Chapter 22
Fifty days since Winter vanished, and Reed hadn’t caught a whisper of her scent. While WolfGram blazed with speculation about their past, her trail remained cold.
His wolf’s determination to reclaim its mate had worn thin with each passing moon. He could no longer bear their empty den’s silence, refused his assistant’s reports, and his Alpha presence would flare dangerously at the mere mention of Winter’s name.
The Sullivan pack had frozen his assets, stripping him of the privileges he’d taken for granted. His pack brothers had lost faith, urging him to submit to the Elder Alpha’s will and accept his birthright responsibilities.
At twenty–four, Reed had never faced such devastation. He drowned his wolf’s howls in wolfsbane–laced whiskey, his drunken cries echoing Winter’s name through empty rooms, begging forgiveness from a mate who could no longer hear him.
But even alcohol enhanced with pack magic couldn’t numb his wolf’s anguish. Each sunrise brought fresh torment.
On the Eve of the Blood Moon Festival – the most sacred night when packs celebrate their bonds and ancestry – Reed first felt his mother’s gentle touch through their pack bond. When he rejected it, she tried calling. Eventually, he shut off all connections, isolating himself at The Shadow Den bar while other wolves gathered with their packs for the traditional celebrations.
Near dawn, he stumbled back to his territory. Previous years, after sharing the blessed feast. with his family pack, he would race to Winter. She would have their den glowing with fortune charms and protection runes, his favorite moon–blessed dishes waiting, and they would welcome the new year as future mates.
They would curl up in their favorite spot, watching enchanted fireworks paint pack symbols across the sky, promising to run together through all the moons to come.
Now the fireworks still blazed, but only empty bottles of wolfsbane spirits kept him
company.
Deception.
23.3%
apter 22
Through the window, Reed watched other packs celebrating their bonds, his wolf’s Toneliness threatening to consume him.
At midnight, he sent Winter’s abandoned number a blessing for the new year.
A chime – her old phone receiving his message. He picked it up, sending himself another greeting from her account.
Seeing her profile picture brought bitter comfort. This self–created illusion was all he had
left of their severed bond.
Then his pack brother’s urgent howl shattered everything:
“Alpha! Crisis at Duke’s den – your parents retrieved Scarlett. She’s…”
Reed’s wolf surged through the alcohol haze as he raced to his ancestral territory.
At the pack house, his father’s Alpha presence struck him like ice. “Finally remembered your bloodline?”
Reed ignored the dominance challenge in his father’s aura, scanning the room. “Where’s
Scarlett?”
His mother, sensing the impending clash between Alphas, pulled him aside through their
bond.
“She’s with the pack healers. Reed…” Her mental touch wavered. “She carries a cub. Three months along. The moon–seers confirmed – it’s of your bloodline.”
Reed’s wolf recoiled in horror. He gripped the ancient banister, denying instinctively.
“Impossible! We used protection runes – she can’t be! It must be some rogue wolf’s cub!”
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