Chapter Twenty-Two

[POV: Ellie fd2cba06-b56e-4a31-aba7-078276791f82]

My mind was a whirlwind of questions as we made our way back to the pack house.

Why was Jason here? Did he know about Elijah’s death at my hands? Was he still blaming me for Sammy’s demise? Did he know that Dad was still breathing?

Maybe Joel had sent him to finish what Elijah couldn’t.

I was well aware that the council wanted me gone. That Joel wanted me gone. The hardest pill to swallow was that Elijah, my mate, had wanted the same.

I shook off the thought. Elijah was gone, he had rejected me. Seth was my mate now.

Once we got to the pack house, Seth made a beeline for his truck. The pack house was too far from the river that marked the territories for us to walk.

If I still had my wolf, we would have shifted, but I didn’t, so the truck it was.

I felt a pang of guilt. If I hadn’t insisted on coming with Seth, he would have been there by now. He wouldn’t have needed the truck; he would have just shifted. Was I slowing him down?

I hopped into the truck, and as the engine roared to life, I let out a heavy sigh.

I gazed out the window, my thoughts starting to drift. Sometimes it was easier to tune out the world around me. I guess it was a way to cope.

I’d relied on it a lot in the past, and now, it seemed I needed it again. Not because I was scared of getting hurt. No, this time it was because I felt less than everyone else.

Before I could get lost in my thoughts, I felt Seth’s hand gently squeeze my thigh. I gasped and looked at him.

“What’s on your mind now?” he asked.

I shrugged.

“Not much,” I lied.

Seth narrowed his eyes, and his grip tightened a bit. “Don’t lie to me, Ellie. If you don’t talk to me, how can I help you?”

I sighed and swallowed hard. I hated that he could tell when I was lying. Was it a werewolf thing or a mate thing? It couldn’t be a mate thing, could it? He hadn’t even marked me yet.

Either way, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to get away with not telling him the truth.

“It’s just…” I hesitated and let out another sigh.

“I feel like I’m slowing you down. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be at the border already,” I blurted out.

Seth immediately hit the brakes. His hand left the steering wheel to gently cup my jaw, turning my face towards him.

“Stop doing that Ellie…” he started.

I frowned, unsure of what he meant.

“Stop putting yourself down. You never did that before, so don’t start now,” he gently chided.

I looked down, avoiding his gaze. But he wasn’t having it. He tilted my head up.

“Look at me, Ellie. You’re still the same person you were before.” He smiled. “You didn’t have a wolf when you broke Olivia’s nose, did you? Or when you escaped from Zagan or from the human side of the border?”

I sighed and shook my head.

He was right. I’d had a wolf, but she’d been dormant or suppressed. I’d been strong on my own. But that didn’t mean I didn’t miss her.

“I miss her…not just the extra strength or the healing. More the lack of her presence,” I explained.

Seth nodded. He wanted to understand, I knew, but no one really could. Not unless they’d been through it. It had been different before.

When I’d crossed the border from the human side, I didn’t even know I had a wolf. When Zagan took me, I’d only had her for a few days before he suppressed her with drugs.

For the past eight years, she had been my constant companion. Whenever I felt nervous or anxious, she was there to boost my confidence.

Everyone thought I was brave and strong, but without Nix, I didn’t think I was, or could be again.

My thoughts were interrupted by Seth’s thumb gently stroking my cheek.

“That’s not all that’s bothering you though, is it?” he asked.

I shook my head slightly.

“Why is Jason here? Do you think Joel sent him to kill me? Does he know I killed Elijah? He probably thinks I killed Sammy too!”

I was rambling. Panicking.

Seth gently held my face in his large hands. I took a sharp breath and looked into his eyes.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you, Ellie,” he declared firmly.

“I’m your mate now. I’ll protect you, always.”

His lips softly brushed against mine, silencing my doubts.

When he pulled away, he continued.

“If you hadn’t killed Elijah, he would have killed you. He nearly did. I wouldn’t be surprised if Joel forced him to do it.”

I frowned. Elijah was his own person. He was an alpha. Sure, he had listened to Joel’s lies, but ultimately, it was his choice…wasn’t it?

Seth shook his head as he saw the confusion on my face. It was like he knew what I was thinking.

“Joel is a strong alpha. A ruthless alpha. He was willing to sacrifice his own grandson, just so Zagan could take you. Hell, he even imprisoned his own son.”

Seth let out a heavy sigh.

“Mates rarely hurt each other—the bond won’t allow it. For a wolf to kill their mate…” he paused, “there’s usually an outside influence.”

I furrowed my brow, even more confused.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Joel used his Alpha command on Elijah. It’s the only way his wolf would be willing to kill his mate,” Seth concluded.

I closed my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He was willing to sacrifice his whole family, just to see me dead.

A thought crossed my mind, and my eyes snapped open.

“Elijah was an alpha too?”

I remembered the time Dad tried to use his alpha command on me. It didn’t work. Could one alpha command another?

Then it hit me. Jason, Elijah’s dad, was a beta.

Elijah might have been called an alpha, but he wasn’t as powerful as Joel. I wondered if Seth knew about Jason.

“Jason was Elijah’s dad,” I said. “He was my dad’s beta.”

Seth nodded, his hands leaving my face.

“Let’s go talk to him then.”

The truck jerked forward as we continued our trip to the border. We needed to find out why Jason was here and what he wanted.

Before we got to the river and the ford where Sammy and I had crossed years ago, Seth stopped the truck. There were other places to cross, but they were difficult because of the depth and current.

Elijah must have crossed further up, or the patrols would have found him before I did. I figured the scent of his mate gave him extra motivation. That is, until he realized it was me.

If Seth was right, Joel’s Alpha command would have overpowered the mate bond.

Elijah, not being a true alpha, wouldn’t have been able to resist. Joel must have known that.

As we neared the river, I saw several wolves among the trees. I recognized some of them from our training days.

Closer to the river, more people from our pack appeared. They were in human form.

Each one bowed their head in respect as we passed. I think it was for Seth, not me. I was pretty sure most of the pack still didn’t know about my heritage.

Seth’s arm wrapped around my waist as we got to the ford. I looked ahead, silently praying to any god or goddess that would listen that this wasn’t a trap.

That’s when I realized, despite the pain of Elijah’s rejection, I wasn’t ready to die.

I could do this. I could make a difference, wolf or no wolf. Because that was the thing. The enemy at our borders—Joel, Zagan, and the council—they didn’t know I was currently without a wolf.

They wanted me dead because they thought I was a threat. Well, if that’s what they expected, that’s what they would get.

I clenched my fists with determination.

Seth looked down at me and smiled. He must have felt my newfound resolve.

“Let’s go see what this jerk wants.” He smirked.