Chapter 14: Something Isn't Right

Blayze

The sun was hot, father insist I send for Elara but as my mate I insist to go by myself. They live at eastern territory of Silver Pack, my heart pounding as we got neared. The guardz behind me knew to keep up - their Alpha heir was on a mission. My mate was here somewhere. She had to be. Even though she's banished we'll find her.

I kept touching the mark on my chest, trying to understand why I couldn't feel her through our bond. The white wolf symbol that should connect us felt cold, lifeless. Wrong.

When we reached the modest house at the edge of pack territory, I barely waited for my guards to secure the area before bursting through the door. "Elara?" My voice echoed through the house, desperate and hopeful at once.

A woman appeared from one of the rooms - elegant, well-dressed, with sharp features that reminded me of someone I couldn't quite place. "Alpha heir," she said, bowing deeply. "I'm Linda Bennett. Elara's mother."

My wolf perked up at the name. "Where is she? Where's my mate?"

Linda's face softened with understanding. "Elara!" she called out. "Come down, darling. Someone's here for you."

I heard footsteps on the stairs, and my heart nearly stopped. There she was - the dark hair I remembered running my fingers through, the same delicate features. But something felt... off.

"Blayze," she whispered, and even her voice sounded strange to my ears. Still, I could see the mating mark on her collarbone - the same one I'd left last night.

I crossed the room in three strides and pulled her into my arms. "Why did you leave?" I demanded, burying my face in her hair. "Do you know how worried I've been?"

She trembled against me. "I was scared."

Linda stepped closer, her voice gentle. "We both were, Alpha heir. When she came home that morning in tears, telling me she'd mated with you... I was terrified. A weak omega like her, claiming to be the Alpha heir's mate? I thought she'd be killed for such a claim."

I frowned, still holding Elara. "But when she returned, you saw the mark..."

"Yes," Linda nodded. "Only then did we dare hope it was real. But still, we weren't sure if you had one too. If you'd feel the bond."

"Then why didn't you come find me?" I asked Elara, pulling back to look at her face. Something in her eyes seemed different, but I couldn't put my finger on what.

She lowered her gaze. "I'm afraid... I'm just a weak omega. How could I claim to be your mate?"

"Omega?" The word hit me like a physical blow. My wolf stirred uneasily in my chest.

Didn't Elara tell me she didn't have a wolf?

The memory crashed through me like ice water - Elara standing proud at the ball, saving me from the dire wolves, telling me with fierce determination that she had no wolf. That she'd never shifted.

I stared at the woman before me, really looking at her now. The mating mark was there, yes. But the eyes that looked back at me weren't the ones that had captured my heart last night. They didn't hold that same fire, that same defiance.

My wolf, who had been restless since we arrived, suddenly howled in fury.

Is she really our mate?

I stepped back, taking my hands from her as if burned. My wolf was snarling now, rage and confusion battling inside me.

"You're not her," I whispered, my voice rough with anger. "You're not my Elara."

Linda rushed forward, her face a mask of concern. "Alpha heir, what are you saying? Of course this is Elara. Your mate. Look at the mark!"

But I was already shaking my head, memories of that night flooding back with crystal clarity. "My Elara stood up to three dire wolves without flinching. She looked me in the eye and told me she had no wolf - never had one. She wasn't afraid of anything, especially not me."

The girl before me - whoever she was - started trembling. "Blayze, please..."

"Don't." My Alpha voice made her flinch. "Don't say my name with her voice."

I turned to Linda, who had gone very still. "Where is she? Where's my real mate?"

"This is ridiculous," Linda scoffed, but I could smell her fear now. "This is your mate. The mark proves it!"

"LIES!" I roared, my wolf surging so close to the surface my eyes blazed Alpha red. "That mark is as fake as everything else. I can feel it - there's no bond. No connection. You've done something to hide it."

The guards burst in at my shout, surrounding us with weapons drawn. I grabbed Linda's arm, my grip tight enough to make her wince. "I'll ask one more time. Where is my true mate?"

The girl who'd pretended to be Elara burst into tears. "Mom, he doesn't believe me."

"Shut up, Elara!" Linda hissed, turning to me. "Why won't you believe this" she asked yanking Elara and pulling her shirt showing the mark.

Jus then, my anger faltered as Linda yanked down Elara's shirt collar, revealing the mating mark glowing. I feel a sharp jolted through me, making the mark on my chest blazed with silver light, matching hers perfectly.

Everyone in the room gasped. Even the guards lowered their weapons, staring at the synchronized glow of our marks.

Elara! Is her! My wolf, who had been snarling with rage just moments ago, suddenly went quiet with recognition. The emptiness I'd felt in our bond started filling with warmth. It's you? It's really you?

Shame washed over me. I'd doubted her, accused her of being an impostor, when the problem had been with me all along. The bond hadn't formed properly at first, but now...

"I'm sorry," I whispered, stepping toward her trembling form. "Elara, I'm so sorry. I couldn't feel our bond before, and I thought..."

She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, and something in my chest ached. Had I caused those tears? Had my doubt hurt her this deeply?

"Get out," I ordered the guards, my eyes never leaving her face. "All of you. Now."

They filed out quietly, and Linda backed away, looking satisfied. As soon as we were alone, I pulled Elara into my arms, holding her close as she broke down completely.

"I missed you," she sobbed into my chest, her fingers clutching my shirt. "I was so scared you wouldn't want me."

"Never," I promised, burying my face in her hair. "You're my mate. Nothing could make me not want you."

The silver glow of our marks pulsed stronger, and I felt the bond growing between us. But something still felt... off. Like trying to fit together puzzle pieces that were almost, but not quite, right.

Her scent was familiar, yet different. The way she trembled in my arms wasn't like the fearless woman who'd faced down dire wolves. Even her voice, muffled against my chest, carried a note I didn't recognize.

Something's wrong, my wolf whispered, even as the silver light of our marks tried to convince us otherwise.

I pushed the doubt away. The Moon Goddess herself had confirmed our bond with that silver glow. Who was I to question it?

But as I held her, stroking her hair and murmuring reassurances, that nagging feeling wouldn't leave. It was like looking at a painting that had been perfectly copied - every detail exactly right, but somehow missing the soul of the original.

"Let me take you home," I said softly, pulling back just enough to see her face. "To the pack house. Where you belong."

She nodded, wiping her tears. "Yes, Alpha. Whatever you want."

Alpha? My Elara had called me Blayze, even when we first met. Had never shown this kind of submission.

But then she smiled up at me, and the mark on my chest pulsed with silver light again, drowning out my doubts in a wave of warmth. This was my mate. The marks proved it. The Goddess herself had confirmed it.

So why did it feel like I was betraying someone?

As I led her out of the house, Linda watching with that satisfied smile, a memory flashed through my mind - Elara's fierce eyes as she stood between me and the dire wolves, declaring without fear or shame that she had no wolf.

I looked down at the woman holding my hand, docile and submissive, and felt that wrongness again. But when I opened my mouth to question it, our marks glowed silver once more, and the words died in my throat.

She's ours, my wolf insisted, even as doubt gnawed at both of us. The Goddess confirmed it.

But as we walked toward the pack house, my mate pressed close to my side, I couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere, somehow, we were making a terrible mistake.

And that the real Elara, whoever she was, might be paying the price for our blindness.

That's when I feel something cut deep down my chest. Her mark glowed silver.

Then my wolf calm down. Elara!? It's you? It's really you? Before I didn't feel the wolf bond that's why I doubted you. I'm sorry.

My head was s

pinning from going back and forth, my wolf accepted her as my mate, but I on the other hand feel like SOMETHING isn't right.