Bonded By Destiny

Chapter 34

***Tamara***

I sat by the training grounds on a wooden teak bench, observing the teenagers as they underwent rigorous training. Their exposed upper bodies shimmered with globules of sweat, some forming little streams on the skin.

The training grounds rested under the thick white sheets of clouds that looked like stretched cotton. They formed gaps, closing and opening as they moved over and under one another. The sky spotted parts of greys and blues, with streaks of silvers and golds.

As the sun rose and opened it's light and made a promise of warmth, the instructors backed orders and instructions. They pushed the teen pups to their limits over and over again. As I watched their feet, hands and bodies move as one, my mind kept on replaying the former Luna's words.

Something wasn't adding up at all. Her utterances came like a bolt from the blue. Ryker's reaction was stuck in the deepest part of my brain. As soon as the words had left her mouth in a whisper, the confusion in his face cleared up. Betrayal, had there been any smell for emotions, this one would have been pungent, heavy on our sense of smell.

He swept his right hand over his face once, then fixed his unswerving eyes on his parents. Margaret cried silently whereas her mate just sat there, his appearance seeming disturbed. I knew about the child the Luna had supposedly given birth to with breathing problems. To know later that she had been stolen?

I was beginning to think that my bond with Ryker was cursed. Problems were swimming in shoals around us. First it had been the threatening papers. Then came Addanc and his curse over Ryker's dad. He was a thick, weighty cloud of misfortune, pouring adversities whenever he showed up.

Now Ryker had just realised that his parents had lied to him. No solid explanation was given to him other than they wanted to keep him safe. It had been two days ago and since then, he had buried himself in the hunt for the evil wizard.

His emotions had been constantly blocked from my reach, locking me out of his consciousness. He was hurting, but he was also hurting me. I hadn't seen him for the whole night and that is why I had opted to come to the training grounds. I hoped the training to take my mind off the whole barrage of problems.

'Trouble in paradise? ' Jayson sat beside me, opening a bottle of water with urgency. I watched as he swallowed gulps of the clear liquid loudly, his Adams apple bobbing in reflex.

'Mmh. ' I directed my eyes at the grounds but my mind was some where else.

'You know he's within the borders, he'll come to you whenever he is ready. ' The inside of my eyes burned, my wolf whining and calling for her evasive mate.

'I'm his mate. ' My resolve was finally crumpling now that I had someone to talk to. Saying it aloud put so much weight on my feelings.

'Why don't you just let your bond take you wherever he his? ' He threw the bottle up in the air, then spread his hands to catch it.

'No. '

'No? ' He scooted closer and put the empty bottle beside him on the bench.

'He doesn't care about what I went through the whole night without his face in sight. Your friend left me on my own to go deal with his emotions without putting mine into consideration. Do you know how it feels for a mate to push you away, to selfishly put a barricade between your thoughts? '

'You need to go for a run, listen to your wolf. Let her take over, she will guide you to him. ' He stood and jogged back to the grounds, clapping his hands and shouting at the pups.

This whole new wolf thing was pretty new to me and yet I felt like she had been a part of me for as long as I could remember. I had talked to Mimi about it and she had went ahead and explained that my wolf was there, but dormant. That day at the forest, her scent had called to Ryker's wolf and that is why he knew where to find me. Even when I had totally masked my own.