Chapter 6

Connor

I secured my grip on Tara’s arms as she tried to claw on my chest. Her eyes are shooting daggers at me as she tries to get away from my hold.

“Let me go!” she screamed and continued to struggle above me.

I groaned at the movement as she was straddling my torso. I quickly flipped us over so I was now the one above. I pinned her hands over her head to stop her from moving.

“Get off!” she screamed again in an even angrier voice.

I looked at her arm to see that the wound of the mark was looking better. The blisters were gone and the bleeding has stopped as well.

“Your arm is better,” I told her without removing my grip.

“I said get off me, you jerk.”

I growled at her disrespect. My right hand swiftly moved from her hands to her neck, choking her lightly in the process, while my left hand remained to pin both her wrist above.

“Don’t you ever talk to me like that,” I growled at her, adding in the Alpha command in my voice.

After marking her, I have become not just her mate but also her Alpha. I don’t need to worry about her old pack because as she said, they banished her.

She growled loudly and tried to get out of my hold. I growled back at her to show dominance. I look into her eyes to see that it has grown black meaning her wolf was right at the surface and wants to take over.

“Submit!” I snarled at her.

She just continued to struggle beneath me. My wolf can feel the agitation from his mate. The mark was supposed to calm her down. Although there would be a slight pain because of the bite, she should be docile towards me right now.

My mate’s head turned to the sound of the door opening. But I barely made any movement to check who was at the door. I can smell it as the Alpha of South Forest.

“Is this supposed to be sexual? Some kink I do not know?”

I heard the teasing tone in his voice. I was about to let go of my mate’s neck when she turned her head at me and flashed her canines. I just raised an eyebrow at her actions. She thought I would feel threatened by that?

I released her throat and tugged her as I stood up. Holding both of her hands behind her, I make us face Alpha Kane.

Tara continued struggling away from me but my grip tightened on her wrists. I looked at the other Alpha and saw an amused look on his face.

“I see that she is well now. Your mark seemed to work, Alpha Connor. Although I wonder why she looked ready to murder you?” he asked me with a small smile, clearly enjoying my predicament.

Tara snarled at Alpha Kane and if I wasn’t holding her, she would have pounced at him.

“What’s wrong with her?”

I see my mother enter the room and stand beside Alpha Kane. She was looking worriedly at my mate who was still trying to remove my grip from her.

I turned Tara to face me with both my arms around her waist still holding her hands behind her. I looked directly into her eyes and let my wolf come to the surface. She whimpered slightly when my claws extended and drew blood from where I was holding her. She once again flashed her canines at me and snarled. I pulled her closer and leaned down to her neck, brushing my lips over the still fresh mark.

She screamed when I plunged my canines into her neck for the second time that day. I pulled away after a few seconds and looked straight into her now half-closed eyes. I can feel her exhaustion because of the mate bond. Her whole body became limb and she swayed falling on my chest. My arms encircled around her waist and helped her to sit.

As we both sat on the side of the bed, I turned her to face me and saw that her eyes were back to normal. My wolf hummed when Tara rested her head on my chest.

“Is she alright?”

I turned to see both my mother and Alpha Kane now closer to me and my mate. They both have surprised looks on their faces.

“She turned aggressive after I marked her. Her claws were out to slash at me,” I explained to both of them.

I looked down at Tara to see her also looking at my mother and Alpha Kane although she had a weary look on her face. I tighten my hold feeling the distraught from my mate.

“How are you feeling now, dear?” my mother asked softly, looking at Tara.

“I feel so tired,” she replied in a faint voice.

“Her arm is healing from the mark,” I said.

I looked at Alpha Kane and saw him stiffen with the mention of the mark. My mother also looked at him and squared her shoulders as if waiting for him to explain. He sighed before taking a step closer to her.

“If Tara can pass through the Veil without anything bad happening to her, then I think it’s safe for the rest of the pack to go as well,” he said in an even tone.

I growled at his response. I have taken myself to believe that South Forest does exist. I’ve been to most of the packs near my pack and seeing that they were just a mere few minutes away from us made me realize that the only way that no one ever stumbled into their territory was because they were concealed in some way. The Veil that they have been mentioning was apparently the enchantment that hid them from everyone.

“You threw my mate into this to prove a theory?” I growled at him.

Alpha Kane straightened and looked me directly in the eyes. I felt the power radiating from him but I was not intimidated as I hold the same kind of aura.

“You wouldn’t have met her if I did not do that,” he answered.

“She’s injured. Your pack member almost attacked her in front of me!”

“You have no idea how difficult it was for all of us to be trapped here in the Veil, Alpha Connor. I suggest you keep your anger in check because you don’t know what we had to endure. We would do anything to get out of here,” he said in a raised voice.

I was about to get up when I felt a warm hand land on my stomach. Tara made a disgruntled sound and looked at me.

“Stop fighting, please,” she said as she scrunched the hem of the shirt I was wearing.

“He almost got you killed,” I told her trying to unfold her tight grip on my shirt.

“Almost,” she responded with a small smile.

I growled and lowered my face to her neck, kissing the mark I made earlier.

“We need to leave now,” I said looking at my mother.

I didn’t spare another look at the Alpha as I was too mad at him but my mate didn’t want to see me fight right now. As much as I would like to punch him in the face, I followed Tara’s request seeing that she was too tired with everything that was happening.

“Your mother can escort you to the border, but she can’t leave the pack,” Alpha Kane replied.

My mother visibly took a deep breath and smiled. She walked towards me.

“I need to fix something first. You can take Tara back to your pack but please don’t tell anyone about what you’ve seen here today.”

I nodded at this and turned to Tara. Standing up, I helped her on her feet by keeping my arm around her waist.

“Goodbye, Alpha Kane,” Tara said looking at the other Alpha.

I saw him narrow his eyes, but then smiled. I don’t trust this man.

“Goodbye, Tara. I hope to see you again.”

“No, you won’t,” I growled at him ignoring my mate’s gasp.

“Are you sure about that, Alpha?” he asked mockingly.

“If you ever step into my territory, know that you are a dead man.”

“WELCOME back, Alpha”

I see Luke, my Beta, smiling at us as we cross the pack’s border. Beside him was my Delta, Charles.

“Luna, welcome back to Dark Mountains,” Luke said looking at my mate who was standing by my side.

She simply nodded and looked down at the ground. I tugged her hand that I was holding and her gaze immediately went to me.

“I guess I haven’t formally introduced you to my ranked wolves. That’s Luke, my Beta,” I said looking at Luke who gave a small smile to Tara.

“That’s Charles, my Delta.” I continued looking at Charles.

Charles only nodded to show respect to his Luna.

“Any problems while I was gone, Luke?” I asked my Beta as we started walking towards the packhouse.

“None, Alpha. But we did receive a letter from Alpha Thomas just earlier today. It wasn’t labelled urgent so I took it to your office so you can read it yourself,” he replied.

Thomas is my cousin as his mother, who is my father’s sister, mated with Old Oak’s Alpha making him the current Alpha of that neighbouring pack.

“Anything else?”

“How was your trip?” he inquired looking at me and then at Charles.

I felt Tara stiffen from Luke's question. I also saw Charles look at me with a blank stare.

“It went well. Tara’s wound has healed. I’ll bring my mate to my house and then I’ll meet you at the packhouse,” I answered dismissively.

“Of course, Alpha,” Luke answered.

Our group separated when the large house came into view. The three of them went to packhouse while I tugged Tara towards the other direction, to my own house.

I looked at Tara and saw a small smile. My wolf purred inside my head as our mate’s face lit up with just a simple smile.

“Are you going to take me to your house?”

I nodded at this and pulled her gently towards the direction of my house. It was only a few minutes away from the packhouse but was hidden by the thick trees around it. It was more into the forest part of the pack territory and was the most private place in our land.

I stopped walking when we were a few feet away from the house. I looked at Tara before pulling her towards me. Surprised by my actions, she clumsily crashed on my chest.

“It’s not my house. It’s ours,” I said gently, placing my right hand on her shoulder, my thumb rubbing on the mark.

Her eyes fluttered close by the contact of my skin on her mark. I lowered my head and brushed my lips over hers but she pulled back at that. I looked at her with a frown on my face.

“What?” I asked her.

“Let’s go inside,” she simply said and started walking towards the entrance.

I let go of what happened thinking that she was probably too tired with all the events. Reaching the door, I opened it letting her go in first, following closely behind.

“Let’s go to my office first. I need to see what Thomas wants,” I said to her.

She just nodded but her eyes trailed over the interior of the house. The decoration was minimal, making the atmosphere almost bleak. I don’t spend much of my time here aside from the bedroom and my office. I let a pack member deal with the cleaning and maintenance of the whole place.

I touched her hand and tugged her towards the right side of the house to my office. Opening the double doors, we enter the office. Letting go of her, I went to my table finding the envelope there. I sighed with how old-fashioned my cousin was. If he didn't have to use a phone, he wouldn’t.

While opening the letter, I notice Tara looking at the bookshelf on the right side of my office. As she perused through it, I started reading Thomas’ letter. I frowned when I finished reading the letter.

“Is there a problem?”

I looked up to see Tara looking at me worriedly. She started walking towards me but stopped as if realizing what she just did. She then lowered her gaze on the ground like she was scared of looking at me, her mate. I growled lowly and took the few steps that were separating us.

Standing in front of her, I lifted my hand to her jaw, lifting it so she could look at me. She pursed her lips but didn’t look away.

“Was the day you were banished the first time you were ever outside your pack?” I asked her.

“No,” she answered with a slight frown.

“When was the last time you were outside South Forest?”

“My aunt lived in a different pack. We used to visit her when I was younger,” she answered, still in a confused voice.

“What pack?”

“Old Oak.”

I let go of her face when I heard her answer. Stepping away from her and walking towards my chair, a growl rumbled from my chest.

“Who was the Alpha back then?” I continued to interrogate her.

“I think it was Alpha Vincent. Why? Is something wrong?”

I just looked at her deciding what to tell her next. I gestured at the chair in front of my table which was for guests. She sat down and expectantly looked at me.

“You’re right. Alpha Vincent used to be the Alpha. My aunt is mated to him. My cousin, Thomas, is the current Alpha of Old Oak,” I told her without taking my eyes off her face.

“Ok. So what seems to be the problem? Is it about the letter you received?” she asked me and her hand went to her bandaged arm.

I frowned at her movement. I thought the wound would have completely healed by now.

“Is your arm bothering you?” I asked out of topic.

“No, it’s fine,” she answered and immediately let go of her arm.

“My cousin is coming over tomorrow.”

She didn’t say a word letting me go on with my explanation.

“He knows you’re here, Tara.”