My Snow Princess

Failed Rescue

I watched Killian pace in the dark forest as we waited for Josie to approach. We hadn't heard any alarms being sounded, so everything was hopefully going according to plan. I kept track of the time, mentally tracking where she would be in her progress. She should be meeting with Brent and Kara right now.

"Ten more minutes," I say to the group.

Killian turns to me and says, "I can feel her. She's close."

For the first time in a month, I see some life in his eyes. The rationality that was slowly becoming madness was receding. The first thing I would do when Josie was safely in his arms was feed him. You could tell this time apart from his mate had taken a toll on him physically despite our best efforts to keep him fed and rested.

I could feel the tension flowing off of Killian's body. His hands were opening and closing and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. He looked into the distance in the direction she would be coming in, his attention focused. The minutes pass and I can tell she must be getting close when Killian steps as close to the boundary line of Onyxmane as he can without crossing it.

I step forward to be within arms reach. He can't step over the line no matter what. He's the Gamma of the Imperial pack, without being invited, it could be a declaration of war.

"Flash the light," he says, alerting me that they are close.

A warrior does as he asks. The light is meant to guide them in the right direction. Kara and Brent should be able to see well enough, but we decided to do it as a precaution. If they had to send Josie ahead of them, she would be able to follow the light.

As soon as we started flashing the light, something shifted in the air. What felt like a calm night became tense.

"No," Killian whispers under his breath in horror. "Something's wrong, I can feel it."

"Stay ready, she's close, she'll make it," I say, trying to keep him focused.

I hear a roar in the distance that I recognize as Brent's wolf and I know instantly they are under attack. The moment we hear Kara yell 'run!' we know their close but we know they're being chased.

"F-ck," Killian yells out, and I quickly grab the back of his shirt to keep him in place.

"Kara and Brent will protect her. We should see her soon, keep your focus on her. Give her the strength she needs to reach you," I say, knowing that the only way to keep him in place is to focus on Josie.

He nods and has a single-minded look of determination on his face. I stepped up to stand behind him, knowing I need to be ready to grab him. I discretely nod to a warrior behind me, and he steps up to the other side of Killian. If anything goes wrong, it will take at least two of us to keep Killian on this side of the border.

If she doesn't make it out, her treatment may get worse, but they still need her alive and physically healthy. As for Killian, they could say he trespassed and that they accidentally killed him not knowing who he was. For so many reasons, we needed him alive, but most of all, I wanted to keep him alive for Josie. I witnessed firsthand the pain of the living mate when their mate dies, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"Killian!" we hear Josie yell out in the distance.

His eyes lock onto her as he watches her progress. His single-minded focus is intense as he yells to her, "Keep running, keep your eyes on me."

She does as he says, and I can see her hope and love grow in her eyes the closer she gets. Every meter closer has Killian leaning forward. The warrior and I are holding onto his shirt so he doesn't fall forward over the boundary line.

Josie pumps her arms as she runs. When she's about ten meters away, lights flood on, causing her to stumble and trip. Even as she falls, she reaches out towards Killian.

"Josie!" he yells, reaching out, almost catching her hand in his.

Josie's father steps forward with some pack warriors, a smug look on his face. Someone steps out from behind him and goes towards Josie and injects her with something that puts her to sleep almost immediately. Killian and Josie keep their eyes on each other until she loses consciousness.

The warrior and I grab Killian by the arms so he doesn't tear through his shirt and break free. He's tense, almost as if he's made of stone. I have no clue how he's going to react, so I have to be ready for anything.

"You almost had her, but we figured out your plan at the last second," Alpha Richard, Josie's father, says. "I hope you enjoyed this little reunion because it will be the last time you see her before she is mated to Stone."

I can tell Killian is fuming, barely holding back his wolf.

"This isn't over. We won't allow Josie to mate with Stone. There are laws, you can't disrespect a mate bond like this," I threaten.

"Lucky for me, your laws work very slowly. She'll be mated and Killian will be dead by the time the paper work is filled out. No one is going to want to lose their lives enforcing a lost cause," he says with a sneer.

He rounds up his warriors and has one carry Josie away.

We stand in silence until they are out of sight. I know the moment Killian can no longer see his mate because he bellows out the most terrifying sound I've ever heard as he falls to the ground.

I signal to our warriors to stand back. Killian snarls and digs his claws into the ground as he feels his mate being torn away from him for a second time. He continues for a long time and I send everyone back to our center of command.

I watch my friend in pain and once again find myself feeling lucky for not having my mate yet. Killian and Josie don't deserve this. I'm devastated for them.

Killian attacks me and I let him. We fight until there is nothing left in him. It's a good thing he's been weakened by the mate bond being strained, or he might have killed me. Once Killian exhausts himself, we head back to headquarters. I instruct everyone to rest so we can start all over again in the morning.

We all watch Killian disappear first. Everyone watches in silence. He's normally the last one awake, looking for ways to save Josie. Seeing him so lost is a shock to us all.

When he's out of the room, I say, "We were dealt a difficult blow today. We lost the battle, but we haven't lost the war. We will get our female Gamma back. I want you all to rest. We appreciate all the hard work you've put into this. Tomorrow we will get started on a new plan, all is not lost."