Chapter 9 Chapter 9: The Space Between Us
Chapter 9: The Space Between Us
Ignas’s POV
I still smelled the scent of ash and blood lingering on my clothes, even though the battle had ended hours ago. The war hadn't gone the way I planned, not by a long shot. Like, I didn't expect it. The Skull Pack fought with everything we had, but the enemy had been prepared, almost too prepared as if they had been planning this for months. The traps they had laid out were familiar, as if they’d known our every move before we made it. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong and it all pointed in one direction.
When I returned to the packhouse, my mind wasn’t on the bruises or the pain in my side. It was on him. Lykon. The man who didn’t even remember who he was. The man who thought I was his mate. His wife. And the man I’d pushed away that morning like he meant nothing to me.
He did mean nothing to me, other than this cursed mate bond.
I couldn’t forget the look on his face when I told him to stay out of it. The way his expression cracked like I had hit him with a bat on his head. It haunted me through the battlefield and beyond. I was so distracted. My heart had twisted painfully when I saw the look but I couldn’t allow myself to give in. Not when caring for him could cost me everything.
I was an Alpha, a leader. I had people who looked up to me for their protection and i could not let any man or mate bond come in between that.
After the battle, the elders had summoned me. I sat at the head of the long, dark oak table, while their eyes were fixed on me, heavy and sharp like they were judging me. A former elder Beta, Garron, was the first to speak, his voice was low but it was laced with suspicion.
"We lost more than we should’ve today, Alpha," Garron began, his hands clasped on the table. "And the enemy's strategy was... too precise. As if they had insider knowledge. Something is fishy.”
As soon as he said that, murmurs of approval from the other elders erupted.
I stiffened, folding my arms across my chest as I stared straight at them. "What are you implying?"
Another elder, an older man with silver streaks in his hair, leaned forward. "We’re saying there’s only one new factor in this pack. Lykon. He is a stranger. An enemy to our pack who conveniently shows up right before everything goes to hell."
My jaw locked tight. The accusation sent a cold shiver down my spine, but I shook my head. "You have no proof," I said, my voice firm. "Lykon has done nothing but to lay I'm bed and recover. He hasn’t stepped foot outside the packhouse, let alone communicated with anyone. I had Roy make sure of that.”
Garron scoffed. "That’s what you believe, Alpha Ignas. But the facts speak louder."
I straightened in my chair. "He saved my life. He’s been under my watch every hour."
The room grew silent, but it wasn’t the kind of silence that settled. It was heavy, drenched in doubt. Then, Beta Garron leaned back in his chair and narrowed his gaze at me.
"You’re too close," he said. "You can’t see the rot because you don’t want to. That man is making you weak, Ignas. You’ve lost your edge. You didn’t even see this attack coming. You’re blinded by him."
His words stung deeper than I expected. I opened my mouth to argue, to defend the little faith I had left in myself, in Lykon, but no words came. My throat tightened with the kind of anger that burned slow and deep. I slammed my palms onto the table, rising from my chair.
"Enough," I said sharply. "This meeting is over."
Chairs scraped against the floor as I left, not sparing them another glance. My hands trembled with frustration, but my mind spun with a different emotion entirely. Doubt. Garron’s words echoed in the back of my skull.
Was I too close? Had I let my emotions cloud my judgment? Was I losing control over my own pack? The elders were getting angry. I was losing my respect. They were losing faith in me.
I hated the war. I hated the bloodshed. But the worst part of it all was the way my heart ached for a man who might be my enemy. When I had told him to stay away, when I had seen that flash of hurt in his eyes, I wanted to take the words back. I wanted to pull him close and hug him, and tell him everything would be alright, and that I wanted him as much as he wanted me, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t let myself.
Besides, he was the enemy Alpha. When he regained his memories, he would turn back to h
Love would make me weak. Attachment would destroy me.
When the moon had climbed halfway into the sky and the packhouse grew quiet, I returned to my room. My feet hesitated at the door, eyes flicking toward the darkened gap at the bottom. For a moment, I convinced myself not to open it. I told myself I didn’t care if he was asleep or awake. I didn’t care if he was there at all.
But my fingers curled around the doorknob anyway.
"Fuck it," I muttered under my breath and pushed the door open.
The bed was empty.
The room was dark, cold, and silent. My heart dropped to my stomach. The blanket lay untouched, as if he’d never returned at all. Panic bloomed in my chest, sharp and fast. My eyes darted around the room, searching for some clue. Some sign of where he’d gone.
But there was nothing. Just emptiness.
And for the first time in a long while, fear
gripped me in a way that even the battlefield never could.