Yet Another Chance

I was running through the woods with as much speed as I could muster. Though my body was still throbbing with the pain of infidelity, I must get to my mate, Eva before anyone hurt her. Explanations could come later. My only priority now was her safety. Punishment could come later. No one must hurt her. "Your Highness, we have no sign of your mate or Helena." One of the warriors my father, Alpha Trojan gave me reported nervously. I cursed under my breath as I tried to feel through the mate bond even though my wolf Silo was trembling in pain. I was sure Helena would hurt my mate because we discovered that the man Eva had had se.x with was indeed Helena's mate. But before I could even question Eva, Helena took her and vanished. Suddenly my nostrils caught Eva's scent - fresh almonds. But this time, it was mixed with the scent of blood. "No!" I tried to increase my pace but the hurt in my heart and body suddenly became overwhelming. Eva had drugged me earlier so I would not sense it when she fu.cked with another man. The issue was that though I had slept off, that did not stop me from feeling like shi.t when I awoke. I felt it deep within me that my mate had cheated. The pain had been brewing within me until now when it reached its climax. I struggled to continue as I followed the scent. That's when I saw them in the plain, where the trees were finally behind them, a beautiful glade lit up by the moonlight. There Helena was, holding up a bloodied Eva by her neck. Helena had always been a powerful warrior. With one strong swipe of Helena's claws, Eva fell to her knees. And in a swift movement, Helena plunged her claws into Eva's chest and pulled out her heart. "Raarggh!!!" My cry was more like a roar. I fell to my knees. It felt like it was my own heart that was ripped out. I mustered my last strength and moved closer to my mate. The other warriors grabbed Helena. Helena only felt triumph, no remorse at all. She waved Eva's heart in her free hand and released a loud howl to the moon. I held my dead mate in my arms. My beloved. A cheat. My mate. A liar. My gift from the Moon Goddess. A sword that pierced my heart. "Eva!!!!" I cried out loudly into the night as the scene greyed out in my mind. "Eva!! Eva!!!" I growled in reality. "Alpha. Alpha Ashton," A gentle tap on my shoulder brought me back to reality and my eyes flung open. It was my trusted Beta and best friend, Caleb Blade. I rubbed my temple and sighed. Reliving the gruesome death of my first mate was enough to wreck me again. Silo let out a sad whimper within me. I sighed, no matter what, I still have to keep it together. I sat right on the chair and tossed on the center table the file I had been reading before I dosed off. I glared at Caleb as I mind linked him, "Why did you let me sleep?" Caleb returned the glare with a bit of sass. Since Eva, I disliked going to sleep. My sleep was always a time of torment. So I worked myself hard till my eyes closed by themselves, only to be opened again by another nightmare. Caleb responded through the mind link, "Alpha, whether it is a peaceful or a fitful sleep, I will let you take it because you have been needing it for a long time now." His best friend grinned. "And for the umpteenth time, Alpha, you have a mouth. It may fall off soon for lack of use. It was only my friends that could speak to me like this. But Caleb's words were true. Apart from that, I preferred conversing through the mind link. But this was only since Eva's betrayal. It was Caleb, who understood the real me before Eva, who kept encouraging me towards normalcy. "Whatever. I came to tell you the twins have just returned from school and they are coming up to see you." Caleb said. "Oh good." My face relaxed into a smile as I moved briskly to the small restroom in the corner of my office to wash my face. Caleb was talking about my children, Damon and Diamond, adorable five-year-olds. The lights in my life. My only other pulls towards normalcy and mental stability. They were just about three months old when they lost their mother, Eva. I dried my face with a towel and stepped out. Glancing at Caleb who was hiding behind the black settee, I shook my head. Suddenly, the door was thrown open. "Daddy!!!" The twins squealed in the doorway. They ran to me and I met them in the middle of the office. They jumped into my open arms. I nuzzled my nose into Damon's neck, and the little boy giggled. He did the same for Diamond. They loved it when I did that. The blonde-haired kids looked brilliant in their navy blue and white uniform that was now crumpled from playing. Their silver eyes beamed at him with joy. "Day, Dia, tell me, how was school today?" This was the routine that never felt like a routine. It was always a pleasure to sit and listen to them talk. We sat together on the black settee. They lit up my world. "Daddy, I made a new friend today. Her name is Shanna. She is so dark and pretty." Diamond said with excitement. "Daddy, Mr. Rollins said I write well. I got a star in my book today." Damon said loudly. The little boy always spoke loudly, that was something we're still working on. "Day, bring your voice down a little. I can hear you." I said gently and my little lookalike nodded his head. Suddenly, Caleb jumped on us from behind. He had a very weird-looking mask on. He grabbed Diamond and hoisted her up in the air. The little girl screamed as she tried to wriggle free. "Daddy, save me!" She was horrified. Caleb was roaring in her face. I just looked at them. This was Caleb's custom with my kids. I loved how he played with them. I was definitely not the best when it came to being playful and kids need to play, I'm happy for Caleb in their lives, a timely reminder to loosen up. Ah, I forgot Julian, my Delta, he was a whole different story entirely. Orion, my Gamma was the most serious among us. Damon was suddenly trembling and clinging to my clothes. "Daddy, I should be a big boy and save my sister, right? But I'm scared too. It is the Boogeyman. He will take us away." Hearing that, Caleb put Diamond down and pulled off the mask. "What? Boogeyman? Seriously!" "Uncle Caleb!!!" The kids shouted in surprise. Caleb bent over as he laughed hard at them. He straightened up, "You kids crack me up every time. Day was like, "I wanna be a big boy but I am scared too." " Caleb mimicked the little boy. "They have new reactions every time." "Last time was the fish mask." I chipped in. The kids were laughing too. "I was trying to scare Día but she was patting my head." Caleb took her hand and led her back to the settee, where she climbed into my lap. "That's because I like fish." Diamond blurted. Caleb sat in the other chair and the chitchat continued. This is me and my life. Alpha Ashton Loria, the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack. It was formerly the Silver Fur Pack, but when they merged with Blue Moon Pack four years ago, they changed their name. I moved to Blue Falls which was central to the locations of the two packs and there I set up the Packhouse. Alpha Ashton Loria, my name demanded respect, the ripped Adonis beauty to behold, the kind of Greek god handsomeness. Silver eyes, blonde hair, and thin lips were such that it caused ladies and even guys to stare in awe. A good, strong and wise Alpha, the pack was prospering under my rule. But that did not heal my brokenness. I was one wolf that had lost my mate twice. Only Caleb knew about my second loss. And I had survived through it. I made sure to occupy myself with concerns about my family and pack. Anything to suppress the sickly pain in my heart. So though I was the strong and formidable Alpha, I was still a broken wolf.