Alexander’s POV
I nipped at Luke’s tail as we ran up the steep trail. He made sure to concentrate so that Ghost couldn’t catch him.
“Is the Alpha getting slower now that he has found his mate?” Luke taunted.
Ghost huffed, increasing his speed. He was ready to bring Luke down and make him eat a mouth full of dust.
I chuckled at Ghost’s enthusiasm and sat back. He will make sure Luke learns his lesson. My mind slowly wandered off earlier today.
I was interested in knowing what happened that kept Emily from returning to the temple, and even though I knew now, I couldn’t help playing the conversation over and over in my mind.
“Come,” Basilia said, gesturing to us to follow her. “We have a lot to discuss.”
I took Emily’s hand in mine, took it to my lips, and kissed the top of her hand.
“Are you okay?” I asked, looking down at her in worry.
“I’m just a bit overwhelmed, that’s all,” she said. I could see something was bothering her.
“If this is too much,” I said. “We can leave and come back another time.”
Emily shook her head, cutting me off.
“I want to know,” she said, finding my gaze. “I am not leaving until I have answers.”
I nodded and tenderly rubbed the side of her face. Sparks erupted when my fingers touched her soft, smooth skin. It seemed to be working, and it started to soothe some of her worries.
“Guys!” Luke yelled over his shoulder. “Ain’t you coming?”
“We will be right there,” I said, taking Emily’s hand.
We followed in silence down the narrow hallway until a dimly lit room came into sight.
Luke stood aside, gesturing for Emily to enter first.
“Have a seat,” Basilia said, gesturing to the stools at the table.
“What is this place?” Luke asked, looking around.
“The temple library,” Basilia said. “It’s one of many; I just prefer this one above the others.”
“Any particular reason why?” Emily asked.
“This one is where you met your wolf, Willow,” Basilia said. “She came to you when you were three years old.”
“Isn’t that a bit early for a pup?” Luke asked, concerned.
“It sure is,” Basilia said, laughing. “But Willow loved coming to play with Emily. They used to play all over the temple.”
Luke knitted his eyebrows together, confused.
“I assume Willow visited from the spirit realm in wolf form,” Emily asked carefully.
“Yes, she sure did,” Basilia said happily. “It was wonderful to watch the interaction between human and wolf. You two were inseparable; you were the best of friends.”
“Then what happened?” I asked. “Why did everything suddenly change?”
Basilia sighed.
“It all started with a huge storm,” Basilia said, getting up and walking to the fireplace. “Emily’s parents had gone to help the Opal pack search for a group of lost pups; the pups seemed to have wandered off the trail.”
For a moment, Basilia turned quiet, and I wondered if she would be able to tell us what had happened that night.
“Thunder roared outside, and lightning lit up the skies,” she suddenly said, reliving the events. “The downpour made it hard to see outside.”
Basilia looked at me.
“Emily spotted a boy walking next to the river,” Basilia said, her face frozen in horror. “He looked lost, soaked, and cold, but that didn’t trigger her. She saw the masses of water coming down from the mountain. The boy would be washed away in mere seconds if he didn’t find higher ground!”
“What happened?” Luke asked, swallowing hard as he followed the events of that night.
“Emily left the safety of the temple, chasing after the boy to warn him,” Basilia said.
“Did she reach him on time?” Luke asked, biting his nails nervously.
“She did,” Basilia said proudly. “She helped him find refuge in a cave, stayed with him the night, and tended to his wounds.”
“But the next morning, he was gone,” Emily suddenly said, her blue eyes losing their sparkle.
“Yes,” Basilia said. “You looked for him for hours, and when your parents eventually found you, something had changed. It was your father’s idea to go live at Opal Pack, hoping you would recover.”
Luke kicked up a bunch of leaves, blocking Ghost’s view and bringing me back to my presence.
Ghost had closed the gap between him and Luke, and he was about to tackle him to the ground.
An unfamiliar scent of wolves invaded my nostrils, bringing Ghost to an immediate stop. His ears twitched, and he turned his head toward the scent. Every hair on his back rose.
Luke saw Ghost’s reaction and came to a stop. His head snapped in the same direction.
“Do you smell that?” I mind-linked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Rogues?” I asked.
“Not sure,” he said, lifting his nose in the air. “It’s too far out.”
Howling disturbed the quiet forest, and a cold feeling ran down my spine. Whoever that was, was moving toward the temple and waterfall.
Emily was still down there! Did she hear the howling? Did she decide to leave?
“Luna!” Luke yelled over the link, confirming my great fear, and he darted back down the narrow path.
Ghost didn’t hesitate and followed Luke.
“F*ck!” I internally growled at myself. “How could I be so stupid as to leave her down there? If anything should happen to her, I would lose it.”
“No one comes here,” Ghost said. “This must be some lost…”
Ghost words were cut off when a dark gray wolf flew past us. He didn’t even stop to look back at us; he just kept on running.
“Did you see that?” I asked, increasing my pace.
“That’s no Lycan,” Luke said. “Neither rogue!”
“Then who the f*ck is it?” I yelled.
Four more wolves passed us with no attempt to stop. I snarled, warning them, yet these wolves just ignored me and kept on running.
“Where the hell are they going?” I growled.
My question was answered mere seconds later when the waterfall came into view, and I had to watch in horror as a wolf pounced and pushed Emily into the downpour of the waterfall. Her surprised scream echoed through the woods and died off in the water.
I shifted back and dove after Emily into the roaring water.
The water was icy and strong, and it felt as if hundreds of needles were forced into my body at once.
I managed to swim up, taking a much-needed breath of air, and looked around bewildered in search of Emily.
“Over there!” Luke’s voice came from the top, and my gaze snapped at him, gesturing to Emily, swimming to the edge to get out of the freezing water.
Emily looked pissed, and a red glow formed around her body.
I quickly swam to the edge, and I got out of the water.
“Are you f*cking kidding me?” Emily yelled, poking the now-shifted wolf in the chest. “Why the f*ck would you do that?”
The wolf chuckled, and his smile grew wider and wider, the angrier Emily became.
“Who is this fool?” I growled, stepping closer, and shifting Emily protectively behind me. I was almost nose-to-nose with this intruder.
“Easy now,” someone warned from the side. “We mean no harm!”
“It doesn’t look like that!” Luke hissed from the side. “He just pushed our Luna into the water.”
That took the wolf off guard, and he flinched and looked at Emily.
“Is this true, Parker?” He asked, his voice laced with irritation. “Have you taken the role of Luna?”
“Don’t answer that!” I snapped. “It’s none of their business!”
The wolf nodded with a cocky smile.
“I will let King Alpha Xavier know that you are not fulfilling your duties,” the Wolf announced, and he turned to leave.
“Paul,” Emily growled, expanding her aura around us.
The atmosphere became thick, dry, and unbearable; it was as if she were sucking up all the humidity out of the air, making it unbearable to breathe. “Just stop!”
The wolf, now named Paul, froze in his tracks. He slowly turned his head back to face Emily, while the rest of the group dropped their heads and whimpered in agony.
Paul struggled to keep his head high.
“Tell me why you are here!” Emily ordered. “And how did you find me?”
“If you drop your amazing aura, Parker,” Paul sneered. “I will gladly tell you why I’m here!”
Emily went closer and looked the wolf in the eyes.
“King Alpha Xavier is not going to like his son toying with his head warrior!” She hissed.
Did I just hear correctly? Emily is the Royal Gamma.
****