Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59

The border of the Blackthorn pack smells wrong. Rot and fear cling to the trees, masking the familiar scent of home. I slip through the underbrush anyway, crouched low, and my boots are silent on the hardened soil. Moonlight filters through the trees, and shadows move in the distance. Something is different; wrong.

I shouldn’t be here. But the box is too important. Samson wouldn’t have taken it if it weren’t. He knows it is Charlotte’s only chance at survival. Whatever is contained in that box is going to end all of this, but maybe not in the way Samson hopes.

The pack house stands in the distance, all of the windows are dark, and no sentries are at their posts. That alone makes my hackles rise. My warriors should be out in force, patrolling the territory, especially after the attacks that seem to plague our pack. Instead, silence reigns.

I edge toward the service entrance. The iron lock clicks under my key, and the door groans open. The scent of the sickness spills into the night air, and my stomach lurches.

Half the wolves have succumbed to the sickness. The other half smells of desperation and fear. I don’t understand. We have all claimed her. We anchored her the way we were supposed to, and yet, it is still spreading. We missed something.

Her mark thrums against my neck like a second heartbeat. A warning, urging me to turn around and leave, but I don’t.

Stepping into the pack house, the door clicks behind me. The sound is final, and sends a shiver up my spine.

I barely have time to register the shadow moving behind me before the first blow lands. A hit to the back of my head forces a snarl from my lips.

I hit the floor, ducking another punch. A growl rips from my chest, shaking the walls of the pack house. My claws rip through flesh, and blood splatters across my face. More hands grab for me, but I fight them off with ease. I rip the throat out of a familiar face. A warrior whom I trained myself as soon as he was old enough to join. I fought beside these men, and now they have turned against me.

I pause for a moment, looking into the hollowed eyes of the warrior in front of me. That single moment cost me too much. Hands grab me, pinning me to the wall, and a silver blade is held to my throat. I snarl at the man holding it, but his yellow eyes appear to be looking through me.

“Alpha Ronan,” one growls, “by order of Elder Samson, you’re under arrest for treason.”

“Treason,” I snarl the word. “You are fucking delusional.”

“You failed to kill your rejected mate,” he continues. “The mark upon your neck is all the proof we need.”

“Fuck you,” I roar. “I am your Alpha.”

“What kind of Alpha puts their mate before their pack?” He growls in return.

I look the man in the eyes. Studying his face carefully in the dimly lit hallway. He isn’t one of my warriors. I let his scent fill my nostrils and gag. He is nothing more than a rogue. What is he doing leading my warriors?

“Get off me!” I slam an elbow into someone’s ribs. For a second, I am free as the man doubles over in pain. The silver blade at my throat nicks my skin, sending white pain throughout my body. Then a needle pricks my neck. It is sharp and cold, then the burn hits. It travels through my veins like poison, catching my cells on fire. My roar turns into nothing more than a whimper

Wolfsbane.

My muscles seize. Thorne howls inside me, thrashing against the poison.

Another voice cuts through the haze. Samson.

He steps from the shadows, old and wiry, but his eyes glitter like steel. “You had your orders,” he says. “Charlotte was to die. Instead, you protected her. You fucking marked her, and by doing so, you brought shame on our pack. Do you deny it?”

“I am trying to save us all,” I grind out. “She is the key to fixing whatever this is.”

Samson steps closer, his cane hitting the floor like a hammer. “She is an ancient one. They all must die.”

“How long have you known?” I snarl weakly.

He smiles evilly. “From the moment your Delta brought her into this pack. I had hoped to kill her myself after you rejected her, but she left too quickly. I had been watching her for months, biding my time.”

My teeth grind together. “You sent her the photos.”

He laughs dryly. “I do like to toy with my prey. But now that you have marked her, I will have to kill you as well.”

“Try me, old man,” I hiss. “I might not have my wolf, but I will kill you with my own two hands.”

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