### Chapter 2: Mate!
1447 Words
"Liam, you look like you've been hit by a truckload of s**t," Jax said as soon as Liam barged into the room.
Liam shot him a glare that made Jax fall silent immediately.
He turned to Kai, his eyes cold and disapproving. "You're needed at the council chambers right away," he informed him, and without waiting for Kai’s response, stormed out the way he came.
Kai sighed. He missed his twin brother. They had been the best of buddies growing up, but things changed after their seventeenth birthday when they both transformed for the first time.
That was when Liam’s hatred for him began. Their father had been impressed with Kai’s giant grey wolf and would constantly brag about him at various pack gatherings. Liam’s hostility grew by the day, and all of Kai's efforts to restore their bond were in vain.
Now they both had to compete for the throne, which Liam always claimed was his birthright. This only made his hatred for Kai intensify.
“Don’t let him get under your skin. You know how your brother can be,” Jax whispered softly, trying to comfort him.
Kai nodded. "Thank you, Jax. I'll be heading to the council chambers now. In the meantime, you can make yourself useful and finish up with the packing." He gave Jax a light tap on the shoulder, mocking him, before leaving.
Liam and Kai stood in the council chambers, facing the seated members and their father, the king, receiving their instructions and warnings. Both were only half-listening, eager to leave—Liam wanting to prove himself to their father and the entire pack, and Kai just wanting the whole ordeal to be over so he could return to his normal life.
After the farewell pleasantries were done, Kai and Liam kissed their father goodbye and set off.
Everything was set, and the cars were already waiting for them. Just then, Serena appeared, worry lines creasing her face.
“Take care, Kai,” she whispered, sliding a beautiful silver bracelet onto his wrist. “This will protect you. I brought it from the Moon Temple. The guidance of the moon goddess will be with you.”
“Thank you so much, Serena. I’ll be back before you even notice I’m gone,” Kai reassured her.
“What about me, sister? I need some protection too, you know!” Jax yelled from across the car.
Serena rolled her eyes at her brother’s intrusion. “I wonder why you decided to take this blabbermouth with you. He’ll be nothing but trouble.”
“I didn’t have a choice; he insisted. I think keeping him under control will be more of a challenge than finding the bloodstone,” Kai interjected, and they all laughed.
“Just be careful, Kai,” Serena continued, her face growing serious.
Kai nodded. “How hard can it be? I’ll be back in a matter of days.”
After exchanging more pleasantries, they all got into the cars—Liam and his personal guard, Finn, in one, and Kai and Jax in the other. They bid everyone farewell and drove off, their destination set for Lunar Creek.
The journey was mostly silent, except for Jax’s occasional questions and observations. They traveled for four days, occasionally resting in luxurious hotels when they reached new provinces.
On the fifth day, they finally arrived at the outskirts of Lunar Creek.
"Which way do we go to find the cave?" Jax asked.
"From the directions given by the council, we’re heading south towards the lake. They said it’s right behind Blue Lake," Kai replied.
The car suddenly screeched to a halt.
“What’s wrong with you? Do you want to kill us?” Kai scolded the driver.
“I’m really sorry, sir. A wolf suddenly ran across the road.”
Kai gasped and quickly got out of the car, only to see a young boy sprawled on the ground, his eyes wide in shock.
“Are you okay?” Kai muttered softly as he crouched to the boy’s level.
The boy recoiled in fear, shifting back from Kai. Just then, Kai caught the sharp scent of his wolf, and his own wolf began thrashing in excitement. "Mate," his wolf said persistently.
Before Kai could process what was happening, the boy jumped up and bolted into the woods.
“Wait!” Kai yelled, about to give chase when a firm hand gripped his arm tightly.
“What are you doing, Kai? We need to get to the cave before your bull-headed brother gets there first,” Jax said firmly.
Kai’s eyes softened as he gazed in the direction the boy had run. “That boy... I need to make sure he’s alright.”
Jax hissed impatiently. “You saw him run off, didn’t you? If he was injured, he wouldn’t have been able to run like that.” He gradually coaxed Kai back into the car.
They continued the journey in silence, Kai’s thoughts in chaos. He couldn’t stop thinking about the boy. He had looked so fragile, and from the torn clothes he wore, it was clear he wasn’t in the best shape.
His red hair had been disheveled, and his skin was covered in bruises. From the way he looked, Kai suspected he might be a slave. How could such a person be his mate? What was he doing mindlessly crossing the road like that?
“I didn’t even get his name,” he mumbled sadly.
“We’re here, sir,” the driver’s voice suddenly echoed, breaking the eerie silence and pulling Kai from his thoughts.
He looked out of the car to see a large tunnel with a huge stone covering two-thirds of the entrance, leaving a space just big enough for an average wolf to get in.
“This place looks so eerie, dude!” Jax exclaimed. “I think I’ll just wait here.”
Kai rolled his eyes in resignation and stepped out of the car. He waited for Liam, who arrived shortly after. Together, they left the rest of the group behind and made their way into the cave.
The cave was large and quite deep, but despite searching every inch, they couldn’t find the bloodstone.
“Are you sure it’s a stone? Maybe we’ve been looking for the wrong thing,” Kai said, feeling exhausted as they met at an intersection in the cave.
Liam, equally winded from all the searching, was thinking the same thing. “Let’s search again, but this time, maybe we should look for any kind of crystal.”
Kai nodded and set off again. The cave was mostly empty, save for the strange carvings on the walls that didn’t make sense to either of the brothers.
Tired and disappointed, Kai decided to sit for a while to catch his breath, while Liam continued his desperate search.
“Did you find anything?” Kai asked when Liam returned, panting heavily.
“Nothing at all. I guess we should find a place in the city to rest for the night. Maybe tomorrow we can ask the locals for help,” Liam suggested.
Kai agreed. He was too tired and too shocked to think of anything else at the moment.
Jax, growing anxious as the twins took longer than expected, paced back and forth by the lake. After what felt like an eternity, Liam and Kai finally emerged from the cave, their faces etched with disappointment.
“Why do you both look like the cave collapsed on you?” Jax asked.
“There’s nothing there. I’m sure the council members don’t even know it’s no longer here,” Liam snapped.
Kai and Jax looked at Liam, surprised by his anger.
Liam cleared his throat. “Well, from here on out, everyone goes their separate ways. We’re on a quest, after all. The first one to find the bloodstone will return it to the pack.”
“May the best man win,” he finished, glaring coldly at Kai before leaving.
“That dude is really a piece of work. Why is he so damn angry about this Alpha nonsense?” Jax said after Liam had gone.
Kai shrugged and headed towards the car. “Who wouldn’t be upset about fighting for something they believe is rightfully theirs?”
“The throne is just as much yours as it is his. You were literally born seconds apart,” Jax insisted.
“But he came out first. I’d feel the same way if I were in his shoes,” Kai replied, defending his brother again.
Jax eventually gave up, knowing Kai would always defend Liam. They drove in silence, each weighed down by their own thoughts.
- Writer
