CHAPTER 4: SECRETS AND STRENGTH
760 Words
Mei Ling POV
Three weeks pass, and I am stronger.
My body heals fast now that Amar makes sure I eat three meals a day. He sits with me while I eat, making sure I actually put food in my mouth. His pack's doctor, a kind woman named Dr. Anjali, comes every day to check on me. She changes my bandages and gives me medicine for the pain. The wolves here are kind. They bring me food and books and things to make me smile.
But Amar is different from everyone else.
He is intense. When he looks at me, it is like he is trying to memorize every detail of my face. He helps me stand when my legs are still too weak to hold my weight. He touches me carefully, like I am something precious and fragile.
But he does not kiss me. He does not claim the mate bond. He keeps a careful distance.
One afternoon, I finally ask him the question that has been burning in my mind.
"Why did you come back for me?" I ask. "In the alley? Why did you save me when you had already rejected me?"
We are sitting by the lake near the packhouse. The sun is setting, and the sky is turning orange and red and purple.
"Because," Amar says, and he reaches over and takes my hand carefully, "rejecting you was the worst decision I have ever made. And I spent every single day for three months regretting it. Every hour. Every minute."
He turns to face me completely.
"I told myself I did not want a mate. That I was too dangerous, too broken, too scarred by my past. That loving you would only hurt you. But the truth is, I was a coward. I was afraid of feeling what I felt when I saw you. I was afraid of loving you and losing you like I lost my last mate. So instead of being brave, I ran. I rejected you. And I have been paying for that ever since."
"What happened to her?" I ask softly. "To your last mate?"
"She got sick," Amar says. "A group of rogue hunters came to our territory. One of them poisoned her. She suffered for days before she died. And our mate bond meant that when she died, part of me died too. I felt it. I felt her pain. I felt her fear. And when she took her last breath, something inside me broke that I did not think could be fixed."
He squeezes my hand gently.
"But then I met you. And I felt the mate bond pull at me. And instead of being brave and accepting it, I ran. I rejected you. And I have regretted it every single second since."
I want to tell him that I forgive him. But before I can say anything, we hear screaming from the packhouse.
Amar is on his feet in a second, pulling me up with him.
We run toward the noise, and when we get there, we see that strangers have entered the pack grounds. There are at least twenty of them, all big and strong. They are wearing the mark of the Eastern Pack. The mark is a crown with a sword through it.
And at the head of the group is a woman with my father's eyes.
She has dark hair and pale skin and a presence that fills the entire room. She is wearing a dress that looks like it costs more than a house. She is wearing a crown on her head.
"Mei Ling," she says, and her voice is like silver bells and poison. "Hello, daughter. I have been looking for you for a very long time."
My knees feel weak.
"Mother?" I whisper.
Amar's arm comes around my waist, holding me up, keeping me grounded.
"I am Duchess Aisyah of the Eastern Pack," she says to Amar, ignoring me completely. "And I have come to take my daughter home. Unless you have a problem with that, Alpha Amar?"
"She is not going anywhere," Amar says, and his voice is cold like ice. His arm around me tightens. "She is my mate."
Aisyah smiles, and it is the cruelest smile I have ever seen.
"Oh, Alpha," she says. "You do not understand. My daughter is not just my daughter. She is the missing heir to the Eastern Throne. And the moment the other packs know she is alive, every single one of them will be hunting her."
She steps closer.
"Including me."
- Writer
