Chapter Three: The Second Mate
1533 Words
Soren Valcrest did not move.
For one impossible second, the entire world seemed to disappear.
The courtyard.
The guards.
Aurek.
Even Elowen.
Everything faded beneath the single word echoing inside his head.
Mate.
His wolf had never sounded so certain.
Soren's jaw tightened.
No.
It couldn't be.
He had spent twenty-five years believing that fate was something other wolves used to justify weakness. He had watched Alphas lose their judgment because of mates. He had watched powerful men surrender entire territories for women they barely knew.
He had promised himself he would never become one of them.
And now fate had chosen the worst possible woman.
Aurek Draven's rejected mate.
The woman standing directly between them.
Elowen.
Soren forced himself to breathe.
His eyes moved toward her.
She was watching him.
Confused.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Soren said nothing.
Elowen frowned.
"Soren?"
The sound of his name brought him back.
He straightened.
"Nothing."
Her expression immediately hardened.
"That wasn't nothing."
Soren almost smiled.
She was sharper than he expected.
Behind her, Aurek stepped forward.
"What happened?"
Soren's eyes shifted toward him.
"Nothing happened."
Aurek looked between them.
His instincts were clearly screaming something was wrong.
"What are you hiding?"
Soren's expression turned cold.
"You've already done enough damage tonight."
Aurek's jaw clenched.
"I didn't come here to fight you."
"No."
Soren stepped closer.
"You came here because you suddenly remembered that you don't want the woman you rejected to belong to someone else."
Aurek's eyes darkened.
"She doesn't belong to you."
The words hit something inside Soren.
His wolf growled.
She is ours.
Soren's hands curled into fists.
But he kept his voice calm.
"Neither does she belong to you."
Elowen looked between them.
"Can both of you stop talking about me like I'm not standing here?"
Silence.
Soren looked at her.
Aurek did too.
For the first time that night, Elowen looked more angry than hurt.
Good.
Soren preferred her angry.
Anger was easier to survive than heartbreak.
"You rejected me," Elowen said to Aurek. "You don't get to decide who protects me now."
Aurek looked at her for a long moment.
"I know."
His voice was quieter.
Elowen's expression faltered.
Aurek continued.
"I know I don't have that right anymore."
"Then leave."
Aurek's eyes flickered.
"Elowen—"
"Leave."
She turned away.
Aurek didn't follow.
For several seconds, he simply stood there.
Then he looked at Soren.
"This isn't over."
Soren's expression remained unreadable.
"I know."
Aurek turned and walked away.
The moment he disappeared beyond the gates, Soren finally released the breath he had been holding.
Elowen noticed.
"You really don't like him."
"I don't."
"You hate him?"
Soren looked at her.
"I have reasons."
"So do I."
She folded her arms.
"Apparently, everyone in this territory has reasons except me."
Soren almost laughed.
Instead, he said, "You should rest."
"I'm not tired."
"You've been rejected by your mate, chased through the forest, told you're part of some ancient bloodline, and brought into the territory of the man your former Alpha hates."
Elowen stared at him.
"When you say it like that, I sound exhausted."
"You are."
"I'm fine."
"You aren't."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You don't know me."
Soren held her gaze.
"Not yet."
Something about the way he said it made her chest tighten.
Elowen looked away first.
"Show me where I'm staying."
Soren nodded.
"Follow me."
They walked through the castle halls in silence.
Valcrest Castle was different from Blackthorn.
Blackthorn had always felt cold to Elowen.
Its stone walls were dark, its corridors narrow, its people careful.
Valcrest was warmer.
Large windows allowed moonlight to spill across the floors. Fireplaces burned along the walls. Guards stood at every entrance, but none looked at Elowen with disgust.
They looked curious.
Some even looked surprised.
As they passed, whispers followed.
"That's her."
"The rejected mate?"
"She's the one from Blackthorn."
"Why did the Alpha bring her here?"
Elowen kept walking.
She pretended not to hear.
Soren heard every word.
He stopped.
Every guard in the hallway immediately became silent.
Soren's voice was calm.
"Anyone who has something to say about my guest can say it to me."
No one answered.
"Good."
He continued walking.
Elowen glanced at him.
"You didn't have to do that."
"Yes, I did."
"Why?"
Soren looked ahead.
"Because you're under my protection."
The words made her uncomfortable.
"Protection."
"Yes."
"I don't need a babysitter."
"I didn't say you needed one."
"Then what exactly am I?"
Soren stopped outside a large wooden door.
He turned toward her.
"For tonight?"
Elowen waited.
"My guest."
He opened the door.
The room was beautiful.
A large bed stood near the window, covered in dark blue blankets. A fireplace burned quietly. There was a small balcony overlooking the forest.
Elowen stepped inside.
She looked around.
"This is too much."
"It's a room."
"It's bigger than my entire house."
Soren raised an eyebrow.
"Then you had a very small house."
Despite herself, Elowen laughed.
It was quiet.
Brief.
But Soren felt it.
His wolf reacted instantly.
Mate.
His chest tightened.
He looked away before she could notice.
"I'll have food brought up."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
Soren started walking away.
"Wait."
He stopped.
Elowen stood near the doorway.
"Why are you helping me?"
Soren didn't answer immediately.
Because you're my mate.
Because my wolf recognized you.
Because the moment I saw you, something inside me changed.
Instead, he said the only thing he could.
"Because someone should have."
Elowen stared at him.
Soren walked away.
But the moment the door closed behind him, his composure disappeared.
He leaned against the wall.
His breathing was heavier now.
His wolf pushed forward again.
Tell her.
"No."
She is ours.
"She doesn't know."
Then tell her.
Soren closed his eyes.
He had never been afraid of anything.
Not war.
Not death.
Not rival Alphas.
But this?
This terrified him.
Because if Elowen discovered that he was her second mate, she might believe he was simply another Alpha trying to claim her.
After everything Aurek had done to her, Soren refused to become another cage.
He needed time.
He needed answers.
And most importantly, he needed to know why fate had chosen two Alphas for the same woman.
That was impossible.
Unless Elowen wasn't an ordinary wolf.
Soren opened his eyes.
The Moonborn.
He remembered the stories.
Ancient blood.
Ancient power.
A bloodline that existed before the modern packs.
A bloodline that could supposedly change the balance between Alphas.
A bloodline the council had spent centuries trying to erase.
If Elowen truly carried Moonborn blood, then her rejection wasn't about Aurek simply being cruel.
It was political.
And dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Soren pushed away from the wall.
"Find Elder Rowan."
A guard immediately approached.
"Yes, Alpha."
"And don't let anyone know why."
The guard nodded.
Soren turned toward the courtyard.
But before he could take another step, a sharp cry echoed through the castle.
Then another.
Guards rushed toward the eastern corridor.
Soren's instincts immediately snapped into place.
"Lock the castle down."
The command spread through the halls.
Doors slammed shut.
Guards drew their weapons.
Soren ran toward the eastern wing.
Then he heard it.
A growl.
Not from a wolf.
From something else.
Something inside the castle.
Soren reached the corridor.
Three guards were lying unconscious on the floor.
His eyes narrowed.
"Who got through the perimeter?"
No one answered.
Then a voice came from behind him.
"Alpha."
Soren turned.
A guard pointed toward Elowen's room.
"The intruder went inside."
Soren's blood ran cold.
He sprinted.
The door to Elowen's room was wide open.
"Elowen!"
No answer.
Soren rushed inside.
The room was empty.
The balcony doors were open.
Curtains moved violently in the wind.
And on the floor beside the bed was a single black feather.
Soren picked it up.
His expression changed.
He knew that symbol.
Everyone in the northern packs knew it.
The Black Feather.
The mark of the council's assassins.
Soren's fingers tightened around it.
They had found her.
But there was something else.
A faint metallic smell filled the room.
Blood.
Soren followed the scent toward the balcony.
Then he saw it.
A trail of blood leading into the forest.
His wolf roared inside him.
MATE.
Soren jumped over the balcony railing.
He landed hard on the ground below and immediately shifted.
Within seconds, a massive black wolf tore through the trees.
Behind him, the castle bells began to ring.
And somewhere deep inside the forest, Elowen Veyre opened her eyes.
Her wrists were bound.
Her breathing was uneven.
A hood covered her head.
Someone stood behind her.
"You should never have survived the rejection."
Elowen struggled against the restraints.
"Who are you?"
The stranger leaned closer.
"You really don't remember?"
Elowen froze.
The voice whispered beside her ear.
"Your mother did a very good job hiding you."
Her heart began to pound.
"My mother?"
The stranger laughed softly.
Then the hood was ripped away.
Moonlight filled her vision.
And standing before her was an old man wearing the silver crest of the council.
He smiled.
"Welcome back, Moonborn."
Elowen's blood turned cold.
The man raised a silver blade.
"Your bloodline ends tonight."
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