Chapter 0004

ZURIN

I was talking with another Alpha on the phone inside my office and discussing his visit next week when my father, Eric, the former Alpha of this pack, stormed in and spoke to me. He looked displeased.

"I don't understand why you refused to meet Kania." After the call ended, he began talking.

I placed the receiver back. "I never like your plan, Dad," I replied as I leaned backward. I had my eyes close, remembering our conversation this morning. Dad wanted me to...

"It was a good chance Kania wanted to know you more. She's a nice lady."

Dad wanted me to meet this female, Kania, his friend's daughter. He even set a date and place for the meeting.

Yes. Dad arranged a blind date for me.

"You should give yourself a chance to meet another female. It's been five years, Son." He said again when I didn't respond to his previous statement.

My jaws tightened as my hands on the desk coiled into fists. I hated being reminded of my fate.

My eyes darted to a picture sitting near the laptop. It showed me hugging a female by her back. Broad smiles were on our faces.

And it was like loosening my tense. My shoulders relaxed as I sighed heavily.

I missed her.

"I know it's hard to accept, but Eve is dead. Let her go."

Only if everything went as easy as he said. I wanted to do so, but I couldn't. The pain was still fresh like it had just happened.

"You're almost thirty, and we can't leave Luna's position vacant for long. A chosen mate is better than none. This pack needs a Luna, Zurin." He repeated the same sentences, reminding me of how important to find a Luna because we had no one anymore. "I don't want you to lose hope to love, Son. I want you to be happy." And he ended our brief talk with comfort words before leaving me alone in this big office.

Yeah, my office was, indeed, big because I loved to have spacious space. But it never felt as empty as this after I lost my female.

I let out another sigh while my gaze shifted back to the picture. A weak smile plastered on my face. I wanted to be happy, too. But circumstances wouldn't allow me to feel even a glimpse of happiness.

Or the past stopped me from feeling joy.

Eve and I first met in college. It was the mate bond that led us to sense each other. And I felt the mate bond the moment I found her beautiful blue eyes.

Yes, they were the same as mine, but the color seemed more compelling in hers. It was like sucking me into ecstasy.

Then we decided to live together before she moved into our pack once we graduated. The following years were perfect. We got married and had a happy life. She also thrived well as Luna in this pack, and my people loved her very much.

Unfortunately, my happiness didn't last long. The rogue attacked us, which caused my mother to die, and my mate was missing. The pack survived, although there were casualties and messes everywhere. And Dad and I were in deep agony because we had lost precious females in our lives.

But Eve didn't die, did she? She was only missing.

That was what I chose to believe for the past five years. I never gave up on Eve and dispatched my men to search for her whereabouts. But I had to swallow my disappointment each time I asked about the result.

Nothing.

Eve was nowhere to be found.

And I hated to admit that the mate bond between us slowly faded away. In fact, I couldn't feel it anymore. So, the thought of her being dead occupied my mind for the last few months.

Was she really dead?

Then, should I move on?

'Zurin.' A sudden voice dug into my head, snapping me back from my reverie. It was Travis, my Beta. 'We have an intruder.'

My brows furrowed as I abruptly stood up. 'What do you mean?' I hurriedly walked to the door. Having an intruder in the pack was never good news because they would always cause trouble.

'There's a rogue in Jim's Kitchen.'

It was a restaurant very close to the east parameter. It was open twenty-four hours as they provided food for the warrior. And they usually visited the place before and after their shifts.

I felt a surge of anger at hearing the word of rogue. It reminded me of the last rogue attack killing my wife and mother.

'Hold him there. I'm coming soon.'

I was no longer walking but running to the main door. I took my car, which I purposely parked close to the pack house in case of urgency, and sped up as fast as possible.

The east border was quite far. It needed thirty minutes in the casual drive, but half of it if I drove this fast.

I desperately hoped I wasn't late when I arrived there.

And finally, I saw it. The building was still intact, and I spotted nothing unusual as I got closer.

What was this? Didn't Travis say there was a rogue?

I was still confused about the situation as I brought the car to a complete stop. The place was like it usually looked, and it baffled me more. Black, my wolf, worsened it by being restless in my head.

'What's wrong?' I asked as I crawled out of the car.

'I don't know. I feel something will happen.'

Just as he said it, I caught an unfamiliar figure through the glass wall. I subconsciously halted my way, mesmerized by her.

She was tall, probably two or three inches below me, and had long brown reddish hair tied in a ponytail. Although she was wearing a hat and it covered my sight from her face, I knew she was beautiful.

And it made my wolf agitated more.

I resumed my steps toward the entrance door while she was walking to the same door from inside. And when I finally opened it, the smell of lavender hit my nose.

Mate?

No way!

But everything turned out to be true the moment my eyes locked with her grey gaze. Then, I felt the mate bond snap into place.

'Mate.' Black growled in joy. Of course. We met our second chance. What could we be happier than that?

But then, my wolf growled again. This time in anger, contrasting with his emotion before. And I understood why.

She was carrying a child, and from the same color of their eyes, I learned that they were family.

More than that. The female and the child were mother and daughter.

'We're too late, Zurin.'

Yeah, we were too late because I could also see the mark on her neck.

She was married.