A year after he rejects her 109

Nicolas POV

“I think we found something!” Levi exclaimed excitedly as he entered the basement. His eyes glimmered in excitement.

Celia let go of me, and Claire quickly helped me to sit.

“You look like shit,” Ronan commented as he followed Levi inside. His eyes were weary, full of worry and concern.

I internally rolled my eyes—too tired to reply.

“We managed to crack the spell holding Ray captive,” Claire chirped happily. “It won’t be too long now. Alpha’s Nicolas Wolf should be able to return to him soon.”

“That’s good news,” Ronan exclaimed. “I was worried that I would need to rule—”

“That doesn’t mean he will not be out of danger,” Celia cut him off quickly. “It simply means that his wolf could maybe help him heal and shift….”

My gaze caught the worry in Celia’s eyes.

“I can’t break the spell sucking the magic from the bond,” she continued, her lip quivering out of fear. “That is something Alpha Nicholas will have to do on his own….”

“With Zara’s help…” I wanted to add. I wasn’t sure how I could break the curse that kept our bond captive, but Zara’s magic might.

“Well, it’s a start,” Levi said. “With Ray back, at least Alpha Nicholas could defend himself if the need arises!”

Celia nodded, but I could already read in her eyes it was a bit more complicated than that.

“So what did you two find?” I inquired, observing that Levi was no longer able to contain his excitement.

“Oh, yes,” Ronan said. “Levi, are you willing to take the lead?”

He nodded and smiled, taking a step forward, his face lighting up again.

“We used the old historical book Mom gave us, and we compared it with the territory layouts of today,” Levi started, and his gaze shifted toward Ronan.

The book Levi was referring to held information on all the old territories of the historic werewolf packs in the area. Over the years, pack mergers, sales, and claims have caused the boundaries of the territories to shift. The two Betas were interested to compare today’s territory layouts with historical ones to see if they could pinpoint a location where Zara might be held captive.

I guess they must have found something; the suspense is killing me. I wanted to find Zara and make things right between us again. I aspired to embrace her and passionately express my apologies.

The thought of Zara made my heart pound; I missed her so much.

“We think we might have an idea of where Luna Zara is being kept captive,” Ronan stated.

There was something in Ronan’s tone that made me worried. There was some kind of warning hidden inside it.

Yet, I shook off the feeling and said, “Good, get a group of warriors together. We leave at…”

“Not possible,” both cut me off, and some unreadable emotion crossed their eyes.

What was stopping the two?

My gaze shifted from Ronan to Levi; both seemed… afraid.

Did the two Betas discuss the issue without consulting me? Did they come to a reasonable conclusion?

“Why not?” I asked.

Ronan and Levi looked at each other nervously and then back at me.

“Before we could just…” Levi stalled, unsure how to proceed.

“There is more,” Ronan quickly said.

“More?” I inquired, raising my eyebrows with suspicion. “What do you mean by more? What do you know? What are you not telling me?”

“We don’t think Alpha Noah…” Levi started and hesitated.

“Or Alpha Luke, in that matter…” Ronan cut in.

“Are involved,” Levi said.

“I don’t follow,” I replied. Alpha Noah has been harassing Zara nonstop. How could he not be involved in all this?

“We perceive them as mere components of the chessboard,” Ronan responded. “Someone in charge is using them without even realizing it.”

“What are you talking about!” I roared.

Ronan swallowed hard, and his gaze snapped to Levi.

“We witnessed something interesting,” Levi answered.

“Which we should not have,” Ronan finished Levi’s thoughts.

“When we visited the Nightingale Pack,” Levi went on.

Why the two of them kept on completing one another’s thoughts was a mystery to me. It was now annoying me, causing anger to flare up inside me.

Were they scared I would lose my temper?

Were they afraid of what they saw?

“Just tell me already!” I growled, losing my patience.

I could hear Ronan’s heart escalating; he looked very nervous. Whatever he saw must have upset him.

“We think we know who is behind the rogue attacks,” Levi said, looking at Ronan. “Beta Ronan recognized her as one of your pack members.”

“Her?” I muttered bewildered. “Who?”

Who would be so bold as to betray me?

“Terra,” Ronan answered with a hiss. Anger flashed in his eyes. He never liked her, but now the anger had turned into hate. “We saw her approach Alpha Jack and Alpha Noah’s grandfather down at the river on our way home…”

“Accompanied by a group of rogues,” Levi quickly added.

“Alpha Jack…?” I muttered in disbelief. “Were they having a meeting?”

“We are not sure,” Ronan stated.

“But at the way things looked,” Levi sneered. “They all seem a bit too cozy and familiar with one another.”

I slowly nodded, processing the information the Betas gave me.

“Very well. We’ll keep the attack off a bit longer,” I gave the order. “In the meantime, deploy warriors to monitor them.”

“Yes, Alpha,” both answered.

“And find Terra!” I hissed. “Take her to the dungeons and find out what she knows…”

Ronan’s lips curled into a wicked smile. I could already imagine what he was planning to do with her. I’ll even let him have some fun torturing her.

“It will be my….”

An agonizing scream escaped my lips, cutting off Ronan’s words. The most excruciating pain pierced and burned through my body, and my body folded double in pain.

Claire and Celia were at my side in less than a second, both wide-eyed.

“What is happening?” Ronan asked, his voice laced with deep concern.

“Will Alpha Nicholas be okay?” Levi asked, bewildered.

“His wolf,” Celia said, grabbing my head and starting to chant some spell.

“He is fighting—” Claire said, grabbing my hand.

The sounds of bones snapping cut Claire off, and Celia quickly let go of my head and took a step back. She seemed afraid.

Claire held her ground, watching me. The snapping of bones continued to disturb the quiet room.

“Just a little further,” Claire mused. “I believe in you, Ray! I know you can break free. You are strong enough; return to your Alpha. He needs you just as much as you need him….”

Her tender words sent a shiver down my back, urging Ray to take control and break free from his prison world.

My head snapped back as a painful hiss escaped my lips, and my spine twisted and cracked. Black hair sprouted over my body as my hands turned to claws.

The pain was excruciating—worse than my first shift.

I just pray that Ray will be able to break free—I wouldn’t be able to relive this pain….