My heart pattered in my chest, skipping like a happy child. Warmth swept through as my declaration of love slipped through the mind link.
I hadn’t realized it was true until the words ca out but I knew now that it was.
Grinning like a fool, I imagined the look on Mila’s face when hearing my confession and my heart raced even faster. I was like a teenage boy confessing love to a girl for the first ti. One so far out of my league that I could only hope for her to return my feelings.
The only difference, in this case, was that I was fairly certain Mila did return my feelings. She wouldn’t have been so pissed at about the picture if she didn’t.
As I waited for her to reply, my heart raced and my palms were clammy, just like a nervous little pup.
She never responded.
“Mila?”
My mind raced suddenly. Had I been too presumptive in thinking that she had real feelings for ? Had I been too quick to tell her how I felt given that she was angry at ? I hadn’t really ant to tell her, the words just slipped out.
But was Mila ready?
She was so quiet and I worried that I’d scared her off again.
What was she thinking? I wished I could read her mind but the mindlink didn’t work that way.
“Mila, is everything okay?” I asked, gently prodding her.
There was nothing on the other end. Not even static. Our mindlink had been severed. It was impossible for to determine if that was because she’d shut it down or if sothing had happened to her that made her unable to respond.
Whatever the reason, I wasn’t going to stop until she was safely in my arms. Then I could tell her with my own words how I felt and I could see the adorable, shy yet hopeful look on her face.
I took another deep, calming breath, keeping myself under control.
As much as I wanted to rush off and tear everyone’s heads off, I was still hesitant. Chandler was working a plan here.
He’d referred to all the other shifters as “pests.” Mila had told that. And he was planning on doing it in person. I had a feeling he would be showing himself soon and the temple was his arena for the showdown.
Since he’d just been in the tomb with Mila, that ant the tomb had to be near the temple. It made perfect sense because Chandler loved her deeply, even though she’d been dead for years. He’d want her sowhere sacred, to be protected spiritually.
He would want her soul wrapped in the Moon Goddess’s arms. What better place for that than under the Moon Goddess Temple?
It was the holiest place to lay soone to rest. He could keep her body preserved, protected, and surrounded by the Moon Goddess’s love and energy. And no one would disturb her there.
“Soren, have you figured out what you need?” Payne asked, cutting into my thoughts.
“We should get to the temple.”
We started heading up the hill again when the sounds of a commotion broke out.
“What’s going on now?” Thomas grumbled.
“Tell the others to hang back. I don’t want them to get involved until we know what we’re dealing with!”
I rushed ahead of Payne and Thomas while they coordinated the n. If Chandler’s plan was unfolding I needed to be there. I wasn’t going to let him go anywhere without my eyes on him.
Sounds of battle and fighting got louder as I got closer to the temple. It sounded like a vicious war with Norwind unleashing all hell on the other packs.
Screaming and curses floated down the mountain, along with other sounds of ripping and tearing skin.
I winced and turned back.
“Hey, you two, co with ,” I said, pointing to two of my warriors.
As much as I wanted to keep them out of it, I needed backup in case sothing happened to . They could report back to Thomas and Payne.
We ran up the rest of the mountain, all the way to the temple. The sounds of battle got closer and I realized there was sothing strange about the temple... strange but eerily familiar.
“Alpha Soren, what is this?” one of the warriors asked .
“Stay out of that fog!” I ordered.
Just like all of Miltern, the Norwind temple was surrounded by a thick fog. The fog in Miltern had dulled our senses. It made it difficult for us to sll, see, and hear. It would make a Norwind ambush incredibly easy.
I wasn’t sure if this fog was the sa but all the sounds of fighting were coming from inside.
The fog didn’t look the sa as the one in Miltern. The Mltern fog had been hazy and sluggish. It was eerie. This fog was thick and dark. It seed angry. I couldn’t see anything even when I squinted. I’d have to go in there to find out what was going on.
“Stay here and stay out of the fog!” I ordered.
“Where are you going?” one of the warriors asked.
“If I’m not back in ten minutes, report back to Payne and Thomas. Do not follow !”
They nodded and stood at attention as I slipped into the fog.
Shifters from the other pack raced around in the fog. They were all attacking each other, snarling, fighting, and scratching at each other. It was like they’d lost their minds and were rabid.
I noticed two n from Saboreef fighting against each other and I didn’t see any mbers of Norwind.
What was happening to these guys? They were going completely crazy.
I headed a little deeper into the fog and paused.
My blood boiled and I clenched my fists. Gritting my teeth, I felt the sudden urge to kill. I wanted to wrap my fingers around soone’s neck and snap it. I wanted to rip into soone’s throat!
What the...
What was going on with ?
It was the fog. It had to be the fog. Just like the Miltern fog ssed with our senses, this fog ssed with sanity and aggression. The others lost all grip on reality and were unable to stop themselves.
So... this was Alpha Chandler’s trap.
By inviting us all to the temple, he lured us into the fog so we would kill each other. It ant all his warriors would be safe and out of harm’s way while the packs picked each other off. Even if they didn’t wipe each other out completely, they’d be weak enough that Norwind would have the upper hand again.
“Well played, Chandler,” I growled, my desire to kill bubbling up again. I fought against the urge. The only person I’d kill on sight right now was Chandler. I wasn’t going to let myself lose it until then...
“Hahahahaha!”
Chandler’s thick delighted laugh echoed from the temple through the fog.
Instinctively, my eyes flitted toward him. I clenched my fists and strained against the urge to rush him and kill him. It was strong. The fog was strong.
But I was stronger!
Chandler hopped down the steps, one stair at a ti. He laughed and pointed to the shifters fighting each other.
None of them even noticed him. They were too caught up in the effects of the fog.
“Look at this. You all thought you ca to stop ?” Chandler asked, a vicious, sweet tune in his voice.
“Chandler!” I snarled through gritted teeth, holding on by a thread. I stamped my feet into the ground to hold myself in place.
Chandler didn’t notice or hear , for the mont.
“You hypocrites. You ca to stop but you were fueled by greed. And now, this is where your greed has brought you. This is the price you pay,” he sang.
I was ready to rip the smirk right off his face! He dared lecture others on greed! The man that was kidnapping my mate just to bring his dead Luna back to life... that was the definition of greed!
Closing my eyes, I thought of the blessing I’d received from the White Queen. She’d given the blessing years ago but it was probably the only thing keeping from losing my mind in this fog.
But it was starting to get to . I had to get out of here!
Retreating from the fog, I rejoined my warriors on the edge.
Imdiately, I felt like I could breathe again. I hadn’t felt like I was suffocating within the fog cloud but the fresh air was very refreshing.
“Are you okay, Alpha Soren?” one of the warriors asked.
“Yes. Do not go into the fog under any circumstances, alright?”
“Yes, of course,” they both agreed.
I ran my hand down my face and thought about what was going on. I needed to get to Chandler and I needed to get to the temple. If I went back into the fog I had no way to ensure that I wouldn’t lose my mind.
I’d barely kept it together and I’d just been standing still. To make it to the Temple I’d need to spend at least twice as much ti in the fog cloud than I already had and I didn’t know if I could make it that long.
Chandler had things set up perfectly.
This was exactly why I didn’t want my n rushing in with the others. They were safe and that ant we still had a chance. I just needed to get to the temple.
“What’s your plan?” one of the warriors asked.
I stroked my chin and shook my head. The biggest problem was the fog. Once that was resolved or bypassed, everything else would fall into place. I just needed...
Soone else was circling the outside of the fog bank. Imdiately, I recognized Eros.
He hadn’t gone rushing in. Too bad, if soone had killed him in a fit of insanity, I wouldn’t have been too broken up about it.
“Where are you going?” I muttered to myself watching Eros skulk around the fog.
He was looking right at where the temple was, eyes narrowed in a harsh glare. Could he see Chandler?
That was the only person I imagined he was glaring at through the fog.
He sneered in the fog and shook his head. It was like he was embarrassed about what the shifters were doing, fighting each other to death.
Suddenly, Eros ducked into the fog.
“Why...”
I started following him.
“Alpha?”
“Wait here!”
I went to where Eros disappeared and saw that there was a hidden pathway. It looked like it would take him safely through the fog.
“Well, well, Eros, Apparently, you do have so use after all.”
I returned to my warriors.
“Go back to Thomas and Payne. Tell them that I found a path and am leaving marks for them along the way,” I ordered.
“Yes, Alpha.”
They ran off, scurrying back to Thomas and Payne. I went back to the path and bent a twig.
“Thomas,” I reached out through the mindlink.
“What is it?”
“Follow the bent twigs.”
“That’s... descriptive.”
“You’ll understand soon.”
I cut off the mindlink and went further down the path, bending another twig for Thomas to follow.
Further down the path, I reached out to Mila once more with the mindlink. I sensed her but the connection was weak. Any second, it could break off. But she was still there and that was what mattered.
Hope rose up inside .
“Wait for , my mate. I love you,” I said again before I lost the mindlink.
#
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