MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA-Chapter 234: Nightwing’s Weakness

"Congratulations, Luna," Beta Theon said with a bow and a smile.

"Hm," Reana hummed, her gaze cool as polished ice. She didn’t return the smile he offered nor break her stride.

Her gaze was fixed on the horses ahead – the Luna and her team were about to depart.

Beta Theon fell into steps behind her. He wanted to ask her about the method of saving their pack from the Nightwings. Returning to the West Wood Pack, the beta wanted to return with hope for his people.

But with the Luna looking as if she was at war with the world, the beta didn’t know how to raise the question.

Meanwhile, Reana was lost in thought, or so it seemed. She’d been so consumed with grief that she forgot about that figure hiding in the shadows. Maybe the figure returned Ryder to the Black Moon Pack... If so, then she had to return to the pack as soon as possible.

Ryder needed her.

The thought had struck her like

a bolt of lightning, just moments ago.

Arriving beside her horse, she took the reins from the guards of the sacred grounds and mounted it. Now sitting on her horse, her gaze shifted to Beta Theon.

"For temporary measure, make a bonfire around your territory – the bigger, the better. Burn lots of garlic, ginger, combination of poisonous plants, until the air is toxic. It should keep the Nightwings at bay for a while."

Ryder had given her this recipe nights ago.

Beta Theon blinked, stunned. "Really?" Would this work?

Could it be? Poisonous plants were as rampant as weed in their pack and nobody got use for them. As for ginger and garlic, they didn’t like the smell of it, but many households has them in abundance because the healer used them sometimes.

Could it really...

"Yes," she said sharply. "They hate toxic air, especially with the scent of garlic and ginger." Her tone left no room for argument.

"Thank you, Luna." He bowed, his heart swelling with gratitude. Then, when he straightened, he decided to ask one last question. "And about—?"

He just began when Reana clicked her tongue, slight annoyance creeping into her voice as she turned her horse in the direction of home. "I’ll send representatives." She replied as if she knew his concerns.

Not waiting for him to speak further, she drove her heels into her stallion’s side, and the beast shot forward with a guttural snort, snow crunching under its powerful hooves.

The cold wind slapped her cheeks, the hood of her black cloak catching the drizzling flakes of snow. Her breath steamed in the air, but her blood burned hotter than fire.

Each second that passed, each hoofbeat against the snow-laced earth, her mind screamed Ryder’s name.

He was alive. She knew it in her bones. That shadowed figure wasn’t a figment. And if there was even a chance that Ryder had returned to Black Moon Pack, then no god, beast, or man would keep her from him.

Her horse galloped through the snowy forest path, hooves slicing through the slush, the white flakes dancing all around her. The trees blurred past in a silver haze, and still she urged the horse faster, harder.

Behind her, Markkus and the six Dark Snow warriors followed and one of them led Ryder’s horse.

Beta Theon stood still for a moment, watching her and her seven warriors disappear into the misted woods before turning towards his own warriors. But unlike Reana who left with no drama, Malric stormed towards him, face red with unchecked fury.

"Theon!!" He screamed.

Beta Theon sighed. He was actually expecting Malric to cause a scene. The final verdict didn’t go as he planned, so obviously, he was outraged. But whether his outrage could be unleashed successfully, was a different matter altogether.

....

"What did you say?" Kael was stunned. His face had lost color. Kneeling before him was Astra. She looked equally shaken.

"A– Alpha is dead." She repeated.

Kael staggered back, holding on to a tree for support.

He was dead? How? What would happen now? If the rogues found out, there’d be chaos. The masked man had not only suppressed the rebellious rogues with fear, he was in the middle of turning them into monsters — there were some who were stuck in the transformation stage, waiting for the masked man to complete the final ritual. Without him, they’d either die in agony or turn into mindless beasts.

Kael’s throat tightened. This couldn’t be happening. Everything was falling apart faster than he could process.

"Astra," he rasped, pushing off the tree and approaching her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, pale and trembling. "I saw it with my own eyes. The masked man... the Alpha... he got into a fight with Luna Reana’s warrior. Th– they destroyed the stone chamber and... and..." her face morphed into dread. She was still traumatized by what she witnessed.

On that day, after the masked man finished with her, she went in search of that woman he was talking about. She believed that the woman was also at the sacred grounds, otherwise he wouldn’t go there, or suddenly break up with her.

She made friends with the guards and asked them about the women who came for the council meeting. The only noteworthy woman was Luna Reana of the Black Moon Pack. The others were warriors and from the little she knew about the masked man, he wouldn’t find mere warriors worthy of his attention, let alone speak about them like some treasure.

His words rang in her ears as she relived that moment once more...

"She’s not just someone," he murmured, his thumb brushing the base of her jaw. "She is better than you all combined." He continued with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "She’s fire and shadow. Light and storm. A girl they tried to undermine... but she rules them now, doesn’t she?"

Astra didn’t breathe. Her pulse beat frantically beneath his touch. A girl they tried to undermine...?

"You’ve seen her, haven’t you?" he said suddenly, voice low and gleaming with cruel delight. "The one who walks like prey but hunts them like a predator. The one the rogues hates, but admires when they think no one listens."

Astra’s mouth parted, but no words came.

He leaned closer, his breath hot on her ear. "Tell me, little dove. Does she still smile like she was not broken, like she doesn’t need me to quench her heat? Does she still carry his scent?"

Astra snapped back to reality as the memory finished playing. It was definitely Luna Reana. She was the only one who matched the description. Furthermore, the guards did say she was in heat.