Chapter 24

ALPHA CALLE

I shut the door so loudly that others thought I was trying to destroy my office—or the whole floor.

"Reject me? You've gotta be kidding me, Daphne Forster," I growled. My shoulders were square as I trudged down the hall. My head spun in so much rage as Daphne’s statement echoed in my fuming head.

‘She doesn’t mean to say that,’ Dark muttered. ‘I can hear it in her tone.’

"I know," I said. "But that excuse couldn’t just settle me. I believe Daphne needs to change some of her crazy attitudes. Being impulsive is one."

'You mean taming her, huh? You should have done it the first time we saw her. Just admit you can’t tame her.’

"Maybe you’re right. But being stubborn and impulsive is already in her blood. It appears that there’s nothing that we can do about it."

'Regardless, I want her, and you want her like crazy.’

"She’s taking all the sanity out of me, you mean?"

Dark responded with an amused growl and eventually silence as I trudged toward Daphne’s room. I didn’t bother to knock and just opened it.

"Speak to me, Daphne. I demand a real conversation!"

My harsh voice only bounced off the walls. Although Daphne’s scent was still floating in the air—which made me half-crazy already—I felt that her presence was not really in the room.

‘She went out!’ Dark gritted. ‘We have to go after her!’

I didn’t hesitate to agree with Dark. The last thing I wanted to imagine was Daphne escaping from my territory, only for Lennon to find her. That would never happen!

I was about to exit the main door when I saw the elder Inko sitting on the couch in the living area. When I turned in his direction, I noticed that he automatically smiled even though his eyes were closed.

"Elder Inko," I said, wandering around before I looked down at him. "It’s already dark. Why are you still here? Do you need assistance to get to Ash Valley?"

He shook his head slowly, tapping the top of the wooden cane with his tharmed fingers. "Don’t bother, Alpha Calle. I have my omega waiting outside. The reason why I am here is you."

I tilted his head. "What do you mean?" If only I wasn’t in a rush, I would sit across from him and be glad to hear everything that he would say. After all, words from the elders were a treasure. I valued them and had been following their advice since I became Alpha. "By the way, is this going to be a long conversation? Forgive me, Inko, but I have an important thing to do. If you prefer, I can arrange a time with you later. You can stay here tonight in any room in the house."

"Oh, this will not take long, Alpha," he chuckled. "I just want to give you a heads up regarding Daphne Forster."

I narrowed my eyes as Dark stirred. "What about her?"

"You said, she changed into a white wolf?"

"Yes," I muttered. "What about it?"

He took a deep breath, clutching his wooden cane tighter with both hands. "Don’t you know that white wolves are said to be unique and powerful? They are legendary and extremely rare. When I was a young Alpha, I heard that they were sent to stop the world from destruction."

‘Well, the description fits Daphne so much,’ said Dark, sarcastically.

I grinned, going back to Inko. "No wonder Daphne’s wolf is white. She needs her guidance more than anything else in this world."

"She needs your guidance and love as well," Inko said, looking up at me, though his eyes were still shut. "The Moon Goddess had a good reason when she arranged Daphne for you."

My eyes grew wide. "You knew it?"

He nodded with a smile. "I'm also aware she’d been attending the meeting the whole time. Now go and find her. You pups have all night to talk about what you have missed with each other."

‘I doubt the talking part. I’m more interested in other things.’

‘Shut up,’ I hollered.

***

I let Dark take over as we entered the Darkness. I was sure as hell that she went straight into the woods. I had no idea how far she was, but I could smell her sweet and delicious scent from here. I followed it down into the heart of the forest.

‘Why do you think that all of a sudden, she recognized us as her mate?’ Dark asked, sprinting with no effort over the large rocks and trees from another.

"I have a lot of questions, just as you do, buddy. Think about it—when we first saw her in the woods, we could still talk to her mentally," I said. "But ever since she stepped into our territories, her wolf had disappeared, and I couldn’t mind-link her any longer."

'Wait, you said ‘since she stepped into our territories?’

A sudden realization silenced both of us.

"You mean, she lost her wolf because of our pack?"

‘Or because of us,’ he inferred.

Our little theory had my head throbbing again. How could it be possible? I was her fated mate, and she was destined to be mine—mine only.

"But we didn’t do anything to make her wolf go away," I protested. My chest tightened at the thought of being the reason why she felt incomplete. I knew how much she was suffering in silence. She just wouldn’t tell me because she always wanted to be seen as strong. But she just ended up being stubborn.

‘What if someone did it? Who else is capable of manipulating things?’

"Shit." I clenched my teeth. "Do you mean Suzette did it? Like she cast a spell on her?"

And that curse was broken the moment you dumped her.

Now I'm even more convinced it's the witch's work.

The growing rage in my chest accelerated Dark like a bolt of lightning. If only we were not after Daphne, we would surely turn to the route where her pack settled. How could she do that to her? I wouldn’t tolerate such manipulation!

‘What will you do about her if our belief is correct?’ He inquired with full curiosity, but his tone was heated with anger.

"She breached the rule regarding the wolf's protection. Worst of all, it's Luna to whom she caused harm, so I’m going to put her in the dungeons. But for now, our focus is Daphne ."

I’d lost track of how long we’d been traveling. Fortunately, her scent was still present, lingering in the air like fireflies. We trekked along a curved trail where even the faint moonlight couldn’t penetrate the thick branches of the trees above us.

Suddenly, we could hear the sound of rushing water. And the scent we'd been chasing for our lives became more intense.

I shifted back to human form and walked for a few more minutes in silence. I seemed at ease with my surroundings, avoiding every vine and boulder blocking my way. Nothing couldn’t stop me from going to my mate.

I walked through the last barrier of trees, and the moonlight revealed the place the scent dragged me into. It was an expanse of white sand that sparked like tiny diamonds. It led straight into a pebble-lined riverbed, where I spotted Daphne, who was half-submerged in the water.

I didn't need to call her because she turned around and stood up from the water the moment I stepped on the warm sand.

"W-what are you doing here?"

"Chasing my mate," I whispered, shooting a hungry gaze at her stunned face down to her naked body.