Chapter 6 The Body
Ray’s POV
The bond had been quiet for three days.
Scratch that. Too quiet.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face. The way she dragged her feet from our packborders, the pain in her eyes as the bond tore between us. The mark still burned under my skin, a steady reminder that she was somewhere out there… suffering.
Maybe I should have listened to Monty’s warning at the club and let her be. If she dies, her blood is going to be in hands.
Speaking of Monty. I still can't wrap my head around what is happening. How can my beta and I share the same mate?
I can't share my mate. I won't!
But there was another darker thing that was bothering me. Each time I tried to reject the idea of sharing her, the bond burned hotter, as though the Goddess herself was mocking at my pride.
But I told myself that I would focus on one problem at a time, and right now, the biggest problem was this.
The mark was fading.
And that scared me more than the agony ever did. Because if the mark is fading, it means only two things. Either Alicia is dead… or she has found the others.
The others.
Even thinking it made my chest tighten. I had spent my whole life dismissing the prophecy but now, the story whispered by Elders suddenly didn’t feel so mythical anymore.
“Alpha.”
Monty’s voice broke through my thoughts. His face was pale, his eyes downcast. “The patrol just returned. You… you need to see this.”
My heart stopped.
All of my instinct screamed no.
Outside, rain fell hard against the yard. The patrol wolves shifted back into human form, dragging something between them, a limp, bloodied body. The scent hit me before I saw the face. It was faint but I am very familiar with it.
It was hers. I was certain.
Alicia.
My knees hit the mud before I even realized I’d fallen. I reached for her with shaky hands. My eyes lost their ability to see properly. Everything started blurring.
“She was found near the border,” one of the patrols said quietly. “Rogues must’ve…”
“Don’t.” My voice cracked. “Don’t say it.”
My world crumbled. Every breath I took hurt. I had told her not to go. I have sworn I’d protect her. And now
Monty knelt beside me, hand on my shoulder. I hadn't talked to him since Alicia left but I don't have any strength left in me to fight him for not hesitating to confess his feelings to my mate.
My fingers brushed against her skin, cold and lifeless. For a moment, I almost wished the bond would finish what it started. Just tear my heart apart completely.
Then it happened.
A tinge.
I felt it, like a small spark in my chest. A heartbeat that doesn't belong to me.
I froze immediately.
I noticed the pain I’d lived with for days suddenly shifted, twisting into something new and alive in me.
“She’s…” I gasped. “She’s not gone.”
Monty looked at me like he understood what I felt too. “Ray”
But I could feel it.
She was out there.
Alicia was alive.
Before I could stand, a loud gasp came from the crowd. The patrol near the gates stumbled backward, pointing. I followed their gaze, and my heart nearly stopped again.
Through the rain, a figure appeared.
Barefoot. Covered in blood and mud. Her hair tangled. Her eyes dull with exhaustion.
Alicia.
I thought I was hallucinating, for a second. The way she walked slowly, her body trembling, but unbroken, looked so unreal. She looked like she’d clawed her way out of the grave itself.
The pack fell silent. Even the rain seemed to pause.
She walked slowly toward us, trembling after every step. The wolves who had carried the wrong body dropped their heads in shame. Some whispered her name like a prayer. Others looked afraid.
I didn’t care.
I ran.
I didn’t care.
I ran.
Every part of me screamed to reach her, to hold her, to make sure she was real. When she saw me, a weak smile flickered on her lips.
“Ray,” she breathed.
I was just a few feet away when it happened.
She let out a sharp, broken cry that silenced the world. Her body arched backward, and light burst from the mark on her neck.
The bond mark glowed bright gold, then split into three burning lines racing down her skin like cracks in fire.
“No!” I caught her before she hit the ground. Her body was burning hot against mine. The light from her mark pulsed wildly, each flash sending pain through me too.
Her breathing came in gasps, shallow and quick. I pressed my forehead to hers, whispering, “Don’t you die on me again, Alicia. Please.”
The rain fell harder, soaking us both, washing away blood and mud that covered her.
Then slowly—she went still.
I thought she was gone.
But when I looked down again, her mark wasn’t fading, it was spreading.
Three new marks carved themselves into her skin, glowing faintly through the rain.
And through the storm, I swear I heard it, three howls rising in perfect unison.
They weren’t from my pack. They didn't sound near.
They were answering her.
The bond wasn’t dying.
It was multiplying
Then, Alicia's eyes opened, and they briefly shone gold before going dark once more. Her energy pulsed, twisted, and spread, like threads extending in four different directions. I kept one thread. Others melted in the distance.
The sky was split open by lightning, revealing the mark on Alicia's neck as it flared one last time, but this time around, she wasn't branded as mine but as someone chosen by the moon goddess herself.
And for the first time in my life, I didn't feel like an Alpha. I felt like I was under her authority.
That's when I truly believed all that the Elder has said about her.
She is indeed the key to everything
Or maybe,
The weapon that would wipe us all out.