Breaking the Bond: My Alpha Chose a Vampire, So I Took My Pack

Chapter 3

He sounded casual, as though the thought had only just occurred to him.

"Why are you asking about it? We can make video calls now. What would you need that old thing for?"

"Lucille has never seen one, and she's curious." Amusement lit Cassian's eyes. "She may be fun to be around, but she hasn't experienced much. She's been struggling lately, so I want to show it to her."

"That crystal ball can reveal any corner of the pack territory. Are you certain you want to hand it to a vampire?"

His voice turned cold. "You're still prejudiced against vampires. Lucille won't hurt you. She's only curious. Do you have any idea how unbearable immortality can become? Hardly anything interests her anymore."

Before I could respond, Cassian strode toward the witch's quarters.

The pack members nearby watched my face carefully. They couldn't understand how two people who had been holding hands moments earlier had suddenly walked away angry.

That evening, Cassian sent me a message.

Cassian: Lucille's doing better. Your crystal ball worked wonders. I've never seen a vampire look so sweet and innocent. LoL.

My stomach turned.

A piercing alarm suddenly shrieked outside the pack house.

Screams, crashes, and the furious, agonized howls of wolves tore through the night.

By the time I ran out, the territory was in chaos. Hunters had somehow breached the wards. They knew our paths with terrifying precision, avoided every patrol, and headed straight for the area where the pups usually played.

They seized a pup who had been playing ball outside. Beta Walter raced after them and took a silver bullet in the back while shielding the child.

The pup was carried inside drenched in blood, barely breathing and too weak even to whimper. Smoke curled from the blackened wounds across Walter's shoulder and back. The smell of burned flesh and blood hung in the freezing air.

More hunters were closing in.

Agony tore through me as my bones stretched and reshaped. I shifted into wolf form and lunged at the hunters. Rage burned away every rational thought. This was my pack, and these were the ones I had sworn to protect.

Only after the last hunter retreated did silence finally fall.

The silence was more suffocating than the fighting had been.

The pack house was crowded with wounded wolves. Healers moved from one patient to the next while the smells of hot water, herbal remedies, and blood filled the air.

No one raised their voice. The survivors were ghostly pale, as though they all sensed that something worse was still coming.

With trembling hands, I called Cassian.

The first call went unanswered. So did the second. By the 10th call, he still hadn't picked up.

I stared at his unanswered number as my heart sank. The hunters couldn't have known our territory that well unless they had seen it through the crystal ball.

I called him 20 times.

Every unanswered ring felt like another blow to my chest.

I forced open the mind link, but when my consciousness reached for the familiar connection, it met a solid wall of ice.

He had shut me out.

My phone slipped from my hand and struck the floor with a dull thud.

Beta Walter had just had the silver bullet removed from his shoulder. He sat beside the dying pup in silence. After a long while, he looked up at me as though he had finally reached a decision.

"Luna, take us home." Walter's voice was low and exhausted. He glanced at the pup, and his eyes reddened. "We can't rely on Alpha Cassian anymore. He must be under that vampire's spell. Your father, our former Alpha, refused to leave the ancestral territory. He's been waiting for us all this time. Please, take us home."

The omegas and warriors around him joined in. "Luna, take us back to your father!"

I nodded.

I didn't sleep that night.

Outside, the sky faded from black to gray. Stifled moans rose and fell inside the pack house while I sat at a desk and booked a private plane.

Cold light from the screen washed across my face.

Cassian never replied.