I understand him because losing your mate means losing half of your life. The unbearable pain we feel will drive us to madness. It's different from being rejected. We only have mates for life, and if he dies, the other will also follow. Unless you can fight the pain and go on with your life, chances are only five percent.
I hope Sphere can endure his pain. He was my third in command, and his mate was Hale, the rouge he found a couple of days ago. They only stayed and lived together for a short time, but I've seen how much they love each other.
And I admit that I envied them.
Ugh!
"Sphere," I called him, using my authoritative tone as an Alpha. He immediately recognized my voice and bowed down to me.
I saw him cry while he was hugging Hale's head. Afterward, he clasped his mate's body and sobbed mournfully. The extended cut on Hale's neck might be the one that snatched his life away. Wolves can heal quickly even if the wounds are deep, but it's the other way around when they use silver. Without guessing it, they used silver to kill Hale.
Anger rose in the depth of my heart.
"Alpha, there's no lingering scents on Hale's killer on her body, but we found evidence in her right hand," Kaydon informed me and handed me a necklace. It's made of gold with a pendant with an initial of J.C.
A loud growl escaped from my throat, which almost alarmed my pack members. The owner of this necklace was Alpha Justin Cole of Blue Crescent pack, our neighboring pack.
How insolent could he be?
"After Hale's burial, prepare yourself. We will visit our neighboring pack," I uttered, and they nodded.
Hale's burial was as simple as Sphere's wishes. Although I saw how he was so hurt, he still stood on his feet and gave Hale one last kiss on her lips before her coffin descended to her final resting place.
I heard Claw sigh enviously and said, "If only our mate were like Sphere."
"Well, he's an asshole, and how dare he reject us," I snorted.
"Next time we'll meet him, I'll grind him into shreds!" A hint of anger in her tone.
"Heh! I know you will say that!"
Sphere was the only member of the pack who knew my revenge. He respects me like anyone else and is the first wolf I trained. He was still a teenager back then. He's swift and decisive, and I trust him. His strength will make my plan succeed. I will give him the privilege to kill Justin.
Later that day, along with my ten warriors, we crossed the Blue Crescent pack. In my computation, we are three kilometers away from the boundary. Their pack patroller should have smelled our scent now. But surprisingly, they still have no idea that intruders are now lurking outside their territory.
They're so stupid! For their foolish unawareness, we already killed them before they knew. I'm not surprised if we can easily defeat them.
"Don't hurt anyone. Just bring the Alpha to me," I firmly said. They nodded, and Kaydon led them to enter the packhouse ground. Sphere and I stayed here to wait for them. This will be his chance to get revenge.
"I'll leave him to you," I told him.
"Thank you, Alpha," he answered.
We didn't wait long for them to bring Justin and his pack members to us. I could easily guess they didn't even fight before they subdued them.
"What do you want?" Justin asked.
I can feel Sphere's anger rising within him.
As much as I want to cut his head off from his neck, I still suppress myself from doing so. I will let Sphere avenge his mate's death, as I said earlier. He's just waiting for me to nod my head, and he will do it.
"I think this thing is yours," Sphere chimed and threw the necklace to Justin's face.
He smirked when he saw the necklace. "I've been looking for this," he said, focusing on the chain. "It's an honor for me that you return this personally. I'm very grateful."
"We found this in the hands of our dead member," Kaydon said.
I saw Justin swallow hard, but he still tried to hide it.
"Are you accusing me of killing one of your pack, Beta? You don't have the right to disrespect me. Only an Alpha like me can talk to me that way. Where is your Alpha? He should be the one standing here." He growled as a warning.
Everyone cringed, including my warriors but not me. I am an Alpha myself to be intimidated by his weak and soft growl. Besides, Alpha knows when the one in front of him is flimsy or more substantial than him. His oppressive aura might affect me but I can't feel it in Justin. He's just a weak Alpha trying to lead a pack.
"My Alpha is right in front of you. If you want to talk, then talk," Kaydon said.
Justin looks intently at Sphere. "You must be the Alpha," he tried guessing.
"No!" Sphere's mouth twitched.
Justin was aware how the Alpha of our pack was strong, so he's been cautious of the words coming from his mouth. Fear crossed his eyes when his eyes descended on me—the corner of my mouth perks up.
"You are the Alpha?" He pointed his hand to me as if confirming it. I let him sense my aura and fear written in her eyes.
"Yes."
"There has never been a female Alpha for all I know," he exclaimed, eyes wide open.
"Now you know that there's one, and I'm here standing before you. You killed one of my pack members and happened to be my third-in-command's mate. He wants to avenge his mate. Do you accept the challenge he wants from you?" Although I asked him, my tone was still in command, and he had no right to say no.