Chapter 3 Conflicted
Kael's POV
“Alpha, I found the moon girl,” Fin announced, and my brows drew together in immediate confusion.
First, Fin was not supposed to be here. He was meant to be spying on neighboring lands and reporting any suspicious activity about corrupted rogue wolves. Secondly, what he was saying made no sense to me.
“What moon girl are you talking about?” I asked him.
“The one the corrupted rogues are searching for. The one said to have the ability to end the packs,” Fin answered, and in that moment understanding began to dawn.
For some time now the Shadow Pack, an occult group of wolves who had devoted themselves to worshiping a dark and dangerous deity called the Void Wolf, had been recruiting rogues. These rogues were stripped of reason and empowered with witchcraft for one single purpose, which was to find a witch known as the moon girl.
It did not bother me at first until the Shadow Pack ran out of rogues and began abducting members of Iron Fang and allied neighboring packs for their mission.
That was when I decided it was time to teach the Shadow Pack a lesson. Nobody messed with Iron Fang and walked away free.
“Are you sure about this, Fin?” I asked.
“Yes, Alpha,” Fin replied in a firm tone, and he went on to tell me how he had encountered the girl and how, the moment he touched her, all his injuries had healed.
“Round up the prisoners. We are heading to Dorhaven,” I ordered Dagan, my beta, through our mind link, and he gave me a look of surprise.
“There are rogues in Dorhaven?” he asked.
“Not rogues,” I replied. “The witch they are searching for.”
The expression on Dagan’s face was priceless. He wasted no time rounding up the rogues and the captured leaders of the Shadow Pack, and before long we were on the road to Dorhaven.
With Fin guiding us, we arrived at the street, and I caught a glimpse of the house he had mentioned, the last one on the row. I soon noticed that the fog clung to that particular house in an unnatural way. I did not need anyone to tell me that magic was at work there.
I hated witches and magic with a deep and burning passion, but I had decided not to hunt them as long as they kept away from my pack. This particular girl was becoming too much trouble to ignore.
Aside from the rumor that she could bring an end to the packs, which I still found hard to believe, she was the reason rogue wolves were being corrupted by the Shadow Pack. To stop the chaos I needed to find her and end the threat myself.
We stopped where the fog was thickest, and as soon as I stepped from the car the mist peeled back to reveal the house it had concealed.
“This is the house, Alpha,” Fin whispered, and I signaled for my men to move forward and bring out the girl.
“This place reeks of magic. It makes me sick to my stomach and it makes my blood boil,” Dagan said as he stood beside me waiting for the witch to appear.
When no answer followed our first knock and call, I fixed my gaze on the woods behind the house and felt an irresistible pull toward them. I signaled for two of my men to circle to the back, and I followed shortly after, sharpening my senses so that I would not miss anything.
“Alpha, do you see anything?” Dagan asked as he fell into step behind me.
“I feel that something is wrong,” I told him. At that moment something moved past me, unseen, and I tracked its path with my eyes before my legs obeyed the signal to chase. It did not take long before I glimpsed her silhouette slipping away as the magic shielding her, which had rendered her invulnerable to my men, began to falter. I let out a low, wicked chuckle and launched after her, pursuing her deeper into the trees.
The chase ended quickly. I caught up to her without much effort and seized her by the upper arm, yanking her backward.
I had not expected the reaction that followed that single touch. It was the strangest thing I had ever experienced. My entire system seemed to have turned upside down.
My wolf, Rudy, howled in a mix of recognition, shock, and confusion. The sparks that shot through me where my hand met hers were addictive and terrifying at once. She carried no scent, and I could not sense a wolf, so we knew she was not our mate, yet every instinct rebelled at that conclusion and told me it felt wrong.
“Let me go. Leave me alone,” she cried, struggling against my grip without turning to face me. No one had ever broken free from my hold. She would not be the first to to do it. Seeing her try made me want to laugh.
I twisted her around so I could see her face, and my goddess, she was pure perfection despite the fear and tears in her eyes. Those large, almond shaped gray eyes could have made me forget everything. Her hair was tucked under a wool hat, but a few strands of silver had escaped and framed her face.
“It is her, Alpha. She is the witch. The mark is on her palm,” Fin said as he reached us with Dagan and two warriors. Only then did I notice the gloves covering both of her hands.
When she saw Fin her eyes widened in recognition and she began to shake her head. “No. Leave me alone. I have not done anything. Let me go,” she pleaded, trying to pull her hand from my grasp.
I peeled the glove from her despite her struggles and found the glowing crescent on her palm, just as Fin had said. I should kill her. I should end her then and there. The thought should have been simple, but the very idea of hurting her chilled me to the bone.
What was wrong with me? Was it the witchcraft? Could she be manipulating me in some way I wasn't immune to? I had never been this confused in my life.
“I say we kill her, Alpha. She is dangerous,” Abel suggested.
“No,” Dagan countered, reasoning as he always did. “We should take her prisoner. Just as you said, she is dangerous and we do not know what she is capable of. We should understand our enemy before making a final decision. Besides, the Shadow Pack hunts her. She could be useful in ending this madness.”
“Please, I have not done anything. I am not a troublemaker,” she cried even more.
I looked at the witch whose eyes still begged me to let her go, and I could not answer that plea.
“Prisoner it is. Take her back to the car,” I decided, and I handed her over to Dagan. I forced myself to look away from the broken expression on her face as we started toward the others.
When we arrived at the house I realized that my men had already pulled an older witch from inside. She looked dead.
“What happened to her?” I asked.
“We found her like this,” they reported.
“Aunt Mia. Aunt Miaaaa,” the little witch we had captured screamed when she saw the old woman. She tried to move toward the body, but Dagan held her back and dragged her to the car.
“Do not place her with the other prisoners,” I instructed Dagan, and I signaled for the rest of my men to fall back. We had accomplished what we came for.
As I reached my car I turned in time to see Dagan groan, clutching his face as a small blast of light flashed from the girl’s hand and struck his eyes. Before he could recover, she stomped on his leg with sudden strength, wrenching herself free from his grip, and she ran straight to the dead witch.