Heart Broken, Bartered, But Loved

Chapter 3

Nicholas’ POV-

After years of trying to search for my mate, and never finding her, I had decided to give up. I had only come to the decision in the past day. Rumors soon spread of my decision, and girls have been throwing themselves at me, but my wolf, Titan, and I hated it. The most persistent has been Ruby. She is twenty-six, and, like me, has yet to find her actual mate. She was a nice and sweet woman, and good in bed. But not the best. I slept with her once back when I was twenty and reckless. When my dad died just after I turned twenty-one, I cut the recklessness out, and became Alpha. I had my heart set on finding my mate, but after seven years of failing. I just wanted to have a Luna sitting by my side, someone who I could love, and have an heir with. Ruby was a nice woman and I could see her leading my pack with me. I spoke with my mother and sister about it, but they both seemed to be against it, which made me confused. So I decided to hold off for a while, until they came around. I didn’t want to fight a war on two different fronts.

For the past two years, I have been investigating Blue Moon pack, under orders from the Lycan Council. Apparently, there had been a lot of unknown disappearances in the pack. It was reported to the Lycan Council by family of she-wolves who had joined the pack because that was where they found their fated mates. Some never heard from the she-wolves and their children again. We are talking about complete disappearances, an entire household just gone. No death certificates. No responses from Alpha Raven. Nothing. I considered doing a surprise inspection on Blue Moon, but from what I recall of Alpha Raven and his Beta, they are too stuck in the stone ages. They do not like surprises, especially when they come from the Lycan Council. I did at one point wonder whether my mate would be in that poor pack, because I had never stepped foot in that place. Mostly because they have hated my pack forever. Just for being bigger and having the Lycan Council’s support on a great many things.

I managed to get my hands on information detailing offshore accounts, and hidden bank accounts here in this country, that not even the Lycan Council are aware of. Some of the amounts in these accounts total in the millions, which makes me wonder if they were into illegal things. I tried to track the money, find out who was giving them that money and why, but that turned out a major dead end. One of my Betas, Daniel Biggs, his mate, is human, and her brother is in a band that travels the country. He knows what we are and has been sworn to secrecy. I trust him, because he and his sister never had a real family. They were living on the streets, had been for a few days, they had nowhere to go, until Daniel found them. Anyway, Nigel traveled into Blue Moon territory, and every bar he played in had some kind of vampire activity. Something that is highly unusual on werewolf pack lands. Usually there are at most one or two bars, and normally it is the Alpha’s job to run the vampires off their lands. That is why I have three Betas; they each have an area like myself to keep and check for vampires. So, it left the question of why he was letting them stay and run all the bars?

It was a crime to work with our enemy. Vampires are our natural enemies, something we could work together to negate. But they wanted things their way, and more importantly, their king was trying to destroy us. He has been for centuries, because we are the only ones strong enough to face the vampires and protect the humans from being enslaved by the vampires. I hate vampires, because they were involved in the death of my father. Though it has never been proven, I still have my suspicions.

Today, I was working quietly in my office. I had been awake since yesterday, trying to think of other ways we could get into the Blue Moon territory undetected. It was at times almost impossible to get in there undetected. The only way we have been able to get in there is through my Beta’s mate’s brother and his band. We have even tried disguising ourselves, to appear like we are rogues, but I think the border is being watched by not only werewolves but vampires as well. I don’t know how the vampires managed it, but they figured out a way to walk in the sun. A few hundred years ago, that was not possible. No one knew how vampires were able to walk in the sun.

Beta Travis, my only unmated Beta, pushed a mindlink open between us and my other two Betas, before he said, “We have a problem. Jules is on route, but one of our pack members has been attacked. He is badly wounded. I am trying my hardest to stop the bleeding, but you had better get here quickly. We are along the border with Blue Moon, near the swamp.”

“On my way,” I said, in the mindlink, before cutting it off.

I moved across my office, to the glass doors to my office’s balcony. I threw them open, and jumped down from the balcony. I landed on my feet. I began to run down toward the border. I shifted mid run, into my wolf, Titan. I allowed him to take control, because the moment he took full control, he took off running. He charged for the border at full speed. His fur is black. Our sister used to say that we were blacker than the night sky. Titan was concerned about the health of our pack members at the moment. I suspected that it was Andy. His mother and father died in a horrific plane crash ten years ago. His last family lived in Blue Moon. His mother’s sister found her fated mate in Blue Moon, and they had a boy and girl together. That is all the family Andy has left. He is twenty-five and still hasn’t found his mate. But a few months back he was told that they had been killed in a rogue attack. Something felt off about it. There were no details, no bodies, no funerals.

Running at the supernatural speed of a werewolf had its benefits. A twelve-hour car journey could be run by werewolves in three hours. That was how fast we could run. The only downside was it took a lot of energy out of us. It is part of the reason why we are always eating or at least having very large meals. The border was a six-hour car journey from our packhouse, which only took me an hour and a half to run, in my werewolf form.

I arrived at the border, finding Jules, the pack doctor, and Travis, my Beta, immediately. Andy was lying bloodied and beaten to a pulp. He was slashed across the gut. Jules was working hard on trying to heal him. I shifted back, and crouched down next to Andy. We were all naked, even Jules. She was never embarrassed about her nudity, even now that she is in her fifties. Nudity in our pack was pretty normal, it is even more common across the wider werewolf community. He was awake. I was worried.

“How is he, Jules,” I asked.

“He is healing slowly. But he will be okay. He just needs time to heal and rest,” she replied.

“I will be okay,” Andy choked.

“What happened,” I asked him.

“Blue Moon Beta crossed the border, and attacked me while I was patrolling along the border,” he replied.

“That is an act of war,” I growled.

“Did the attack happen right here,” Travis inquired.

Andy nodded. That was it. I stood up, and opened a mindlink to my entire pack.

“Blue Moon has crossed a line. Their Beta has brutally attacked one of our pack members. Prepare for war. Meeting me at the border, I want a thousand warriors, all three of my Beta’s. Move now. You have an hour and a half,” I growled into the mindlink, before closing it off.

An hour and a half passed, and my warriors arrived with my other two Betas. We made our move, and crossed the border. We charged across. It would take us a good few hours to get near the packhouse. But I suspect that Blue Moon plan to meet us in a clearing somewhere. So, we will split into four teams, and flank them. It was the smartest thing we could do.

I opened a mindlink to everyone, and said, “Right listen up, here is the plan. Beta Daniel Biggs, you will emerge into the clearing that they have no doubt chosen for the battle, with a group of warriors. I will hold back a group, behind you but hidden. Beta Travis Oakland, you will lead a group, which I will eventually join, down the left side and flank them. Beta Eddie Lockard, you will lead a group down the right side and flank them. We will divide into our usual groups, like the ones, when we practice our battle tactics.”

“Yes, Alpha,” rang out in my mindlink, from every single one of my warriors.

As we arrived at the battlefield that Blue Moon had chosen, I paused to survey the battlefield, before giving the go ahead to Daniel and his team. I heard Blue Moon’s Alpha call me a coward. He was stupid if he thought that. I am just patient and not like most Alphas, or at least the older ones, I don’t react on my emotions like they do. Well, at least I haven’t reacted on my emotions yet. I think first. That, for the most part, made me a stronger Alpha, and caught the attention of the King of the Lycan Council. He has become a good friend since I became Alpha, which is part of the reason I was trusted to investigate Blue Moon. The other being my pack was far larger. It also made the Blue Moon Alpha and Beta hate me because I was favored by the one man who could give me a legal go ahead to destroy them, even if they had done nothing wrong.

Though we were upwind, and Blue Moon had the advantage of scent, they could smell us coming. But even upwind, I could still smell a lot. The Alpha senses are naturally stronger than the average werewolf. One scent, I could smell above the rest. It was divine, and very distracting. Then, when I heard Daniel say that he could not see any female warriors in the Blue Moon ranks. So why could I smell one?

“You know who that smell belongs to,” Titan whispered, in my mind, as he began pacing.

“I know our mate. I just don’t understand why a woman from their pack is hiding nearby,” I responded to him.

“Well, maybe someone she loves is on that battlefield,” Titan replied.

That instantly pissed me off. Who could she love that wasn’t her mate? I growled, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe her father or brother or cousin is on the battlefield, dipshit,” he chuckled.

I shook my head, yes my own wolf talks to me like a piece of s**t sometimes. We are both eager to meet her, and I am eager to know why she is hiding, and not fighting. She is brave enough to be this close to a battle. I know Blue Moon are very old school, or at least, the Alpha and his bloodline are. No one is allowed to go against the Alpha. His word of women not fighting was to be held above all, so she could get into major trouble being here, if he finds out. I heard that the women in that pack couldn’t fight, so would she be able to be a Luna of a warrior pack, like mine. I have to admit that I had a lot of questions. I was interested in her.

It was time for phase two of the plan. We all shifted back, and threw on the basketball shorts that had been brought with us, and I grabbed the moon flower that had been brought with us. I could use the flower to stop the fighting, call a truce if you will. It was werewolf law. We split into the three teams that I had instructed them to do. I strolled off leading Travis and his team down the left side, the right side for Blue Moon. It was where that divine scent was coming from. As we walked down, I opened a private mindlink to Travis, “We are currently heading towards my mate. I can smell her, she is hiding in these woods. I think she is watching the battle.”

“We won’t attack anyone unless you give the word. And, hey congratulations. I am going to be the only bachelor in the packhouse. But, congratulations, I am happy for you,” he replied, in the mindlink.

“Thanks, I am just dreading the fact that she might very well be from Blue Moon,” I said to him, in the mindlink.

“What are you going to do,” Travis asked, in the mindlink.

“I don’t know,” I replied, before cutting the mindlink off.

The battle began as the two teams prepared to flank, while the second wave prepared to enter the battlefield. As they entered, I caught my first glimpse of the most beautiful creature I had ever laid my eyes on. Titan began howling in my mind.

“Mate! She is our mate,” Titan howled.

Of course, I knew that. I could see her worried expression, her eyes were focused on the battlefield. Her eyes darted in our direction before she disappeared. I figured she must have tried to climb a tree. So, she had to be athletic to climb a tree like that. From what I saw of her, she wasn’t too tall, but she was slender and curvy. She had wavy brown hair. I think her eyes were blue. She was so beautiful. I wanted to see more of her.

We kept walking until we reached the tree she was standing at. I sniffed the air, and caught her scent. She was above me, hiding in the tree. I stopped, and so did everyone else. I signaled for Travis to come and stand next to me, I whispered in his ear, knowing full well that my mate would hear everything that I said, “Beta Travis, lead the troops and flank Blue Moon, someone is up in the tree, someone that is my mate.”

Travis nodded, and signaled the troops to follow him. Once they had all walked past me, I looked up directly at my beautiful little mate, who was hiding from me. I have to admit that I did enjoy the excitement of a chase. Being an Alpha, I love the thrill of the chase. I was transfixed on her, hidden partially behind the leaves of the tree that she had climbed. This close she had the beauty of a true Luna. She clearly had the dominance and strength that the other women in her pack sorely lacked, due to their Alpha’s women suppression thing. I noticed that her eyes were darting all over my body, but she was also trying to remain focused on the battle. Who was so important, that she would try to ignore the first meeting between fated mates? Was she worried about her pack, even though it would never be her pack again? There was something about her, a certain strength in her aura, something that made her powerful. She had secrets which I look forward to unlocking. I couldn’t help the smirk on my face. I wanted to stop the battle behind me, just so that I could hold her attention captive for a few hours. But something in her eyes told me she was worried, angry, and upset. Something that was either going to break my heart, or be incredibly difficult to deal with. But first, I had to know what my gorgeous mate’s name was. I just have to get her to come down first. I have to admit I was feeling a little impatient.

“Call her down,” Titan pleaded in my mind.

I smirked, up at her, “I know you are up there. I can smell you, not to mention feel the tingles everywhere you look at me. Why don’t you come down?”

Her eyes snapped to mine, and she froze. She didn’t want to come down. Or, was she afraid to come down? Maybe she was worried about what I would think of her? Was who she is really that bad? Or was it to do with her family or her pack? She comes from Blue Moon after all. I just had to hope that she would come down any minute now, or I might not be able to hold Titan back any longer. He was getting extremely impatient to meet her. So was I, in all honesty. Plus, I needed to give the signal to my men to attack, and I also needed to enter the battlefield and stop the fighting, find a truce to this fight. The only one we have is Alpha Raven's complete and utter surrender. Maybe my mate could provide some helpful information in regard to their surrender, or atleast a peaceful resolution to the unjust attack on my pack member.