Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A lifeless body lay on the ground. His clothes were torn and covered in dirt, every visible inch of his pale skin was covered in bruises, and his breathing was visibly shallow and uneven.

Aiden's whole body shook at the sight. He had finally found his mate, but this wasn't the time for celebrations. He could smell his mate, but it was so faint that it scared every part of him. He had just found his mate; he couldn't lose him so soon. No, the moon goddess couldn't be that cruel.

Aiden got closer and dropped to his knees, pulling his mate into his arms.A few tears dropped from his eyes as the realization sank in. The really faint smell, the shallow breathing, the blood loss—his mate was fighting a battle between life and death, but Aiden wasn't going to let death win this one. No, his mate was going to come back to life; his mate was going to come back to him.

"Get Oliver, we need to save him; I don't care what that takes," Aiden screamed, shocking everyone who was there

They had never seen their alpha like that. He had never looked this scared. It was as if all the agony in this world had come to visit him, and that scared all the other souls there.

"Aiden" Julian said calmly as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

Aiden looked up, slightly tearing his eyes away from his mate, and that look told Julian everything he needed to know.

Julian swallowed before whispering, "He will be fine."

3 hours later:

A shaking Aiden stood outside the best healer's clinic in the pack. Beside him was Julian, as both his beta and his best friend. Julian had ordered everyone else to leave. He knew that this wasn't just a random trespasser. For his best friend, this guy might be his most important person.The two didn't say anything. There weren't really any words to say. Nothing could calm Aiden in that moment, and Julian knew that so silence was the right choice.

Aiden had spent the last 3 hours just trying to feel his mate and focus on his scent. He could obviously smell his mate and feel his breathing, but even he knew that it was only because Aiden was different.Aiden wasn't a normal alpha leader. His father was a werewolf, the leader of their pack, and his mother was one of the most powerful witches of her time. They were one rare pair of mates, but they had loved each other more than anything. They lived a beautiful life together and died when Aiden was 15 in a rogue attack. The union of their love was Aiden. His werewolf was the dominating aspect of him, and he couldn't really do magic, but he still had a witch's blood in him. He had both the strengths of a werewolf and the blessings of a witch. That always made him feel special, but in this moment, he hated that.

"Can you smell him?" Aiden asked quietly. Julian didn't know what to say to that. The truth was that he couldn't. He hadn't been able to smell him from the time he saw him, but he couldn't tell Aiden that. He had to give his best friend hopes.

"If you can, that means he is alive and will be ok," Julian said, trying to give Aiden some strength, but even he knew it would be useless

Julian wasn't the biggest believer of mates, but he understood how the mate bond worked and knew that despite Aiden not even knowing his mate's name, it must be killing him to see him like that.

After a while, the door finally opened, and Oliver, the healer, stepped outside.

"He is fine, he is alive, he will survive," Oliver said in one breath.

Relief spread through Aiden's body as he finally took a peaceful breath.His mate was alive; that's all he needed to hear.

"But Alpha—" Oliver hesitated. He knew Aiden, and he could tell this guy wasn't just a random injured guy. Aiden was kind, but he wouldn't cry for a random guy. He wouldn't sit for hours, looking horrified, waiting for the surgery to finish.

"But what?" Fear rushed through Aiden as he felt the panic come back. Why did Oliver look so scared? His mate was fine, right?

"Before I continue, I need to ask you a question." Oliver said

"What?" Aiden responded.

"Is he...umm...your m-mate?" It took a lot of Oliver's strength to ask Aiden that, but he needed to know.

"Yes. Now get to the point. Is my mate ok?" Aiden spoke harshly. It was a very rare occurrence for Aiden to talk to his pack members like that, but no alpha could remain calm when it was about their mate.

Oliver gulped as fear ran through his bones. What he was about to say could even cost him his life, but speaking was a better option here.

Oliver gathered all his courage as he started, "I managed to save him, alpha. He is fine now. I think your presence helped heal the wounds because—"

"Because what?" You better speak before I forget human decency, Oliver," Aiden yelled, making even Julian shiver

Nobody had ever seen Aiden yell at a pack member unless they were disloyal. No, it wasn’t in Aiden to treat people without kindness unless he had a reason to do so, but this was the mate bond. For a werewolf, nothing mattered more than their mate's life, not even their own principles.

Oliver swallowed. He knew he had to tell Aiden everything: "His wolf is not responding. I cannot say for sure, but I think he was brutally tortured regularly for months, but that’s not the worst part. I found a lot of silver in his body. I think he was also injected silver regularly, which has basically killed the wolf in him. It is honestly shocking that he isn't dead yet. With that amount of silver, any other wolf would have died already, but his wolf is there. You can smell him and feel him, but that's only because you are his mate and special. Even I can't smell his wolf. His wolf is alive only enough to keep his human going. He is more human than a werewolf, honestly. Even when he wakes up, I don't think he will be able to smell you or realize that you are mates. He will survive, but he is incredibly weak. The damage is almost irreversible."

Aiden stood there, trying to soak in this heavy information.

Oliver could feel his energy, and it was not good. He had never felt this scared in his entire life. It felt like Aiden would break his neck into two any minute now for delivery of that tragic news."

"Please don't kill me, alpha." Oliver bowed. "I will do everything in my power to heal your mate."

Aiden shook his head. This was all too much for him; he couldn't process anything. He had waited his whole life for a mate, for that one person who was meant for him, the person he would spend his whole life loving and cherishing. Now he had finally found him. Aiden could feel the pull; he knew his mate would become the center of his universe, but just the thought of how much his mate had suffered brought him so much pain. His mate had suffered and was tortured, and he had no idea about any of this. Somebody had injected silver in his body, the most painful thing for a werewolf, and he wasn't there to protect him. His mate had still survived all that brutality, but now he was barely alive. He was breathing, but he didn't even have his wolf with him anymore.

"Is there anything that can be done to bring his wolf back?" Aiden asked

"Umm n-no. The amount is too much. Marking him, completing the mate bond could help, but I am not sure, and also—I doubt he could take it. I am sorry. I know he is your mate and our possible future, Luna, but his mental health must be really messed up now. All that's left in him is the human he is. I don't think he would even realize you are mates. So I don't think mating is a good option." Oliver said, "But being around you—his mate might help him live better. His wolf might get better and he might be able to survive."

Aiden didn't know what to think or how to respond. It felt as if somebody took his heart out and kept stabbing it brutally with the sharpest knife without stopping. He felt bad that his mate wouldn't even know they were mates, that he would never feel as affected as Aiden would, but that was nothing to the ache he felt for his mate. His mate had been treated so brutally that now he didn't even have a responsive wolf. That was one of the worst things that could happen to a wolf, and it was happening to his mate.

Aiden put a hand around his chest. He couldn't breathe; he couldn't think. All he felt was rage and pain. He wanted to find whoever did this to his mate and serve them a revenge so brutal they regret ever even looking at his person. But there was something more important. Revenge would definitely come, but his mate's life was more important in this situation.

Aiden was ok if his mate never realized they were mates; he was ok if they never truly completed the mating process; he was still going to find a way to take care of his mate and be there for him. The world had been cruel to his mate; Aiden wasn't going to be. If his wolf wasn't going to come back, Aiden would still make sure he lived a good life.