Chapter 71

“We’ll send for you when the time is right,” said Damian.
It was two days after the tragic stillbirth of Domarius. My birthing injuries had finally healed but I wasn’t ready to be kicked out yet.
“Why are you all blaming me for what happened?” I asked softly.
“Because you gave us false hopes. We will send for you when we get over this disappointment. Goodbye, Jade.”
He shut the door before I could manage to get another word in. So, here I was, mateless and babyless in what should have been my comeback.
I went to Nana’s cabin to see where she’d buried the baby’s body. I saw the small mound of sand where she’d put him and my heart broke.
“Who’s there?” She asked from inside.
“It’s me, Nana,” I replied.
She came outside and met me there. Her expression softened when she saw my tear-stained face.
“Oh, Jade. Can you ever forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive, Nana. What happened wasn’t your fault. I think we both miscalculated the outcome.”
“When are the triplets coming to see the baby’s resting place?”
“I don’t think they ever will. They kicked me out of the cottage. Told me to go to Apex Woods and wait for them to send for me later.”
“That’s so cruel. How could they abandon you at a time like this?”
“I’m not surprised. It has happened before but in a different way.”
“I thought only Moon Pack werewolves had the gift of vision. I didn’t know other werewolves could have it too.”
“I don’t have a gift of vision,” I said sadly. “I simply don’t understand what is happening but I intend to find out.”
“How?”
“I don’t know yet but I’ll figure it out. I have to leave now, Nana. Take good care of yourself.”
“You’re not actually going to Apex Woods, are you?”
“No. I have no business there. Goodbye, Nana. I hope I’ll see you again before this is over.”
She waved at me reluctantly and watched me leave. I decided to travel to the south to search for Freya. She might recognize me and have an explanation for what’s happening to me now.
Suddenly, I heard the loud sound of giant paws hitting the earth. It sounded like a stampede but I could smell a pack of werewolves coming my way.
I tried to hide behind a large tree but it was too late. They had spotted me and were now coming in my direction. Should I run or wait and find out who they were?
“Jade!” Shouted the leader.
I recognized him immediately and my heart stopped when I saw the wolf head necklace which the triplets had called the mate necklace, hanging between his teeth.
“Antonio? Where did you get that necklace?”
“A servant claimed to have found it here in the mountains. Your uncle had a fit when he say it and he has ordered us to kill the owner.”
“Oh, no…”
“What? Do you know the owner?”
I shook my head. I already knew what the outcome would be if I claimed ownership of the necklace.
Antonio’s golden fur bristled. “You’re lying,” he said. “I can always tell when you’re lying. Tell me the truth. Who is the owner of this necklace?”
One of the Betas behind him began to inch towards me slowly. His teeth were bared and he was glaring at me. I knew he was waiting for Antonio’s approval to attack me.
I swallowed hard. “That necklace originally belongs to my mates.”
“Mates? I thought you only had one mate, that mountain Alpha that whisked you away. When did you acquire the others?”
“It’s a long story but let me just warn you now, if you go after them, they’ll kill you.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but I am not alone.”
The warrior wolves behind him growled in unison to acknowledge his announcement.
“I know you’re not alone but trust me, the triplet- Alphas are very strong. They will overpower you and my uncle’s warriors.”
“Hush!” The Beta beside Antonio barked at me.
“Triplet-Alphas? This is getting even more interesting,” said Antonio. “Where are they?”
I pointed in the direction I was coming from. “They have a cottage on the outskirts of the mountain territory.”
Antonio turned his head slightly to the side and all the warrior werewolves except the Beta standing beside him ran forward. They rushed off in the direction that I pointed to them. There were over a dozen of them.
“As for you,” Antonio continued. “Your uncle wanted me to kill you too but I am going to spare you because I once liked you.”
I was scared but I did my best not to show it. I couldn’t guess what Antonio was going to do to me because this part never happened in my past life.
“I’ll give you a head start,” he said. “Run as fast as you can and then I will send Yuri to go after you.”
Yuri the Beta flexed his shoulder muscles in preparation for the deathly race.
“If you outrun him and escape, good for you. If not, you’ll be dead within seconds once he catches you. I think that’s fair enough, no?”
“Antonio, please,” I begged him. “Just let me go. Don’t send Yuri after me.”
“Then he can kill you here.”
“No!”
“Your time starts now. Go!”
I took to my heels immediately and started running. Antonio wasn’t ready to negotiate with me and Yuri is eager to kill me to impress his boss.
To my horror, I heard Yuri coming after me barely seconds after I started running. Antonio must really want me dead otherwise he would have given me more time to run first.
While in motion, I shifted into my wolf form and picked up speed. Even at that, Yuri was gaining on me fast and fear nearly crippled me.
“Time to die!” He yelled behind me before jumping on me.
We were on the edge of a hill and we tumbled downhill together after he pounced on me. Once we hit the bottom near a small river, he came after me again.
He sank his sharp teeth into my hide, just above my rib cage. The pain sent me howling at the top of my lungs.
My cry of pain seemed to excite Yuri. He was all over me, biting and clawing at me like a possessed wolf. I tried to fight him off but he was too strong for me.
“Leave her alone!”
Both of us paused to see who had spoken. The voice sounded familiar but I needed to be sure that it was who I thought it was.
Hycinth stood on top of the hill in his wolf form, glaring at Yuri like an old enemy.
“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” He asked my attacker.
“Like you?” Yuri replied.
“Be my guest.”
The two wolves went after each other like rivals and met at the slope of the hill. The clash was brutal. Hycinth didn’t give Yuri a chance to touch him but he ran circles around the Beta while ripping his fur and skin apart.
The Hycinth I knew would always avoid a fight, but not this one. His claws and fangs went to work on Yuri and by the time he was done, the Beta was a heap of mangled bones.
“Are you ok?” He asked as he came to me. He was covered in Yuri’s blood and a piece of the Beta’s flesh dangled from the side of his muzzle.
“I’ll be fine in a few hours,” I replied. “I heal quickly.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “I’m Hycinth. Alpha of the Gypsy Pack.”
“Already?”
“What?”
“I mean you’re already the Alpha of your pack? Didn’t that happen after we met in the Highlands?”
He stared at me. “Have we met before?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else,” I explained. “So, you never went to work in the Highlands?”
“Why would I? I’m an Alpha. We don’t work. Where are you from?”
“Uh… I don’t remember,” I lied.
“Why did that Beta attack you?”
“I – I don’t know…”
He sighed. “Fine. Come with me. My pack is camped nearby. My family will take care of you.”
“Sure, thanks.”
“Can you walk or would you like me to carry you?”
I smiled at him. “Don’t worry. I can manage.”
We walked side by side in silence for a couple of kilometres before he started to talk again.
“Do you remember your name?”
“Yes. It’s Jade,” I replied. I watched him to see if my name would spark a reaction from him but nothing happened.
“It’s a beautiful name. I can see what inspired it, your lovely eyes.”
“Thank you,” I replied shyly.
“Here we are,” he said nodding at the camp with tents set out around it. “Welcome to the Gypsy Pack.”