Chapter Three: A Wolf's Instincts

Liard’s POV 

"Something isn't right."

Caelum’s voice was low, edged with unease as we scanned the dense forest ahead.

I felt it too, the weight of the silence, the stillness that did not belong. Crescent Moon’s borders had always been dangerous, but tonight, the air was different.

Too quiet. As if it was controlled.

Rhider’s hand tightened around his sword. “They’re waiting.”

I nodded once, signaling the warriors. We weren’t alone.

Then the wind shifted, carrying the scent of blood and sweat.

And all hell broke loose.

It was a deadly ambush.

The first rogue lunged from the trees, his claws glinting under the moonlight.

My sword met his strike mid-air, metal screeching against bone. I twisted, driving the blade through his ribs in one clean motion. He crumpled, but more followed.

Dozens.

They moved in coordinated strikes, their formation too precise for common rogues.

This wasn’t a random attack.

This was planned.

Beside me, Rhider fought like a beast unleashed. His movements were raw, instinctive, as if his body moved before his mind. He tore through the rogues with his claws, faster than should have been possible.

Caelum fought to my left, his blade spinning through the air, slashing through bodies. “There’s too many of them!”

I growled, cutting down another rogue. We had to push back. We had to hold the line.

But then, a sharp whistle cut through the night, and the rogues suddenly withdrew, disappearing into the darkness as if they had never been there.

I stilled, my heart hammering.

They were retreating. But why?

And then the pain hit. The searing burn exploded through my side, stealing the breath from my lungs.

I staggered, my hand flying to my ribs.

The cut was deep, too deep.

Blood gushed between my fingers, hot and thick, coating my armor. I had taken a wound during the fight, but I hadn’t even felt it.

Rhider was at my side in an instant.

“Liard!” His voice was rough, urgent. 

“Damn it, you’re bleeding out.”

“I’m fine,” I gritted out. But even as I spoke, my vision blurred.

“No, you’re not,” Caelum snapped, moving closer. “That wound, Alpha, your wolf should be healing it.”

He was right. But my wolf was… slow. Struggling.

I clenched my teeth, pushing past the blinding pain. “I can still walk.”

Rhider wasn’t listening. He shoved his shoulder under mine, hauling me forward. “You’re going to the infirmary.”

I started to protest, I didn’t want to be seen like this. Not weak. Not broken.

But the moment I took another step, the world tilted beneath me.

Darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

And then, everything went black.

***************

I woke to the scent of lavender and herbs.

For a moment, I thought I was still dreaming, trapped in the haze of battle. But then, soft hands pressed against my ribs, sending warmth through my skin.

A warmth that burned.

I inhaled sharply. And then the world shifted.

The scent hit me first. Intoxicating. Familiar. Impossible.

My wolf who had been silent, wounded, struggling to heal—snapped awake like a beast unchained.

Mine.

The snarl was instant, so sudden I barely recognized it as my own.

My eyes snapped open, and the world locked into place.

Helena.

She was leaning over me, her fingers pressed to my bare skin, healing the wound beneath her touch.

And I knew.

I knew it in the way my body reacted, in the way my wolf surged to the surface, desperate, raging.

Mate.

The word thundered through my skull like an earthquake, tearing through everything I had sworn.

It should have disgusted me.

It should have made me recoil.

But it didn’t.

Because Helena was not just any woman.

She was a woman in her mid thirties, but she carried herself like she had barely aged a day. Her long dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, the soft waves catching the dim lantern light. Her features were striking, sharp cheekbones, full lips that pressed together in concentration, and a pair of dark, unreadable eyes that had always held secrets.

Her body, gods, her body.

Curves that weren’t hidden beneath the loose healer’s robes she wore, hips that swayed effortlessly, a waist that still looked delicate despite the strength I knew she possessed.

This was not some frail, aging woman.

This was a woman made to be touched, made to be admired, made to tempt even the most disciplined man.

A woman who had spent years burying herself in work, in duty, in solitude, but who had never lost the essence of who she was.

And now, she was my mate?

The realization unraveled me.

The bond crashed into me like a violent storm, making my skin burn, my wolf howl. I wanted to pull her closer. I wanted to…..

No.

Helena’s hands froze. Her breath hitched.

And for the first time in my life, I saw fear in her eyes.

“No,” she whispered.

Her fingers tore away from my skin like she had touched fire. She stumbled back, shaking her head.

“No. No, this is impossible.”

Her voice wavered, but her eyes, they were wide with panic, disbelief. And something else.

Something that mirrored the storm inside me.

My heart slammed against my ribs. My hands clenched the edge of the infirmary bed, muscles locked, body tense with a feeling I could not name.

She was my mate.

Helena. My beta’s mother.

It was a joke. A cruel trick from the gods.

A mistake.

It had to be.

I forced my voice to steady. 

“It is.” I snapped back at her

Helena took another step back, like distance would sever the bond. Like space would erase what we had just discovered.

“We will not speak of this again,” I said.

The words burned my throat, but I said them anyway. Because if I acknowledged it, if I let this fester, it would destroy everything.

Her lips parted, and for a second, I thought she might argue.

But she didn’t.

She just nodded, once.

Then she turned and walked away.

I sat in that infirmary bed long after she was gone, my mind a raging battlefield.

My mate.

It wasn’t possible. It shouldn’t be possible.

But my wolf, Fera, knew.

I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fingers to my temple.

This was not going to happen.

I had made a vow.

I had sworn never to love, never to be bound.

I had refused to be like my father.

I had refused this.

And yet, fate had brought me here anyway.

I told myself it was a mistake.

I told myself I could ignore it.

I told myself it meant nothing.

But my wolf knew better.

And outside the infirmary, Caelum watched us both closely.

Because fate was not done with us yet.