Chapter 3 A New Pack

Chapter Three: A New Pack

Astrid opened her eyes to unfamiliar warmth.

She was lying in a soft bed, wrapped in clean sheets. The scent of herbs floated in the air, and sunlight streamed through tall windows. The room was quiet, too quiet. It wasn't her room in Kael's pack house. It was bigger, warmer, safer.

Her eyes fluttered around the space-solid wooden walls, shelves stacked with folded linens, a table with bowls of steaming food and a vase of wildflowers. She was... alive. And not alone.

Her heart jumped when the door opened.

It was him.

Alpha Cane.

He was no longer in his wolf form. Now, he wore a dark shirt rolled up at the sleeves, revealing muscular arms dusted with scars. His pants were tucked into leather boots. His hair, damp at the ends, curled slightly at his temples. His silver eyes met hers and held.

"You're awake," he said simply.

Astrid swallowed. Her throat was still dry. Her body ached. But she nodded.

"I didn't know where else to take you," he said as he stepped in. "You collapsed by the river."

She sat up slowly. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days."

Her mouth fell open.

"You had fever. Blood loss. Infection setting in. The healer said you were close."

She looked down at her hands. The cuts had been cleaned. Her wrists were wrapped. Even her bruises were fading.

"Why... did you help me?" she asked.

Cane stared at her for a moment before answering.

"Because no woman with that much pain in her scent should be left to die."

Astrid looked away, biting her lower lip. The words hit deep. She had always been good at hiding her pain back home. Smiling when she wanted to scream. Laughing when her heart broke.

But this man saw through it all in a single breath.

Later that day, she was brought food by a young girl with round cheeks and bright eyes. She introduced herself as Mira, one of the omegas of the Night Fang Pack.

Mira spoke softly but eagerly. "You're staying, right? Everyone's talking about you."

Astrid blinked. "Why?"

"You're the first outsider Alpha Cane has ever brought back himself. He carried you here. Even refused to let the healer touch you at first."

Astrid's brows lifted. "Why?"

Mira just giggled. "You should ask him."

She left before Astrid could press further.

Astrid lay back, trying to make sense of it all.

Why had Cane helped her?

Why was he being... kind?

Three days passed.

Astrid regained her strength bit by bit. Her appetite returned, and her color did too. She was given new clothes-simple leggings and a loose tunic-and walked the perimeter of the courtyard each morning to stretch her legs.

But it wasn't just the physical wounds she was healing from.

Every time she passed a mother with a baby or heard a child's laugh, something inside her cracked.

She'd touch her stomach, feeling the emptiness.

Her baby. Her child. Gone.

Because of Kael.

The memory of his face as he called her "immature"... the way the guards had kicked her... the pain... the blood...

She had thought it would get easier.

It didn't.

That night, she sat alone under a tree near the training grounds, watching the moon rise.

"You're still not sleeping," Cane's voice came from behind her.

She didn't turn.

"You watch me now?" she asked quietly.

"I watch everyone."

He walked forward and stood beside her.

They stayed in silence for a while.

"You have no wolf," he finally said.

She didn't flinch. "I never shifted."

"Why?"

She looked up at the moon, blinking hard. "I guess I never felt safe enough."

That answer seemed to surprise him. He didn't speak for a while.

"I've never had a mate," he said.

Astrid turned to him. "Never?"

Cane shrugged. "I don't believe in fated things. I believe in choices. Loyalty. Power."

She studied him. His jaw was tight. His gaze, distant.

"And what about love?" she asked.

He gave a bitter laugh. "Love is just another form of weakness in our world."

Astrid hugged her knees tighter. "Then I've been weak my whole life."

She didn't expect what happened next.

Cane sat beside her.

Close. Closer than he had ever dared to come before.

"You were not weak, Astrid," he said quietly. "You were betrayed. There's a difference."

Her heart skipped. No one had said that to her. Not even herself.

She felt the sting of tears and quickly wiped them.

"You don't even know me," she whispered.

He looked at her then, long and hard.

"I know pain when I see it. And I know strength when it's hiding beneath broken skin."

Their eyes locked.

She didn't pull away when he reached out and gently brushed a leaf from her hair.

She didn't want to.

The next morning, Cane called her to the training grounds.

"I want you to meet the warriors," he said.

Astrid hesitated. "I'm not strong enough yet."

"You will be."

There were six warriors in the clearing, sparring with swords and claws. They stopped when Cane raised his hand.

"This is Astrid. She's our new beta."

Gasps echoed. Someone dropped their blade.

Astrid froze. "Beta?"

"You earned it," Cane said, meeting her eyes. "I need a beta who's survived fire. Not someone born with a silver spoon."

Astrid looked at the men and women standing before her.

Some stared in disbelief. Others nodded with quiet respect.

"You don't even know what I can do," she said softly to Cane.

His lips curved into the slightest smirk. "Then show me."

Training was brutal.

Cane didn't treat her like she was fragile. He paired her against the strongest warrior, a broad-shouldered man named Dren who didn't hold back.

Astrid fought hard. She was no longer the Luna who sat beside a throne. She ducked, blocked, punched. Her instincts kicked in. Every move was sharp, angry, fueled by years of swallowing pain.

By the end of the session, her lip was bleeding, her arms bruised.

But she stood tall.

"I told you," Cane said as he handed her a towel. "You just needed a reason to fight."

She looked at him, chest rising and falling. "I have a reason."

He nodded. "Good."

That night, as Astrid returned to her room, she found a package on her bed.

She opened it slowly.

Inside was a folded cloak-black, lined with red-and a brooch shaped like a crescent moon.

A note rested on top in sharp, clean handwriting:

"For the fire you carry. Wear it like armor. – Cane."

She stared at it for a long moment.

Then pressed it to her heart.

A week later, Astrid stood at the watchtower when Mira ran up, breathless.

"News from Kael's pack," she said, eyes wide. "They're saying... Kara's baby... it's not his."

Astrid froze.

Mira continued, "Another man came forward. Claimed he's the father. Kael... he lost it."

Astrid's heart pounded.

"They say Kael attacked Kara. She's dead."

Astrid's breath hitched.

"And now..." Mira whispered, "Kael's been stripped of his alpha title. Banished."

Astrid turned her face toward the forest.

Her lips parted slowly.

It had begun.