Damon stared at the back of his second-chance mate as she walked out of the packhouse. He was fully aware that she could get hurt and yet he did nothing to stop her.
Stop her! His wolf whined.
But Damon couldn't. He was still shocked that there was a female hunter and even more shocked that she was among the clan that had killed his first mate.
What exactly was the moon goddess trying to do? He wondered.
The room suddenly felt too stuffy. He needed to get away from all of them. He could feel their eyes laced with pity and mock sympathy.
He walked away from them and went to his office. He heard his Beta mutter something to the audience about feeling comfortable and not going out.
He slumped on the recliner chair in his office as he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. A few minutes later his Beta joined him.
"Alpha, are you alright?" Ryan asked quietly.
Damon shook his head. "I'm not allowed to show weakness, Ryan but you can't blame me. I just found out that the moon goddess has other plans for me."
Ryan shrugged as he leaned on the wall. "Shit happens, Alpha. The fact that you feel pressured or shocked makes you unique. It doesn't mean you're not strong."
Damon chuckled softly. "Always the inspirational speaker."
Ryan shrugged. "I try my best, Alpha."
The door opened and his parents strolled in.
"Leave us!" Nessa said with a dismissive wave.
Ryan nodded and left quietly. Damon groans internally, his emotional support has been sent out. Now he will be questioned to death by his parents.
"I was having a conversation with my Beta," he protested weakly.
His father gave him the stink eye. "Don't act as you've just been punched in the gut."
"Technically this is a fitting example for my situation," Damon said.
"Greg, don't change the subject. Why does your son have a second-chance mate?" his mother asked, her voice laced with worry.
Damon stared at his parents and noticed the uneasy atmosphere in the office. The air was thick and heavy with tension.
"What are you guys not telling me?" he asked quickly.
"It's just a coincidence, Nessa. No cause for alarm," Greg chuckled uneasily.
"No cause for alarm?" Nessa asked with a burning look in her eyes, "A second chance! He got a freaking second-chance mate."
"I know right. What are the odds of that?" his father chuckled uneasily.
Damon stared at them, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.
"What are you two not telling me?"
"It's about time you tell him about the prophecy!" his mother yelled.
"There's nothing…"
His father was interrupted by a crash and then a loud howl of pain followed by his door crashing open. Aaron stood in front of his door holding his burnt arm.
"I'm sorry your Beta wouldn't let me pass," he groaned.
Damon watched as his hands healed rapidly then his eyes widened in panic.
"You didn't…"
"I didn't kill your Beta, Damon but I fear something bad has happened," he replied.
Damon cocked an eyebrow at him while his parents stared in relief at being interrupted even though it was by their enemy.
"What do you mean by that?" Damon asked.
"I've been trying to contact my daughter and it's not possible," Aaron replied.
Damon scoffed, numbing the fear he felt in his heart. "And why would I care?"
"Because she's your mate and the moon goddess just offered you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you're about to waste!" Aaron growled.
"Maybe she just blocked you from trying to reach her," Damon said with a bored expression on his face.
Aaron groaned. "Yes. Initially, she blocked me from trying to reach her and I didn't stop trying. But now she reached out to me herself and sent me a message. I've been trying to reach her but it's not possible."
"What message?" Nessa asked.
Damon gave his mom a weird look. "Since when did you become so interested in the hunters' issue?"
"Hush!" his mother silenced him.
"She didn't make any sense, honestly," Aaron confessed, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Just spit it out!" Nessa growled.
"She said, 'Red eyes, terrifying. Dad, help me' and I'm confused. I tried reaching out to her but nothing," Aaron stated.
Damon gave his parents odd looks as they looked like they'd seen a ghost or been struck by lightning.
"Why do you look so blue, mom?" he asked.
"Your mother is not feeling quite well," his father replied hastily, helping his mother sit.
"Find her," Nessa whispered to him.
"Dad, mom I don't think I can even help him out. Unless they give me the head of the one who murdered my first mate in cold blood!" he growled.
"We don't even know if it was a hunter that killed her!" Aaron exclaimed impatiently.
"It was a bloody hunter. You guys left your signature on her body," Damon said with a haunted look.
"That's beside the point, Damon!" his father exclaimed, startling him and Aaron.
"Even though I find it weird that you support me I'm not gonna ask why," Aaron said.
Nessa rolled her eyes. "Darling Damon, your first mate is dead but you have a new one. Don't waste that opportunity. I'm sure Alexia wasn't the one responsible for your mate's death."
Damon nodded, still unable to comprehend what was going on with his parents.
"While coming here I suddenly felt weak," he said.
Aaron scoffed. "It's the half-moon. Of course, you'll feel weak."
Damon glared at him. "No, this weakness was something else. It felt like another part of me was losing strength and it felt fast then just like that it was gone. I guess that's when she was hurt. I think she's been knocked out."
Aaron gasped. "It's worse if she was knocked out. No one has ever knocked Alexia out."
"Then I guess you better start looking for her," Nessa said.
"Yeah, good luck," Damon muttered but when no one moved he saw his parents and Aaron staring pointedly at him.
"What? Me?"
"Yeah," his parents nodded.
"I still don't know what's going on with you guys but when I get back I deserve an explanation!" Damon growled before leaving with Aaron.
***
Alexia opened her eyes and groaned then shut it back quickly. She had a burning headache and the intensity of the light that reflected on her worsened her condition.
She squinted a little before averting her eyes and opening them slowly. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dim interior of the room and she realized she had been facing the sunlight directly.
She massaged her throbbing temples and finally, she was able to make out various shapes in the room. She recognized the shapes as people.
A lot of people and all had the crescent moon mark on their forehead.
A cold shiver ran down her spine when she saw the three people who had captured her.
She could vividly recall how fast one of them had moved when she had asked about the mark.
All she saw was a blur. Red eyes and next thing she was knocked out. The speed was terrifying and the strength was intimidating.
She wasn't one who gets intimidated so easily but their strength was a force to be reckoned with. She was also convinced they were the ones responsible for the deaths.
She took her time to study where she was so she could find her escape route but there was none. She was in a kind of safehouse and the walls were thick, the windows were too high and that's when she noticed the walls extended to a high point.
"It's called a fortress."
She glanced up to see the three guys from earlier and scoffed.
"I don't wanna know."
"Your loss. I just figured you should know the place you are before trying to escape," another one chuckled.
"How did you know I was trying to escape?"
Dumb question, yeah but she didn't want to talk about why she was still alive.
"Duh! You just woke up and you've been looking around without wondering why you're not in the netherworld," the third one replied.
Alexia tried to stand up when she realized that her legs were bound in chains.
"Why am I chained?!" she growled.
"Relax, feisty one," the one with red eyes from yesterday chuckled but now Alexia noticed his eyes were now stormy gray.
"Call me that once more and I'll rip you from limb to limb!" she growled.
"That's exactly why we chained you up," they chuckled.
"This is funny? You didn't kill me so you could drive me crazy before killing me?"
The three of them stared at her like she was crazy when suddenly the light switch flipped on and she saw a whole room filled with various people with the crescent moon mark. They stared at her like haunted souls.
"What are you guys?" she asked, confused.
"We're just like you, little huntress."
"Rejected from our kind."
"One of a kind."
"And we know how it feels to be different and alone. That's why you're still alive," they concluded.
Alexia's eyes widened as realization suddenly dawned on her.
"You kept me alive because…"
They interrupted her. "We want you to join us."