Bound by Fate

Bound by Fate -Chapter7

As morning light gently filters through the curtains of the room, he hears a soft moan and instantly shakes himself from his half-sleep in the chair beside her. He can tell she’s waking up, and he wants to be the first person she sees. He reaches out to gently take her hand.

“It’s ok,” he whispers, his voice still gruff from sleep,” you’re safe now”.

Her eyes flutter open, and she looks around the room seeming disoriented. The painkillers in her system make her head fuzzy and her mouth tastes like cotton.

“Where am I?” she croaks.

“You’re in a medical center at Thunder Ridge Pack. You’re safe.” he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before rising to get her a cup of water. He hands it to her but when he sees how her hand shakes, places his own over hers, helping her raise it to her lips. She takes a long drink before setting it back down.

“Thank you,” she says, her voice better, but her eyes still slightly fuzzy, “Who are you?”

She looks up at him and that sense of… wrongness comes to Thane again. As if something had been purposefully set askew. He frowns slightly as Rowan starts to whine and pace, but he ignores his wolf for the time being.

“I’m Thane Dawson, the alpha of Thunder Ridge Pack and…” he hesitates. Something isn’t right. Rowan is howling in his head, something about her wolf…

I can’t find her! Rowan howls in despair inside Thane’s head. He frowns slightly and sniffs. There’s the medical smells of the room, the smell of her; sunshine on warm grass, and then the faintest smell of silver.

“I’m Ren… Renegade Thompson,” she says, watching him curiously.

Thane recognizes the name and sucks in a breath. “I… I knew your father. He’s the one who helped me organize the other packs, but your pack…”

“They’re dead, aren't they?” she asks quietly, not meeting his eyes.

He nods anyway, “They were attacked by hunters. No one survived. Or at least, we didn’t think anyone had survived.”

The Harvest Moon Pack, her family’s pack, had been small, barely forty members, and had been hit hard when a hunter group found their territory wiping them out entirely, Or so he had thought. It was a huge blow for him both as a leader and personally. Her father, Alpha Calvin, had been a friend of his father’s and a solid leader. Once, who had helped Thane unite the smaller packs under his leadership and rules. But he hadn’t seen Ren since before she had come of age. She had been just a teenager the last time he had seen her. How old is she now? And how had she survived when others didn’t?

“It wasn’t just Hunters,” she says bitterly, “they had Wolves with them. Wolves I didn’t know were fighting on their side.”

Thane stares at her in shock. The idea that Wolves would fight alongside the very Hunters that sought to bring about the annihilation of their race was unthinkable and yet… How else had she come to be in the Hellfire pack house? It had only been a few months since the attack on Harvest Moon. Could Hellfire have been the wolves who betrayed them? Questions swirled around inside his head, but he couldn’t seem to settle on one. Rowan still howled in the back of his mind, looking for someone who was.. Lost?

“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” he asks, gently stroking her hand in his.

She looked down at their entwined hands in surprise and another thought occurred to him, one that pushed everything else from the forefront of his mind. She should be able to feel the mate bond as he did, but she seemed surprised that he would be touching her so gently.

“Can you feel your wolf?” It wasn’t the question he had meant to ask, but it was the one he most desperately needed to hear the answer to right now. Without her wolf, she couldn’t heal, couldn’t shift, and couldn’t feel the mate bond tying them together. Wouldn’t know that she was his and his alone. Every muscle in his body tensed, waiting for her answer. He watches as she frowns, her eyes becoming wide in shock and then narrowing again.

“I… I can’t…” she whispers.

His worst fear is confirmed. An anguished look comes over his handsome face and he gently squeezes her hand.

“Alright, it’s alright. We’ll figure this out,” he says soothingly, but inside he’s a mess and now knows why Rowan is howling in despair.

He mind-links to Leo and Tasha calling them both to him. It’s still early in the morning, but he doesn't care. He needs them here, now.