Chapter 2 Lost

CHAPTER TWO

The forest breathed with danger

Wind howled between the trees, sharp and cold like fate itself. Branches clawed at Eira's arms as she sprinted, her wolf blood burning, her heart pounding like a war drum. Ronan was beside her-blood on his shirt, fire in his eyes, and love in every desperate step.

They weren't just running. They were defying the Moon Goddess.

Because Eira wasn't just anyone. She was the fated mate of Alpha Kael.

And she had chosen someone else.

The clearing opened before them-and the moment her paws hit the earth, she knew.

Too late.

Wolves.

Glowing eyes in the dark. Fangs gleaming like daggers. A deadly circle closing in fast.

And then, he emerged.

Kael.

Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack.

Draped in shadow and silence, Kael stepped forward like a storm just before it broke. His golden eyes locked onto Eira, ancient and unreadable. His presence swallowed the night. He didn't need to shift to be a threat-he was one in every breath.

"You ran," he said, voice soft, deadly.

Eira raised her chin. "We're leaving."

Kael's jaw twitched. "You don't choose. The bond does."

"No. I belong to no one."

Kael moved closer, his voice a whisper edged with steel. "You're mine by fate. That means your heart. Your blood. Your soul. Even your defiance... belongs to me."

His eyes flicked to Ronan, narrow and glowing.

"Leave her," Kael growled, his fangs flashing, "or I will rip you into pieces."

Ronan bared his teeth, his wolf trembling just beneath his skin. "Over my dead body."

Kael tilted his head, cold and calm. "That can be arranged."

The pack lunged.

The clearing exploded-howls, fangs, fur, blood.

Eira shifted mid-leap, claws slashing, fangs tearing. She was a blur of silver and fury, carving down two wolves in seconds. Ronan followed, his wolf pure white, his movements wild and desperate. They fought as one-love and rage in motion.

But the pack was too many

Ronan took a bite to the shoulder, snarling, still fighting. Then his foot caught a root-he stumbled, and a jagged branch stabbed into his side.

"Ronan!" Eira cried, tearing through enemies toward him.

But jaws clamped onto her limbs-three wolves at once. She snarled, fought, bit-but they dragged her down.

Kael didn't move. He watched.

"Take her to Gravenia," he said coldly. "If she resists-bind her in silver."

"No!" Eira thrashed, her claws raking the earth

Ronan, bloodied and staggering, tore the branch from his side with a snarl. His eyes locked on Eira-and he surged forward. Even broken, even bleeding, he was still trying to reach her.

Until the gunshot.

The forest cracked.

Ronan's body jerked-blood spilled from his chest.

Not a wolf. Not Kael.

Someone else.

Kael turned, his face twisting. "Who fired?"

Eira broke free for a second-just enough to crawl toward Ronan.

"I love you," she whispered.

Ronan's lips parted. "I love y-"

He collapsed.

Her scream shook the trees.

Kael was there in an instant. He caught her by the wrist as she lunged for Ronan's body.

"Let me go!" she cried, tears streaking her bloodied face.

Kael's voice was low. "You'll forget him."

She hissed, "You're a monster."

He paused.

Then, softer-hurt barely hidden behind the ice-he said, "If I were truly a monster, you'd already be dead."

His grip tightened just slightly, as if afraid she'd vanish if he let go.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Eira," he murmured, golden eyes locked on hers. "But I won't let you belong to anyone else."

Eira's voice cracked. "I'm already hurt. You've taken everything."

Kael's jaw clenched, and for the first time, something broke in him.

He pulled her close, not in rage-but something like desperation. "Then let me fix it. Let me keep what's left.

She looked away. "You can't fix what you've shattered."

But he didn't release her.

And she didn't stop fighting-not until the pack had her fully restrained.

Her body bruised. Her heart broken.

They moved fast through the forest-wolves could cover miles in minutes. Eira clawed and bit and writhed the entire way, but they were too many. Kael walked beside her in silence, every step unreadable. He didn't touch her again, but his eyes never left her.

When they reached Gravenia, the territory was cloaked in shadow. Cold stone towers. Silver gates. The air itself felt heavy with power.

The moment they passed through the gates, Eira whispered under her breath:

"I'll love you forever, Ronan. I promise."

Kael's eyes flicked toward her-but he said nothing.

The forest behind them swallowed Ronan's blood, and the moon, heartless and full, watched in silence.

Gravenia's stone walls loomed, shrouded in mist. Thunder rumbled above, disapproving of Eira's capture.

Kael walked ahead, silent yet turbulent. His clenched fists betrayed his turmoil.

Inside the stronghold, torches cast eerie shadows. Guards pushed Eira forward; she snarled, snapping.

Kael turned, his voice icy. "Enough!"

Eira trembled with rage and grief. "You killed him."

Kael's jaw tightened. "I didn't. That bullet wasn't mine."

Eira met his eyes, breathing hard. "You hurt me."

Kael's face shifted, revealing the man behind the Alpha. "I love you," he said quietly. "Even if it makes me a monster."

The guards led Eira to a windowless room. Wolves patrolled outside, their eyes glowing.

Eira's anger and grief simmered. She plotted her rebellion, determination growing with each passing moment. She would escape, and she would make Kael pay.

Eira blinked.

Kael's voice lowered. "You think I didn't feel it when he touched you? When you kissed him? You think I didn't feel it burning through the bond?"

She said nothing.

"I don't want to hurt you, Eira. But I'll never let you go."

She met his eyes, breathing hard. "You already hurt me. You are hurting me."

Kael's face shifted. For a flicker of a moment, the Alpha was gone-and the man who had once watched her from afar, who had waited for the bond to awaken, stood in his place.

"I love you in ways you don't understand," he said quietly. "Even if it makes me a monster."

Eira's voice cracked. "You don't have to be one."

But the moment ended. Guards stepped forward again.

Kael turned away, and with a nod, Eira was pulled toward a cell lined with silver.

"I won't stay in your cage," she growled.

Kael didn't look back. "It's not the cage that keeps you. It's the bond."

The door slammed shut behind her.

But Eira wasn't done. And she would never forget Ronan.

Not while her heart still beat.

Kael's POV

"You're a monster."

Her voice cracked when she said it, but the slap that followed was strong. I didn't flinch. I didn't stop her. I just stood there and let her spill her rage onto me, even though it burned more than claws ever could.

Eira had every right to hate me. Or at least she thought she did. That's what broke me the most. That she believed I was capable of such cruelty. That I'd ordered Ronan's firing, or worse... that I'd had a hand in what happened to him.

I hadn't. But how could she believe anything I said when her heart was shattered and I was the one holding the shards?

She screamed after she slapped me, clawing at the door even though it was already open. I wasn't keeping her prisoner-not anymore-but that didn't matter to her. In her eyes, I had become the cage.

Laxton found me in the corridor moments later. I must've looked like hell, standing there in the shadows with her voice echoing in my head.

"You alright, Alpha?"

"No," I said. I was too tired to lie.

He was my beta, my second-in-command, but more than that, he was my brother in arms. If anyone knew the cost of leadership, he did.

"She hit you?" he asked, eyes flicking toward the room.

I gave a tight nod.

"Maybe you deserved it."

"Yh, I deserved it."

Laxton crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. "I assume you didn't fire Ronan."

"No. That wasn't me. I wouldn't do that."

"She doesn't know that."

"She doesn't believe that."

Silence stretched between us. I could hear her inside, pacing like a storm waiting to break. The pain in her footsteps mirrored mine.

"You love her," Laxton said.

"More than I have the right to."

He sighed. "Then tell her."

"She won't listen."

"Then show her."

My claws dug into my palms again. Blood welled beneath the nails, just like it had when we brought her back. My wolf howled inside me, torn between anger and grief.

"I need air," I muttered.

Laxton didn't stop me. He knew better. I shifted once I got past the northern wall, fur replacing flesh in a rush of fire. I ran through the woods like I was chasing the past. Or maybe trying to outrun it.

The forest didn't ask questions. It didn't judge. It just let me be. Trees blurred past me, scents flying by until I skidded to a stop near the eastern border-where the last blood trail had ended.

But there was no body.

Where Ronan should've been, there was only dried blood. No wolf. No corpse. Nothing.

I stood there, breathing hard.

"What the hell...?"

I shifted back to human, crouching, inspecting the leaves, the soil, every inch. There was no sign of a struggle, no pawprints. Just absence. As if someone had come quietly and taken him away.

I didn't call Laxton. I didn't call anyone.

If Ronan was alive... if someone had helped him... then Eira's grief was built on a lie. But if he was dead and someone took the body, that meant secrets. Dangerous ones.

I returned before dawn.

I brought her food.

She hadn't eaten. I knew because the untouched tray from yesterday still sat by the window.

She didn't look at me when I entered. Just stared at the floor, her eyes hollow.

"I didn't fire him," I said softly.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I didn't hurt him, Eira. I didn't want him gone. But I couldn't watch him touch you and pretend it didn't break something inside me."

Her fists clenched. "Everything breaks with you."

I sat down across from her, ignoring the ache.

"Eat. Please."

She looked at the tray like it offended her.

"You keep saying you don't want to hurt me, Kael. But you do. You keep hurting me without even trying."

I swallowed hard. "Then I'll try harder."

"Why? Because you think we're bonded? Because you think fate means I belong to you?"

"Because I love you."

Her eyes snapped to mine. "You don't know what that means."

"Maybe not. But I'm trying. And I'll keep trying. Even if it kills me."

For the first time since we brought her back, she looked at me not with rage-but with something deeper. Pain. Real, unfiltered pain.

"Why didn't you stop them? Why didn't you fight for him?"

"Because I didn't know until it was too late. And by the time I did, you already hated me."

Her lip trembled. But she picked up the spoon. Ate a little. And didn't throw it back at me.

It wasn't forgiveness. But it was a start.

And I would take that, even if it was the smallest mercy the moon had to offer.

Eira's POV

The door clicked softly as he walked out, the quiet almost louder than his footsteps. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the space he'd left behind-like it might explain everything he never said.

The tray of food sat on the edge of the table, the warmth still clinging to it like a stubborn memory.

I didn't want to touch it.

But I did.

Not because I trusted him, or forgave him, or even knew what to feel anymore. I touched it because hunger is louder than pain sometimes. Louder than grief. Louder than hate.

And that scared me.

Because what if, deep down, I wasn't just starving for food?

What if I wanted to believe him?

I sat on the edge of the bed, eyes on the door, fork in hand. The food was simple. Familiar. I hated that it reminded me of a time when things were safe.

But everything safe had burned.

I ate slowly, chewing like it might stop my mind from racing. Then, out of nowhere, I heard voices outside.

Low. Urgent.

I moved without thinking, slipping out of the room and into the hall, feet silent on the floor. I followed the sound-Kael's voice first, then another-Laxton.

I stopped near the edge of the corridor, pressing myself against the cold wall.

"She still thinks I killed him," Kael said. His voice was quieter than I'd ever heard it. Tired.

Laxton made a sound between a sigh and a grunt. "She's grieving. And confused. Anyone would be."

"I told her I didn't fire the shot," Kael said. "But... how could she believe me?"

"She's not just angry, Kael. She's lost."

Kael paused. "So am I."

And then something changed in his voice. Something sharper. "I went back to the clearing."

Laxton stiffened. "Why?"

Kael hesitated. "I don't know. I thought maybe... maybe I could find peace. But the body-" His voice dropped even lower. "Ronan's body wasn't there."

My stomach turned cold.

Laxton didn't answer. I could hear the stillness in the silence.

"No blood," Kael added. "No sign of a struggle. It's like he vanished."

I stepped back. The world tilted under me, and I barely caught myself against the wall.

Gone?

Gone how?

Dead men don't walk away. And Ronan-he wouldn't have left without a fight. He wouldn't leave me like that.

I was shaking.

I hadn't realized I was until my breath caught in my throat and I felt my fingers curl into my sides.

I took another step, and the soft scuff of my foot caught Kael's attention.

He turned. His expression shifted instantly, like he was trying to build a wall in his face fast enough to hide behind it.

I stepped forward. "You weren't going to tell me?"

His jaw tightened. "I didn't know how."

Laxton glanced between us but said nothing. He looked uncomfortable, like he'd stumbled into a war he didn't want to fight.

"You didn't know how?" My voice cracked. "Or you didn't want to deal with what it meant?"

Kael didn't move. "Eira, I didn't-"

"No," I cut in, voice sharper. "You kept it to yourself. While I sat there thinking he was dead. While I ate the food you brought me like it was supposed to mean something. You knew something was wrong. You went back. And you still didn't tell me."

Kael swallowed hard. "I was trying to protect you."

"That's not your job," I snapped. "You don't get to decide what I can or can't handle."

He didn't respond.

"Do you even care?" I whispered.

The question hurt coming out.

Because part of me wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

Kael looked at me, and for once, I couldn't read him. There was something in his eyes-quiet, fractured, unsure.

"I don't know what I feel anymore," he said finally.

I blinked, stung.

And I hated how much that answer hurt.

Without another word, I turned and walked away.

This time, I didn't wait for the echo of his footsteps behind me.

Because I knew they wouldn't come.