The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

Chapter 235

Their screams of terror echoed in my head.

I’m scared

Mama…I’m scared

“Selene.”

The flinch from Raizel’s sudden touch startles him. He watches me in minutely surprise, but then frowns in realization. His expression softens and I find myself in his arms, his big, firm hand brushing my hair back and away from my face.

“Breathe, my love. Breathe.”

The shaky breath I take in is bordering pathetic and I hate it. I resent the panic that still bubbles up in the depths of my chest when I think of that day. It’s a testament to how little I actually changed-

“Stop.”

Raizel tightens his grip on me,

“You and I both know that isn’t true.”

The conviction in his tone wasn’t something I could argue. He whole heartedly believed that and to an extent, so did I. He was right. My self-doubt would only ruin everything. I won’t let these unreasonable thoughts shatter the new beginnings we were trying to nourish. So I nod, and turn back to the gates.

A small tinge of unease settles in my chest.

Isaac wasn’t faring any better.

Our bond is still, undisturbed, but his face is a different matter. The color from his skin drained until he was pale in the face. He stands there, looking at the entrance to the home he lost, and I start to feel the grief seep back into him. I know not to touch him right now, so I offer him what I could.

I send a wave of comfort to both him and his wolf.

I notice the minute he felt it. His back stiffens the tiniest bit before his muscles

He sent one back.

“Let’s go.”

I whisper, lacing my hand through my mate’s.

go

lax.

Williams had given us permission to enter and survey around Duskfall. He’d been too busy to attend with us but sent some of his men over to make sure everything went well. Half of their members were staying out side on guard as the others went with us.

wasn’t sure what I was expecting to see when we get there. The burning of houses and the aftermath of the attack on Duskfall hadn’t left me much hope on what we could salvage.

I hoped to find at least one building still standing.

The heavy gates pulled open excruciatingly slow. Isaac was starting to feel impatient. His wolf prowled around in his head, pacing back and forth as they waited for the signal to go in. When the

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gates finally pulled open I wasn’t surprised to see him immediately step inside. He didn’t wait for anyone else as he strode his way through.

Raizel and I followed close behind along with Weston trailing after us. The Beta hadn’t been able to stop his curiosity. He glanced around, his expression forlorn. Everyone was filled in about our histories. It hadn’t changed how any of us saw each other, but it did garner a new type of understanding among all of us. A better sense of camaraderie, if that makes sense.

Emerson and Noah (surprisingly) had opted to stay within their respective packs. Noah wanted to give Isaac space. I knew he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of going into Duskfall. He felt like he was intruding, he told me as much. I hadn’t tried to convince him otherwise. I could certainly see his point of view and knew Isaac would appreciate the gesture.

As we walked further into the heart of Duskfall around twelve minutes in, we began to see the remains of the attack on every passing building. There’d been rubble laying around the grounds. Scorch marks that never faded from the standing houses and whatever was left of the other structures, gutted me. Those were the marks of the end. It was so eerily quiet. What used to be a place so filled and bursting with life, was now a ghost town.

“Look around,”

Raizel ordered, nodding to the other warriors that went along with us.

“Check the water system and see if it still runs. Whatever you see that is essential to settling here, you make note of. I don’t care if you see jewelry, or anything else, you don’t touch it. It is not yours for the taking. If any of you even considers it-”

Raizel doesn’t finish his sentence but the threat is loud and clear. No one waits a second longer before they go off in different directions, doing as Raizel bid them to. I was far too taken by the fact was actually standing here to really pay attention to anything else.

There were a lot of houses that burned down, but there were others that remained for the most part, intact. The library had been burned down to the very end, so was the community center. I can still remember the inner parts of the small indoor playground they had for the pups. Jason had always been so fond of the slides.

My heart gave a squeeze as we walked by Alpha Thompson’s house.

It was half collapsed, the second floor was gone but the outer walls of the first floor was still in shape.

A few of the smaller houses made it out.

One of which, was Bentley’s house.

The minute I saw the small cottage

Almost like it hadn’t been through an

earest to the woods, my throat tightened. It looked so normal.

*mbush.

It stood, tall and nearly perfect with the only flaws being the broken down door and windows and a few stray scorch marks on the stone. It was still there. It was whole.

Isaac had naturally gravitated toward his father’s house. I didn’t stop him, but I did tighten my grip around Raizel’s fingers,

“It’s still there.”

I whispered, transfixed at the little home I’d walked into so many times. It almost felt as though if I

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walked in, Bentley would be there to greet me with a warm smile and a cup of tea. Lila would be running around his garden and would giggle and shout when she’d see me.

Look, Selly! Look! I watered the daisies!

The brush of Raizel’s fingers over my cheek brings my attention back to him. He smiles at me, small and sad.

“Do you want to go inside?”

I think back to Isaac. He’s probably looking at whatever’s left of his father. He’d want to scavenge what he could alone. This was his moment of closer, it was only his. I shouldn’t intrude on that.

I shook my head,

“No,”

I give a short pause,

“I want to look at the garden.”

He nods his assent and allows me to guide him in the back. My legs felt heavy the whole journey there. What was a few minutes felt like hours. I wondered if any of his flowers made it. If any of them remained and hadn’t died without Bentley’s tender care. The roses he so carefully nurtured

Against reality, I hoped at least those made it.

As we turned a corner, I had to hold my breath.

The garden filled with numerous types of flowers was nowhere in sight. There weren’t any lavenders, irises, sunflowers… no roses in the wide plains. The only thing left behind was the over-infestation of weeds. That, and even more rubble. The battered watering can I used so often laid over the ground, tipped over. My heart sunk to my feet. I knew it was nearly impossible to hope for any of his flowers to survive. Hope was always so cruel.

You can’t help but hold onto it against the odds.

“I’m going to fix it.”

My own voice surprises me, but it doesn’t stop me from going on.

“I’ll return the garden back to its original state. I’ll return the garden Bentley had to leave behind.”

“I know

you

will.”

Raizel tugs me into his chest. His touch washes over me like a breath of fresh air.

“And I’ll be here to help with whatever you need.”

Hope.

Hope is a fickle thing.

But it doesn’t stop the seed of it to bury itself into my chest. It doesn’t stop it from growing as I see Isaac step outside with a smile on his face. He’s carrying a small red box. I recognized it.

Photos of his family.

The redness of his eyes betrays his smile but I know he feels it too. It may hurt right now but he feels the same anticipation I do.

Isaac-”

I froze.

I turn my head into the direction of the woods and instantly my wolf stands alert. We scan the perimeter, and for a moment we think we were mistaken. We almost believe that it’s paranoia getting the best of us.

That’s when we see it.

It was quick, barely even a second, but we caught sight of it.

There’d been someone watching us from a distance. It was hard to notice at first glance but I was certain of it. Someone in human form with startling familiar molten grey eyes had stared back.

-Editor’s Note-

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