Moonlit Rebirth: The Alpha's Betrayed Mate

Quiet Resolve

☽ Lucan ☾

The pack looked different after the rogue attack. Fires burned low, blood stained the border grass, and everyone spoke in quiet voices. When Nyra walked past, the whispers followed her like smoke.

Traitor. Rogue spy. Monster.

I kept my face calm, but inside I was razor-edged. I had been gone for herbs. I had missed her birthday. I had returned to find her surrounded by fear and doubt, standing alone like a target. I had threatened the entire pack and walked away with Nyra. We returned to our cabin in silence. The small place smelled of dried leaves and wood, familiar and safe in a way the clearing no longer was. It was a reminder that at least our cabin was a safe place for both of us. A place where we could just be without the eyes of the entire pack. Zarek included. Nyra shut the door and leaned against it. She tried to look steady, but she was pale, and I noticed a bruise that shadowed her temple.

“Sit,” I said.

“I’m fine,” she answered, automatically.

“Don’t lie to me, Nyra,” I replied with a sharpness in my voice that surprised us both. “Clearly, you aren’t fine,” I added as I softened my tone. Nyra crossed the room and sat on the couch. I headed straight for the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before I handed it to her. It wasn’t until she took the first sip that I sat down on the armchair across from her. It took a lot for me to keep my temper on a tight leash. The last thing I needed to do was let it out. “Talk to me, Nyra. What the hell did I miss?” I questioned as I watched her closer. Nyra stared at the bottle in her hands, and for a moment, I thought I would have to force the information out of her.

“There is so much, Lucan. I don’t even know where to start,” she whispered.

“Start at the beginning. I am listening,” I leaned back in my seat, but my eyes remained focused on her. She took a deep breath and met my gaze.

“The night before my birthday, I had a dream. I was standing in a stone hall lit by torches…my hands were bound behind my back…there were so many people around me, but I couldn’t see who they were. Not that they were all that important,” she explained. I listened closely, even though I wasn’t sure what her dream had to do with what happened. “Anyway, there were two people there. One felt…almost romantic, like…maybe it was someone special to me. I don’t know, the other felt like…someone I knew. Someone important, maybe a friend or something,”

“Ok,” I said with a nod. Obviously, this dream was important.

“I was killed,” she stated, and my stomach tightened.

“By the two?”

“Yes, not sure which one drove the blade into me, but yeah…” her voice trailed off, and I felt sick. I felt guilty, too. Nyra had been alone with this. I hadn’t been here for her. “The thing is, when I woke up, it was like a flood of memories hit me,” I frowned.

“Memories? I don’t…memories of what, Nyra?” I asked, confused.

“Memories of my death. Of another life,” she answered. “A past life,” I had no idea what to say to that. I didn’t fully understand it, but that much was true. But Nyra continued. “In that life, I was a white wolf. I was powerful. But I was framed and killed…” a shiver ran through me. A white wolf. I had heard of the legends spoken by the elders of a white wolf. “I didn’t want it to be true, Lucan. But everything changed. Everything feels…sharper…and I don’t know how to explain it to you…but it’s my past life, Lucan. I am the white wolf,”

“Ok,” I said, because I had no idea what to say.

“And then my birthday celebration was a complete and utter nightmare. I felt it,” she said, and I nodded. She was referring to Zarek. “I felt the bond, and before I could even react or do or say anything, he just…rejected me. In front of everyone,”

“The bastard,” I muttered under my breath.

“He called me weak…and then chose Vespera,” she said. The anger I had managed to temper roared to the surface. Hot and violent. I kept it contained because, right now, Nyra needed me to be steady. Supportive. A comfort. She didn’t need my anger. I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I trust you handled it,” I said, and she shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“I mean, I said my piece. I didn’t break down or beg,” she said, and pride flared through me. But then it quickly twisted into guilt. Once again, I hadn’t been here. “And somehow, I just knew that the rogues were going to attack. It was like…my past life was somehow repeating itself, and I just knew…so I prepared,”

“Oh,” I was surprised. Surprised and unsure.

“I saw something that…I saw Vespera standing on one side,” Nyra continued, and I frowned. “She was just standing there, and a rogue approached her. Not to fight. Not to attack,”

“Then?”

“He lowered his head, as if it was more of an acknowledgment or something…she signaled…almost in approval or something, and then they parted,”

“Are you sure?” I couldn’t help but ask. I hadn’t been here, but I knew that the attack on the pack had been chaotic.

“One hundred percent, Lucan. That’s why I just knew they would come back. I knew that the attack had just been…a rouse. They wanted something,”

“You,” I whispered, and she nodded.

“Which is why I let them take me,”

“Hmm,” I hummed as I continued watching her curiously. This past life was an interesting theory. Something I needed to investigate. Soon.

“They took me to their lair, Lucan,” she continued, and my eyes went wide. “To a place I had been to before, in my past life,” I had to force myself to breathe.

“What did you find?”

“Well, Vespera was there. She spoke to them like she belonged, and they called me the white wolf, Lucan,” I wasn’t even surprised. Not at this point. “They wanted my blood for an ancient ritual,”

“To kill you?”

“To kill me. To take my power,” she answered. I didn’t know what to say. “During the ritual, I managed to destroy an artifact that they needed to perform the ritual. And then I made a run for it,”

“But…how did Vespera get here before you?” I asked curiously.

“I took the long way back because I knew they would come after me. I hadn’t expected…I should have known…” her voice trailed off, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of sympathy for her. She had known because of her past life, but she had failed.

“So, Vespera got back before you and told everyone what she wanted them to believe,” I finished for her, and she nodded.

“She wants them to turn their back on me…and that is exactly what happened,” Nyra’s shoulders dropped in defeat, and I hurriedly stood up to join her on the couch. I took her hand in mine and squeezed.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I’m sorry I missed your birthday and…not being here when you needed me,”

“It’s ok,” she said. I let go of her hand, and she looked at me. “So, what do we do now?” I thought of the situation. The dream. Her past life. Zarek. Vespera. The failed ritual. The deliberate rumors.

“Well, we can’t fight rumors. We need to end them,” I stated. Nyra looked skeptical, and I forced a smile. “We will uncover the whole truth, Nyra, and expose them,”

“How?”

“Leave that part to me,” I said as I stood up.

“Lucan…that will mean you are going to leave…again?” I didn’t like the tone in her voice, but I ignored it. This wasn’t something we could argue about. Nyra was a threat to them. If she was caught, they would finish what they started. No, I needed her to be safe.

“Just to investigate,” I reassured her. “I need you to stay here and be safe,” she shot me a look, and I chuckled. “Just do it, Nyra,” her lips twitched.

“You are ordering me,”

“I am asking you to be safe, Nyra. There is a difference,” I said. She nodded, then got to her feet and went into her bedroom. I sat back down on the couch and started thinking about what I could do and how I could do it.

☽☾