My Mate’s Killer is My Second Chance Mate

Raven "Sht, Finn, they're coming this way!" I slid down, my back scraping the academy wall, hiding in the flowers. My heart was loud enough for the guards to hear from fifty feet away. "Relax, Rae," Finn's voice popped into my head through our mind-link. "I got this." "You better," I hissed back, peeking through the leaves. Two sturdy guards in standard black uniforms were posted at the east gate, a good half-hour walk from the school main building. "Because if they catch me, Rowan's gonna kill me for being late." I was supposed to be there an hour ago if the security wasn't tight. But thank the goddess I brought Finn to help me distract the guards as I sneaked my way in. "Nah, he'd probably just give you that puppy-dog look he does." I smiled, even when we were about to get our asses caught by the security. Finn always knew how to lighten the situation. He had been my rock since the night he found me when I was ten, soaked and starving under an abandoned convenience store awning. He took me to his parents without asking questions. They fed me and welcomed me, and since that night I have become family. Finn became my brother, the best friend I'd ever have. I watched him as he walked toward the guards, his hands casually shoved into the pocket of his ripped jeans. Finn was really good at this, far better than me. He just had this face that just screamed, "I'm too dumb to cause trouble," which was ridiculous because he was probably the smartest rogue I knew. "Evening, gents!" Finn called out, his voice bright and friendly. "Any of you guys seen a black and white cat around here? Little guy, answers to Mr. Whiskers?" The shorter guard—built like a damn refrigerator crossed his arms. "No pets allowed on Academy grounds." "Oh, he's not a pet, he's family!" Finn pulled out his phone, showing them some random cat picture he probably found online. "Been looking for him all night. My kid sister's gonna be heartbroken if I don't find him." While Finn distracted them, talking — something about his fake sister's fake birthday—I moved. Quick and quiet, staying low, hiding in shadows. My worn-out sneakers barely made a sound as I sneaked. I'd done this a hundred times before, sneaking past pack borders to scavenge for food or supplies. It was how we survive and this was just another wall to cross. I jumped, catching the top edge. Scratching my fingers, but I didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Rowan was waiting. "Almost there," I pulled over. The wall's edge hit my stomach as I balanced myself for a second, looking down at the other side. It was about a ten-foot drop into a thicket of bushes. Easy. I dropped, rolling like my dad taught me before everything went to hell. Branches scratched my arms and caught in my short hair, but I came up clean on the other side. "I'm in," I mind-linked Finn. "Damn, girl! That was what? Like thirty seconds. New record?" "Maybe. Now get your ass out of there before they figure out you're full of sht." Finn's laugh echoed in my head. "Already gone. Meet you at the usual spot after?" "Can't tonight. Rowan's duel thing would be till dawn and we'll hang out after, remember?" "Oh right, the big moon duel or whatever. Good, enjoy some special time with your mate!" The link went off, leaving me alone in the dark with nothing but the sound of my own shaky breath. I pulled out my phone. The screen was cracked months ago but it was still working. Seven missed calls from Rowan. My stomach twisted. Seven calls. In an hour. That wasn't like him. Rowan didn't panic. Rowan was the calm one, the one who talked me down when my wolf Nova screamed at me to run or fight. He was the one who found me a year ago breaking into the nearby store while he was studying rogue behavior for some academy project. I thought he'd report me. But instead, he offered me half his sandwich. "You look hungry," he'd said, like it was the most normal thing in the world. And that's when I felt the bond. My mate. A brilliant, kind academy wolf who didn't care that I was rogue. Who loved me anyway. I tried calling him back. It rang once, twice, then went straight to voicemail. "The hell?" I muttered, trying again. Still nothing. I noticed a text below the missed calls it was sent thirty minutes ago, the words make my blood go cold. Rowan: If I don't make it out tonight, it's him. I froze completely staring at the screen. "What the fck does that mean?" I cried out in a shaky voice. It's him. Who's him? Make it out? Make it out of what? It was supposed to be a friendly academy duel. That's what Rowan said when he told me about it last week. "Nothing serious, Rae. Just academy stuff. But I'd love for you to be there." I'd promised I'd come. Promised I'd watch him win and then we'd sneak off somewhere quiet after, away from all these fancy academy wolves who would look at me like some dirt on their shoes. But now… The mark on my wrist burned. Not the normal warm tingle I got when Rowan was near. This was different. Sharp. Wrong. Like someone was dragging a hot knife across my skin. "Nova?" I called my wolf. "What's happening?" She whimpered. Actually whimpered. Nova never whimpered. "Something's wrong with Ro," she growled. "Can't feel him. Can't feel..." He can't be dead! Can he? I squeezed my wrist, trying to stop it, but it only worsened. The small crescent moon mark—our mate mark, the one that appeared the night we mated—started to fade. I could see it disappearing, bit by bit, like someone was invisibly erasing it. "No, no, no..." I muttered, running. Nova took over. Trees blurring as I follow the pull in my chest that always led me to Rowan. Except the pull was getting weaker now. Fainter. "Faster!" I cried. "Run faster!" "I'm trying!" Our bond flickered in my chest... Once. Twice. "No, no, no... Ro, please...." Nova howled. Then the bond went silent. I stumbled, nearly falling, catching myself on a rough tree trunk. My whole body felt wrong, like someone had scooped out my insides and left nothing but empty space. Nova howled inside my head—a long, broken sound that made my chest hurt even more. "Rowan?" I whispered, pressing my hand against my chest. Nothing. "He's gone," Nova whimpered. "Our mate is gone." "No. No, he's not. He can't be..." The noise was louder now. I could see police lights ahead, sirens. I ran toward the arena. Stone benches circled a fight stage in the center, lined with bright bulbs. Hundred of students sat on the benches. All dressed in nice clothes, looking clean and fed and safe. Academy wolves. They typically never had to steal food or sleep in abandoned houses or ever wonder if tonight was the night some other rogues would kill them for their jacket. They were all staring at the center of the arena. At the body lying on the stage. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. I couldn't think. Because the body had brown hair that curled at the ends. Broad shoulders. A white shirt now soaked red with blood. "Rowan?" I whispered. My legs gave out. Hitting the ground hard, but I didn't feel hurt because my chest where our bond used to be hurt more. Someone was screaming. High and broken. It took me a second to realize it was me. *** I don't remember crossing the arena. Pushing past the guards or the students or whoever the hell tried to stop me. One second I was at the tree line. The next I was on my knees on the stage, my hands hovering over Rowan's chest, wanting to fix him. Wanting to reverse time. "Wake up," I pleaded. "Come on, Ro, wake up." His eyes were open. Still that beautiful green-brown that reminded me of summer forests. But they were looking at the sky now.... empty. "Is he breathing," Nova whimpered. "Can we save him?" "I don't know, there's no heartbeat..." Blood soaked my jeans where I knelt. It was still warm. Making my stomach turn. "Please Ro," I mumbled, touching his face with a trembling hand. "Please don't leave me." The mate mark burned on my wrist again, then faded completely. Like it never existed. Like we never existed. Nova deep heartbreaking howl. "He's gone," she sobbed. "Our mate is really gone." I squeezed Rowan's limp hand, his fingers were cold. Around his neck, a leather cord held a silver half-moon pendant. I gently removed the crescent shining under the moon. I wore the other half around my own neck, everywhere I went. Rowan gave it to me six months ago, he said we'll wear it for luck, and remember each other whenever we touch it. No matter how far apart we are. I pressed it together with my other half and they clicked into place. A perfect circle. A full moon. Except Rowan wasn't here to see it anymore. "We're supposed to be together forever," I whispered, burying my face in his blood-soaked shirt. "You promised..." "I'm sorry," I sobbed. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here when you needed me the most. I tried, I swear I tried... " "Miss, you need to step back." Someone said, grabbing my shoulder. I spun around, snarling, Nova rising so fast my eyes probably glowed gold. "Don't touch me!" I growled. The man in a guard uniform held up his hands. "Easy there. But the healers need to..." "He's dead!" The words ripped out of me, harsh and ugly. But that's the truth. Nova snarled in agreement, her grief turning to rage. "Your healers can't do sht!" "Miss..." "I said don't touch me!" I yelled, jerking away, turning back to Rowan. "Don't you fcking touch me." "They can't help him," Nova whimpered, both of us knew it was too late. "When they couldn't help him before he died." More hands grabbed me... too many to fight off. They hauled me backward, dragging me away from him, and Nova erupted. I fought like a cornered beast. Kicking and screaming for them to let me go. Nova pushed forward, making me stronger, but it wasn't enough. There were too many of them. "Let me go! Let me go! Rowan!" "Mate," Nova sobbed. "Our mate. They're taking us from our mate." "I'm sorry. Rowan. I'm so sorry." They pulled me past the crowd. Past all those pretty academy wolves with their shocked faces and whispered conversations. Past guards and teachers and people who didn't give a sht about a dead rogue's mate having her heart ripped out. "Worthless," Nova snarled at them. "All of them. They just watched. They just stood there and watched him die." "Fking bastards." "We should kill them. Rip their throats out." "Nova... No. We don't know who did it yet" "But they let our mate die!" My grief mixing with hers has turned into rage. We were both broken. Both screaming inside. Someone bumped into me. A tall, beautiful blonde girl. She didn't spare me a second or apologies. Too perfect. That one that came from good food and safety and never having to fight for anything. She wore a fancy blue dress— probably royalty. Her eyes weren't on Rowan but on someone across the arena. Following her gaze, I saw him. A guy. Tall, easily six-three, with dark hair that was messy like he'd been fighting. I didn't saw his face but his hands caught my eyes... His hands were covered in blood. Rowan's blood. He stood in the center of the arena, right where Rowan's body was, he glanced at Rowan’s body one last time before walking away. "Who is that?" I choked out, staring at the blood on his hands. I didn't know I spoke out loud until the guard holding my left arm answered. "That's Kealen Draven. The Alpha heir.” The blonde girl, in the blue dress ran toward him. Whispered something and they walked away. "What happened?" I demanded, looking at the guard. "What the fck happened?" "Training accident," he said, but his voice was weird. Like he was lying. "The duel got out of hand." "Bullsht." I jerked against their hold, but they were too strong. "That wasn't an accident. Rowan texted me—he said—" I stopped. Because I didn't know what Rowan meant. It's him. Him who? The Alpha heir? Someone else? Just who the f*ck is him? The guards dragged me towards a blnearby building… some kind of security office. I craned my neck and look at Rowan’s body one last time. Healers swarmed around him now. One of them—a woman with dark hair pulled back in a bun checked his pulse and shook her head slowly. That small gesture… that tiny negative shake—broke something inside me. Inside Nova too. She howled and ran into the deepest depth in my mind, fading into darkness. "He's really gone, right?" she whispered. "What do we do now? How do we live without him?" "I don't know," I gulped, my throat burning. "It has to be a nightmare, right." Rowan was dead. But it looked like there's something or someone behind it. That Him. And I would find out who he is. "Yes," Nova growled in agreement. "We find who did this. We make them pay." "We will," I promised her. Promised myself. Promised Rowan's memory. "Whatever it takes." I stopped fighting the guards. Let them think I was giving up. Let them drag me into their little office and sit me in a chair and ask me questions I barely heard. Because I was already planning. Already thinking about how I'd get into this Academy for real. How I'd walk these halls and eat in their cafeteria and pretend to be one of them. I'd find out what happened tonight. I'd find out who killed my mate. And I'd make them pay. The pendant was still warm against my chest—both halves pressed together, forming a complete moon. I held it through my shirt and made a promise. I'm coming for them, Rowan. Whoever did this. I'm coming. "We're coming," Nova echoed, her voice steady now. Determined. "And they're going to regret the day they touched our mate.”