The Alpha Can’t Sense His Mate

ZADOK

I sat in the throne room with my parents, playing with the hourglass I stole from the witch’s lair. “Daddy, how much time do I have before I begin training to be alpha?” I asked, genuinely interested in his answer.

“Oh, Zadok, eager to displace your daddy, aren’t we?” Mum said with a soft smile.

“He’ll make a perfect Alpha, love. I can tell just by looking at him.” Daddy said with a proud look on his face.

“Gatria said I can begin my training after getting my wolf.” I pouted, “Why can’t I begin the training now so that when I transform into my wolf, I’ll have more power to control it.”

That caused my parents to burst into a fit of laughter.

“Oh, Zadok, you don’t control your wolf. You partner with him.” My mom said between laughs.

“But you said I can only partner with my mate,” I dropped the hourglass on the floor and looked up, “Why do I need to partner with my wolf when I have my mate?”

“Oh dear, he asks a lot of questions.” Father huffs, “I’ll leave you both to it, okay?”

Before I could speak, Azriel’s father walked in with some files. He sent me a curt nod, and together, they walked out of the courtroom to my father’s office.

My gaze returned to my mom, expecting answers.

“Your wolf is your better half, love, and he is your partner, an extension of you.”

“And my mate?”

“She is your other half. You are incomplete without her. She will be your true family. Your one true love.” Mum cooed, patting my head with a smile.

That was the last thing I saw of my mom because the next moment, a fleet of witches appeared in the courtroom, and with a loud voice, the head witch ordered,

“Kill her!”

I stood in confusion, unsure of what was happening. And like magic, I watched my mother cough up blood until she was lying in a pool of her blood.

I couldn’t blink. I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to make of the nightmare in front of my eyes.

“Mum… wake up,” I knelt before her, tears in my eyes.

My dad’s office flung open. And the first thing he saw was my mom – lying in a pool of her blood.

“Noo! What have you done!” My dad bellowed, shaking with anger.

“Nothing she didn’t deserve. I warned you. If I can’t have you, no one else would.”

“Argghh,” Dad charged at her, transforming into his wolf.

“Oh no, you don’t,” She said, and with a flick of her hand, Dad got flung to the pillar of the courtroom – so hard its foundations shook.

“Daddy!” I yelled as I watched him hit the floor and breathe his last.

“Pity.” The witch tutted, “I’d think an alpha should be stronger than this, but you disappoint me.” She said to my father’s dead body. “I think I’ll have to find myself another entertainment. It was fun while it lasted.”

I got on my feet, ready to attack her, when my father’s beta came out.

“Zadok! No!” he said, drawing attention to me.

“What do we have here?” The witch said eyes zeroed on me, “A split image of them.” She said, and a frown grew on her face. “I’ll just send you with your beloved parents. It’ll suck living here without them, don’t you think?”

Before she could do anything, Beta David charged at her with an elongated claw. His last words to me were, “Run, Zadok! Run!”

That did it. I ran without looking back, my eyes full of tears.

I woke up threshing in the middle of the night. It took a while before I realised I was in the dark forest. I got up on my feet and spent the rest of the night standing guard.

******

Walking beside Ithra felt like walking with a stake impaled dangerously close to my heart.

The air around us was suffocating. Since our conversation, or shall I say – since Ithra’s rant last night. Things strained between us.

It didn’t help that we were the only company we had, and there wasn’t any room for us to give each other space without getting into a near-death situation.

Ithra walked ahead of me. I could tell she was getting tired by the slump of her shoulders. We’ve been walking for hours now, and other than the swords we picked from bushes on our way to the Valley of Thorns, there hasn’t been much action.

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When I saw the swords left in a bush, I thought perhaps we weren’t the only ones in the dark forest. For a moment, I saw a flicker of hope in the eyes of Ithra.

Almost as though she was looking forward to having company other than me.

No such luck because the next few steps led us to the bones of people we believed must have been killed by something during their journey in the dark forest.

Safe to say, Ithra returned to my side, wary of whatever lurked in plain sight of the forest. We soon got to the Valley of Thorns, and it didn’t live up to expectations – if I say so myself.

Instead of thorns, we only saw a sparse land that had no end. I sniffed the air and nearly threw up from the deadness of it all. Ithra seemed to perceive it because her nose scrunched up in disgust.

“What is that smell,” She said to no one in particular,

“Perhaps there’s a dead body somewhere,” I suggested, looking around.

“Or a dead scorpion,” Ithra said, and I looked back at her, confusion clad in my looks.

“What do you mean dead-”

My eyes nearly fell off their sockets when I saw an army of black scorpions headed for us.

“What the hell,” I swore, taking out my blade.

“They are everywhere!” Came the panicked voice of Ithra.

We were surrounded with no way of escape!