♥

Elin and Zade are at my side as I rush towards Viola. The yelps of fear and pain that escape her mouth has me shuddering. No one hurts my sister, no one takes her away from her family. Not before I slaughter them all for hurting her.

Nate. Her voice whimpers this time.

One of the wolves flicks their head over towards us and they speed away, dragging Viola along with them. I snarl and rush forward, tackling one of them to the ground and slashing them over and over until I can see veins, intestines and endless blood.

Zade chases after Viola as Elin tackles the other wolf. I glance up, finding the final wolf rubbing himself all over Viola as she shakes and whimpers at his touch, I grind my teeth together and growl in his direction.

His dark midnight eyes find mine and before I can pounce, he storms away. I feel my beast desperate to chase him but as I plan to kill the fucker, I hear Viola's voice in my head.

Nate. She sobs. Nate, my leg. It hurts.

My head twists to Zade and Elin, I give them one nod and they rush to chase after the last wolf who had covered my sister in his vile scent, enough to make my wolf turn angry and bloodthirsty. But I have to focus on Viola. She needs me.

I stop beside her. It's alright, I'm here. I reassure her.

Viola wriggles on her back, still in my beast form, I lower down to the ground to inspect her wound. When her eyes find mine, fear consumes them. Nate?!

It's me. I reassure her by placing my claw-like hand on her non-injured leg.

W-What? Why do you look like that? What is going on?

Breathe. I say gently. I don't know what happened but when my wolf was fuelled with anger, I shifted into this form.

Viola's wolf clenches its throat and then shakes her head in disbelief. How?

I don't know. I admit. But let's focus on getting you back to the house and getting your leg healed, okay? We need to get away from here in case there are more wolves that haven't been killed yet.

She continues to stare at me and then she nods. Okay.

Elin and Zade soon return as I attempt to help Viola up, still in her wolf form. I pull her into my arms as I glance at the pair of them.

Lost him. Elin sighs. He got away, stupid fast.

My nostrils flare but I shake my head. He dare come near her again, I'll murder him with my bare hands.

Elin's wolf stares back at me. Do you think...

I want to make sure Viola is okay first before we start asking any questions. She is my priority right now.

We make it back to the house where I hand Viola over to the infirmary. There are so many other wolves with injuries and friends and family that are distraught over what just happened. A situation like this is always going to have consequences, good and bad.

After we shift back into our human forms, my body is physically exhausted from carrying a new form. I have no idea what happened, or why it happened. All I can remember is feeling a new level of anger, of determination.

As I stand in the foyer of the infirmary, people rush around and attempt to heal the wounded. I glance down at my hands, stretching and tensing them in front of me. Nothing feels different but I know I'm more in tune with my wolf and its abilities.

I let the doctors help Viola without suffocating her, giving her time to process whatever happened. My stomach twists at the possibilities running through my head, I pray they're not true.

"Nate?" One of the female doctors steps into the hall. I nod at her. "Viola would like to see you."

I follow her down the hall, the smell of fresh blood and dirt suffocates the air. The next twenty-four hours are going to be a journey for the pack. I hope that the fatalities weren't as bad as we expected.

Though some definitely would have fallen.

Viola sits in the bed with her wounded leg propped up. Her cheeks are damp from crying and her eyes swollen and sore. I rush to her side and bundle her into my arms, allowing her to sob straight into my chest.

I press a kiss to the top of her head and hold her as tight as I can, brushing my arm over her shoulder and down her arm. "It's okay," I whisper to her. "It's okay, I'm here and I've got you. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise. I won't allow it."

Her sobs begin to quieten after a few moments. I pull away and wipe her cheeks gently. "How is your leg feeling?" I ask.

"Sore," she whispers. "But they said it'll take a few days to heal, the claws got real deep."

"You're strong, Vi," I brush my hand down her hair. "You'll be better in no time, I know it."

Her dark eyes fall and she slumps her head back against the pillow. I take her hand and sit down in the chair beside her, running my thumb across her knuckles. Her lips part but she waits before she speaks, I don't pressure her.

"I felt something."

"Felt what?" I lean forward.

Viola chews on her trembling lip. "For him."

My brows crease as I study her, like she's trying to recall what happened, how she felt. Her eyes shut abruptly and I clench my fingers around hers with comfort and support.

"My wolf was screaming at me, crying out for him," her voice turns dry and another tear rolls down her cheek. "He said I was his, that he's my... my–" she clenches her jaw together and I suck in a silent breath, not wanting this to be true. "M-My mate."

I press our hands into my forehead and shake my head slowly. "And is he?"

Viola doesn't respond immediately, but when I look up at her, those brown eyes are glimmering with tears. "Yes. He is."

I exhale a sharp breath through my nose. "Elin and Zade didn't get to him, he's still out there. Was he the one who hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "I tried to fight them all off but one of the other wolves caught its claws on my leg, it wasn't my mate. He was too busy trying to convince me that I'm his and I must go with him through our mindlink, the other two wolves were being too forceful. It happened far too quickly, and–"

Another sob falls from the back of her throat and I tug her head into my chest. "I know it's painful." I say quietly.

"I didn't think I'd meet him like this," her eyes clench together. "I'm so scared, what if he comes back? What if he takes me away?"

My head shakes before she finishes her questions. "You're not going anywhere, I won't let it happen."

Viola removes her head from my chest and peeks those sad eyes up at me. "Why do I have to be mated to someone like that?"

I feel my lips fall into a frown as I tuck her hair behind her shoulder. "You'll find someone better."

"But my wolf might not survive not being with its mate, I might not survive the heartache. It might send me into a depression that I can never get out of. What if my entire life is ruined?"

"It's not," I reassure her. "I promise it's not. Things will work out."

Viola pulls away from me, her hands in her own lap. "My heart already hurts. I'm so confused."

"I promise everything will be okay, I'm going to be right by your side." I say but she doesn't glance my way.

The hairs on my arms stand when I glance over my shoulder to find our father walking straight into the room, eyes set on Viola and the bandage wrapped around her leg. "Oh my goodness," he says, moving to the other side of her bed. "My darling, are you okay?"

Don't say a word about what happened with my mate. Please. Viola says quickly but doesn't once glance my way.

Of course.

My father cups my sister's hands and inspects her minor cuts. "What happened?"

"I'm okay," she nods, sniffling and blinking away her tears. "I was cornered by three wolves but Nate, Elin and Zade helped get them off. My leg got scratched in the process, it was a little overwhelming."

Dad kisses her cheek gently and perches on the chair beside her. "I'm proud of you," he says and then turns towards me. "I'm proud of you too."

I clench my jaw at his words, not that they're sarcastic or anything but he's never really shown gratitude before. My eyes flick to Viola. "Get some sleep, hopefully it'll speed up your recovery."

Viola's eyes are already falling, no doubt she's physically and emotionally drained. "Be here when I wake up?"

"Of course," I say with confidence.

Our father kisses the top of her head this time and stands from his chair. "I'll make sure the doctor keeps coming in to check on you."

She flashes him a weak smile. "Thank you."

We exit her room in silence and my father turns towards me. "Leon wants to see you in his office," he says quietly and I nod. "Imogen is there too."

"Alright," I say as we walk in the direction.

"Are you okay?"

"As long as Viola is."

"I mean, did you get hurt?"

I cut my father a glance. "No, I'm not hurt."

We enter Leon's office to find Imogen standing beside him, she's carrying a few cuts on her face but nothing too serious. We worked together well, we managed to fight off the threat and protect our own. I've always had faith in us.

"Nathaniel," Leon says weakly. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "In one piece."

"Imogen filled me in with what went down. Thank you both for being the anchor of this pack, without you guys, I'm sure there would have been more fatalities," he says with a heavy heart. No Alpha wants to lose its wolves.

My throat clears gently. "How many?"

"Fifteen so far," he comments. "Most likely more."

I can feel my heart shatter in my chest. Fifteen too many.

"I scoped the perimeter with Elin and Zade," Imogen says, her eyes heavy and tired. "Couldn't sense any more wolves, most of them dead and their scents long gone. I don't think there would have been many of them left. But we should keep guard in case any come back."

"Agreed," I nod in her direction.

Imogen's eyes find mine across the room. Did you tell them about your new form?

No. I want to tell them another time when I've figured out what the fuck happened.

Sure.

"The infirmary are going to need some help," Imogen turns to her father. "I'm going to help out and see if there is anything at all I can do."

She loops around the desk and I step to her side. "Me too," I say with a nod. "We have to do as much as we can."

Leon looks at my father and then smiles. "I'm very grateful for you two."

"Don't thank us for doing the bare minimum for our pack," Imogen straightens her spine and we exit his office.

Imogen offers me a smile as we walk to the infirmary. "Good work today."

"You too," I admit. "We make a great team."

"That we do."

As Imogen walks straight into the infirmary, I hang back for a moment and feel something inside me begin to burn and flinch. The bond.

My throat tenses and I turn away, giving myself some privacy.

Milo, you there?

I don't hear anything back for a few moments and I chew on my lip in anticipation.

Milo? Is everything okay?

Nausea swirls around my stomach and builds in my sternum. He's probably busy, focusing. If anything bad happened to him, I would know about it. Wouldn't I?

But something doesn't feel right, it's straining our bond.

I close my eyes and pray to the heavens that he is okay.

♥ ♥ ♥

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Author's Note

Oh my goodesssss, ugh I'm so proud of Nate he and Imogen really have great leadership qualities together!🤩🥹

What did you guys think of this chapter?👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼

Viola's mate trying to take her away, eeeekkkkk

Who wants an early update before next Thursday? Let's get this chapter to 200 votes and 60 comments and I'll upload the next one (we get to find out about Milo and Reign)😬🫣

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