Chapter 8: Desperate tensions

Pov Eldric

I didn't understand that pain spreading through my skin like burning embers. It was a devastating sensation as if I were dissolving at that very moment.

I returned to the castle still in my Lycan form, displaying all the superiority I had acquired through years of training.

No one had ever seen me like this before. All they knew was that I could transform into something beyond my simple wolf form.

"Sir?" my servant called my attention, and I growled in response. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but Darkwood is here and demands a meeting."

"He demands, doesn't he?" I turned to face that small being before me. His human form was ridiculously weak, and he seemed even smaller as he trembled in fear. "Tell me, who does he think he is to demand something?" I took two steps toward him, causing him to freeze in place.

"I just wanted to inform you. Perhaps my words weren't the best," he tried to redeem himself. "I apologize for this misunderstanding." I looked down at him, waiting for his breathing to quicken even more.

"I won't see anyone today. When I need his services, I will send for him." I turned away, trying to calm the growing hatred that inflamed my chest for having that wolf in my house.

"He said he has news about Evergreen. He said you would want to know since..." In a swift motion, I grabbed my servant by the throat and brought him before my eyes. His veins seemed to want to burst from his face under the pressure I exerted on his jugular.

"I said when I need his services, I will send for him, lackey." I tightened my grip a little more, watching the man struggle and try to free himself from my claws around his neck. "If you don't want to die prematurely, don't bother me anymore." I released him slowly to the ground, savoring the sight of his skin turning purple from the lack of oxygen.

As soon as I let go, he fell to his knees, coughing forcefully and gasping for the air that had been drained from him.

"Understood, or do I need to explain it again?" I smiled defiantly, and the man, even on all fours, crawled out of my room.

I continued on my path and arrived at my room, which seemed to have grown even darker.

I thought I would have some peace that night, but thoughts of what had happened earlier invaded my mind. . I thought of wandering just to forget everything that had happened to me in the past 30 days.

I walked so much that I ended up in the same place where I met Evergreen, although I didn't know who she was.

At first glance, that hysterical woman seemed strange. Her bones were sharp, and her body was very thin. She appeared unkempt, and the crying only intensified my disdain. However, something in her scent drew me in, and I couldn't ignore it.

That scent was intense and overpowered me in the instant it invaded my lungs. It was a fragrance made exclusively for me.

I felt tempted to take a closer look, to understand why she was there, alone in her most fragile form. To my surprise, I saw all my dreams reflected in her eyes.

Luna had told me that my mate would be different, that I would recognize her by her gaze. And so it was with Rachel. I saw in her eyes that she belonged to me, that this moment was what had been foretold long ago.

I approached her without expecting anything, but she gave me everything, putting me on the right path.

Only Luna knows how difficult it was for me to leave Rachel at that moment to fulfill my duty to my father, but as soon as I finished, I returned to fetch her and couldn't find her.

A short time later, I heard the cries of the wolf pack and knew my mate was being judged. I felt in every fiber of my bones that my mate was being judged for lying with me.

I entered the village in my lupine form just so my enemies wouldn't have the pleasure of seeing how prepared I was for my return.

Sebastian was one of them, and unfortunately, he had just attacked my mate. I didn't rip his head off only because I wouldn't be able to explain the situation.

When her eyes met mine, I knew I had to make it clear that no one else would touch her. She belonged to me and was superior to any of them from now on.

I tried not to scare her more than she already was. It was a disappointment to find out she didn't recognize me, but I understood the situation and her reasons. With time, she would understand what we meant to each other.

Well, that's what I thought until I found out she's the daughter of those damned Evergreens. I would never forgive their betrayal, even if she was too young to do anything. Their blood ran in her veins, and that, to me, was already a sufficient affront.

Unfortunately, I spoke too loudly, and she heard, gaining time to escape from me.

And this ordeal dragged on for 30 days.

The burning flame in my chest drove me to find her and discover what bothered me so much. I needed some support or guidance to understand what was happening in my chest.

That mate wouldn't be greater than my goal to destroy all the traitors and their descendants who set foot on this land.

I went out that night just to clear my mind and calm down from the great problems I faced since her disappearance.

Ending up in that part of the forest was unintentional.

What held me there was the sweet aroma that surrounded me. It was a different scent, yet familiar and captivating at the same time.

My eyes locked onto her the very moment I entered that place. The light brown she-wolf paced back and forth, waiting for someone.

Was she expecting me?

When she recognized me, she started running wildly, and for a few minutes, I felt the flame inside me subside. It was invigorating, a hunt with an unknown outcome, and I didn't want to think about it at that moment.

At the end of the journey, the waterfall bestowed its spectacle upon us, and I waited to see her reaction.

All possibilities crossed my mind, except for her jumping from that place.

I don't know what I could have done differently at that moment. I wasn't looking for prisoners, but she was different. Her scent was different, and something inside me changed.

For a brief instant, I thought about leaping after her and protecting her from the fall. She wouldn't survive the impact in her human form, but I didn't do it. I couldn't prevent her death, just as I couldn't prevent the deaths of her parents.

They were traitors to the kingdom. Traitors to my legacy.

So why had this pain intensified so much within me?

I tried in every way to feel indifferent to her death, but something was still deeply connected to her. No matter how much I tried, this connection stubbornly persisted, even after her departure beyond our earthly plane. It would be a matter of time until this bond broke, but how much time exactly? I had no answers.

I left the room, furious, and slammed the door shut, releasing some of my anger. In search of some form of relief, I decided to return to the waterfall. It was there, at that imposing cascade, that everything had ended. Perhaps, by revisiting the place, I could find some kind of meaning to the pain consuming me.

I descended the winding path that led to the river, closely observing the turbulent water forcefully spreading along its majestic course. Every drop seemed to echo the turmoil that resided in my mind and heart. I sought refuge in my wolf form, feeling the ground beneath my paws and desperately trying to find some trace of the sweet scent that intrigued me so much, so different from our first night together.

And then, subtly, I felt it. It was a fleeting glimpse, mixed with two other unfamiliar scents. My curiosity and anxiety compelled me to follow that trail. For nearly an hour, I pressed forward, exploring the forest around the river, hoping to find answers. However, the trail vanished abruptly, as if it had dissolved into time itself. That uncertainty overwhelmed me, fueling a question that burned in my mind: did she survive the fall?