Sol’s POV
Something was wrong; I could feel it by instinct.
I looked at my mate and smiled softly. She was busy playing with the pups in the living room happily, and everything seemed to go back in place. It’s as if nothing had happened that day we almost argued.
“Alpha, we seem to have a problem,” Joan mind-linked me.
“Where are you?” I asked through our mind-link.
“The pack’s border,” he responded.
“I’ll be right there,” I answered and then got up from the couch I was sitting on.
“My heart, I’ll be back after a few minutes. There is something I have to check at the border,” I said softly.
She smiled and then nodded. I was about to leave when she cleared her throat.
“Ah, sorry. I almost forgot,” I whispered then went to her and kissed her cheek lightly.
“I’ll be back,” I said, then turned and walked out of the room.
“It better be important, Joan,” I said after I had gone out of the pack house and got into my car.
“Sir, it’s very important. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have mind-linked you,” he answered.
I started the car and drove to the border feeling a little restless. My wolf, too, was beginning to feel anxious the closer we got.
“It must be unimportant, you know Joan. He usually says it’s important when it isn’t,” I said to my wolf with a smile.
When my mate’s scent reached my nose, my smile faded.
I quickly stepped on the brakes and got out.
Joan was meters away, standing with a few warriors.
“Am I insane?” I asked my wolf while I walked ahead.
“No, she’s here,” he answered.
We felt conflicted about whether to be happy or angry at her.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked when I reached closer to them.
They stepped away, revealing my mate who was kneeling on the ground naked, with her body leaning forward and her arms covering her chest.
Without a second thought, I removed my shirt and quickly moved closer, covering her up and avoiding looking at her carefully.
“Turn,” I commanded my warriors, and they quickly complied.
“I knew you would come for me,” she said with a smile as I tried to avoid her eyes.
“Why are you here?” I asked seriously.
“I will answer you, but first look at me,” she answered.
“No, I am not going to do that,” I responded simply.
“I said look at me!” She screamed, and I angrily did, then held my breath.
Her body was covered in dried blood and bruises. Her hair was a mess and looked like it had been cut. The side of her lip was a little scary, and there was a trail of dried blood from her nose.
“Who the fuck was it? Who did this to you?” I growled furiously.
“My Alpha,” she answered in a low tone.
“The one you claimed you love? Wasn’t he in love with you too?” I asked seriously, then tensed and felt bad when tears filled her eyes.
“That’s what I thought. I believed he loved me enough to protect me. Hell, I was even ready to reject you for him, but then he found out that I had left the border and met another Alpha. I thought that telling him I wanted to reject you for him would make him happy, but I was wrong,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“He called me a slut and hit me for crossing the border and meeting you. He also put me in the torture room and tortured me for days. The fact that I’m here is thanks to my friend Paulina, who helped me escape. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have come here because you already have someone. But I had nowhere to go because I only had my pack. I am scared of other territories, and the only one who I could think of and yearn to be with in my time of pain was you, my mate,” she cried as I kept quiet, not knowing how to respond.
I was very upset hearing her story, but at the same time, something didn’t feel right.
“It’s okay, if you don’t believe me, I’ll leave you and go die somewhere else. It won’t be any different being raped again by some unknown rogue,” she said when she stood up.
She was about to turn when I grabbed her hand.
“What the hell did you just say?” I asked furiously, holding back my growl.
“Let go, Alpha. It’s clear that you do not trust or want me to be here,” she screamed.
I let go of her hand and then took in a deep breath and released it.
“I can tell that you are trouble, and believe me when I say I want to chase you away. But….,” I stopped speaking and groaned low.
I was angry and furious at the bastard that had the guts to lay his paws on her. I also wanted the rogue dead because it was taking a lot of control to hold back. My wolf felt the same, yet he was trying not to help her at all.
I tensed when she moved and wrapped her arms around my waist.
My anger instantly subsided as her scent got stronger.
“Don’t do it,” came my wolf’s warning, but I just couldn’t help myself.
I found myself wrapping my arms around her to give her warmth and comfort.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that. It pains my heart to see you like this,” I said in a low tone as her sobs got louder.
The warriors looked shocked, unlike Joan, who already knew who she was to me. The first night we met her, he was there, and I explained everything to him, not because he was my Beta but because he was my close friend.
Him seeing her at the border must have been surprising for him. That’s perhaps the reason he couldn’t handle the situation and called me. Because we either chased the rogues away or killed them, depending on how much of a threat they were.
“Joan, prepare a small cottage that’s close to the pack house. Have an omega clean and cook something tasty quickly. Also, let her know that she will be attending to my m… To this one here until she recovers,” I said.
“But Alpha…,”
“That’s an order. And I believe all of you here have seen and heard nothing,” I said, and then leaned my head against hers.
I was going to wait for her to calm down before taking her to the cottage.