Chapter 89 DEFIANCE
RAGNAR’S POV
The bond snaps tight and is pulled really taut catching me off guard.
I am already moving when it happens.
The forest blurs past me in streaks of green and dark shadows as my boots barely touch the ground.
Yurik claws beneath my skin, he is restless and sensing the instability and the rush of feelings from our mate.
“He’s panicking.” Yurik growls out.
“I know,” I growl right back.
I can feel… rejection from him when I try to mentally reach out to him.
My chest tightens.
Sebastian?
No answer. The progress our bond has reached is one that we can mentally talk to each other as long as we're close enough.
But the bond flickers when I try to reach out to him, and suddenly–
An image is my only reply.
Not a clear or steady one either but I still see some defining markers.
It's enough.
He's in a… clearing of some sort.
There are crooked birch trees with moss-covered stones split around to form a sort of clearing.
I recognize this place.
I reach out to Sebastian once more but he isn’t speaking to me.
He’s not answering.
But the mate link is reacting to the sudden emotional spike he's feeling.
“He’s there.” Yurik surges forward.
I transform still mid-stride with my bones cracking and muscles tearing and reforming as fur bursts across my skin.
The world sharpens into scent and sounds as the air is damp and heavy with the scent of rain.
I run.
Branches snap right beneath my paws as the wind tears through my fur.the faster I go.
The bond tugs harder, guiding me like a compass needle through the forest as I try to pinpoint his exact location.
And beneath all the panic and anger coming from the link, is something else.
It's cold and chilling.
“He's mad at Alisander.” Yurik snarls out.
Oh boy.
We reach the clearing in minutes at full speed.
I shift before I break right into it. I go to a designated oak tree stump and pull out the waterproof bag with sweats.
Due to the hazard of always ripping our clothes, the pack has designated spots where you can always just shift back and get sweats so you won't be walking around all naked.
And then I see him.
Sebastian stands in the center of the clearing totally motionless. He has mud streaks in his clothes and his hands as they hang limply at his sides.
He isn’t trembling with fear anymore and even though I was expecting it, he isn’t crying either.
He’s just… staring.
He's staring blankly at nothing.
Like something inside him shut down and disappeared.
“Sebastian, are you okay? I felt you panic earlier on.”
There's no reaction from him and the bond pulses weakly in response.
I step a bit closer.
“Sebastian.” My voice is sharper now. “Look at me.”
His eyes shift slightly, as if he wanted to but then he stops..
Yurik growls low in my chest.
“This is all wrong, what happened to him?”
“Answer me Sebastian,” I demand.
Nothing.
My famous temper finally snaps as I grab his shoulders and shake him hard enough to jolt him awake.
“Sebastian!”
His head jerks and suddenly his eyes blaze to life as he turns to actually see me.
“Don’t touch me!”
The force of his shout hits harder than any physical blow as he flinches.
I released him instantly, more startled than I would care to admit.
His chest heaves in anger as I see his hands curl into fists at his sides.
“You don’t get to touch me like that,” he says, his voice shaking with fury.
“What happened to you?” I demand. “Why are you back here so soon after the attack? Why are you blocking the bond?”
“I’m not blocking anything!” he snaps. “Maybe it just doesn’t work as perfectly as you thought!”
That lands wrong to me.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He laughs out sounding sharp and bitter.
“Don’t pretend Ragnar,” he says. “You knew.”
A cold weight settles in my stomach but my face is not giving anything away.
“I knew what?”
“About him.”
The word is spat out like it's poison. I'm not even thinking about how he doesn't refer to me as Alpha.
I can feel Alisander shifting faintly in the bond but I keep my face neutral.
“Sebastian–”
“Don’t.” His finger jabs toward my chest. “Don’t you dare say my name like that.”
My jaw tightens. I don't know what he's accusing me of now.
“Explain yourself Sebastian.”
His eyes flash with even more anger.
“Explain myself?” he repeats incredulously. “You and him have been keeping secrets from me for this long and I’m the one who needs to explain myself?”
The forest feels too tight suddenly.
Oh, he found out.
“What exactly did he tell you?” I ask carefully.
“Enough.”
The word trembles with restrained emotion.
“About ancient wolves,” he continues. “How they're practically bad news that go from destabilizing the pack to corrupting the mate bond. How they were all hunted down.”
Each phrase is another crack in the ground between us, separating us.
“And who told you this?” I demand.
Is there a breach of some sort of spy in the pack?
“A stranger who apparently knows more about what lives inside me than I do.”
I can feel Yurik bristle inside of me.
A stranger. He talked to a random stranger not long after being attacked in the woods.
“You spoke to another Alpha alone?” My face darkens as I ask.
“Oh, don’t you change the subject,” he fires right back. “This isn’t about him or me. It’s about you.”
His finger presses into my chest now, not hard but to drive a message.
“You knew Alisander wasn’t just some overprotective wolf, you knew he was something else.”
I don’t answer fast enough for him and that’s all the confirmation he needs.
His face crumples and I see his shoulders fall.
His entire expression and countenance drops.
“You actually knew,” he whispers.
“I merely suspected,” I correct.
“That’s the exact same thing!”
“No, it’s not,” I snapped back.
He flinches at my tone.
I hate that I was the one who made him do that.
“I did not know the exact extent,” I continued, sounding more controlled. “Alisander revealed bits and pieces over time, not all of it.”
“But you certainly knew more than me.”
Yes.
I did.
I'm silent for a spell before I continue. “I was only doing it to protect you,” I say finally.