Page 37 of The Alpha's Reclaimed Mate

For three days, I dragged myself through the forest, following the scent of the only person I could feel safe with. If not for my wounds, I would have gotten there by nightfall the day of the attack. But I was losing too much blood. I was too tired. It was too difficult to walk for very long, so I had to stop and rest every couple of hours, and my exhaustion was so intense that I couldn’t resist sleep. I would drift unconscious and then wake again with the sun halfway across the sky, as if my body protested the very act of travel, begging me to recover. I had no choice. Those three days, I held my breath at every sound, stared long into the darkness, and waited for the rogues to show their faces. They never did. It was a miracle I survived.

Finally, I hit the scent markers of the Silent Shadows Pack. Breathing in the hearty, comforting scent of Lucas Black, I collapsed in the grass and just relished it. I made it. All I had to do was get to the village, but it was so hard to keep my eyes open. Dried blood was packed into my wounds, which stung with the threat of infection, and my bones resonated with an ache I couldn’t resolve. My body was getting ready to give up, but I couldn’t. Not when I was so close…

My eyelids sunk shut. Sprawled out in the grass, I took a great breath in, Lucas’ smell lingering on the tip of my tongue. Then, as the breath hissed out of my lungs, I felt myself drift away.

If I never woke up again, it would be no great loss to anyone. I’d failed my family and my pack. I would only fail Lucas, too. Maybe it was better for everyone if I just gave up here.

A wet nose nudged against mine.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”A voice ebbed into my ears, sounding a million miles away like it had come from a dream.“Please get up. I can help you. I just need you to wake up.”

Despite my body screaming in protest, I urged myself back to life, groggily fluttering my eyelids open. The dark forest ahead of me inched back into focus, and with it, the body of a wolf crouched in front of me. Alarm bells went off, and a gasp stuck in my throat as I reeled away from the stranger. They could be a rogue trying to kill me. Or one of my packmates trying to sabotage me. My will to live might have weakened, but my instincts remained as strong as ever. Without thinking, my first reflex was to protect myself, and the stranger recognized that. Guilt crossed his face as he backed away, giving me space.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you!”

My ears pinned back, my body feeling heavier by the second. It was difficult to hold myself up. All the pain that bogged me down came filtering back in the longer I was conscious.

“You’re Aria Gunn, right?”

He knew my name and recognized me, but it was clear he wasn’t from my pack. I inhaled his scent and found it matched the Silent Shadows Pack. Even more, interestingly, it almost reminded me of Lucas. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.

The wolf’s expression softened, pleased to have identified me, only to shift back into concern.“You’re hurt. What happened? Are you okay?”

My mouth hung open. My throat was so dry that the words struggled to escape.“We were attacked.”

“Attacked?”His eyes widened.“Who’s we? Who attacked you?”

“My pack. We were running together when a swarm of Rogues ambushed us from the trees,”I explained weakly.“They were relentless. There was so much blood…”My voice trailed off as I recalled a vision of the attack. Gnashing teeth and gleaming eyes. Sheer bloodlust. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, even the few Rogue attacks I’d endured before. Something about this attack was far more violent, feral, and horrifying. Maybe it was the magnitude of the bloodshed. The rampage had shaken me to my very core.

“What happened to your pack?”The other wolf sought my gaze.

I snapped back to attention, heaving myself to my feet with a sigh.“They fled. I don’t know if they’re okay.”

“So, how did you end up here, then?”

“I…”Was I the coward for running away instead of going back to the villa? Guilt gnawed at my heart.“I was still fighting when they all ran.”

His eyes widened in a flash of anger.“And they just left you?!”

That was what happened, wasn’t it? Yet still, I felt like I was in the wrong. I nodded.

“Oh, Lucas is not going to be happy,”said the other wolf. He shook his head, snorted, and then seeing me falter, quickly came to my side.“I’m taking you back to him right now.”

I tensed at his touch, refusing to allow physical contact because of my touch starvation. The sensation became alien to me. The only person I wanted anywhere close to me was Lucas, and even then, I wasn’t sure it was responsible for me to want.“Wait. Just who are you?”

The wolf blinked at me, taken aback.“I’m Scott Black. Lucas’ younger brother.”

So that was why he shared Lucas’ scent.“Can I… trust you?”

Admittedly, it was kind of a stupid question to ask. A liar and an honest person would both say the same thing. All Scott did was smile reassuringly at me, offering his shoulder for me to lean on.“I’d never harm someone that Lucas holds dear.”

The words tightened my chest. Lucas must have made it pretty obvious to everyone around him that he was fond of me, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to live up to their expectations.

Accepting Scott’s gesture, I gingerly leaned against him, using his shoulder for support as we walked deeper into the Silent Shadows' territory. The sun was already sinking into the horizon, sapping warmth from the humid air and leaving it with an icy chill instead. Long shadows stretched from the trees, reaching toward the village. I nearly winced when I escaped the darkness and hit the last beams of sunlight. As we took to the main road, I realized that everyone had stopped to stare at me, watching in concern and curiosity. At first, it reminded me that I was an outsider. I didn’t really belong here. But they didn’t gawk at me as my own pack would have. They murmured, but I caught whispers of their words:

“Oh my, I hope she’s alright.”

“I wonder what did that to her?”

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