The Unwanted Wolf

MARK

A sharp pain pierced my neck, right where Adira’s mark was. I clasped my hand on my neck, not understanding what this sudden pain was. I cried out and fell to my knees, the pain too much to handle.

“Alpha!” Scythe shouted, trying to steady. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

I gritted my teeth together, the pain too unbearable to push through. I couldn’t speak. The only sound that came out of my mouth was an indistinguishable cry. I doubled over as the pain began to spread, but the mark was still the spot that caused the most agony. I gripped my neck harder, willing it to stop.

Scythe was down on his knees in front of me, panic filling his voice. “Get Doctor Zayla here. Now!” He turned back to me, holding my shoulders, trying to help. “Alpha. What’s going on?”

“Adira,” I managed to mutter, barely a whisper. I didn’t know how or why this was happening, but I knew it had to do with Adira. My heart ached, terrified that she was feeling this exact pain. Was she being tortured by her capture? I couldn’t stand the idea of it. If she was hurt or injured, it could affect the baby, and I didn’t know how I would handle that. I couldn’t lose either of them. Not like this.

Another wave of pain burst from my mark, and another cry echoed around the room. This was the most pain I had ever been in. Not only was it physically painful, but it also felt like there was something breaking in my heart. Everything burned and twisted, screamed and ached. I could barely comprehend everything that was going on around me.

“What happened to him?” Doctor Zayla asked, entering the room.

“I don’t know. We were talking one moment, and the next thing I knew he was doubling over in pain.” Scythe sounded breathless and scared.

“Get that old woman,” Doctor Zayla said. “If this is some kind of magical attack, we will need her.”

Scythe stood up and dashed out of the room. Everything was getting blurry as the pain seared my nerves. Adira, please be okay. I’m coming for you. Hold on a little longer.

Zayla took my head in her hands and forced me to look at her. “Mark, I know this hurts, but I need you to tell me where it hurts.”

My breaths were shallow. It hurt too much to breathe any deeper. “Everywhere.”

Zayla squeezed my face tighter. “Where did it start? I need you to tell me if you want me to help you.”

I blinked at her a few times, trying to focus on her eyes. She was spinning around, and my head was pounding. “My mark.” My throat was dry, and the pain only grew worse. Something was wrong with Adira. I knew that losing a mate was one of the most painful feelings a werewolf could experience, and my heart froze at that thought. I couldn’t even think the words. Adira was fine. Adira had to be fine. I needed her. She was my future and my family.

Zayla pulled my hand away from my neck, so she could get a look at it. Her face hardened as she looked at me. “Alpha. Deep breaths. It’ll be okay. You’ll get through this.” She dug through her bag, pulling out a syringe. She moved quickly and injected it into my neck. “Don’t fight it, Alpha. It will help you feel better, at least for now.”

The pain slowly started to subside, and my body felt heavy. Whatever Zay did to me was working quickly. My brain started to quiet, and the pain floated away as everything went dark.

–

ADIRA

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the familiar white room where I normally found Moon and Shadow waiting for me. I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and there was nothing and no one in sight. It reminded me of the first time I had accidentally found myself here. Before I had any control over my magic, the room was empty, just like this. Slowly, it had developed into something more elaborate as my magic had developed. This made me feel like I had taken several steps back, but being here was better than nothing.

I hadn’t been able to access my subconscious like this since Cain had locked me away. I took a moment to just breathe and look around. My head felt foggy, and I couldn’t remember what I was doing before this moment. I didn’t remember falling asleep or eating or anything. It wasn’t getting any clearer, either.

After a few moments, I stood up and stretched my legs. I walked around, but the scenery didn’t change. It felt like I hadn’t moved much at all. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for exactly, but I kept moving. I didn’t see or feel Shadow or Moon, but there was something else. I picked up the pace, breaking into a run.

An indistinguishable figure appeared in the distance, and I picked up my pace. It grew clearer the closer I got, and soon I was able to make out the figure of a woman, sitting on the ground. I slowed my pace to catch my breath before I reached the person.

When I was only a few feet away, I stopped, unsure if what I was seeing was real or not.

“Ginger?” I said, still slightly out of breath.

The woman in front of me opened her eyes and a soft smile kissed her lips. “Girl, I’ve been looking for you. What took you so long?”

“Is it actually you?” I didn’t believe it was real. I wasn’t able to use my magic here, so there was no way I had been able to create a connection with Ginger.

“Sit, girl.” Ginger motioned to the ground in front of her.

I sat down and crossed my legs. I looked at her, and I knew it was her. The energy I was reading from her matched the Ginger I knew exactly. “How are you here? He has me in these walls that have something that blocks magic. I haven’t been able to shift out of the room or talk to my familiar or anything. Is this your doing?”

Ginger shook her head. “This is all you, girl. You were able to break through the block with your intention of protecting those that are precious to you. It’s powerful magic, girl.”

I grabbed my stomach, tears filling my eyes. “It might be too late.”

Ginger reached out and grabbed my hand. “It’s not too late. Now, tell me. Who took you and where are you?”

“Cain took me. I don’t know where I am, though. Some kind of-”

Ginger disappeared for a moment before flickering back.

“What’s going on?” I asked, not understanding what was happening.

“Hurry, girl. Our connection is weak,” Ginger said, looking around.

“It’s a former prison.” Ginger flickered away again. When she appeared, I continued speaking. “There was someone else who helped. It was Jori, but he’s not who we think-” Ginger disappeared again. I waited for her to reappear, but it didn’t happen. I kept waiting, hoping she would return. I had to warn them about what was going on with Jori. If he truly was the Son of B***d and Magic, he was more dangerous than anyone would realize, and I didn’t want anyone facing him.

Ginger didn’t reappear, and the white walls started to fade around me. The burst of magic I had managed to manifest was starting to fade, but there was now hope lingering in its place. There was hope that they would be able to find me. They had some information, and Ginger was looking. Mark was looking. Even if I couldn’t escape myself, someone would find me. They had to.

–

MARK

My body felt heavy as I woke up to hushed whispers around me. There was a familiar beeping of a heart monitor in the room and the smell of antiseptic filled my nose. I knew I was in Doctor Zayla’s office, and I was in one of her patient beds. I heard several voices around me. They were trying to keep quiet, but as they argued with each other, their volume quickly rose.

“There is no way Adira is dead. How can you even suggest a thing?” Rie snapped.

“His mark is gone. What else am I supposed to think?” Scythe growled. “I don’t want her to be dead, but that pain he felt was not normal. It looked like the pain a werewolf felt when their mate died. You didn’t see his face, Rie.”

“But his mark is simply gone. That doesn’t happen when you lose your mate. That mark is always there. If Adira died, the mark would still be there,” Rie said.

“Then how do you explain what happened?” Scythe was scared and angry, which is the only time his voice sounded like that. Even in more tense situations, he was able to break up the tension with his light-hearted mood.

“I don’t know. I don’t know, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?” Rie was on the verge of tears.

“This isn’t helping anything, you two. Fighting over what might have happened, does not change what did happen. We should focus on the facts of the situation,” Daniel said, stepping in. “We know that mate-marks don’t disappear when a mate dies, so until proven otherwise, Adira should be considered alive. There have never been known cases of a werewolf losing their mark, which means this is something werewolves do not normally experience. The logical conclusion would be that something magical happened to the mark.”

My heart felt heavy as I lied there, listening to the conversation. I had to believe Daniel’s hypothesis that Adira was still alive. If I believed otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to get out of this bed. I didn’t have another explanation, but I wasn’t sure if it mattered much anyway. Something inside of me felt empty. I couldn’t feel Adira’s bond before, but there was something different about it now. There was no energy left in my body, and I didn’t want to move, but I knew I couldn’t do that. No matter what was happening in my personal life, I was still the alpha to this wolf pack, and I had to make sure I was fulfilling my responsibilities.

I slowly opened my eyes as the bickering continued. “You guys are loud.”

Rie instantly threw her arms around me. “Mark!”

“Ow,” I g*****d. My entire body ached from whatever happened.

Rie quickly pulled back. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

I nodded slowly, not having the energy to say anything.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” Scythe said, but his tone didn’t match. I knew he was worried about the possibility of what this all meant. He was the one that believed Adira was dead, but I didn’t want to think about that.

I went to sit up, and both Rie and Scythe were by my side, propping me up.

“Take it easy,” Rie said.

I steadied my breathing, trying to do as she said. “I need a distraction. I need to think about something else.

Rie and Scythe looked at each other, at a loss for what to say.

Daniel stepped up, looking as analytical as ever. “I have gone through more of those books, Alpha Mark. I don’t know how much of the information will help us find Adira, but it will help if any other sorcerers decide to attack us.”

“Go on,” I encouraged.

“Did you know that in this great war, werewolves discovered a metal that could block a sorcerer’s powers? It’s quite fascinating. They built several of them throughout the country to hold prisoners of war. If we can get our hands on metal like that, it would give us an advantage if that council tries to attack.” Daniel was buzzing with excitement from the knowledge he discovered.

“That’s great.” My voice was scratchy from the screaming earlier, and I was still tired. I wanted to rest my eyes again already.

The door flung open, making me jump. Ginger burst through the door with a look of determination on her face. “I made contact with Adira.”

I sat up too quickly, but I didn’t care. Too many fears of Adira’s death was nearly paralyzing this, so this was the news I needed to hear. “She’s alive?”

Ginger nodded. “She is, and I was able to track her energy. The connection broke before I could figure out where exactly, but I have an idea of where your mate is.”