Chapter four

Caddel

I ran my hand through my hair for the umpteenth time that morning, I picked up my razor to shave and take a glance myself in the mirror. My hair was dishevelled from all the tossing and turning from the previous night; I had barely gotten any sleep.

My wolf and I had been restless throughout the entire night, my mind had kept drifting to the slave girl from earlier. I couldn’t explain why I felt a deep connection to her.

I knew this was the way a wolf should feel after meeting his mate, I had felt the exact way when I had met Ruby and discovered she was my mate. Ruby’s scent had been floral and vanilla. She had been the most beautiful female I had ever laid eyes on and we had fallen in love instantly with each other.

My world had stopped when her body was brought home alongside that of my father. I had felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped upon, the pain was unbearable. My wolf had howled endlessly throughout the entire night and I had run off into the woods. I felt numb for days and desired death. I wandered in the woods aimlessly for weeks, until Angus had come looking for me.

Angus had been the only one able to reach me, he knocked some sense into me and reminded me that the pack needed an Alpha. I was fuelled with the need for revenge for my wife, unborn child my father and against the injustice meted out to my kind. I had vowed to wipe out every human that had a connection to Ruby and my father’s death and bring my people out of hiding.

I had gathered the strongest of my kind. I sent word out to Alphas of different packs all around the globe, and together, we fought against the human race. The war was brutal but more on the side of the humans cause we were stronger than them.

We had subdued the humans and taken over all territory, now out of hiding we were in charge of everything in the world. After eighteen years of the war, the wounds from Ruby's death were still fresh, and every day, my wolf yearned for her despite the revenge I felt I had gotten.

Seeing the Roosevelt spawn had opened fresh wounds, and the feelings she evoked within me confused me as well. I didn't understand what was happening but all I knew was that I wanted her so bad my skin itched.

Frustrated with me, I threw the razor onto the sink, simply washed my face and got dressed into my tunic before I headed out for my meeting.

Angus, who had been waiting outside my door, raised an eyebrow immediately he saw how dishevelled I looked.

“Man, that must have been a rough night,” Angus said as we started walking toward the conference room. “You could have shaved your stubble at least, I don’t want you scaring everyone away.” Angus joked.

“I’m not in the mood for your jokes, Angus,” I growled, increasing my pace.

Angus rolled his eyes, already used to my crappy mood; I was grateful for him. He was the only one who was not intimidated by my power or feared me. Every other person I had come across either feared me or hated me, not that I was complaining.

“Lord Hugo has been waiting with his men,” Angus briefed me, his voice turning serious, as he tried to keep up with my pace.

“Good, he’s the one waiting, not I", I replied in a gruff voice. I didn’t want to see anyone; my mind was too preoccupied with the slave girl to think about anything else. I could feel my wolf calling to her; it took every ounce of self-control in me to take the steps to the conference room.

Lord Hugo, a stout, hideous-looking human and one of the richest men in the district, stood up to shake my hand,, but I ignored him and walked to my chair at the head of the conference table.

Lord Hugo was still standing; I gave him a stern glance, wondering why he was just standing and looking at me. His face flushed a deep shade of red from embarrassment and he scurried to a nearby seat.

On a normal day, I would have taken the handshake he was offering, but this wasn’t a normal day. Something unusual was happening, and I wore my irritation on my skin, and if anyone dared to cross me, I wouldn’t delay to pounce on them.

Hugo, who had complaints about the land he wanted for his factories, began to speak, but I completely zoned out; everything felt surreal. I began to hear another heartbeat apart from mine, confused at first then I realised it belonged to her. Hers was beating erratically, still perplexed by this, I tried to block out the sound, but it got louder.

My wolf urged me to go to her, but I refused; my mind was in turmoil. It felt like my head was splitting and I would go mad.

Angus walked toward me; his lips were moving, but I could hear him; all I could hear was only the heartbeat of the human girl calling to me. My heart picked up the pace and began to pound in sync with that of hers. I realised that If I didn’t save her any moment from then, her head would roll on the floor. Dread filled me and I jumped to my feet, startling everyone, including Angus.

“Is everything okay?” Angus asked, concerned, but I pushed him aside and rushed to the door, forcing it open. I bolted.

I ran as though my life depended on it, with my guards trailing behind me; I knew they were confused at what was happening, but so was I.

I tried to focus my whole attention on her heartbeat, which was still beating but had slowed down and wasn’t beating as erratically as before. Panic set in, and I picked up the pace; all I could think of was that she couldn’t die, and I couldn’t lose her.

“STOP!!!” I thundered at the guard who had raised the axe to behead her. The guard was startled by my voice but he lowered the axe to the ground. The small crowd that had gathered for the execution began to murmur.

I didn’t care about them, as I calmed my heart relieved she was safe. The girl raised her head, her green eyes found mine, and all we did was just stare at each other at that moment, I heard my wolf howl out in joy; we had gotten another mate.