was there. She said awful things. Then everything went black.”
• Alexander exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. “You’ve been unconscious for four days. You’re in the Northern Packlands. My Pack, and your Safe.”
• She blinked. “Why?”
• “Because your mate left you to die when he broke the bond,” he said, voice dark and heavy with truth, “and I couldn’t leave you there. Not like that. Not alone. Not after what he did.”
• Jenna looked at him, confusion flickering in her gaze. “Why?” she asked, voice barely above a whisper. “Why do you care?”
• Alexander hesitated. He searched her face for a long moment, then finally spoke. “Do you know what happens to someone when they’re rejected by their mate?”
• Jenna shook her head slowly. “No... but I can guess it’s painful.”
• “It’s more than painful,” he said. “It can kill you. The breaking of a mate bond isn’t just emotional. It’s physical. Some survive, but most don’t. The wolf usually dies first—because a wolf can’t live without its mate. When the bond shatters, so does the spirit.”
• Jenna froze.
• Remi stirred weakly inside her. But... I’m still here. I’m hurt, but I’m here.
• She swallowed, heart thudding. Should she tell him? Should she say that her wolf hadn’t died?
• But the words caught in her throat.
• Instead, she asked, “If you knew this and I was supposed to be... wolfless, why did you bring me with you? Why not just let me die?”
• Alexander opened his mouth, then closed it again. The truth trembled on his tongue, but he knew she wasn’t ready to hear it. Not yet. So instead, he offered her a piece of it.
• “Sean is my brother,” he said carefully. “He asked me to be there—to witness the bond ceremony. Said he wanted me to see it solidified beneath the stars as a gift to the Moon Goddess.”
• Jenna looked up, startled and slightly scared. “You’re his brother?”
• Alexander nodded once. “But he had other plans. The only way to break the marriage contract between your families was to give you to another Alpha. That would’ve been the only legal way out.”
• He paused, voice growing heavy. “We were'nt raised together, I was sent away to live with my uncle. I never thought he would grow to be so cruel. I never imagined he’d do... what he did. Especially not to his mate... But the moment he broke that bond, if I wasn't there, if you hadn’t been taken in by someone, you would have been casted out. Banished from your pack. You would’ve been left to die.”
• He swallowed hard, eyes locking with hers. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
• Jenna lowered her gaze, overwhelmed. Her throat tightened as emotion coiled in her chest. Everything he said, everything she remembered—it was too much.
• “I…” she started, but her voice trailed off. Her head spun. The air felt thinner.
• “Alexander…” she murmured, her balance tipping. “I… I don’t feel…”
• She stumbled.
• Before she could fall, Alexander was there, arms around her, holding her steady. Her face pressed against the warm skin of his chest, damp with sweat and radiating strength. The scent, his scent, wrapped around her. It was intoxicating. Magnetic.
• Her breath hitched.
• She slowly looked up, meaning to thank him, to pull away, but her eyes roamed his chest, his shoulders, the strong line of his jaw. Her pulse pounded.
• She stepped back, cheeks flushing. “Thank you.”
• But as she turned, her gaze lingered. Trailed over every muscle, every scar, every inch of him. Her body betrayed her, heat coiled low in her belly. Her thighs instinctively pressed together.
• Remi stirred with a soft growl of longing. He smells like fire. And strength. And he’s watching. He knows.
• Jenna felt it then, the shift. The scent in the air. Her arousal.
• Alexander’s eyes gleamed as he caught the change, his lips curving into a knowing smirk.
• Jenna flushed deeper, mortified. “Remi, why… why is he looking at me like that?”
• Because he can smell you.
• Her eyes widened.
• “You need to rest,” Alexander said softly, though the edge of hunger in his voice betrayed his calm tone.
• He didn’t tell her that she was no omega.
• That her wolf, Remi, had blood older than even Sean’s title.
• That Jenna wasn’t weak like Sean declared.
• She was his mate.
• A True Luna.
• And now, the pack would burn for her.