Chapter 58 58
EZEQUIEL
The thought of what I was about to do—finding Emmanuel and Lois and facing the consequences of their actions—filled me with a bittersweet heaviness.
I knew my brother well; he wouldn’t be far. Emmanuel had always had a special connection to certain places in the forest, secret corners where we used to play as children. That was where my search would begin. Even though I knew the likely destination, the journey itself made my nerves tighten. What would happen once I found them? How would Emmanuel react when he learned our parents wanted to replace Lois? Or perhaps he already knew—that must be the reason he ran. I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, but I found myself wondering what I would have done. Perhaps the same as him… or maybe I would have just rejected her, the way I once had.
My main thought was that Emmanuel was somewhere I recognized, because I didn’t think he would risk wandering off into new territory with Lois. He would stick to something familiar, something he believed was safe… but he couldn’t be within our pack’s borders or our father would find him instantly. Still, no one was searching for him. I was the first. My father didn’t want anyone to know the future Alpha had vanished. It wasn’t a disappearance—it was an escape.
The future Alpha running away—nothing could sound worse. No one could ever know; it would stain his name as a leader, abandoning his responsibility to his people.
At the edge of the forest, I left behind my clothes and my human worries, letting my body shift into my wolf form. The transformation wasn’t only physical—it was mental too. As a wolf, the world’s problems seemed simpler, though the weight of my duty remained exactly the same.
Find them.
I extended my senses, trying to connect with Emmanuel. As twins, we had always shared something unique, a form of communication beyond words. But this time, when I reached for him, I found a barrier. Emmanuel was blocking me on purpose. A clear sign he knew I was searching for him—and that he didn’t want to be found.
Resigned, I relied on my instincts and my knowledge of the forest to guide my steps. I moved with speed and determination, my paws barely making a sound over the forest floor. Even in wolf form, my mind kept circling back to Emmanuel and Lois. I remembered Lois—her calm eyes, her gentle presence. Despite being an omega, there was something in her that defied the norms, a hidden strength beneath her fragile appearance.
My parents didn’t see that. To them, tradition and pack strength were everything. But what if there was another way? What if the strength of a pack wasn’t only in dominance and power, but also in acceptance and love? Impossible. In our pack, strength, protection, maintaining dominance, tradition—those were the pillars. My father would never change that. To him, Emmanuel’s attachment to Lois was nothing more than infatuation—something he would outgrow once he accepted that, as future Alpha, nothing could come before the pack.
Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. It wasn’t the time for doubts; I needed to focus on my mission. Still, I couldn’t stop feeling a deep sadness for Lois. She didn’t deserve to be replaced, cast aside as if her love and her bond with Emmanuel meant nothing. And I knew Emmanuel wouldn’t accept that decision. He would fight. He would resist. And that would only make everything more complicated.
He would suffer as much as I had. But I admitted to myself—I envied his bravery. His decision to escape, to leave everything behind for the sake of his love for Lois. He had been able to defend what he felt, while I had been the coward who stepped back without fighting for the beautiful bond the three of us once briefly shared.
The forest stretched around me, vibrant and alive—usually a comforting sight. But now every tree, every shadow seemed to hide secrets, possible clues to Emmanuel and Lois’s whereabouts.
I moved forward with a clear purpose, though part of me wished I wouldn’t find them—that they could live their love in peace, far from the complex rules and expectations of our pack. But I knew that wasn’t possible. Sooner or later, they would have to face the consequences of their actions, and my duty was to ensure that happened in the safest, most controlled way possible.
Lois would suffer the most, and her punishment could be minimized if we solved this quickly.
The sun was beginning to sink when I finally found a trail—fresh footprints I immediately recognized as Emmanuel’s. My heart accelerated, a mix of relief and apprehension filling me. He was close—very close. With renewed determination, I followed the tracks deeper into the forest, bracing myself for the moment I would finally confront my brother—and the reality of everything that awaited us.