The Alpha Can’t Sense His Mate

ZADOK

“She’s right, you stubborn human! Are you trying to kill yourself?” My wolf, Kir, said in my head.

I mentally rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness. “Stay out of this, Kir. I have no time for your side talks.” I replied to him through my mind, and he snickered.

Rude.

“I don’t know, okay?!” Ithra threw her hands in the air. “All I know is that I am cold, and you are in no position to get us through this Valley.”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” I asked, tired of the arguments. “We don’t have time to waste. Let’s get going.”

I walked through the snow and felt my bones shake from their marrow. I clenched my teeth, feeling partially numb in my feet. Shit.

The map depicts the journey through the Cold Valley as a short one. I’d heard a lot of people died in this particular valley, and for a while, I wondered why and what monster lived in this part of the forest to warrant such a high death rate.

There was no monster at all. The monster that killed many travellers and ended their journey was Mother Nature itself. The North Pole must be as cold as this.

“I will walk on my own,” Ithra said, taking slow steps away from me. “If we are going to die, then I’d rather die with honour than let you take all the glory.” She hissed, but I found her words amusing.

I didn’t have the liberty to give a smart-ass reply because Kir interrupted me once again. “Let me out. I’ll lead us through this valley, and you can continue afterwards.”

My eyes narrowed. “I thought we agreed you had stopped trying to kill witches?” I questioned, sporting a raised eyebrow.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

I could sense Kir roll his eyes, “And what has that got to do with this, human?”

“I’m not stupid.” I gritted, thoroughly hating how he addressed me but refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing me nag. “There’s no way you will lead us when you have a track record of losing it when you sight a witch or anything that smells like one around you.”

“Oh shut up, I have been here all along, haven’t I?” He answered. I couldn’t tell if he was offended. “If I hated having Ithra around, we wouldn’t have come this far. Human.”

“Don’t make me miss the days I got to shut you up with the potions,” I remarked, already feeling a headache.

“That darned half witch.” Kir growled, “She’s lucky to be alive. Feed that poison to me again, and the next time I get the opportunity to be around her, It’ll be her last day on earth.” He threatened, breathing fury.

“And you expect me to let you loose around Ithra?” I asked, hoping he saw the ridiculousness of it all.

“Yes.” He answered that that was a normal thing to do.

I fought the urge to smack him on the head.

“I can read your thoughts, and smacking me is the same as smacking yourself.” He said sassily.

“Oh yeah, you must be feeling wise,” I said, tired of the conversation.

“As always.” He remarked, puffing up, “Now quit being stupid and let me run through this forest, or she will die from cold.”

“What’s that?” Ithra’s voice jolted me out of my bickers with Kir.

“What’s what?” I answered, blinking confusedly.

“Those.” She pointed ahead, and I followed her hand. “Are those statues?” She wondered, and I walked closer to see what it was.

We drew closer, and my eyes widened at the sight before me. Humans. Young and old, scattered across the valley and frozen to death.

“We’re going to die,” Came the panicked voice of Ithra. “There’s no way we can make it out alive.” She breathed, staring into the soulless eyes of a frozen corpse.

“We will not die,” I said, trying to be strong. I didn’t believe myself, but I said it like a mantra.

“We need to go back now. Maybe we can return to the Valley of Thorns and find a way around to the forest’s heart.” Ithra suggested, riddled with fear.

“That’s not possible..” I muttered, staring at a corpse before me. For some reason, I could feel the darkness around the corpse.

Not only did they bring a paralysing fear, but they seemed trapped. Alive but not alive – locked in their nightmare. I couldn’t explain why.

“We have to try!” Ithra was hysterical. “I don’t know about you, but I have no plans of dying so cheaply! If you don’t want to return, I will do so without you.”

My tone was soft. “You don’t get it, do you?” I said, and she huffed.

“What are you talking about?”

“The dark forest. You can’t go back. You’ll be wasting your time.” I said with my head bowed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“As someone who handed this book to me, I’d think you would have spent ample time reading it,” I handed over the ancient witch’s book.

She didn’t take it. “Stop beating around the bush and speak to me.”

A tired sigh slipped from my lips, “In this forest, you can only go forward or around.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ithra seemed alarmed – like she could tell I was about to break the terrible news.

“Except you go through a portal, you can only go forward or around in this forest.”

Ithra swallowed, “What do you mean around?”

My eyes connected with hers as I spoke, “The only way to leave this valley is by crossing over to the next one. Any other way will lead you travelling around this valley to no end.”

I felt it. I felt when Ithra’s spirit broke, and utter despair and hopelessness filled her.

“We are going to die.” She muttered, this time around, it was to herself.

Seeing Ithra grow so weak paralysed something within me. I felt her hope evaporate, and with hers, so did mine.

I suddenly felt the biting cold stroke at my heart. I lost the will to live and wondered if this was my fate all along. To die in the dark forest and never get the opportunity to meet my mate.

Perhaps this was judgment for the innocent lives I had taken to satiate my thirst for revenge. It was the punishment given to me by the moon goddess for the evils I have perpetuated and my refusal to repent.

“I’m done talking to you, human.” I suddenly heard the gruff voice of my wolf, “Since you won’t give me control, then I’ll take it myself.”