Chapter 43: The Reason and the Truth

“Fuck, they did something on him! He was turned into a statue, Elliot! Oh my Gosh, please… please, let’s go back and save Zarion!” I kept on screaming at the top of my lungs despite the cold and all the shenanigans I have just experienced.

But Elliot wasn’t listening to me. No, he will not listen to me.

“Elliot! Are you listening to me? We have to go back! We have to get back to Zarion!” I tightened my grip at Elliot, but he just shook his head. “Zarion can save himself. It was you who couldn’t so I have to get you out there.”

“What?!” I hissed. “No! I don’t care about me. I—”

“But Zarion does,” Elliot’s voice was genuine. “So please, Cassidy, just listen to me, alright? Zarion can take care of himself!”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Osborne?” my voice filled with anger as I addressed him by his last name. I want him to know that I am serious now. And fucking enraged.

But Elliot doesn’t seem to care an inch of it.

“You’re hurt. Zarion wouldn’t like that.” He stroked my hair with platonic grace. “Let’s put on medicine first and make sure you are safe.”

But I refused. “You’re not listening to me!” I said frustratingly and let him do whatever he wanted. Fine, I gave up. I’m just really tired and physically hurt. If I hadn't seen the blood gushing out from both of my feet, I wouldn’t know that I was physically harmed.

And with the sight of vibrant blood…I felt numb.

“Careful,” Elliot said in his British accent as he put me on the cold floor of an abandoned cabin at the heart of another forest facing the Misty Forest. At the Forest of Dawn.

It was called such since most of the trees' color resembled the hues of dawn breaking despite the snow still clinging on the trees’ branches.

I glared at Elliot when he suddenly made me face him, but had no options but to follow his order. I winced in pain as Elliot carefully guided me into the cabin, my body aching from the wounds inflicted by Alpha Brandon and Luna Hestia. It was at this time that I felt the sting of each injury throbbed mercilessly, shooting waves of agony throughout my battered form.

I was indeed broken. Helpless and hopeless due to my injuries.

“Ah, shit…it hurts,” I tried to suppress the cry that threatened to escape my lips. But the pain was too overwhelming to ignore. “Ahhh!”

As I laid on the bed, clutching at the sheets, tears welled up in my eyes. Thoughts filled my head and it swirls in front of me.

I hope Zarion is okay. I wish Zarion will be okay. I hope he’s not harmed too much.

I hope… he’s going to come back home to Elliot's cabin and we can cuddle in our bed.

The wounds seemed to burn like fire, the rawness of my torn skin is a cruel reminder of the brutal attack I had endured. That I had survived.

It took every ounce of strength I had to keep myself from screaming out in sheer agony.

Then my head voluntarily looks at the sound of the cabin’s door opening. “Zarion!” I gasped, completely in awe. Staring at him alive and healthy. No blood bleed from his head, no wound kissed his skin. Tears started forming in the corner of my eyes. “Y-You’re here…” I whispered.

“Of course, love,” he whispered and stroked my hair with his fingers. “Of course.”

“H-How d-did you—”

“Shush, that doesn’t matter,” he cuts me off with his finger on my lips.  “I’m already here.”

“You made me worry!” I shriek with frustration painted all over my face. He chuckles and holds my hand tightly, walking from my front and rounded until he reaches the other side of the bed. I simply shifted and turned to the other side.

“I’m sorry if I did,” he whispered and smiled a little. Tears formed at the threshold of his eyes.  I shut my eyes close, a wide smile plastered on my face as relief washes my worry.

But his tears sent that frustration knocking at my doorstep again.

Zarion stood, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His eyes blazed with fierce determination. Voice laced with deadly fury.

“I'm going to fucking kill them,” he whispered through gritted teeth. Zarion’s gaze was fixed on me, filled with a perfect combination of concern and anger. I smiled.

Elliot placed a calming hand on Zarion's shoulder, his voice firm but careful. “No, Zarion. Killing Brandon and Hestia won't solve anything. It will only ignite a cycle of vengeance that will consume us all.”

Zarion's jaw tensed as he processed Elliot's words. He understood the consequences of his actions, the bloodshed that would follow if he gave in to his thirst for revenge. Though his instincts screamed for justice, he knew that a rational approach was necessary—should be necessary.

Zarion turned to me, his expression softening as he spoke. “Cassidy, you have to understand. Brandon's reason for attempting to kill you is twisted, driven by his fear of his mate’s pregnancy. He wants to cleanse his name because everyone in the pack knows you're his mate now.”

My eyes widened, the revelation sinking deeper. And deeper.

Wait, what? Did I hear that correctly?

The reason why Alpha Brandon badly wants to eradicate me in his life, and in this world, is because Hestia is pregnant?

So what if his Luna is pregnant? Does he care too much about his reputation? What does it have to do with me being his mate?!

Well of course, everyone in the Madfur Claws Pack knows that I am his human mate. He despises humans so much that he was embarrassed that every wolf knows that his hatred has become a part of fate’s plan.

As long as we share the same air to breathe, he will keep on finding ways to take me down. And kill me.

I realized now that Alpha Brandon's actions stemmed from a warped sense of honor, his desperate need to hide the truth. The realization added a layer of complexity to an already tangled web of emotions.

Zarion continued, his voice steady as he explained the nature of the wolves involved. “Brandon and Hestia are Rogues, Cass. They don't belong to any pack. They are the badasses, the ones who don't conform to the laws and values of our kind. We cannot let their actions define us.”

“But I thought he’s an Alpha?!”

Zarion smirked, devilish in this angle. “He only made you believe that he is.”