Chapter 315
Chapter 315
7 – Ben
A chilling thought kept replaying in my mind: someone was going to die today. That grim mantra echoed relentlessly as I trailed behind Elara and her team, my friends buzzing incessantly over the mindlink, speculating about her being my mate. My wolf didn’t hesitate to stake his claim, but I knew full well there would be explanations to offer once we returned. Still, I didn’t care. My focus was razor-sharp, calm and steady, especially with my body positioned firmly between her and the warriors accompanying her. Yet, if anyone asked, I’d deny it without hesitation. I didn’t want a mate, and as far as I was concerned, she didn’t like me.
It took us about thirty minutes to reach the attack site. The air was thick with the sharp, acrid scent that only rogues carry—a smell tinged with decay and rot. Being away from a pack seemed to alter their natural scent, twisting it into something foul and unsettling. Wolves aren’t meant to live in isolation; over time, they can slip into a feral state so deep that returning to human form becomes impossible. I wondered if these were lone wolves, lost and suffering, or a group traveling together. Either way, they needed to be dealt with.
Elara, Jeremiah, Rayna, and I had the keenest noses in the group, so we remained in wolf form while the others shifted back to human, scanning the surroundings for signs of the rogues’ return. I stayed close to Elara, and the low growl rumbling from her wolf was a clear warning that she didn’t appreciate my proximity. I smirked quietly to myself—she wasn’t the only one capable of asserting dominance here. The thought made my heart skip a beat, though I quickly pushed it aside. This wasn’t what I wanted. A relationship-that deep connection-that was something I’d shared with Kennedy. She was the one I should be with, the one I should be raising pups with, the one I should be loyal to. There was no reason for me to want to be near this Alpha in any way other than as her Beta.
“Get your head in the game!” Jason’s voice cut through my thoughts as I circled the same tree for the third time.
“F*ck off,” I muttered, though I knew he was right. I just wasn’t about to admit it. We had a mission to complete.
“Well, your mate thinks you being glued to her side is a distraction—and she’s right. Back off and let her handle this so we can figure out what the hell you’re supposed to do about this whole mate situation p>
“I agree with Jason,” Jeremiah added. “By the way, when were you planning on telling us you’re mated to the Alpha of this pack p>
“Yeah! Is that where you disappeared to last night? You followed her out pretty quick,” my soon-to-be-dead Delta, Tommy, called out with a grin that was all teeth and mischief.
“F*ck off, Tommy. No, I didn’t follow her. I went to bed. She doesn’t want a mate, and I’m not cut out to be an Alpha’s mate p>
“At least you’re admitting it. For what it’s worth, I disagree. But I think Kennedy still has you wrapped around her finger, and you’re going to make a huge mistake if you don’t let her go p>
“What I started, but they cut me off.
“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” I snapped. “I know you all had your own history with her, dumbasses. As long as she was happy, I stayed out of it. You three were better than the other jerks at school. But her move isn’t temporary. She’s not coming back-not the way we planned, anyway. We all have to I trailed off, the weight of it pressing down on me.
“Got something!” Jeremiah’s voice shattered the tense silence.
“There’s more blood over here,” Jax called out, his tone urgent.
We all shifted back to human form, quickly pulling on shorts as we followed Jax toward a thicket about twenty yards from the attack site.
“That’s awful. Why does it smell like that?” Rayna asked, stepping back to stand closer to Jeremiah, her face pale.
“Austin must have wounded one of them during the attack before they killed him. He died here, then someone moved his body,” Dev explained, crouching down to examine a nest-like patch of broken branches nestled in the center of one of the bushes.