Chapter 3
It's been almost six years now, Solene would travel from pack to pack across the states, sharing the knowledge she had about healing and the medicinal herbs with each pack doctor, which helped them to create potions that would benefit the injured and sick pack members later on.
She never stayed in one pack for a long time.
Solene heard news about the royal family on several occasions no matter how hard she tried to avoid it.
On many days, she almost gave up and left. She thought going home would be easier than all of this, but deep down, she knew staying close to her mate without claiming him as hers would destroy her wolf.
Even with the vast ocean separating them, her heart ached for him everyday.
The morning sun shone straight into her cave, she slipped out of the small cave that she called home for over six months slowly, even though the floor outside the cave was caked with snow that is now melted, the cave itself gave her warmth.
She stretched gently, heaving a deep breath of relief.
Her eyes shifted around the landscape in front of her, within her, Solene knew it was time to resume her travels, she has stayed here more than enough.
The road pack to the next state was probably cleared now since the last snow melted completely last night.
Her wolf who has been unusually quiet for a week now let out a small sigh, as she packed the little bag of belongings she had and started her journey.
Her heart still ached, she knew her wolf was still missing her mate. After all, wolves were the true mates while their body was just the vessel that carried the wolves.
After that night she realized the Alpha King had a mate and she was with a child. She knew she had lost him, but the wound was still fresh.
After six years, Solene thought her wolf would have forgotten about her mate, but she never did.
Solene knew the mate bond could never be severed, whether he wanted them or not.
Her toes froze as she took each step, if she were to die, it would weaken him as well, and as the Alpha King, his enemies would use any form of weakness he had as an opportunity to strike.
She sighted a bright red flash of Cardinal's wings and it brought a bittersweet smile to her lips, memories flushing within her.
Solene's wolf flashed the face of the handsome young man she met three years ago. He was a young warrior, they were roughly around the same age when they met.
She just left a small pack after teaching them the medicinal herbs and knowledge she had on healing when she stumbled across his almost numb half-dead body laying there on the floor.
At first, she thought he was dead, since several dead bodies of rogues and a woman who looked like she was her age lay dead beside him too. She slowly walked slowly towards them, that's when she noticed he wasn't dead, but he was going to be soon if she didn't attend to him.
Her attention shifted to the woman beside him who was dead, something flashed within her and instantly, she knew the woman was his mate.
Then her attention shifted to the deep marks on the trees and dirt, that moment, she pieced their sad story together, they probably fought for their lives, rogues probably ambushed them and the man who was half-dead fought bravely, but seeing how his mate and fellow wolves were killed tugged at her heart.
She took him home, nursed and took care of him till he woke up.
The first time he opened his eyes and learnt that his mate was dead, the look in his eyes almost made Solene regret why she stopped to help in the first place, but then again, if she never helped, she would live with the regret forever.
A week after she found him and took him in, it snowed heavily so she had no choice than to stay caved in with him in the little cabin she found a few weeks earlier.
During the months they used together, they grew really fond of each other. He knew almost everything about her, he knew that she had found her mate but he already had a family, she kept the rest hidden from him.
He practiced relentlessly everyday, when the spring arrived, he had grown stronger than he was, but he still mourned his mate. There was a part of him that would never recover from the loss, but Solene believed the loss of his mate made him a better warrior.
After nearly a year together, they parted ways, but they still contacted each other from time to time.
Two months later, he contacted Solene, informing her that he had been mated with a human and started a family with her.
Upon remembering the memories, Solene smiled. She was genuinely happy for him.
Solene spent the rest of the afternoon increasing her speed, she would have to reach the outskirts of the other pack before nightfall, so she forced the memories to back of her mind.
She sighed remembering that she has to force a smile when she nears the pack outskirts. A fake polite smile, answering the same questions over and over again, and pretending to not notice the hollow pain inside her chest that missed her mate.
In the past couple years, she has become undoubtedly better at pretending than she ever thought she could ever be.
The hours slipped by in silence as she wandered through the thick, dense forest.
Meanwhile, her wolf remained quiet, not urging her to shift or run, but she promised inwardly that once they're settled, they'll go for a run.
The sun was beginning to set, the atmosphere was beginning to change into a cooler one.
As she sniffed in a handful of breaths, she noticed the atmosphere wasn't cool anymore, loud footsteps enveloped her ears and the breeze carried an unknown scent.
Solene stopped at a small distance from the border and tilted her head, howling slowly until it became louder as the second passed by.
Two minutes later, synchronizing pounding of footsteps hit the floor one by one.
Solene waited patiently, her face and posture relaxed as she waited for the wolves.
Ten wolves came out from the shadows. She bowed her head respectfully, then to their Beta, she bowed and howled louder.
He stepped forward, he carried a quiet authority.
He gave her a sharp and quick gaze before he finally spoke, "You're not a rogue."
She pulled the fake faint smile on her lips, "No, I'm not." She replied rather calmly.
"Introduce yourself." He said with every ounce of aura building within him.
She lifted her head, trying to meet his gaze, "My name is Solene Ashbourne. I'm a wandering wolf, I travel between packs, gathering knowledge and helping healers improve in their knowledge for medicine, herbs and treatment for the pack mates.”
His tense shoulders eased slightly, then he nodded.
"So the rumours are true then. Every wolf is talking about the traveling healer who's been helping almost every pack out. Our alpha will want to meet with you, maybe you can help out. Please, come with us."
Solene didn't hesitate.
"Our healers could really use someone like you."
Solene nodded, giving off that fake smile again.
For a while, the Beta glanced at her thoughtfully.
"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, I'm Beta Damon."
Again, she nodded.
"If I may ask, where are you originally from? Your accent sounds quite familiar but I can't place where you're from."
She took a while, but when she finally did, she spoke softly, "England."
That single word changed his expression, his eyes brightened.
"Really? Then you must have met my father. He's serving as one of the highest ranking commanders to Alpha Henry. He's Marcus Blackwood"
Her footsteps slowed. Her entire body froze.
His father was Marcus Blackwood, her father. And Alpha Henry, her mate.
Her wolf whimpered within her, her breath hitched. Her wolf pushed forward after a long silence.
"Brother." Her wolf yelled within her.
She bit her lower lip as darkness slowly covered her eyes. The last thing on her mind was the concerned look on his face as her vision became blurry.
Her legs shook, she finally collapsed to the ground.