chapter 9

Rhys’  POV 

I could still taste the blood in my tongue. The night was far from done, and the shadows of the trees seemed to be closing in on me as I dashed across the dark forest.

Not only from the effort, but from the idea of what I could discover when I came up to them— Felza and Chris, in the hands of that damned enemy pack. My heart hammered in my chest.

My wolf roaring inside me, wanting to take control, my breath was labrous. Still, I had remain under control and think clearly. Losing Felza was not anything to consider. Bound to me by fate, she was mine and nobody was going to take her from me. Not Chris, and most definitely not Marcus, the savage leader of this competing pack.

My blood went cold when I at last came to the clearing. On their knees surrounded by Marcus and his wolves were Felza and Chris. Marcus was towering, his eyes flashing with a mix of triumph and something worse. More seasoned, he was older than me and had a reputation for ruthlessness that matched my own. And right now he possessed something rightfully mine.

"let them go, Marcus!" I hissed, my voice resounding throughout the woods. Marcus turned gently and started to smile as he spotted me. "Rhys," he continued, his voice calm and even sarcastic. "I was wondering when you might show up." For a fleeting glance, Felza's eyes locked with mine and I sensed a mixture of dread and defiance there. It served to aggravate me only. 

She was meant to be mine, yet she was always sliding through my hands like sand in the breeze. Marcus pointed at Felza, "That one," and continued, "She's quite the prize, isn't she?" I stepped forward, snarling but Marcus lifted a hand and his wolves moved towards Felza and Chris. I stopped recognising that one mistake may cost me everything. My hands gripping at my sides, I shouted, "don't you dare touch her." Marcus laughed then added, "Oh, I wouldn't dream of it." 

“Not until we have a small conversation, you and I." I shot a quick "There's nothing to talk about."

"You release them, now." Marcus, though, had not finished playing games. His hand stroking Felza's hair, he drew near. 

Though I felt a flash of wrath, I pushed myself to remain still—my muscles tensing with the effort. "You see, Rhys," Marcus began, his voice low and smooth, "I’ve learnt some very interesting things about this one here." Felza froze, staring between Marcus and me. Her look betrayed uncertainty and anxiety, and it made my wolf snarl in rage. "I don't care what you think you know," I spitted. "She's my friend and she is joining me." Marcus's smile got wider, and I realised he was having far too much fun already. 

“Your mate, huh?That makes this much more fascinating, then.” He said. 

His manner of speaking and the way his eyes seemed to gleam with some secret understanding disturbed me. But Marcus carried on before I could say anything more. "Did she share with you her background, Rhys? Regarding where she actually originates from?" I scowled, my wrath momentarily displaced by my own uncertainty.

"What are you referring to?" Felza seemed like she wanted to talk, but Marcus held up a hand to mute her. "I thought so," he responded, grinning. "You have no idea, do you?"

"I don't need to know," I snipped. "It makes no difference whatever she was before but now, she's mine.”

Still, Marcus said, "it does matter."

"It matters because it changes everything." 

The air seemed tense, and Felza's body shook just a little. That she was afraid because Marcus was playing with us infuriated me. But he seemed to have something in his eyes, something that suggested he was not merely engaged in mental games. "Get to the point, Marcus," I bit. "What is your point of view?" Marcus looked down at Felza, his posture easing just a fraction. "She is not just any hapless wolf, Rhys.

She is part of something more grand. Felza's eyes grew wide and she shook her head slightly, as though she were attempting to reject whatever Marcus was about to say. But it was late. Marcus remarked softly, "She's the last of the Silver Moon queue," his voice bearing weight. "The lawful heir to a legacy thought to be lost." I stopped momentarily not able to talk. 

The series Silver Moon? That was an ancient, strong lineage, one that had been eradicated years ago in a deadly conflict. It was nearly hard to think Felza might have been related to such.

"That's not true," I answered, but doubt started to sink in as I spoke.It can't be.”

"It is true," Marcus remarked, staring directly at me.

"And that makes her more valuable than you could dream." Felza stared at me, begging in her eyes. "Rhys, I was not aware. I knew nothing about all of this." While I wanted to believe her, the disclosure had rocked me to my very core.

Should Marcus's observations be accurate, then everything was about to change. "Why ought I to believe you?" I insisted, my voice sharp with feeling.

"Because I have no reason to lie," Marcus said nonchalantly. I tightened my hands, my mind flying. This modified everything. Felza was more than just a mate if she indeed was the last of the Silver Moon line. She was a link to a past lost for millennia and a key to power. It made her a target as well. "You can't keep her," I said, my voice quivering with hardly controlled wrath. 

“She belongs to me.” Marcus, though, only shook his head. "She is not someone anyone owns, Rhys. Not you, not me either. She is meant to fulfil something.” He declared

"Don’t talk to me about destiny," I said. “You know nothing about what lies between us.” 

"Oh, but I do," his voice deepening. "I know you are just like the others—hungry for authority, ready to do whatever it takes to acquire it. But Felza, she is unique. She is strong enough to stop the cycle and alter events.” I hissed and pushed another forward step. "I will not let you pick her."

Marcus, on the other hand, was unaffected. "Rhys, you are not free of options. She is with me now; if you wish her back, you will have to battle for her. His remarks challenged me to generate an adrenaline spike. Ready to split him apart, my wolf shrived inside. But Felza rushed forward before I could act, her voice quivering but resolved. "Rhys, please," she begged, staring right at me. "This is not what I wanted. I needed to know the truth even though I never intended to hurt you. I have to know myself.” Her comments really hit me like a gut check. 

Her eyes betrayed the struggle between her yearning for answers and her allegiance to me. It ripped me apart as well. With my voice little above a whisper, "You're mine, Felza," I whispered. "you're my mate." "But I'm also something else," she answered, her voice kind yet firm. And I have to figure out what that entails. Although my chest hurt nearly intolerable, I couldn't let her go.

Unlike this. Not while everything was precariously poised. With a tense emotional voice, "You're making a mistake," I cautioned. "If you travel with him, there is no returning." Felza turned to face me, her eyes dark. "Maybe Rhys, I should make that error. Perhaps it's the only approach I could use to discover my true nature." Marcus interjected before I could  dispute or beg her not to go. "It's time to go," he stated, his voice devoid of any space for debate. Felza hesitated, her eyes lingering on me for just a brief bit more.

Then, heartbroken, she turned and trailed Marcus into the forest, vanishing into the darkness.

Frozen, I stood there until the truth of what had just happened sank in. Felza disappeared, abducted by a competing pack, and there was  nothing I could do to stop it. The agony was relentless, stabbing like a knife in my chest. Still, something unusual occurred while I stood there.

The air around me seemed to be getting colder, the darkness darkening. Suddenly, , a faint, eerie voice murmured in my ear. "You just started to lose, Rhys." Searching for the source of the voice, I whirled around but nobody came in sight. 

Just the darkness and the trees, snatching in on me. My heart surged, a cold sweatshirt breaking out on my flesh. What that voice meant, or who it belonged to, eluded me. I had to move fast and deliberately, If I wanted to get to safety.