Chapter 117 DEAD MAN WALKING
RAGNAR’S POV
The worst of it is over.
I know that before I even open my eyes.
The fever has broken, not completely or cleanly but enough that I can finally think without my mind fracturing into instinct and need.
My body still burns in places like I’ve been dragged through fire and ice at the same time, but the edge of it… the madness of it all is fading.
Finally,
I exhale, long and unsteady, my head tipping back against the wooden wall behind me.
The room smells like sweat and him.
Sebastian.
Maybe it is because we shared our bodies so it still smells like him even though he was never here.
It makes my chest tighten in a way that has nothing to do with the remnants of my rut.
I drag a hand down my face and my palm is still hot.
A faint tremor runs through my fingers with the aftershock of something primal finally losing its grip on me.
That’s what it is for us, an Alpha's rut is not like an Omega's heat.
Rut is a sexual hunger sharpened into something feral.
IIt’s the kind of need that strips you down to bone and leaves nothing behind but the urge to claim.
And for the last two days…
I was drowning in it.
My jaw tightens as flashes of it flicker through my mind.
His voice.
Soft and breathless over the link.
“Please… Alpha…”
My hand curls into a fist.
Even now, even now that it's all over, my body still reacts.
A low, frustrated growl builds in my chest before I force it down and force myself to breathe.
In.
Out.
Again.
It’s ending, it has to end.
I can feel it receding like the tide pulling back after crashing too hard against the shore.
The fever is cooling into something manageable for me now.
My control is finally returning
I push myself upright slowly, my muscles protesting as my entire body feels heavy and off-balance with cold sweat clinging to my skin.
My head throbs faintly but underneath it all…
Him.
Always him.
The bond between us hums low in my chest, quieter than it was but still there. Still present.
But this time it's closed after my teasing.
Younger wolves tend to be shy I guess.
I tilt my head back again, closing my eyes briefly for just one more moment.
A sharp pressure hits the edge of my mind and I go still instantly.
My eyes snap open as another push follows, tentative and insistent.
A mental link. An uninvited mental link.
My expression hardens at the sheer audacity of whatever wolf this is.
Who…?
The presence lingers in my mind waiting even as I deliberately delay and ignore it, still trying again.
How rude.
And that’s me putting it lightly, in other archaic packs, this would get you whipped till your back was dyed red.
No one does this, to send an uninvited mental link and one with no permission to me of all people.
Not without probable cause or unless it's an emergency.
A low growl rumbles in my chest as I sit up straighter, my instincts sharpening despite the exhaustion still dragging me at my limbs.
I could reject it. I definitely should.
Whoever it is would feel the backlash of it as a form of punishment and be sharp enough to make sure they never try something like this again.
And part of me wants to, especially with the whole rut.
But the link presses again and it's more urgent now.
This has better be good.
My patience thins.
“Who is it?” I mutter under my breath, already reaching out with my mind.
I hesitate for half a second and finally accept.
The connection snaps into place instantly.
“Alpha!”
The voice rushes in too loud with panic and something else I can’t immediately place.
It's a female voice.
It's a familiar one too, a daughter of one of the elders in the pack.
Lila.
My brows draw together.
“Explain yourself,” I say, my voice cold even within the link.
She falters at my tone.
“I– I’m sorry for intruding, Alpha, but– but this is urgent.”
“It better be,” I reply flatly.
“It’s Sebastian.”
Everything in me stills as the bond pulses once in my chest in response.
“And what about him?” I ask, my voice quieter now but far more dangerous.
Lila swallows before replying through the link.
“He’s in the square,” she says quickly. “There’s–there’s a situation.”
My grip tightens against my knee.
“What kind of situation?”
My patience snaps as she takes her time to talk.
“Speak Lila!”
“He–” she starts, then rushes the rest out in one breath. “He has a mate.”
Complete and absolute silence from the both of us.
For a moment, I think I misheard her. How did the pack find out about us?
The words don’t… fit, they don’t make sense at all to me.
My mind rejects them outrightly.
“What did you just say?” I ask slowly, like I’m giving her a chance to correct herself before I decide whether or not to tear her apart for wasting my time.
“He has a mate,” she repeats, weaker this time but no less certain. “We–well we saw the sigil. It’s on his shoulder.”
The world tilts just slightly.
They know.
And from her tone, she doesn't know it's me, they don't know it's me.
Why didn't Sebastian tell them?
My chest tightens with doubt.
“No,” I say but not for the reason she's thinking of.
The bond between me and Sebastian flares violently in response, like it’s been challenged.
Lila rushes in to fill the silence.
“We thought the same thing too, Alpha, but it’s there. Everyone saw it. Peter confronted him and–and he wouldn’t say who it was.”
My breathing slows.
“He wouldn’t,” I repeat.
“Yes,” she says quickly. “He just kept denying that he didn't cheat, but he wouldn’t tell us who his mate is and–”
“And you decided this was worth disturbing me over?” I cut in, my voice dropping.
I need to descalate this entire thing fast!
There’s a flicker of fear through the link.
“Yes,” she admits. “Because if he’s hiding it–if he’s lying–then you deserve to know, Alpha.”
My thoughts move slowly now, each one deliberate and precise. If there's no other option, then let's announce that I'm his mate.
Ancient wolf and pack expectations be damned, he's mine!
My jaw clenches.
“Where is he?” I ask.
“In the square,” Lila replies immediately. “With–”
She hesitates for another long spell as something in her tone shifts.
“What’s going on, who is he with?” I press.
“…with someone claiming to be his mate.”
What did she say?
The world goes very, very still.
But I'm here?
Who is the dead man claiming my mate in public?
I cut the link without another word.
And stand.