Page 48 of Reclaiming His Lost Mate
“A simple exchange,” Marissa purred as if discussing ores or herbs rather than the life of my child. “I will see you in the Shadow Moon Pack lands—at the southern border at dawn. If you’re smart about things, you’ll hand over the territory peacefully. If you refuse, the consequences will be dire.”
My breath faltered as horror gripped my heart. Would she harm Mia to gain what she wanted? The thought fueled a fire in my veins—a mix of dread and fury that begged for release.
“Marissa!” Alexis's voice thundered through the phone, furious. “You’ll regret this!”
Her laughter twisted into the air, a sinister melody. “I believe I told you something similar in your throne room only a few days ago! You can’t intimidate me, Alexis. You and Selina refuse to see what I’ve had to endure. My rightful place as Luna should have been at your side in Shadow Moon. Instead, I’ve found an Alpha who is much more aligned with my vision. Torin takes what he wants, and you can be assured that he will be beside me when I take Shadow Moon if you don’t give it to me as you should have when you had the chance.”
Alpha Torin’s name crashed over me like a cascade of icy water. Marissa hadn’t just thrown her lot in with the Black Moon Pack in general. She’d allied with the Alpha of the pack. The Black Moon Alpha was double her age, closer to our father Lucian’s. He had a son, Marcus, around our age. It hit me that Marissa would stop at nothing, just like Alexis had said, in her pursuit of power.
The Black Moon Alpha’s name had a similar effect on Alexis,whose jaw clenched and he ground out. “Torin! So what, I rejected you, and you ran off to Torin to secure yourself a place as Luna? That’s a new low even for you, Marissa.”
“I told you you were making the biggest mistake of your life, Alexis,” she shot back. “Only a fool sets their sights on one prospect. I’ve had influence with Torin for a few months now, but let’s just say your foolish actions had me securing him. Just remember it was you who forced my hand,” she said with relish. After a pause, she said,
I won’t harm Mia—not yet—until you give in to my terms. Be there at dawn tomorrow.”
“It’s already night,” Alexis argued. “We can’t—”
“If you want to see her alive, I will see you at dawn,” Marissa cut across, her words final. And with that, the line disconnected, leaving a suffocating silence in its wake.
I tightened my hands into fists, but I couldn’t stop trembling as Marissa’s threat kept replaying, “If you want to see her alive…”
“Selina?” Alexis’s voice cut through the frozen dread clawing at my insides. “We’re going to Shadow Moon, and we will get our daughter back.”
“How?” I sounded desperate, my voice cracking under the weight of my fear.
“I helped Alpha Kyle overthrow the previous corrupt Alpha Reginald. Kyle will help us now,” he replied, confidence mingling with fury as he fisted his hands.
I thought of Alpha Kyle and the Moonlight Pack, who I had also come to consider friends. I could picture Luna Leah, her strength and warmth enveloping me like a balm, a reminder of the love that existed in our world, even amid the turmoil.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Luna Leah will understand what we’re facing, too,” I said, a sense of solidarity pushing through the fear.
Lyvia's thoughts echoed similar sentiments as she said, “And the Blood Moons will answer, too. I know Roman and Mark will stand beside us against the Black Moons, too. Besides, I’ll fight beside you, Selina,” she added.
My gaze brimmed with gratitude as I moved to Lyv. “I don’t know what I did to deserve such a friend as you, Lyv, but every day I’m grateful.”I hugged the witch who had become my best friend these last five years and who I couldn’t imagine life without.
“I’ll come with you, too, Selina,” Seraphina said.
I looked at her in surprise. I’d only known her a day and she was offering to stand in battle with us for the sake of my daughter. I had witnessed her compassion in helping the infected witches in this shop earlier, but this was going above and beyond.
“Seraphina, I can’t ask that of you—” I protested.
She moved closer to me, putting her hands on my shoulders and holding my gaze. “The Black Moons invaded my lands. I want to stand against them, too. They've caused so much pain and suffering in our lands... and… in my own family.” Her voice trembled slightly, and the same look of sorrow that she’d had earlier when she’d spoken about her mother came over her face. She took a deep breath and continued. “I want to be a part of stopping them, for my own sake and for the sake of everyone they’ve hurt.” Tears stung my eyes as I thought of how she couldn’t have been more than a young teenager when the Black Moons had invaded. I knew what it was to grow up without my mother and intuited that whatever loss she felt concerning her mother was connected to the Black Moons invasion. I felt even more kinship with this remarkable woman as she offered to support me in this fight. “I’d be honored to have you standing with us,” I said, squeezing her shoulder before I turned around to look at each one of them.
“But don’t underestimate Marissa,” I added, dread trickling through me. None of them—neither Alexis nor Lyvia—knew the monster that Marissa truly was. They’d witnessed the dark magic, but I’d grown up with her and seen the depths of the cruelty she’d sink to. I hated that I could imagine that she would sink to harming a child, but I knew she would, especially my child.
Fury ignited like a flame in my chest—and each of my heartbeats thumped with a visceral need to protect Mia. “If she harms Mia, I will find Marissa and kill her,” I vowed, rage making my voice tremble.
Alexis’s gaze bore into mine, filled with unwavering conviction, a fierce guardian ready to protect his family. “I won’t let Mia come toharm. You have my word. All of Shadow Moon and I will fight for our daughter.”
The intensity in his eyes sparked a fire in my heart. And with that, we locked eyes—a silent vow of strength and resilience reinforced by the love we had for our daughter. Together, we would navigate this darkness, flanked by our friends and packmates.
Chapter 23
Alexis
The small plane rattled and lurched as it descended through the darkened sky, the landscape below cloaked in the velvet of night. I sat beside Selina, our fingers intertwined, a lifeline amid the overwhelming tension that buzzed between us like static in the air. The engines droned on, muffling our voices whenever we spoke. We had been mostly quiet, though, our minds already consumed with the imminent battle ahead.
Lyvia and Seraphina had brought enough ores with them to locate Mia. An unspoken agreement lay between us: the witches would first locate our daughter’s aura before joining in the fight. Mia’s safety was paramount. If Marissa intended to act on her threats, the witches needed to pinpoint our daughter’s location swiftly. The weight of Marissa's malevolent vow pressed heavily on my chest. I kept imagining the smirk stretched across Marissa’s face, relishing the power she wielded over us by holding our daughter captive.
