The Mate Who Was Never Born.

Chapter 3- The Seer’s Warning

Aria

The smell of pine, dew, and something else—something wrong—was carried by the chilly morning wind as it touched my skin. Once more, I crouched next to the odd paw print and traced its boundaries with shaking fingertips. It was deep, as though the creature had landed with unimaginable weight, in addition to being enormous.

Under the rising sun, the print shimmered slightly, a silver glimmer that pulsed once before fading. My heart pounded. Glowing footprints were not left by wolves.

"Aria!"

I turned and winced. One of the patrol officers, Noah, was there. His eyes were wide with fear, and his hair was dishevelled. With a strong voice, he declared, "Alpha wants everyone inside the compound." "An additional sighting has been reported close to the west border."

"An additional rogue?" With a dry throat, I asked.

He looked at the print and paused. "If that is a rogue, it's unlike anything I've ever seen.

" I wiped my hands on my jeans in an attempt to calm the uneasiness that was churning in my stomach. I muttered, "I'll head back."

A gentle, eerie murmur, like the echo of a dream, slipped through my head as I turned to go.

"They are pursuing you."

I whirled around. There was nobody present. It was just the deserted trail, the quiet forest holding its breath, and the morning mist curling down.

Kian

Chaos had already started to break out by the time I arrived at the northern compound. Reports of strange smells, wayward traces, and something even my Beta couldn't name were coming in, and warriors were assembling with overlapping voices.

However, none of that was relevant. Not when a sharp, relentless tug hurt my chest. the connection.

Though weak, it was alive.

I clenched my teeth in an attempt to ignore it. I had schooled myself to ignore that pain—the phantom of what I had lost—for five years. However, grief wasn't what stirred today. It was a gut feeling.

Someone or something was in jeopardy.

"Alpha." Beta Marcus took a step next to me, his expression solemn. Near the ravine, the western patrol discovered indications of movement. Too well-planned to be a rogue attack. And... He paused.

"And what?"

"The Seer asked you to come. She claims to have seen something.

I froze. Unless there was an urgent message, the Seer rarely spoke. "Where is she?"

"In the former chapel."

Aria

I had always felt uneasy in the old chapel. With its stone walls, arched windows, and a bell that hadn't rung in decades, it stood on the border of the pack lands as a remnant of the era before technology reached us. After hearing the whispering in the woods, I had no intention of coming here. However, my feet moved independently, driven by an unknown force.

The air became heavy as soon as I entered. An elderly woman dressed in white stood near the altar at the far end, where dust hovered like fog.

The Seer.

"Come nearer, child," she said in a voice that was both delicate and firm.

I paused. "How do you—"

"Are you familiar with your name?" She gave a small smile. "I've known you since before you were even born."

A shiver ran down my spine. "That isn't possible."

"A lot of impossible things still happen." She looked at me with hazy eyes, as though she could see right through my skin. "Have you not seen the mark?"

I gasped. "The print of the paw?"

The Seer gave a slow nod. "No wolf in this world left that." It is an indication that the past is rising from the tomb.

I scowled, perplexed. "I don't get it."

"You will," she murmured. "When the Alpha recalls."

"Recalls what?"

The chapel doors sprang open before she could respond. With a thunderous presence, Kian barged into the room. The Seer lowered her head a little.

"Alpha," she said. "Exactly on schedule."

Something sparked in his eyes as they darted to me: recognition, perplexity, perhaps even grief. "Why is she in this place?"

The Seer said simply, "She was called." "By the same force that brought you here."

Kian's jaw tightened as he turned to face her. "You claimed to have had a vision."

With a nod, the Seer reached into her robes. She produced a little crystal orb with a silver mist whirling across its surface. With a shaky voice, she declared, "The storm is coming again." "The same darkness that stole your Luna will reappear. However, it doesn't look for the deceased this time.

In her palms, the orb pulsed.

"It looks for the living."

Kian

The air was too heavy to breathe, and the room felt suddenly smaller. "Speak clearly, Seer," I insisted. "Who is it looking for?"

The Seer gave Aria a look.

"No," I replied right away, taking a step forward. "That isn't possible”.

" Startled, Aria blinked. "What's happening?"

The Seer muttered, "She carries the shadow." "Bound to you by guilt, fate, and blood." Alpha, the past was reborn and never died.

I clinched my hands. My heart knew the truth, even while the wolf within me snarled in denial. It wasn't a coincidence that the bond I'd been attempting to ignore pulsed more intensely whenever she was around.

Aria was more than just Stephanie's sister. She contributed to the pack's curse.

However, that wasn't my biggest fear. It was the abrupt realization that I wasn't sure whether I could keep her safe if the darkness really came for her or ruin her.

Aria

Long after the Seer stopped talking, her words continued to reverberate in my brain. Bonded by blood. by guilt. by fate.

When Kian moved in closer, his eyes piercing mine, I was completely unaware of it. With a firm voice, he said, "You must remain in the main house until I figure this out." "No disagreements."

Fear tore at my chest, but I raised my chin. "I didn't request to be involved in this."

He muttered, almost to himself, "I know." "I didn't either."

"But if the Seer is correct, you're in danger, Aria," she said in a quieter voice that I nearly missed. actual risk.

I should have felt reassured by his remarks. Rather, they caused my heart to race for a completely opposite reason.

The Seer gave a startled gasp before I could reply. Light splintered over the chapel walls as the ball in her hands cracked. Her tone became frantic.

"He's already here—it's too early!"

The sphere broke. The floor shook.

The light was obscured by a shadow that moved across the windows.

With his wolf flashing through his eyes, Kian moved quickly and pushed me behind him. "Remain down," he commanded.

The doors flew open.

And I recognised the half-beast, half-human figure standing in the doorway solely from the old pack photos.

"Stephanie," I muttered.

However, the woman at the door had eyes as black as the night. She grinned like a predator.