The Mistakes
1017 Words
Corvin's Pov
I stood in my study long after Rael left and stared at the closed door. It felt like my world was falling apart all over again.
She had been pregnant.
I pressed my hands against the desk and leaned forward, trying to breathe, but my chest felt tight and my throat was closing up. I couldn't stop seeing Rael alone, scared, and in pain, losing our child while I was miles away at a meeting.
Our child. We were going to have a baby, and I didn't even know. Now that baby was gone, and it was my fault because I left her alone.
I sank down in my chair and put my head in my hands, trying to think clearly, but everything was a mess and my thoughts spun around.
She thought someone planned it. She thought the timing of the meeting was too convenient. Maybe she was right, maybe it was suspicious.
I tried to remember that night clearly. The messengers arrived in the afternoon, insistent I come immediately. They said Alpha Garrett needed to discuss urgent matters that couldn't wait. The letter had his seal, and everything looked real.
I didn't want to go. I remember that clearly. Something felt off, but I ignored my instincts and went anyway, thinking I was just being paranoid.
But what if I was right? What if something was wrong?
I stood and paced the room, trying to remember more details. Who were the messengers? I hadn't paid much attention. Messengers come and go all the time, and they start to look the same. Two wolves from Silver Fang Pack, they were males, average height, nothing special.
And the meeting was strange now that I think about it. Alpha Garrett seemed confused when I arrived. He said he hadn't urgently sent for me, he wanted to discuss some things, yes, but nothing that couldn't wait a few weeks. I thought it was a mix-up, but what if it wasn't?
What if someone sent those messengers pretending to be from Silver Fang? What if someone forged the letter and seal? What if the whole thing was to get me away from the pack house that night?
But why? Who would want to hurt Rael?
I heard a loud knock on the door while I was lost in my thoughts.
"Who is that person that dares to disturb the Alpha's peace?"
"Can I come in Alpha?" The voice asked.
"Come in."
I saw one of the maids enter the room with her head bowed down.
"The council is asking for your urgent attention in the council hall Alpha." She said, her head still bowed down.
"Turns out the council hasn't learnt. Why would a meeting be scheduled without informing me beforehand? Inform the council that I'm not in the right state of mind to attend any meeting now. The meeting should be adjourned."
"Noted Alpha," she bowed and walked out.
I sat back down and pulled out paper. I began writing everything I remembered: the date, time the messengers arrived, how they looked, what the letter said, and details of the meeting with Alpha Garrett.
The more I wrote, the more suspicious it all seemed.
The messengers were very insistent. They said I had to leave immediately or I'd miss the meeting. They pressured me to go right away without checking or thinking.
And they disappeared after delivering the message. I never saw them again. Not at the meeting, not on the way back, nowhere.
That's strange, right? Messengers usually wait for a response or travel with the Alpha they escort but these two just vanished.
I felt cold dread in my stomach.
Rael was right, it was planned. Someone purposely got me away so they could take her.
But who? And why?
I thought about everyone who had access that night, warriors, servants, council, other families. There were dozens who could be involved.
Then there was the attack. Rael's room was destroyed, blood everywhere, claw marks on the walls and the window open. It looked like rogues broke in and took her.
But rogues don't plan carefully. They leave tracks. These attackers left nothing. No scent, no clues, no witnesses.
It was too clean, too professional.
I stood and walked to the window, looking out at the dark pack grounds. Somewhere out there was the person who did this. Someone in my pack or connected to it betrayed us and hurt my mate.
The thought made me sick.
I spent five years searching for Rael, grieving, trying to move on, and someone knew exactly what happened to her. Someone knew she was alive and suffering and said nothing.
I had to find them. I had to get answers.
Tomorrow I'd contact Alpha Garrett about the meeting and messengers. I'd look into everyone who was at the pack house that night. Check records, question people, whatever it took.
I owed Rael that much.
My thoughts turned to Nyra, and guilt twisted inside me. I married her, made her my Luna. We're expecting a child but after talking to Rael, I felt like I made a huge mistake.
I never loved Nyra the way I loved Rael. The bond was different and weaker. More like friends than true mates. I convinced myself it was enough, but now I wasn't sure.
Rael is back and alive, and the mate bond I thought was gone is stirring again. I can feel it like a whisper in the back of my mind. She's here and she's mine. Every part of me wants to go to her, hold her, never let go.
But she hates me now. She blames me for not being there, for not finding her, for moving on with Nyra.
Maybe she's right to blame me. Maybe I gave up too easily. Maybe I should have searched longer, maybe I should've known something was wrong that night and refused to leave.
I pressed my forehead to the cool glass and closed my eyes.
I failed her in every way that mattered, and now I don't know how to fix it.
- Writer
