Trouble At The Wind Ridge Pack Boundary.

AQUA

After Leon's alpha ceremony, Gunnar announced that we would be returning to his pack, the Storm Fire Pack. Although I wasn't ready to leave my home so abruptly, I didn't dare object and began packing my things.

The truth was, I had been avoiding Gunnar since his death challenge with Keegan. I had never witnessed such a savage fight in my life, and the bone-chilling fear still clung stubbornly to my heart. His black wolf had emerged victorious, and all the wolves in the forest celebrated, bowing to his supreme dominance.

I had just returned to the housing unit assigned for third-tier submissive wolves when I met Evelyn, the pack healer at the entrance. Due to her kind and magnanimous nature, she always dropped by to distribute free vaccines for us despite Alpha Keegan’s orders.

“Oh, Aqua,” She embraced me with a smile. “I’m so sorry about what happened. You must have suffered a lot.”

“Well, I'm just glad that this nightmare is over,” I shrugged, trying to maintain an indifferent attitude. Ever since my innocence had been proven, everyone in the pack avoided me from guilt and fear of incurring Gunnar's wrath.

Evelyn gave me a knowing look and said, “There are rumors circulating around the pack that the Alpha King intends to take you as his woman. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“More like a slave,” I muttered.

Deep down, I wished to share my problem with someone but Gunnar had warned me repeatedly that no one was to know about our second-chance bond.

Evelyn brought out some vials from her bag and pushed them into my hand. “Well, I saw him looking a bit pale so I thought maybe, you can give him these medicines and earn his favor. Don't worry it's tasteless and scentless too.” She reassured me.

“Thank you so much, Evelyn,” I kept the vials in my bag and gave her a tight hug. Once she was gone, I went inside and continued to pack until evening. My heart raced with anticipation when the back of my neck tingled with a familiar feeling, telling me that my mate had arrived.

The knock came almost immediately. I sprang from the bed, rushing to the table to pour the medicine into the water jug. As the knock persisted, I made my way to the door, calling out, “I’m coming.”

When I opened the door, Gunnar stepped into the room, a massive wolf trailing behind him. I froze, struck by the majestic creature that entered with a quiet, regal presence.

Gunnar poured himself a drink, chugging the water down in two swift gulps before turning to face me. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, my heart hammering in my chest. "Yeah, I’m ready."

He grabbed my small bag without another word and made his way toward the door. Outside, a car waited, but Gunnar handed the bag to the driver and started walking off, his pace unhurried and resolute.

“Wait, are we not leaving now?” I asked him, confusion in my voice. "Because the car is going and-"

“We're running in our wolf forms,” he replied.

My eyes widened with shock and apprehension. “What?!”

Frustration and fear surged within me as he remained silent, leaving me no choice but to follow him. As a third-tier submissive wolf, I was at the bottom of the hierarchy, which meant I had the least speed, strength, and stamina compared to the other wolves.

I guessed Gunnar had forgotten, as he wasn't used to dealing with wolves as weak as me, but I didn't dare remind him. Since he stopped blocking the mating bond, he had been moody all day, and the last thing I wanted was to provoke his anger tonight.

If anyone had been in my shoes, they probably would have felt fortunate about the Alpha King being their second-chance mate, but I wasn't. There wasn't a single good thing that had happened to me since the day I met him, and I knew he was probably feeling the same way.

I didn't care what the moon goddess said, we were definitely not made for each other.

When we finally reached the forest that marked the pack's boundary, I was already weak and out of breath. Gunnar, who had been walking ahead of me, suddenly halted in his tracks and snapped, “Don’t tell me you are already tired? What the hell have they been feeding you wolves here?”

I flinched at the sting of his voice, “I’m sorry.”

He ignored my apology and continued walking. Just when I felt my knees shaking from overexertion, he said, “We just need to walk a couple trees ahead and then we can shift into our wolf forms.”

I bit my lower lip to endure the pain in my legs as I replied, “Alright.”

After a few minutes walking into the forest, he stopped again and said, “Okay, now you can shift into your wolf form.”

Heat crept up my cheeks when I noticed he was not shifting, but instead staring at me. When I realized what he wanted, I mumbled, “Could you please turn around so I can take off my clothes and shift?”

“No,” He refused firmly. My heart sank at his words until he added, “We won't need those clothes since we aren't going to turn back to our human forms until we reach the Storm Fire Pack. Besides, we have already had sex, so there's no need to pretend to be shy.”

I was speechless. “You-”

“If you don't want to go first, then I will,” He declared. My heart raced as I awaited his transformation, wanting to see it happen before my very eyes.

After a few seconds, nothing happened. Gunnar frowned. “It’s not happening.”

“What?”

Frustration laced his voice as he replied, “I can't shift into my wolf form. Why is this happening-”

Before I could respond, a series of ominous howls pierced the air, sending a chill down my spine and gripping my heart with fear. “What was that sound?” I whispered, dread creeping into my voice.

Gunnar’s face turned grim as he scanned the tall trees surrounding us. He locked eyes with me and said, “We have unwanted company. Run!”