Chapter 2
963 Words
Nathan’s POV
The air cut through with the sharp tone of her voice like a blade, “You will mate her!” she said coldly.
I stood just outside the room, close enough to feel the tension. Ryan’s voice rose higher. “It’s my choice, Ma’am. You don’t get to choose who I mate with.”
“I do.” Her voice sharpened, “And you will do it because you are grateful that I took you in.”
My jaw tightened. It was always like this; my mother dictating, and my half-brother trying to break free. I stepped into the room before things escalated further. “Enough,” I said, my voice low but firm.
Luna Vivian’s eyes moved toward me, cold and assessing. There was warning in her eyes. Ryan’s shoulders were combat-ready, and his hands molded into fists at his sides.
She left the room abruptly, and I followed Ryan down the hall and caught up with him outside. He leaned against the stone wall, his eyes narrowed toward the horizon.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Does it matter?” His tone was bitter.
“It does to me.”
Ryan’s shoulders dropped a little. “She wants to control everything I do.”
“She can’t control everything,” I said. “Not forever.”
He smiled faintly. “You think?”
“I know,” I replied. “You deserve to be happy. Don’t let her take that from you.”
Ryan gave me a weak smile. “You always know what to say.”
I shrugged. “You’d do the same for me.”
An hour later, my father summoned me into his office. He rarely does that unless it is serious. I hope it wasn’t because I butted into my mother and Ryan’s argument.
My stomach tightened as I entered his office. The room smelled of old leather and aged whiskey. Alpha Julian sat behind his desk, his dark eyes piercing as I stepped inside. His once-powerful frame had weakened, the evidence of countless battles weighing on his body.
“Your training performance has been slipping.” He said without a preamble.
I straightened. “I’ll work harder.”
“That was what you said the last time,” he shot back as his hand curled into a fist on the desk. “You don’t have time to fall behind, Nathan. My strength is failing. Soon, you’ll take over as Alpha, and the pack will need you to be ready.”
Pressure tightened around my chest. “I know.”
“I hope you do.” My father’s expression softened, but his tone remained cold. “You need to control your wolf. You cannot lead if you cannot control your beast.”
I nodded stiffly. “I understand.”
His eyes stayed on me for a brief instant before he waved his hand to dismiss me. I walked out of the room while the pressure of his expectations followed me like a heavy burden.
I rushed out of the office when Owen showed up next to me.
“You look like hell,” he muttered.
Since our childhood days, Owen has been my best friend. His tall stature and piercing eyes, combined with his natural leadership abilities, made him a born leader. He will serve as my Beta when I claim the Alpha position. There is no one else who can handle this responsibility.
I explained to him that my father did not approve of my training activities.
Owen smirked. “When is he ever?”
I tried to clear my head, but the feeling remained inside me, and it made my chest feel heavy. But the feeling stayed with me, making my chest feel heavy. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless and agitated.
“We need to spar,” Owen suggested.
“Not now.”
I turned toward the forest that bordered the pack’s territory, needing air. Suddenly, something twisted deep in my chest. A sharp ache that wasn’t mine. The strange force propelled me forward.
“Nathan, maybe you shouldn’t…” Owen’s voice faded into the distance as my wolf, Ragnar, took control, a guttural growl tore my chest, raw and primal.
The world tilted, and I broke into a run, the forest rushing past in a blur of green and brown.
I couldn’t stop.
The territory was unknown and colder. I stumbled as the sensation clawed at my mind; why was I feeling this way?
My steps turned reckless, and suddenly, the ground beneath me shifted. I fell hard against the ground as a metallic snap echoed through the air.
The sharp pain exploded in my arm. My arm was trapped, caught in a steel snare hidden beneath the undergrowth.
My wolf howled in pain. My heart pounded while I struggled to free my arm but the metal sank deeper into my flesh, and the smell of blood filled the air.
I forced myself to breathe. My vision swam as I dug my claws into the earth and pulled. Another sharp snap echoed through the trees as the trap released its grip, but pain roared up my arm as I stumbled forward.
I walked for what felt like hours, the forest spinning around me. My head pounded. My vision dimmed.
Then everything went dark.
When I woke, pale moonlight filtered through the trees. My arm ached, but the pain was dull. Slowly, I sat up. My arm was bandaged. The white cloth was stained with dried blood, but the scent on the bandage caught my attention.
It was soft, familiar in a strange way. Ragnar stirred, restless.
Someone had found me. Helped me.
I don’t know who it was, but my wolf does.
And now, I have to find her.
- Writer
