I didn’t know how long it lasted, but when it was finally over, I felt like a new person. My whole world had tilted on its axis. For the first time in years, I was truly happy. I was no longer a captive of my fears and of my nature.
Outside, the darkness of the chaos was still shrouding the valley. But in our little cave, I was safe, content in the knowledge that I’d found my mate. Maybe it wouldn’t last, but for the moment, it was more than enough.
A loud howl echoed in the distance, but I barely heard it. With Rowan by my side, I wasn’t afraid of anything. We would protect one another, no matter who tried to come between us.
* * *
Nathaniel
Earlier
“I don’t think we can get through. They have too many guards posted, and Alpha Clayton’s wolves brought long range weaponry.”
I grimaced, but acknowledged my brother’s words with a nod. As soon as we’d heard about Luna’s imminent mating, we’d known we had to intervene. We couldn’t abandon her in Rufus Savage’s clutches. But it was a little easier said than done.
The Firewolf Pack was well-known for the savagery of its members, and the arrival of the Wolfsbane delegation had made them extra careful. Just sneaking around their patrols had been a huge chore. We’d had to swim through the Silver River to make sure they didn’t catch our scent.
That had gotten us close enough to the settlement, but from here, we were stuck. “Maybe it would be better to wait until nightfall,” I suggested. “Once Alpha Savage retires, we might manage to steal her.”
“Yes, but by then, she’ll already officially be his mate—with everything that involves. Besides, I’ve heard rumors that the Firewolf Alphas claim their mates in front of the whole pack.”
Anger and helplessness rose through me. I wanted to burst into the encampment and free her, but realistically, I knew it wasn’t possible. We would never reach her side. We’d likely get gunned down before we could even talk to her.
There had to be a solution. We had to save her.
Over the past few weeks, Sam and I had been thinking more and more about what had happened nine years ago, during the last chaos. That day, we’d been forced to kill for her, for Luna Clayton, the Alpha’s daughter. But we’d failed her too, and because of her injuries, she’d become an Omega.
We hadn’t known about it until much later, but even then, we’d been powerless. We’d hoped the chaos would come again. If that had happened, we could have sneaked into the Wolfsbane Pack settlement and stolen her away.
There was one problem with that idea. We didn’t know for sure that she was our mate. All we had was a gut feeling—the lingering suspicion that the chaos had deliberately sent us away the last time, precisely because none of us had been biologically ready for our bond.
We had no idea if the chaos could actually work that way. We’d never heard of it happening. And multiple pairings, while not impossible, weren’t the norm either.
So now, here we were, utterly confused and not sure what to do. We couldn’t wait any longer because if we did, Luna would be lost to us. But everything would just be pointless if we rushed in and got ourselves killed in the process.
“We’ll just have to risk it,” I finally told Sam. “I’d never be able to live with myself if I didn’t do everything in my power to help her.”
“Even if she isn’t our mate, she still deserves better,” Sam agreed. “The Firewolves will never value her and treasure her like she deserves.”
With that in mind, we carefully approached the settlement of the Firewolves. We couldn’t interrupt the ceremony, but we got as close as possible, hoping we’d be able to find the right moment to snatch her.
We took cover behind one of the huts of the Firewolves and waited, watching Luna’s pale silhouette and feeling more helpless than ever. If we hadn’t already been determined to get her out, the mere sight of her would have settled it for us. Dressed in a sheer white gown, she looked like a vision from a dream. The pup we had known had grown into a beautiful young female, and Alpha Savage would have been lucky to have her. But the Firewolves still made ugly comments about her Omega nature, about everything they were planning to do to her.
If I didn’t rush in to help her, it was only because my brother was by my side. Sam and I had always had a special bond, and I could feel how close he was to snapping. We couldn’t afford that. We had to stay strong, for her sake.
And then, it happened. A suffocating wave of power exploded over me, and we weren’t ready for it. We stared up at the sky, in awe at witnessing the chaos descend upon us once again.
The last time it had happened, we hadn’t been of age, so we’d been immune to the worst of it, but we were no longer so lucky.
In hindsight, we should have known this would happen. We’d noticed something was wrong over the past couple of weeks, but we’d chalked it up to us being upset over Luna. We’d been stupid and short-sighted to not realize there had been more to it than that.
But we weren’t the only ones in that situation. The Firewolves and the Wolfsbanes were just as unprepared, and in the blink of an eye, everything descended into chaos.
Under the Great Tree of the Firewolves, one of their males grabbed Luna and dragged her to his side. The Alpha didn’t react well to it, and neither did we. Feral anger descended upon us and we threw ourselves forward, lunging toward them.
Nobody even seemed to realize who we were—not that it mattered. The fight between the two Firewolves triggered a free-for-all battle, and the darkness of the chaos fed the lingering resentment between the two packs.
We didn’t get very far before our way was blocked by a group of three large Firewolves. At first, they seemed to be fighting one another, but as soon as they saw us, they redirected their hostility toward us. “You should have never come here, Wolfsbane!” one of them snarled. “There’s no room for your kind with the Firewolves.”
