Once Opaline left with Gwenna and Bertolf and Nadine took the woman and baby, I turned serious, looking at my Beta. "We have a problem."
His eyes widen but he crosses his arms and waits for me to explain. I do. I tell him about the note and of Vuk being here to request Opaline's and my presence for Aryn at dinner. He is silent throughout the short explanation, and is deep in thought when I finish. He finally says, "She can't skip this. It was hard enough to get this going as it is, she isn't skipping it now that it's here." He pauses, sighing in frustration. "But your parents…"
"Klyn, I need to help my parents!" I say desperately.
He shakes his head. "No, you need to stay here and make Opaline Luna. Whoever this is, they are cowards to not confront us head on."
"They will die if we don't go there and show ourselves."
Klyn glares at me. "What about Opaline? Where is she in all your plans? She is your mate, Lykaon."
"I know that, damn it!" I hiss, breathing hard. "But they're the only family I have."
Klyn's voice softens. "I understand. But they are making you choose between your mate and your parents. Your mate becomes Luna tonight, and they're trying to stop that for whatever reason. Your parents won't be happy if you sacrifice your mate to save them, you know that."
I nod. After a while, we head out to the pack house to see everything ready and people already waiting around. We still had a couple of hours before the ceremony starts so I wasn't too worried I looked around and ran into the forest.
The west border was dense with trees and foliage, but I could make it through easily in my wolf form. I could smell something foul but couldn't place what it was. It smelled like a rotting corpse, but I didn't see any around. Underneath that, there was another scent, one more alluring. I followed it, crossing the border and onto uncharted territory.
I continued on for a long time until I stopped and realized I had no idea where I was, no idea where I was going. The scent hit my nose again and without thinking, I continued following it. It was about thirty seconds until I felt my paw catch in something, trying to pull it out only for the trap to snap shut and the teeth tear into my leg, breaking bone. I howled and tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't budge. I couldn't even shift to help myself.
I hear a soft, menacing laugh from somewhere ahead and see a woman standing there with a gun in both hands, pointing them straight at me. "I knew you couldn't resist!"
I furrow my brows in confusion then see wolves surrounding me, at least ten of them. "Why do you want my mate? Where are my parents?"
The woman, not much older than myself, frowns a bit. "I want her for personal reasons, as for your parents…" she trailed off, humming to herself. "Well, you've still got time to do as I asked."
"What did my mate ever do to you?" I hiss, keeping my eyes on her, but staying alert of the others. "She's been nothing but good to everyone she meets."
The woman smiles and shakes her head. "She killed my mate, Alpha. She killed him without a second thought, and I would like to return the favor to her. Bring her here at sundown, or you or parents die."
I shake my head now. "You're lying!"
"Why would I lie about something so important?" she snarls. With a wave of her hand, she dismisses the wolves and backs away. "Sundown!"
"Lykaon, Opaline needs you," Klyn hisses.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but Bertolf said she just shifted and is hiding somewhere in the house."
I sigh, running back home. Something tells me that I should make everyone leave and cancel the ceremony for another night with everything going on, there's no way it'll be successful. Between Aryn wanting revenge, Vuk killing off females of all ages, and this vengeful woman just now, I don't see Opaline or myself getting any peace.
I burst into the house and immediately hear crashing from upstairs. I go towards the sound and end up in my office. Bertolf and Nadine are on either side of my desk while Gwenna is trying to reach out to something underneath. "Back away!" I growl.
They all look up and take cautious steps towards the walls behind them. I run around my desk and crouch, finding my mate with her ears back and panic-stricken eyes. "We don't know what happened, she just shifted and ran in here," Bertolf said.
I look down at her paw and see it carefully pinned against her chest, as if to keep it from being seen. "Slowly exit the room and shut the door," I order. The three of them obey, Nadine closing the door behind her. I sit down and watch Opaline as she flicks her ears forward and back, then blinks and whines. I raise my brows. "Do you always shift when you're scared?"
She whines again and lies her head down, ears flat as if in apology.
"What happened?" I ask softly.
She gives a low growl, then a whine, then looks away. My brows furrow in confusion and after a moment, her voice enters my head. "I didn't mean to shift, Lykaon."
"Just tell me what happened, then we'll sort the rest out."
She whines again, crawling forward on her belly to rest her injured paw on my leg. "I got scared and shifted. I almost hurt Nadine and Gwenna because of what I saw outside. I-I think someone was watching me, and I couldn't stand it."
"Someone was watching you?" she whines. I narrow my eyes. "What were you doing?"
"I was just walking towards the bathroom so Nadine could use the curling iron. I had a towel on, but I wasn't doing anything I shouldn't have. I swear!"
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. Klyn, get in my office, now! When I look at Opaline, she was licking her injured paw. "Bring something to cover Opaline with," I link Klyn. I grab her leg, careful not to touch the paw at all, and hold it up. The bones weren't sticking out and she wasn't bleeding, but maybe that'll be different when she shifts.
There was a knock and Klyn walks in. "I've got a blanket since her dress is in the room."
I grab the blanket from him and wrap Opaline in it. Without being told, she shifts and immediately cries out. "My hand!"
My Beta also has a roll of gauze and hands it over. I pull Opal against my chest and take her hand, using the gauze to wrap it. "At least it isn't like before," I murmur.
She rests her head on my shoulder, face in my neck while I finish up, then I pull her even closer and look up at Klyn. "Stay with her. I would, but tradition restricts me. You're the only one I want near her if something bad happens."
He nods, and surprisingly, so does Opaline. Klyn says, "And the ceremony?"
I look down at Opaline and see her hair is all over the place and her makeup is smeared from tears. "Tell the girls to hurry up. Fix her hair and makeup but make it simple. I want this to happen within the hour so the three of us can go somewhere."
Klyn nods again and steps out to give us some privacy. Opaline is finally relaxed and is breathing softly onto my skin. I almost think she's asleep when she says, "Klyn needs a mate."
"I know. I hope he finds her soon." I swallow a lump in my throat and finally pull her up so I can look into her celeste eyes. "Baby, I need your help and I wish I didn't have to put you through this, but I really don't have any other choice."
"What is it?" she asks softly, worry in her eyes.
"My parents," I say simply.
"I thought they were traveling?"
"They did, until they were taken and used as bait." She bites her lip and looks like she's in deep thought. "They're bait for me in order to lure you into a trap, where a woman wants to do something because you killed her mate."
"How does she know I killed her mate?"
I shake my head. "I don't know, baby."
Now a look of frustration enters her eyes. "Why am I being blamed for killing everyone's mate!"
Sighing, I pull her into another embrace and kiss her head. "I know this is ridiculous and I wish it were different, but I have no idea what to do to help you right now, or my parents without risking your life as well."
"I'll go," she says weakly. I shake my head, but she nods. "I'll go and save your parents. It's the least I can do when you're doing all this other stuff to protect me. I want to help."
"I don't want you hurt." She holds up her bandaged hand. "I don't want you hurt more than you already are, then," I amend.
Opaline shrugs. "It's for my pack. Your parents are a part of the pack, so as Luna, I feel obligated to protect them as well, even if they've been alpha and Luna before."
I sigh and squeeze her tightly. "Thank you, Opaline. I promise nothing will happen to you."
"And I promise your parents will be fine," she says and sits up. Smiling softly, she kisses my lips and wraps her arms around my neck. I let her continue to kiss me for a few seconds until we hear another knock and pull back. She looks irritated and disappointed but sighs. "I guess I should go…"
I cup her face once more so she can look me in the eyes when I say, "If anything is wrong or you're scared, tell Klyn. Let him help, okay?"
She nods. "I will."