Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 110: 110

POV Fenrir Dăneşti

We traveled east for days, stopping only when exhaustion overtook our bodies. Then I would go out hunting, which, in a way, helped me clear my mind and calm my restless thoughts.

I faced the full moon, letting its silver light illuminate me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

My arms hung by my sides, and my hands were clenched into fists. I breathed again, absorbing the refreshing scent of the pine trees.

"You've been very quiet," Andrei commented, his footsteps crunching the snow behind me. He stopped next to me. "Do you feel Sava?"

I opened my eyes and turned to him, nodding.

"She's scared, but she also seems worried," I confessed, rubbing a hand through my hair, pulling the rebellious curls back.

"Physical pain?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing, at least not since the last time."

My pupils dilated, and a dark area spread around us. Savannah had been hurt by Hunter. I felt every damn wound he inflicted on her.

For a moment, when it happened, I lost control to my beast. Andrei and the others had to calm me down, keep me under control, before I killed all of us. Then, after destroying several trees and killing a large number of animals, I managed to regain control of my body.

Of all the deaths I had caused and those I still had to cause, Hunter would always be the most satisfying.

Savannah had been awake most of the time. Her feelings were confused and conflicted. Our bond was weak due to the amount of drugs they injected into her to keep her unconscious. But still, I could feel her.

Besides fear, sadness, and despair, which I felt through our bond in recent days, she now seemed worried. Very worried. I had no idea what Hunter's plans were, but whatever he was plotting for her was disturbing her.

If I could, somehow, communicate with her, comfort her, and show her that I was coming for her, that I would take her home, I knew it would ease her mind.

"What’s bothering you?"

I exhaled through my nose and turned to him, hands in the front pockets of my dirty jeans.

"I don’t know if this is right," I confessed.

Andrei furrowed his brow, the silver moonlight marking the hardened features of his face.

"Don’t know what?"

"Anton is dead!" I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the sharp pain that hit me when I thought of my old friend. "He died because of me, because of my bad decisions."

"It’s not like that," he cut in, his voice edged.

"Yes, it is. Anton died because I let myself be deceived. And now, all of you are here with me, ready to go into war at my side, while our pack is unprotected." I tensed. "You, whom I swore to protect with my life and my strength, Andrei."

For a moment, he was silent, studying me through his brown eyes. He pressed his full lips together, weighing his thoughts.

"Anton died because he believed in you, just like we do."

"What’s a mistake," I grunted, pulling back my lips. "I’m not worthy of this honor."

He pulled his hand from my shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You can’t answer that for us. Not for me, for Anton, or anyone else. We’re here because we believe in your cause, we believe in you."

"Andrei... I..."

"Are you in love with Savannah? Did you fall in love with the she-wolf?"

I swallowed hard.

"Yes, I am," I revealed in a whisper.

He sighed audibly.

"Yes, the pack being unprotected could be fatal. And maybe it will turn out to be a mistake, but we all knew the risks when we agreed to join this cause, Fenrir." He swallowed. "Just like Anton knew, which is why he died trying to defend her."

I furrowed my brows and squinted, confused.

"What are you talking about?" I took a deep breath.

"Anton and I had been suspicious of something lately," he confessed, forming a tense line with his mouth.

The silence that followed was heavy.

"Suspicious?"

He nodded.

"Anton and I raised suspicions as soon as he took Savannah home." He leaned forward, not breaking eye contact with me. "We thought it was strange that you lost control and marked an unknown she-wolf just because she was in heat."

The cold wind hit us, shaking my hair as I stood still, studying him.

"My wolf took over the situation."

"And that’s what we tried to understand. Out of all the she-wolves you’ve slept with, out of all the heats of Marilyn and Catalina that you participated in, he never acted like this in over three hundred years." My heart raced, and my breathing became heavy. "At first, it was just suspicions, but we started getting a kind of... confirmation in the past few days."

"No..." I shook my head, rejecting the idea.

"The predestined mates are still a mystery to all of us, Fenrir. Even those who are mated think so. The only certainty we have is that our beasts feel it, they know when it happens." He reflected, tilting his head. "This would explain why your beast took control and mated with Savannah, even though you didn’t know her. Because you, man and woman, didn’t know each other, but the beasts connected the moment they saw each other."

I exhaled, my body stiffening.

"Anton... he raised this possibility in my office, a few days ago," I confessed.

"As I said, we were suspicious of it, but we wanted to be sure before bringing it up with you."

"Fuck!" I hissed, turning toward the forest, as if I couldn’t breathe properly.

If I said I hadn’t considered the possibility at some moments, I’d be lying. But the thought came and went as quickly as it appeared. I deemed it unlikely, impossible. But now, after this conversation with Andrei and the facts pointed out...

I couldn’t breathe.

"Our suspicions only grew after Savannah’s heat was accelerated a few weeks ago."

My throat burned as I turned back to him.

"Why?"

"Because she-wolves only do this with the intent to procreate. Her wolf wanted pups, so it brought the heat forward."

"And so?"

"Have you ever heard of a she-wolf who’s not mated doing this?" he retorted, his eyes narrowing. "Her wolf did it because it felt you, her predestined mate. That’s why the herb didn’t work, nothing has the power to interfere with a female’s nature when she’s breeding by choice."

"Her heat lasted only three days, both times," I noted. "I went to Jax that day to find out why the herb didn’t work, but I didn’t even step into Vanóia; when I sensed Savannah was in danger, I turned back immediately. In the end, I didn’t see Jax and couldn’t ask the question."

"Another clue that made Anton and me raise the possibility. Three days the first time, and three days the second, just like it happens with predestined wolf mates."

I shook my head, closing my eyes, as if I couldn’t even think about the possibility.

"But... if this is true..." I couldn’t finish the sentence.

"This is another point I need to discuss," he shot, forcing me to face him. "Savannah brought her heat forward because she wanted to procreate. And soon after, you both started acting very strange."

"How so?"

He licked his lips.

"You started hunting for her, and she started acting strange." He raised his eyebrows, contemplating. "Well... stranger than usual. Smelling scents, feeling nauseous, and..." He looked at me. "Mainly, taking care of the den. Do you know what it means when females do this?"

"Pups?"