After My Alpha Abandoned Me, I Saved Another Pack’s Heir

The grand negotiation hall of the Ironclaw packhouse felt cavernous with just me sitting alone at the massive oak table. My fingers traced the intricate wolf carvings on its surface as I tried to ignore the ticking clock. The Bloodpine Pack delegation had been waiting for twenty minutes already.

"Where is Alpha Creed?" Alpha Silas Vance's gravelly voice cut through the silence, his massive frame looming across the table. "We didn't travel three territories to meet with a Luna alone."

I straightened my spine, channeling every ounce of Luna authority I possessed. "My mate sends his apologies, Alpha Vance. He's handling an urgent matter but will join us shortly."

Silas's scarred face twisted into something between a smirk and a snarl. "How convenient. And what 'urgent matter' could possibly take precedence over the most important territorial negotiation of the decade?"

My wolf, Silver, paced anxiously within me. *Where is he? Where is he?*

I had no answer for either of them.

"The Ironclaw Pack takes this alliance seriously," I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. "We've prepared extensive proposals for shared hunting grounds and mutual defense."

"Proposals your Alpha can't even be bothered to present himself." Silas pushed back from the table, his Beta rising with him. "This is an insult, Luna Avayah. We came in good faith."

"Please," I said, hating the desperation creeping into my voice. "Just a little more time."

Silas's eyes flashed dangerously. "Time is something you've already wasted. My pack won't be disrespected." He stood fully now, his massive shoulders blocking the light. "The truce is null. Tell your mate that Bloodpine will consider this abandonment of negotiations as a declaration of weakness—and we'll respond accordingly."

The door slammed behind them, leaving me alone with the echo of my failure.

---

Hours later, the warning howls tore through the evening air. Bloodpine warriors poured across our eastern border like a crimson tide, their coordinated attack precisely where our defenses were weakest.

"Fall back to position two!" I shouted, shifting mid-leap into my wolf form. Silver's power surged through me as I lunged at an approaching Beta, teeth finding his throat.

All around me, Ironclaw warriors fought desperately, but we were outnumbered and caught off-guard. This was no random raid—this was calculated vengeance for the insult at the negotiating table.

*Creed!* I called through our mate bond, desperation flooding the link. *We're under attack!*

Nothing. Not even the faintest echo.

I tore through another attacker, my silver-streaked fur now matted with blood—some mine, some not. A massive Alpha warrior slammed into me, sending us both tumbling across the forest floor. His teeth snapped inches from my throat.

*Creed, please!* I tried again, putting everything I had into the link.

The bond remained eerily silent.

With a surge of rage, I flipped my attacker and tore through his shoulder, buying myself precious seconds to howl orders to our retreating pack members. We'd never withstand a full assault without our Alpha.

---

The sun was rising when