Unexpected Meeting

She was beautiful…

Even at her worst, the woman looked so eye-catching. Crouching down, I checked her purse. She was unconscious and had lost a significant amount of blood. It seemed like she had been fighting against something—or someone.

“Where is your pup?” I muttered, carrying her toward the river. Ella loved fishing for two reasons: one, I loved fish, and two, the river on this mountain had healing powers. It was filled with herbs and aquatic plants containing antidotes for various poisons.

Soaking her halfway in the water, I turned toward the source of the blood. Ella could smell it from at least two kilometers away.

“Find the pups first!” I commanded Ella while approaching the first traces of her blood. “She gave birth!”

Ella murmured, “She was right when she said pups. They’re in wolf form!”

“That’s rare,” I muttered. Only in rare cases did she-wolves give birth to their children in wolf form. During this process, they couldn’t return to their human form until they had delivered their pups.

The babies would soon turn into human form, losing their ability to transform into wolves until they were ready—between the ages of 12 and 18. It was rare but not impossible.

“It’s coming from our left! Let’s take a shortcut—it’ll take thirty sec—wait, there are some wolves…”

The scent of other wolves was everywhere, as if we were standing in the center of a circle.

“Run faster, Ella! We don’t want to shed blood today. We’re heading to Grandpa Aurora!”

Ella nodded, understanding my urgency. We had fought on the battlefield for thirteen years. A mere circle of disoriented wolves wouldn’t be able to stop us.

“Let’s use our twenty-year-old bodies!”

We ran faster. The woods were like the back of my hand; I knew every part of them. No one could control us.

The scent of the mother soon hit our nostrils—the pups were close.

“So are those wolves,” Ella added.

“Take the stream—jump!” I commanded, focusing on the sound of the wind. The crying sounds grew louder.

“There they are! Stop!” I took over. “They’re black! They’re Black Wolves!”

“Only the late Alphas of the Black Shadow Wolf Pack had sleek black wolves. After we killed them, there shouldn’t be—!”

“We’re in the past, Ella!” I carried the pups on monstera leaves, masking their scent with mine before the wolves could track them.

“Let’s head back to their mama. The pups need their mother!”

They were twins. There had never been twins in the Black Wolf Pack. It seemed they were killed before they could become part of that family. But why were they in our pack?

“Find them! How could you lose the wolves’ trail?”

One… two… fifteen people. They weren’t from our pack. How could they enter our woods? Didn’t the Alpha sense their invasion? What was happening? He should have already alerted us.

“Shut up. We have to kill the pups and that woman, or we’re done!” The leader of the group circled the area where the pups had been. Thankfully, I had hidden the blood with wolfsbane plants. They would never get close to wolfsbane.

“This is too much. We have a deal with the Alpha of this pack. If we don’t kill them and bring him their heads, we’re finished.”

What? Did I hear that right? My heart skipped a beat. Our Alpha ordered them killed? What was he thinking? Who was this woman that he’d hired fifteen wolves to eliminate her?

We couldn’t stay there long. The pups were starting to squirm. If they cried, we’d be discovered.

This time, I didn’t let Ella out—her scent would alert them immediately.

I ran faster, taking the opposite path from the shortcut we had used earlier. They’d follow my previous trail.

The scent of those wolves disappeared as I raced through the woods toward the mother wolf. She should be healed by now.

“Oh!” I gasped, finding her lying fully in her wolf form. “Mama seems exhausted today.”

I placed the pups close to her. They’d eventually recognize their mother by her scent.

As I thought we were safe, a long shadow merged with mine.

“So, you were sneakily taking our prey!”

I turned to face the leader of the pack. How had he tracked us? No, this wasn’t the time to wonder. Since he wasn’t from my pack, killing him now wouldn’t bring blame on me. Instead, it would raise questions about our Alpha’s ability to sense intruders.

“What do you want?” I asked, blocking him.

“Girl, I don’t want anything but them. Just hand them over, and I’ll let you go.”

Let me go? How ridiculous. He didn’t even know who he was talking to.

“What if I don’t?” I asked calmly.

“That’s a brave response… but I don’t want to waste time. If you don’t want me to snap your neck, scram!”

How long had it been since someone dared raise their voice against me? Although I was soft-spoken with Jonathan, no one else dared look me in the eye.

“What if I asked you to scram? Leave before I tear you apart!” I narrowed my eyes. Threatening a grown man—especially one larger than me—tended to enrage them.

Sure enough, he lunged at me.

“You bitch! I thought we could negotiate, but it seems you’ve got a death wish!” He attacked, just as I predicted.

Tsk. A man’s pride really is something.

What our Alpha hadn’t told him was this: Never mess with the Gamma’s daughter.

“You bitch! Die!” He threw a punch at me—a pathetic move.

“Sir!” I caught his fist effortlessly. It felt as weak as a toddler’s.

“Wh-what? How did you—?” He stammered, staring at his wrist being twisted.

“Sir, you should have done your homework before ruining my peaceful afternoon!” A single punch to his stomach brought him to his knees. He whimpered in pain, kneeling before me. What a sight!!!

“You should have been careful,” I smirked. My glowing eyes reflected in his terrified ones. " You should have known - This woods is a sacred place to lots of people. You can't kill here!" The grin widened as I leaned closer,

“Wh-who are you?” He coughed blood, staring at me as if I were the Grim Reaper.

“Who am I? Don’t worry about it. Worry about—”

My right claw extended, sharp and glinting in the sunlight. “—how you’ll survive today!”

As my claws moved to slit his neck, a sudden, loud thump of my heart echoed in my ears, freezing me in place. My body tensed. My heart pounded against my chest, feeling dizzy. This feeling… it was familiar.

I looked up at the figure before me. He reached for my hand, stopping me from striking the man. His dark, hollow, emotionless eyes locked with mine. Those eyes that used to give me nightmares. Why was he here? I wasn't supposed to meet him at this time!

“Mate,” Ella stirred within me, staring at the nearly seven-foot-tall Alpha before us.