Fated Hearts (Echoes of Darkness Prequel)

2

Logan

W e run, nothing more than a blur in the thick canopy of trees, the winding forest trails as familiar asa second home while we hunt for our next meal. The pine-scented air fills my snout and ruffles my fur as fallen leaves and branches crunch under my paws. I look at her. At my mate. Her wolf form is a sight to behold. Sparkling blue eyes and a beautiful coat of golden fur that shines in the silver light cast by the full moon. She stops all of a sudden, making me halt and turn around. Her snout lifts, and she starts sniffing the air.

“Over there,” she says through our mental link as her head points to the trees a few feet away. Following her lead, I start running again. It doesn’t take long to pick up the scent of the stag we’ve been following since the full moon took sentry in the night sky.

“Rise and shine, little bro!” My sister’s voice breaks through my dream as something wet and cold assaults my head.

Groaning loudly, I turn around, open my eyes, and blink a few times in order to adjust to the bright light. “Was this really necessary, Em?” I mumble grouchily as I push myself up from the forest floor where I have fallen asleep after running with the pack last night. A few leaves stick to my naked body, so I brush them off. Then, I shake the water from my wet hair and throw my sister a dirty look.

“Dude, can you at least cover your junk before you turn around and flash me with it?” she screeches and uses her forearm to shield her eyes as she throws clothes at me.

“Really, Em? You’ve seen everyone from the pack naked like a thousand times before. How is this any different?” I roll my eyes at her as I start dressing in the jeans and T-shirt she brought from my closet.

She turns around so her back is facing me. “Um, eww. Are you for real right now? You’re my brother; that’s how this is different. I really, really don’t want to see your junk.”

Well, now that I think about it, I don’t want to see my sister naked either. It’s a miracle we haven’t seen each other without clothes until now. Being a wolf shifter means you have to be in the nude a lot more than one would think.

The happy trill of bird songs fills the air as the morning sun warms my back. “Did something happen?” I fall into step with her, and we start walking toward my truck as pine needles and fallen branches crunch under the soles of my boots.

She heaves out a deep sigh and turns to look at me. Emily is not only my sister; she is my twin. She has the same deep amber hue to her skin—though a little darker—honey-colored eyes, and ash-brown curls that are longer than mine touching her shoulders. Her features are softer and feminine, her lips a little fuller, and she is much shorter than me. “Yeah…it’s Josh’s son. He’s not waking up. I think it’s the weakness. You can’t ignore your responsibilities. You can’t keep running away.”

My nostrils flare. “I’m not running away.”

She arches a perfectly trimmed eyebrow at me. “C’mon, Logan, be real. This is the fourth time this month I’ve come to get you from the forest. You always wander off after the pack run. The pack needs y—”

“I know, okay?” A muscle thrums in my jaw as I cut her off . “I just…I feel like I’m not doing enough. Like I’m disappointing everyone. I need to find her, but I’m running out of time. This is the only way I know how. I dream about her, when I fall asleep by myself in my wolf form after our runs.”

She bites her lip pensively. “You need to search for her in the real world. Not in your dreams.”

I huff and push at a semi-wet curl that falls over my eye. “And how do you suggest I do that? I haven’t seen her in her human form yet. All I know is the color of her eyes and hair. That’s all. Besides, the mating bond should have made her come to me; that’s how it works.”

“Yeah, but the bond must be faulty or something, since she hasn’t shown her face. If you only stay in our community, you’ll never find her. Mom wants to throw some kind of old-fashioned ball and invite the packs from all over the country. She said that’s how she and dad met.”

“I know. She’s only mentioned it like a hundred times,” I grumble.

“She wants you to take a chosen mate, a Luna, for our pack.”

Instead of replying, I round the hood of my new Hennessey Mammoth truck and stop at the driver’s door. “Aren’t you going to toss me the keys?”

“Nu-uh, I’ve been looking for you for two hours. The least you could do is let me drive us back,” she says as she pushes me away, unlocks the door, and opens it.

“Fine. But take it slow on the potholes, okay? This is not your beat-up Kia.” I circle the car again and settle into the passenger seat.

“Hey, don’t you dare insult Rusty!”

I snicker. “I don’t even have to. That name is enough of an insult.” Before I can even close the door on my side properly, she peels off at warp speed and then pushes on the brake so hard I almost take a bite out of the dashboard. “What the hell?” I yell. Throwing daggers at her with my eyes, I fumble with the seat belt and snap it in place as fast as I can. My sister is a freakin’ maniac.

She belts out a deep belly laugh. “Told you not to insult Rusty,” she singsongs.

“How bad is it?” I ask after a few beats of silence. My question is overshadowed, though, by terror for my life. I grip the edge of my seat. “Slow down. You’re going to crash into a fucking pine tree at this rate, and I just bought this car.”

“Oh, stop being a sissy,” she chuckles out. But her smile dies quickly on her lips as she looks at me briefly, her forehead crinkled in worry. “It’s pretty bad. It started with a high temperature and a headache a few days ago. Layla thought it was just a cold.”

“What the fuck?! Wolf shifters don’t get sick like humans do. Layla should have known better and said something.” My jaw locks with anger.

“I know. I think she just hoped it would pass…but when she tried to wake Ryan up for school this morning, she couldn’t. He’s running a high fever, and he is unresponsive. She’s tried everything.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Fuck! Did you happen to bring my phone? I need to call Malik.” Malik is a warlock coming from a very powerful line of dark witches, and he is also one of my closest friends. He has extraordinary healing powers, which is unheard of for a dark magic wielder, and is the only one who’s managed to heal the other kids when they were touched by the weakness.

“Already called him. He came over before I left looking for you.”

I place my hand on her arm and squeeze it lightly. “Thanks, sis. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

A soft smile tugs at her lips. “That’s why I’m the best Beta ever. But no more running away, Lo. The pack needs its Alpha now more than ever.”

I nod. Emily is right. I can’t run away anymore. This is the third case of a child touched by the weakness in the last few months, and it’s because I didn’t want to marry a chosen mate. But how could I when I know my fated mate is out there, and I keep seeing her in my dreams? The bond between fated mates is sacred and highly revered by our kind, but it’s extremely rare, and most wolf shifters never meet their fated mates. They settle for a chosen mate instead. My pack is growing restless because I refuse to settle.

When I became the unchallenged Alpha of the pack the moment our father died seven years ago, I knew I had to get married to my mate—chosen or fated—before the age of twenty-five; otherwise, my pack would be weakened. My twenty-fifth birthday is only a few months away.

My mother keeps pressuring me to forget about my fated mate. I’ve managed to convince her to give me more time by promising that if I don’t find her before my twenty-fifth birthday, I will choose another woman to be my Luna. Until then, our pack is suffering, and it’s all my fault. With every day that passes, I feel like I’m being crushed under the weight of my guilt and responsibilities.

Emily parks the car in front of Josh and Layla’s house, snapping me out of my thoughts. We get out of the truck at the same time. It’s a fucking miracle I didn’t throw up with how recklessly my sister drove us here. At least we arrived in record time.

Josh doesn’t let a second pass after I rap my knuckles against the front door. He swings it open like he’s escaping a magnitude nine earthquake. I guess he must be feeling like his world is crumbling around him. It’s made pretty clear by his auburn hair pointing every which way as if he spent hours pulling at itand the stiffness in his shoulders. Red, blotchy hazel eyes meet mine, filling with stark relief.

“Alpha,” he says before stepping out of the way for us to enter.

“How’s Layla holding up?” my sister asks.

“She’s pretty shaken up. She kept sobbing uncontrollably. I had to give her some pills so she could calm down. She’s sleeping right now.”

“Is Malik still here?” I inquire as we shake hands.

“Yeah, he’s in Ryan’s room.”

We follow Josh through the narrow corridor, then climb the stairs to his son’s room on the second floor. Josh opens the door, and we step inside. Ryan is lying on the floor in the center of a pentagram drawn with white chalk, and Malik is crouched beside his small body, both of his palms on the boy’s chest, his protruding veins swirling with the inky, black magic while he chants softly in a language I don’t understand. The magic flows in the room like a thick fog.

His slanted cat-like eyes snap open, finding mine. He pushes to his feet, grim tension evident in the tight lines around his mouth, as the thick fog caused by the black magic starts to dissipate. He is dressed in his usual black leather duster, lively silver hair pulled in a bun at the nape of his neck. “His fever is gone. But I’m sorry, Logan, his forced slumber won’t end until the pack gets stronger. They let too much time pass between the first symptoms and now,” Malik says and bends over, gingerly picking up the kid in his arms and settling him on top of the bed.

“Fuck!” Josh bellows as he punches the door. A tornado of splinters follows his fist plowing through the wood with a loud thud.

A heavy weight settles on top of my chest, and my stomach plummets at Malik’s words. To add insult to injury, birth rates are down. Moreover, the last cub was born a year ago. If any other children get touched by the weakness…Motherfucking fuck! I also want to throw fists left and right and break something, but I am the Alpha; I have to stay level-headed. So, instead of showing how fucking scared I am, I grip Josh’s shoulders with both of my hands and look into his eyes, imbuing my gaze with as much reassurance as I can.

“It’s going to be okay. Have faith. We’ll get through this. I’ll find a solution.” I turn on my heel and make my way to the front door with Malik and my sister at my back.

“You need to take a chosen mate, Logan. Giving the pack a Luna is the only way to strengthen it and heal the kids,” Malik says grimly as we step out of the house.

I inhale deeply and ball my hands into tight, eager fists at my sides. “I know.”