Chapter 4
1053 Words
Something was wrong
Lena felt it the moment the Blood Moon warriors entered the village square.
The strange feeling that had followed her all morning intensified.
Her wolf was no longer restless.
She was alert.
Watching and waiting.
The riders came to a stop before the pack house. Warriors immediately moved to either side, creating a path for their Alpha.
The crowd fell silent.
Even Clara stopped talking.
Every eye turned towards the man at the front.
Alpha Damon Blackwood. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then he swung off his horse.
The instant his boots touched the ground, the world tilted.
Lena staggered.
A sharp breath escaped her lips.
Her wolf exploded forward.
Not cautiously, not curiously, but desperately. As though she had been waiting her entire life for this moment.
MINE.
The word crashed through Lena's mind. Her knees nearly gave out.
“No.”
The whispers slipped from her lips.
Her hands began trembling. Her pulse thundered inside her ears. She pressed a hand against her chest. Trying to understand.
But deep down, she already knew.
Across the square, Alpha Richard stepped forward to greet the visitors.
Damon turned towards him.
The two alphas exchanged formal greetings, Yet Lena barely heard a word. Her wolf was frantic, pacing and whining. Pushing against her control.
MINE
Again, again and again
The word echoed through her mind until she thought she might lose her sanity.
“What's wrong with you?” Clara asked. Lena couldn't answer. Her throat felt tight.
Every instinct screamed at her to look at Damon.
To find him.
To see if he felt it too.
Slowly, almost against her will, she lifted her gaze.
And frozen.
Damon had gone completely still.
The Alpha who had looked calm and composed only seconds ago now appeared carved from stone.
His jaw was tight, His shoulders rigid and His eyes scanned the crowd.
Searching, Looking, Hunting.
Lena's breath caught.
A terrifying certainty settled over her. He also felt it.
The realization made her heart stutter. The crowd remained completely unaware, They continued whispering and smiling.
Oblivious to the storm unfolding between them.
Then Damon's eyes found hers.
Everything stopped for the moment
The world disappeared.
The crowd vanished. The noise faded. There was only him. Only those golden eyes.
Only the invisible thread that suddenly seemed to connect them.
Lena couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. She couldn't think.
The Nine planet seems to revolve around her
Twenty three years of being smiling through pity and whispers.
Same Twenty_three years of loneliness
And now…
Now he was standing right there.
Her mate.
The answer to every question she had ever asked. The bond snapped into place with terrifying force.
Her wolf whimpered,
This time was not for pain but for relief and for joy. From finally finding what she had searched for. Across the square, shock flashed across Damon's face. It disappeared almost instantly. Hidden behind years of discipline.
But Lena saw it.
For one brief second, the powerful Alpha looked completely blindsided.
As though fate has caught him off guard.
The realization should have made her happy. Instead it terrified her.
Because he wasn't smiling at all.
He wasn't relieved and happy. He simply stared.
As though he didn't know what to do.
Fear twisted inside her stomach. What if he didn't want this?
What if he rejects me?
The thought struck like a knife.
Her wolf growled in protest, yet the fear remained in her. Stories about fated mates always sounded perfect but I guess reality wasn't.
Reality was always messy, painful and complicated.
Damon Blackwood looked like a man carrying far too many burdens.
Neither of them looked away. His gaze moved between them, confusion flickered across his face.
The Alpha's eyes widened.
Nearby warriors began noticing as well.
Whispers began to spread through the crowd.
“What are they doing?”
“What are they staring at each other?"
" What's happening?”
The murmurs grew louder .
At that point Lena wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Her checks burned. She hates being the centre of attention, yet she couldn't look away or escape or even break eye contact. At this point every fibre of her being drawn was towards him.
As though an invincible force was drawing her closer, Damon took a step closer towards her, then the crowd immediately parted. No one dared stand in his way. He quickly took a second step then a third step followed, Each of the steps brought him closer to her. The distance between them shrank. Twenty feet, fifteen, Ten.
The closer he came, the stronger the bond became.
She could feel it like an electricity dancing beneath her skin.
Her wolf practically vibrated with excitement.
MATE.
The word echoed again, this time it was softer. As though there could be no doubt. Damon finally stopped a few feet away. For the first time in her life, Lena realized how tall he was and how powerful and intimidating he is. Yet none of those things frightened her. Because beneath everything else, the bond recognized him, even her soul recognized him.
And somehow, that felt more terrifying than anything.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke to each other. The entire village seemed to be holding its breath.
Waiting.
Watching.
Then Damon finally opened his mouth and called her name
“Lena.”
Her eyes widened.
She has never told him her name.
Yet hearing it on his lips sent a shiver through her entire body. The crowd gasped.
Lena's heart nearly stopped.
Because in that moment, she knew one thing with absolute certainty
The silence between them felt endless.
Lena's heart pounded so hard she was sure everyone could hear it .
Around them, the crowd watched in confusion, unaware of the life changing truth hanging in the air.
Her mate.
After all these years, she had finally found him.
Yet something wasn't right.
Because the look in Damon's eyes wasn't the look of a man who had just been confronted by something he never expected.
Then his jaw seems to be heavy on him.
And for the first time since their eyes met, fear crept into Lena's chest.
Because she suddenly found herself wondering one thing.
What if finding a mate was only the beginning of my…
- Writer
