Alpha Knight’s Cursed Mate

KNIGHT

Gasping for air, I woke up on the ground. The blood’s bitter, sweet, metallic taste dried on my mouth.

A shudder of terror rocked through me as I got up. It felt like a new day, or nothing happened last night.

Trees stood tall, leaves dancing against the soft breeze. Sunlight streaked from the sky.

I saw broken trees on the ground from a distance, a reminder that something had happened around here last night.

“Guys!” I went to Califf, shaking him. “Cal, wake up.”

He sucked in a breath, staring at me. “What happened?”

“I have no idea.”

Luka and McKaye stirred and froze as they realized we were still in the forest.

“What the hell?” McKaye looked at his naked self.

“Did we win?” Sebastien dusted the dirt off his body.

Alpha Frye came from behind us, confused, eyes roaming around. “I think she did it.”

“Fuck. Nirvana. Where is she?” Terror filled my chest. “I can’t feel her.”

“We’ll find her.” Michael, Grady, and Ryden went separate ways to find Nirvana.

“Nirvana!” I called her name as I headed north, but I couldn’t catch her scent everywhere. I shifted and sniffed every inch of the forest. Nirvana seemed to vanish into thin air.

Our link was gone, too, aside from the pack link.

An hour later, I went back to the guys, and they had the same look on their faces.

When they shook their heads, I denied what my thoughts suggested.

“No. She’s not gone. We won. I’m sure she’s waiting for us somewhere over here.”

“Can you reach out to her through the link?”

“No, Cal.” My stomach twisted. “I have to find her. I won’t stop until I find my mate.” This time, I went south, calling her name.

“Alpha.” Luka followed me.

“Don’t!” I stopped as I pointed a finger at Luka. “Don’t tell me she’s gone!”

“I was not going to say something like that. Mac and I will shift. In that way, we can find her quickly.”

“Knight, I will not give up looking for her. We owe her that. I owe her that.” Pain crossed in McKaye’s eyes. “I’m sure she just passed out like us.”

“All right. Report to me once you have updates.” I tried not to let my hopelessness show.

Three hours had passed, and we scoured the area within a ten-mile radius, but there were still no signs of Nirvana, not even a small hint of her scent or her lost boot or torn jacket. We did not find blood either. It was like she had just disappeared without a trace or did not exist anymore.

A breath loosened from my chest as I dropped my knees to the ground. My fear and my nightmare came true.

This was not happening.

“Knight, I will call Zarah. Maybe she has a way of tracking her. She’s wearing her necklace, or maybe the dagger would help.”

I nodded at Sebastien. “Yeah.”

“We should go back to the pack house and let everyone help find her. Come on, man.” Ryden offered his hand.

With the heaviness in my chest, I grabbed his hand and got up.

“We’re not giving up on her. We just need a good plan for locating her,” he added.

“Where’s Archibald?” MacKaye asked.

“At this hour, he’s probably hiding or just-”

We all looked at Frye.

“Shit, Archie.” Sebastien felt terrible for his friend.

“Or he ran back to the pack house,” Grady said.

“We should go.”

We barely made it to the vineyards. I could smell deaths everywhere, and the vineyard was destroyed. Everything was ruined and damaged as if a strong storm had hit it and nothing could be salvaged.

“Shit.” I shifted and ran towards the pack house. The guys followed me as I bolted into the door.

Pairs of eyes pinned at me filled with shock and relief.

“Oh, thank Goddess, Knight!” Kailin ran in my direction and hugged me, patting my fur.

“Give him something to wear,” Zarah called out.

“Get in the room, Alpha. Your clothes are there.” Heartley came.

I ran towards the door next to my office and shifted back. While wearing my clothes, I felt Zarah and Kailin.

“Knight, what happened?”

“I don’t remember much,” I remembered everything, but they didn’t have to know that. It was terrifying- the pain, the torture, the feeling of being on the brink of death, and I could not do anything to stop it.

What was torturing was listening to my mate being tortured, screaming in pain, and I was like in an unconscious state or a nightmare. It crashed my soul.

I turned around and faced them. I instantly saw the deep sadness in their eyes.

“Who did we lose?”

Kailin shook her head, and I saw the mark on her neck.

“Congrats.” I smiled and hugged her tight. “Wait. How long has it been?”

“Two days.”

“Two days we’re in that forest?” I stared at Zarah and Kailin in shock.

“Yes. Time flies differently inside his barrier, in his cocoon.”

Kailin hadn’t said a word until a tear rolled down her cheek. “Where’s Vana? You came alone, Knight. Where is she?”

“We looked for her for three fucking hours, and it’s just like she’s gone. No traces of her anywhere.”

“Oh, Knight.” Zarah gave me a piece of white folded paper.

My wolf stirred, whining.

“No, Zarah.” I pushed it back. Dread crept up my spine. I hadn’t read anything in that paper. I knew what it already meant. “No! I won’t accept that.”

“I don’t either, but-”

“She’s not dead, Zarah! She’s not!” My fur erupted, spreading all over my skin. My fangs and claws came out. My eyes flared at her as I denied that my mate was gone.

One moment, I was standing, and the next thing I knew, my clothes shredded, and I bolted out of the pack house.

As fury heated my neck, I ran back towards the woods.

I couldn’t imagine a life without my mate. She was my everything and promised to come back to me, and I still held onto that.

Regret, pain, and guilt clenched my chest. I could feel every emotion piling up in my chest. As my legs started to feel exhausted and my lungs were about to explode, I stopped at the cliff, where she came to me to give our relationship a second chance. It was still fresh in my head and in my heart.

I howled in agony, echoing in the entire forest.

Several wolves appeared from everywhere, showing me their sympathy, and each alpha began howling at my loss.

When everybody left, I stayed till sundown and woke up at sunrise.

“Alpha.”

“Leave me alone.”

“I just want to tell you that Case and Dylan are leaving for New York in the morning to-”

“To fucking what, Kaleb?”

“To mourn for their loss.”

“She’s not dead. Nirvana is not dead!”

“I won’t accept that either. The rest of the alphas are going, but they will be here anytime you need them. The Alpha King found Archibald in the cave. And-”

“I don’t wanna hear it.”

“I just want you to know that I will do everything to find Nirvana, Knight,” Zarah said this time.

I looked over my shoulder to Zarah. “She’s alive, Zarah.”

“During the fight, Nirvana managed to jump with Cyrius and fought him on the west side of the vineyards. Nirvana killed him, but when she struck the dagger into his chest, the power from the dagger and the power Cyrius drew from the source and stole from Ambrose created a massive shockwave. You see the aftermath. We were in the pack house, and it shook, breaking all the glasses and windows. No one could survive that impact, but she was once given a second chance. Maybe, by some miracle, she’s just somewhere and waiting to be found.”