Zane's POV
"Alpha, are you alright?" Jaxon asked, keeping his gaze to the wall. He had refused to look into my eyes since I brought him to my bungalow. It was a space I rarely entered, but I had to do it in order to quell the rage that my Lycan was experiencing.
It had pictures of my mum and my younger sister, pictures of their smiles before what happened to them and how they faded into a memory. Anytime Rex was feeling extremely disoriented and pissed off, I came here. They soothed me in a way, and soothed Rex in return.
Jaxon had insisted on staying with me after I left the pack hospital. According to him I was unstable and needed someone around because I had outright told my so called mate to never come back to our territory. In other words I had rejected the moon goddess's choice for me.
He was a stubborn man, and hardly listened to me, as he was the only person I allowed that luxury.
"For the umpteenth time, Jay, I'm fine," I snorted, sifting through the scattered files on my large desk in my workspace. Job interviews and position assessments cluttered the table, along with documents detailing the Malefica's potential origins and her movements before she arrived at my pack.
The Malefica had been defiant, withholding information about herself from us in a bid to provoke a lethal response. It was a tactic I had observed people employ for years, and I could recognize it even with my eyes closed.
She carried a distinctive scent, one that blended with the scent of wolves, yet we couldn't pinpoint the pack to which that scent belonged. It was undeniably vexing, and my patience was wearing thin.
"It's okay to have a mate, Alpha. Having a mate and a Luna would do you a whole lot of good," Jaxon continued, unrelenting in his plot to get me to go after Unatha and his arms remained firmly crossed over his chest.
"I'm perfect, I'm unique. I don't need a mate," I snapped at him, my Lycan stirring within me with a vengeance. This remark seemed to ignite Jaxon's temper, and he turned his gaze towards me for the first time since we got here, his blue eyes smoldering with fury. They bore a resemblance to Unatha's eyes, but while hers gleamed with a bright blue hue, Jaxon's had a duller shine.
"You acted aggressively towards her when she first showed up, and you're also bothered by the fact that she doesn't possess a wolf like I do," I continued, not giving him a chance to interject as I closed the distance between us.
"She's more than just a wolfless being," Jaxon snapped, his teeth gritted.
"She's been rejected once by a mate, and now you-"
"She's been rejected?!" I exclaimed, my ears perking up at this newfound revelation. She had been rejected by another mate before?
"I understand the dynamics of mate relationships, Alpha," he replied.
"You need to find her, Zane." He only addressed me by my name when he was deadly serious, and it was evident he was earnest about my responsibility to find her.
Despite her past, she had never appeared as someone carrying the weight of heartbreak. In all our interactions, she came across as obstinate, actively seeking ways to provoke my irritation. She was simply infuriating.
"But she's wolfless. And a potential Luna. You know how much I value my time alone, and you know how Rex could be," I sighed, allowing a rare glimpse of vulnerability in front of Jaxon. In our ten years of co-leading the pack, he was the only person I could confide in without fearing judgment.
Damon had always been a source of annoyance, constantly fighting for my Alpha position. He believed he deserved it more than I did, despite my direct lineage to our ancestor Lycan.
"Find her, Alpha," Jaxon urged before departing from my presence, likely joining Sabrina and the other guardians to gather updates on the Malefica's situation.
I rested my knuckles on my desk, and licked my lips, digesting Jaxon's words.
Despite several years of blood shed, Jaxon still believed I was worthy of a mate. No, he believed I needed one. Someone to correct my wrongs and expose a whole new level of light in my life. I knew I was unworthy, and would only do so much damage.
I glanced at a picture of my mother and my sister, Zelda, hugging each other, their faces brightened with the most contagious of smiles. I deliberately placed the photo frame on my desk, so I could look at it whenever I needed to.
"I miss you, mum," I said, letting out a sigh of regret.
Leaving my bungalow, I headed for the guardhouse, determined to get answers from the Malefica today. I was bombarded with a few 'Alpha' greetings from my pack members on the there, ignoring the growing guilt I felt for telling Unatha to leave and even threatening her life.
Crap.
This stupid mate bond was messing with my head.
"Alpha!" A lean, black-haired man rushed from behind me, one of the guardians who had assisted with carrying Unatha's friend from her pack to the hospital.
"What is it, Tommy?" I asked, coming to a halt to hear his report.
"Your mate - I'm sorry, the human. Daniel was tracking her and her friend, but suddenly, the trail went cold," he began.
"He followed the scent and ended up detecting a rogue werewolf group. He believes they might have the human and her friend."
"This is precisely why I told one of you to follow her!" I roared, not realizing how much fear and paranoia had consumed me upon hearing the news.
When she had left, I had instructed one of my pack members to keep watch, to remain hidden and inconspicuous, ensuring her safe arrival at her former pack's location, while also determining the whereabouts of their pack.
A surge of protectiveness coursed through me, and Rex clawed at my mind, demanding release. We didn't care about her, no. It was the mate bond, driving both of us to madness at the mere thought of her being possibly defiled by one of those lower than scum wolves.
My eyes blazed with rage, and my aura darkened, causing Tommy to flinch slightly.
"Lead the way," I ordered him, and before he could respond, I transformed fully, shifting into Rex. The transformation was swift, and my Lycan senses heightened, ready to track down the unfortunate rogue group.
They had taken what was mine, and they were going to regret it.