Chapter 7 The Mate's Pursuit

• Donovan POV
• I hadn't slept in three days.
• Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. Silver eyes wide with hurt as I sentenced her to exile. The way she'd looked at me at that moment, like I'd ripped her heart out with my bare hands.
• Maybe I had.
• The mate bond was a constant agony in my chest, like a wound that wouldn't heal. The food tasted like ash. Water felt like poison. My wolf paced endlessly inside me, howling for the mate we'd abandoned.
• "Alpha." Beta Marcus knocked on my office door. "You need to eat something."
• "I'm fine," I lied, not looking up from the reports scattered across my desk. Numbers and patrol schedules that meant nothing when all I could think about was Lyra alone in the wilderness.
• "You're not fine. You look like death warmed over." Marcus entered without permission, setting a tray of food on my desk. "This isn't healthy, Donovan. The pack needs their Alpha strong."
• I finally looked at him. Marcus had been my father's Beta, and had helped raise me after my parents died. He was supposed to be the one person I could trust completely.
• So why did something about his concern feel wrong?
• "The pack will survive," I said coldly. "They got what they wanted. The freak is gone."
• Marcus flinched at my tone. "You don't mean that."
• "Don't I?" I stood up, my chair scraping against the floor. "Tell me, Marcus, how are Cassandra and her friends recovering from their injuries?"
• "Fine. A few cuts and bruises, nothing serious." His answer came too quickly. "They were lucky Lyra didn't kill them."
• "Funny thing about that," I said, moving around the desk toward him. "I went to see them myself yesterday. Want to know what I found?"
• Marcus's heartbeat picked up. My enhanced werewolf hearing caught the subtle change.
• "What do you mean?"
• "I mean their injuries were already healed. Completely. Like they'd never been hurt at all." I stopped directly in front of him. "Strange, don't you think? For werewolves who were supposedly attacked by deadly magic?"
• "Maybe their healing kicked in faster than expected..."
• "Or maybe," I said quietly, "they were never really injured at all."
• The silence stretched between us like a drawn blade. Marcus's scent changed, taking on the sharp edge of fear and guilt.
• "I don't know what you're implying, Alpha."
• "I'm not implying anything. I'm saying it directly." My voice dropped to a growl. "You set her up. You orchestrated the whole thing to make me exile my own mate."
• Marcus took a step back. "Donovan, you're not thinking clearly. The mate bond is affecting your judgment..."
• "My judgment is perfectly clear." I grabbed him by the throat, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough to make my point. "The question is, why? Why did you want Lyra gone so badly?"
• "She was dangerous! You saw what she did!"
• "What she did was protect Maya from bullies. Everything else was self-defense." I tightened my grip slightly. "Try again."
• Marcus's eyes darted toward the door, calculating escape routes. "You're making a mistake, Alpha. There are forces at work here bigger than you understand."
• "What forces?"
• "I can't... they'll kill me if I tell you."
• "I'll kill you if you don't."
• The scent of his fear spiked. "The attacks, Donovan. The Blood Moon attacks that have been plaguing both our territories. They're not random."
• My blood turned cold. "What do you know about the attacks?"
• "They're tests. Someone has been testing her, pushing her powers to awaken. Every attack was designed to put Lyra in danger, to force her abilities to the surface."
• "Who?" I demanded. "Who's been doing this?"
• "I don't know their names. They contact me through shadows, through whispers in the dark. All I know is they wanted Lyra isolated, desperate, ready to accept help from anyone who offered it."
• The pieces clicked together in my mind like a deadly puzzle. "The Witch King. They wanted to drive her to him."
• "It was supposed to be for the greater good," Marcus whispered. "They said if Lyra bonded with the witch kingdom, it would end the war between our peoples."
• "So you betrayed your own Alpha's mate to serve some mysterious shadow master?" My wolf was snarling inside me, demanding blood. "How long, Marcus? How long have you been working against me?"
• "Since before you were born," he admitted. "Your father knew. He was part of it too, at first. But when he realized what they really wanted..."
• "What do they really want?"
• Marcus's face went pale. "To reshape the supernatural world. To put someone on the throne who can control all three species werewolves, witches, and vampires."
• Vampires. The word hit me like a physical blow. "Lyra's not a vampire."
• "Isn't she? Haven't you wondered why she's so different? Why was her scent always just slightly off, why did she never fully fit in with our pack?"
• My hands were shaking. Everything I thought I knew was crumbling around me.
• "Where is she now?" I asked.
• "With the witch king, just as they planned. By now her vampire heritage will have awakened. She'll be exactly what they need for their ritual."
• "What ritual?"
• Before Marcus could answer, howls erupted outside. Not werewolf howls, something else. Something that made my skin crawl with instinctive fear.
• "Alpha!" Ethan burst through my door, his face pale with terror. "We're under attack! Kanimas, dozens of them, surrounding the pack grounds!"
• I released Marcus and ran to the window. Dark shapes moved through the forest like living shadows, their red eyes glowing in the twilight. But something was wrong. They weren't attacking the pack buildings or going after civilians.
• They were forming a corridor. A path leading directly toward witch territory.
• "They're herding us," I realized. "This isn't an attack. It's a trap."
• "Sir?" Ethan looked confused.
• I turned back to Marcus, who was backing toward the door. "This is all connected, isn't it? The attacks, Lyra's exile, and now this. Someone wants me to go after her."
• Marcus's smile was cold and satisfied. "You were always too smart for your own good, boy. Just like your father."
• "My father died in a Kanima attack."
• "Your father died because he tried to protect you from the truth. Because he refused to hand over his son to serve a greater purpose." Marcus reached the door. "But don't worry, Donovan. You'll see Lyra again very soon. The ritual requires both of you to be present."
• He fled before I could stop him.
• "Gather the warriors," I commanded Ethan. "Beta Marcus is a traitor. He's to be arrested on sight."
• "Alpha, the Kanimas..."
• "Are trying to drive us toward witch territory. Which means that's exactly where we need to go." I grabbed my weapons from the wall. "Lyra's in danger, and I'll be damned if I let whatever this is happen to her."
• "Sir, this could be suicide. If we enter witch lands..."
• "Then we enter witch lands." I looked at my loyal Beta, this man who'd stood by my side through everything. "I won't abandon my mate again, Ethan. Not even if it starts a war."
• "And if the witches see armed werewolves as an invasion force?"
• I smiled grimly. "Then we better hope the witch king values Lyra's life as much as I do."
• As we prepared to leave, the Kanimas' howls grew louder. They were impatient, eager to drive us into whatever trap awaited.
• But they'd made one mistake. They thought I was coming as a desperate mate chasing after his lost love.
• They were wrong. I was coming as an Alpha who'd finally figured out he'd been played.
• And I was ready for war.