Reborn: Caged No More

Newest Partner

Irene

My throat was blocked and my chest squeezed. For a moment I found it hard to breathe. That was without a doubt Jillian's scent. But why was she in the Moonstone Building? Wasn't she a rogue Theon found at the border?

I looked around, wishing my wolf was available to talk to. My lips pursed. She was still too weak to utter a word. Being reborn must have been heavy on her. Or perhaps the poison from my last life was still lingering in her system, hindering her from reaching her full potential. My eyebrows wrinkled together. I didn't want to lose her again. At least this time she was still alive and I was nowhere near Jillian. There was hope I could save her.

When my eyes failed to find the woman I despised, I averted my attention towards my family. My mom, Ella and Kayla were already standing beside me, waiting for me to answer their questions.

My worries vanished when my mom took my hands in her warm ones and held them as she spoke. My tense muscles softened. It had been too long since I last felt her warmth.

“Honey, what happened? Why did you suddenly change your mind? You were ready to get married this morning.”

All I could do was offer a weak smile. If only she knew the hell that awaited me in that house of horror. I fought against the tears welling my eyes. She wouldn't understand why I was emotional. How could she fathom what I felt? That feeling of getting her back after losing her was overwhelming. I held her hands back in my trembling ones and looked deeply into her face.

I wanted to memorise every feature of her face; every wrinkle, the way she looked at me as she spoke and every gesture she made. I wanted to carry her image in my mind for the rest of my life.

I inhaled a shaky breath, forcing a smile. The creases on her face deepened as she wiped my cheek. A tear had escaped the corner of my eyes and I didn't even realise that.

“Dear… you know I'm here for you always, right? I support you. You know that, right?”

I nodded my head. “Mom.”

I wanted to speak but my voice was hoarse.

“Look, I don't need to know why you rejected him at the last minute. Take your time. You don't have to talk about it right now.”

“No, it's ok. I just… learned a few things about him. He isn't the guy we thought he is.”

She looked into my eyes. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Hundred percent.”

“After seeing the way he reacted today, I also don't think he'd be a good husband,” Ella, my brother's wife and our Pack's Luna said.

My mom let out a breath. “As long as you're safe and happy, my dear.”

“Sooo, what happened? We tried to stop Theon, but he was too fast. Carlo ordered us to stay with mom. Otherwise we would have followed you.”

I was glad that Kayla changed the subject.

“I ran into Alpha Vlad. When Theon reached me I was talking to him. I guess that saved me.”

Kayla and Ella looked at each other.

“Wait… you mean Theon backed off when he saw Alpha Vlad? Is he scared of him or something?”

Kayla snorted. “That's pathetic.”

I shrugged. “Vlad sort of threatened Theon. He made sure Theon wouldn't follow me.”

Kayla raised a brow as a broad grin spread across Ella's face.

“Wow, nice. Alpha Vlad did that?” Ella sounded surprised.

“Isn't Vlad the Eastern Giant? Why would he do such a thing for a stranger he just met?”

Kayla voiced her thoughts.

“Yeah. It is strange, right… unless you guys are mates…” Ella looked right into my face. “An alpha would do anything for his soulmate.”

I found it bizarre that my heart raced upon hearing Ella's theory. Mates? I struggled to keep myself composed. Come on. That’s just not happening. I quickly shook my head.

“No! We are not mates…” I denied, hoping the foundation on my face concealed my flushed cheeks. “If we were, I would have known.”

My wolf was unresponsive, but I would have felt something… right? Sparks maybe? Right?

“She's right,” my mother agreed with me. “Sparks, and your wolf would probably be screaming at the top of her lungs as soon as you saw him. Not to mention the scent would have driven her crazy.”

I pursed my lips. They didn't know my wolf was unreachable. I felt none of those things my mother described. And my sense of smell wasn't sharp like it used to be. I bet my wolf didn't have the energy to speak out, let alone scream. But alpha Vlad and I just couldn't be mates… right?

“Hmm, I guess,” Ella shrugged, looking disappointed.

Kayla sighed. “Well, maybe you'll find your mate soon.”

Mom squeezed my hand. “Maybe it's best to just relax right now. You rejected the strongest alpha of this region a few minutes ago. I don't suppose he took that lightly.”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding my head. “He didn't.”

Ella and Kayla stiffened. “What did he say?”

“He threatened to attack us and enslave our entire pack.”

Their eyes widened. “What?”

I nodded. “It was Vlad who intervened. He vowed to protect us from Theon and even warned him not to follow me.”

“Oh my…” Ella covered her mouth. As the Luna of the pack, the news must have horrified her.

“Enslave us?” My mom whispered. “That's so… I thought he wasn't like that.”

I shrugged. Having experienced his brutality in the past life, I knew what he was capable of. He could be a tyrant if he wanted and it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't hesitate to go as far as obliterating an entire pack if he set his heart on it.

“Now what? We can't just wait and watch,” Ella said.

“Don't worry, I'll die before he gets to you or anyone in our pack,” Kayla promised. I smiled at her. My best friend was one of the elite warriors in our pack and I knew she meant what she just said.

I shook my head. “We are in this together. We will fight with everything we have.”

“Wait… didn't you say alpha Vlad offered protection?” Ella asked.

I could barely nod my head when I sensed a change in the aura. I turned my head, just in time to see Theon marching down the corridor with his guards hot on his heels. As they passed by us, Theon threw a dirty glare at me, sneering as he walked briskly towards the exit.

No one said a word. It looked like Vlad's threats worked. I turned to face the ladies.

“Let's go home?”

But no one responded. Their gazes were glued on the staircase, as though they knew something was about to happen. Then I felt it.

The aura… more alphas were approaching. Of course, my subjugated sense of smell offered only little awareness to my surroundings when compared to others.

I looked over my shoulder, quite unable to determine why I was feeling queasy. My brother and his newest partner walked down the stairs, engrossed in a deep conversation.

My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't keep my eyes off Vlad. Tall, dark, brooding and dangerously handsome… why in the world was he so appealing? My heart raced with each step they took as they walked towards us and my face felt hot. I sucked a breath and secretly looked at others if they also were flushed. They weren't.

I quickly averted my gaze. I didn't want to be the only one looking uncomfortable in public.

“Hey, mom. Meet our ally, Alpha Vlad Theodore of Black Raven pack,” Carlo introduced him.

“Our ally?” Mom asked.

“Yes. Our pack is under his protection and we are entering a business deal.”

I glanced at them. So that was what they were discussing? Business?

“That sounds nice. I have heard something rather disturbing regarding Alpha Theon.”

Carlo nodded “yes, and thankfully Alpha Vlad was a great help up there.” He glanced at Vlad. “This is my mother, Luna Victoria.”

Vlad looked directly at her as they shook hands. “I remember you from my oath taking ceremony,” he said.

“Yes. My mate and I travelled to your territory. It was an honour to be invited.”

He smiled as he nodded his head. Carlo continued to introduce us one by one. Vlad respectfully greeted them all. I started to relax. He was just another alpha… just like all the other alphas I worked with.

“And this is my sister, Irene. You met her before,” Carlo said.

I confidently looked into his eyes, but as soon as I did, I went stiff. He smirked, and reached out for my hand. Despite my emotions going crazy, I offered my hand. I didn't expect him to land a kiss on the back of it. I sucked in a breath. He didn't take his eyes off me the whole time and for some strange reason, I couldn't bring myself to look away. It was as though an invisible force was restricting my actions and I couldn't break free.

“Hello,” he said. “Irene. I didn't catch a name before.”

I managed to offer a weak smile. It was bizarre. This was the same man I spoke to just a few minutes ago. What changed?

Was it because this time I made eye contact? His green eyes were almost hypnotising.

I blinked my eyes, regained my focus and broke eye contact. If making eye contact was stirring up a storm in my mind, I had to be careful. I cleared my throat and said. “Looking forward to working with you.”

He smirked again. Damn, why did he look so sexy each time he did that? It should be illegal to cause chaos in my heart with just a simple smirk. I bet he was a ladies’ man. He was just too good looking not to.

“Same here,” he said and looked at Carlo. “We have a lot to discuss. When shall we start the official discussions? And I need to look around your pack so we can determine where to station my warriors, and where to set up our business.”

“We can start now. I have mind-linked my guards to prepare the vehicle for departure. You can come to our pack now if that's okay with you,” Carlo said.

“Sure. My guards and I will follow you.”

I followed the ladies to exit the building with a strange feeling in my chest. Having worked with numerous alphas in the past, I wanted to believe that working with alpha Vlad wouldn't be any different. However, that weird feeling in my chest was taking my peace away.

I stole a glance at him as we reached the main exit, just in time to catch him stealing a glance at me. Once again my heart raced. Pretending that he wasn't the reason for the mayhem in my chest, as I looked away.

One thought kept crossing my mind as I fixated my gaze on the cars arriving at the doorstep. Working with alpha Vlad wasn't going to be easy.