His Lover, My Mate

Twenty-Three: Source of Light

I want to thank my best friend, Sara, for this masterpiece. That quote fits so well, I am just IN LOVE

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*Rush*

Another sunset fell on his lands, painting them the color of blood. Rush stood in front of the hills at the far end of his territory, watching the faint rays of light slowly falling down the horizon, lost as the moon took over as the only source of light.

He breathed in, but it was hard. He hadn't revealed it to anyone how much the rip in their bond killed him everyday. It ruined his spirit, because it had been his mate who desired another. He received the consequences of her actions, but he knew she felt his agony each passing night. He knew it was hard for her to breathe as well. He knew her body screamed in pain, although his was worse. His would always be worse, and he was used to it. Because the ones who should have love him, hated him.

His body shuddered as the horrors of his past came back to him. His mind was far too battered to fight the darkness residing in his soul. It took over, wrapping its chains around his body and forcing him to feel what had been done to him centuries ago. His throat squeezed shut and he started coughing until blood came out of his mouth. His hands wrapped around his neck, and he was fighting. His fight hadn't ended with the darkness. His fight was still raging, but he was growing weaker.

Suddenly, all he could see around him was that stark blackness. He was losing his vision. All that went through his head was the sight of his mother's castle and the room he'd been trapped in. He could still feel the shackles against his neck and limbs, holding him against the stone wall. He was never given clothes. He was always bare, a sight of mockery. There were no windows, just stone walls all around him, trapping him in his prison. For centuries, he'd been trapped there like an object. An object that had no feelings or a will or a family. He'd lived without them.

Rush forced himself to come back to reality. That had been his past, something he hated to admit, but it still haunted him to this day. He had nothing to look forward to. He'd wanted to end his life, to shatter his soul somehow so that the Moon Goddess could take him away, but even his own Goddess condemned him. No one had given him mercy or tenderness until he met the Alpha of the Death Pack. From the ashes of the ground and its endless dark shadows, Rush had been brought to the only source of light by the one called Alpha Maddox, the Death Alpha.

For centuries, taking the Night Throne had been Rush's path out of the tormenting darkness. Being Alpha gave him more than he could have ever hoped for. But now he realized even his pack couldn't save him from everything his soul still remembered. Although Rush tried to forget, his soul would never forget the endless years of torture. His soul would never forget the day he was set alight on a pyre as his mother watched him burn. He would never forget the humiliation, the chains, the raping, the mutilating.

The sudden shriek of the ravens above him cast aside all the memories he didn't want to dwell in further. He opened his eyes, taking in deep breaths. His lungs burned and his throat was still raw, but he needed to breathe. He needed to stay on his feet before he really passed out. Maybe he should have killed Lucien for marking his mate. Yet Aletha had let him do it, so shouldn't she be the one to find his wrath? She'd broken the bond, and she had brought Rush pure agony when he'd only wanted to protect her. Instead, he was the one left unprotected and in danger of losing his sanity.

He reached out and took the letter from the raven before the bird flew away. Now it was nightfall, but his eyes were trained for the night. He opened the letter, knowing already who it belonged to. It was from the Alpha of the Death Pack.

A smile fell on his lips as he scanned through the letter. The Death Alpha was coming in a few days with his Luna. Rush had his support and army for the upcoming visit with the vampire queen. The Death Pack had always been the Night Pack's ally since Rush became Alpha, because Maddox had been the reason Rush was out of his chains in his mother's castle. Alpha Maddox knew everything dark and twisted about Rush's past, and he had declared Rush as his brother by soul. The rumors about the Death Alpha and the Night Alpha being inseparable were true--Rush would give his life for Maddox because the he had saved him from the vampire queen's wickedness.