Choosing Mr. Destiny - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Winter's POV
The sound of a hushed voice talking in the background was the reason I gained back my consciousness. But after realizing that the voices doesn't sound familiar at all, I decided to stay still and pretend I was still deeply sleeping. I forced my breathing to be as even as I could possibly muster.
Are these the people who live in this pack? I questioned in my head.
I quickly get my answer after I was able to catch their scents. These two with me aren't humans, they're werewolves like me, which obviously meant that I'm inside a pack land.
"How's he doing Doc?" A deep masculine voice suddenly spoke, and I fought hard not to shiver from the intensity of it.
Another person close to me let out a tired sigh as I heard a chair's foot scrape the ground.
"He's still out cold as you can see." A much older voice said.
"It's been two days since we found him and he still hasn't waken up." The guy with a deep masculine voice said.
Wait, hold on. Did he just say it's been two days that I've been in this pack?
With that thought, my heartbeat picked up a pace. The scenes from when Ash and I escaped replayed inside my head, making my heart ache at the thought that he was taken captive again. That I failed him.
An equipment next to me started to let out an obnoxiously loud noise, it could have been the heart rate sensor or something, alerting the people inside the room with me.
"Woah." The man with an older voice exclaimed as he immediately went to check what was happening.
"What's going on?" The other guy asked sounding a little panicked.
"His heart rate suddenly spiked up." The guy said, who I assumed is the doctor.
"What does that mean?" The other guy questioned as I felt a hand on my arm and a stethoscope on my chest.
"He's probably having a nightmare." The doctor spoke.
And with that, I felt someone shake me to wake up.
"Hey, wake up." The guy with an amazing deep voice said as he urged me to wake up, even though I was awake for a while now and was just pretending to still be asleep.
But I acted like I was just waking up anyway.
I slowly opened my eyes which immediately met with someone's gray ones, and I almost gasped at how beautiful they were.
"There you are." He said soothingly as he gave me a bright, beautiful smile.
And my goodness, he looked extremely breathtaking and gorgeous. Despite his humongous body size, he was oddly not intimidating to me. He looked like an oversized teddy bear. Warm and cuddly.
Wait. What am I thinking?
"Hey," He breathed out soothingly as he kept his intense gaze on me, that I couldn't look away. His eyes were just so captivating, it's really easy to get lost in them.
I blinked before I attempted to sit up, but was immediately stopped by the doctor.
"I think it's for the better that you stay on your back for a bit." The doctor said, whom I still don't know the name.
I turned to him with a confused and questioning look.
"Your ribs aren't fully healed yet. So it's much better that you don't put too much stress on it." He said softly as he slowly pushed my body back to a laying position. "Just rest up." He added with a smile.
I turned back to the attractive guy.
"Where am I?" I questioned as I looked out the window.
"You're inside the Eastern Forest Pack. We found you unconscious just outside our borders, so we decided to take you in and get you examined by our doctor here." He said, motioning to the doctor with a smile.
I nodded. "Thank you," I mumbled, barely audible.
"It's no problem." He replied before he bit his bottom lip, seemingly in thought. His brows met at the center as he frowned. "If I may ask, where are you from? and why were you beat up?" He asks slowly, careful about the subject he's about to bring up.
I looked away outside the window towards the trees that looked like swaying from the cool breeze at it passed by.
Heaving a deep sigh, I turned my gaze towards the ceiling.
"I was once held captive inside the mansion, fifteen miles away from here, but I managed to escape," I stated as tears started to blur my line of sight.
"What? We were just spying on that area. How did you manage to escape? That place was heavily guarded by rogues and hunters!" He asked frantically as he scooted much closer to where I was laying. His face contorted into obvious shock from my statement.
I hesitated whether I should tell him about who helped me. But then I figured it would've been too confusing for them to understand, so I decided to settle into a simple explanation.
"It's hard to explain," I told him. "But I got some equipment that helped me a lot to escape," I added.
He looked towards the door, still frowning.
"We have to let the Alphas know about this." He said as he stood up from his seat.
"Alphas?" I questioned after I caught of what he just said.
He looked down at me with the same expression on his face. He also looks frantic.
"We have our very own Alpha as well as a guest Alpha from the west coast. He's here to rescue his mate who happens to be held captive in the same place you escaped from." He said as he turned to walk out the door. But I stopped him before he does so.
"Wait," I called, halting him on the spot. "Was his mate's name happens to be Ashley?" I asked, causing his eyes to almost pop out of its sockets.
"You saw him?" He questioned, walking back towards the bed I was currently laying at. He leaned down as he placed both of his well-toned arms on the bed, at the right side of my body.
I almost gasped at the close proximity, but I held it in. He was waiting for my response to his question as he intensely stared at me, making me want to squirm under his alluring gaze.
"I was with him because he happens to be locked up in the same room as I was," I admitted.
His frown deepened. "If you two were locked up in the same room, then how were you the only one to escape?" He asked, sounding suspicious all of a sudden.
I glared at him as tears quickly build up in my eyes. "He was with me when we escaped. I came up with the plan but he helped me with it. We were able to sneak out of the house through the sewers but we were caught once we were in the woods. He was dragged back into the mansion by a rogue even after I tried to fight it off just so we can run as far away as we can. But I wasn't strong enough. I was over-powered that's why I failed my friend. I failed him." I burst out as tears came pooling down from my eyes. "I promised to get him out of there safely but I failed. I promise I tried. I did. But it just wasn't enough." I sobbed into my hands as I used it to cover my face. I didn't have the strength to show it to these people how much of a disgrace I am. "And now he's taken captive by that monster again, and it's all my fault. I could've fought the rogue if I wasn't as weak as I am. I should've at least tried harder even if it kills me, but Ash stopped me from doing so. And the reason why I ran away was because he told me to. He told me... no, begged me, to find help. For me to find his mate. That's why I ended up on your borders."
The guy looked down at me with shock visible in his features, especially his eyes.
I didn't mean to burst out like that, it's just, it was just too much and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I was mad and disappointed at myself for being so weak I couldn't even fight off one single rogue that was dragging Ash back towards the building we worked so hard to escape from. And now, they have Ash, my friend, captive again. This time, without me there to comfort him and tell him everything will be alright even though it won't. It was my fault he's back inside that place.
I could have tried harder and killed that f*cking rogue, but I was weak and a coward.
Now, if something ever happens to Ash, the guilt will always hunt me down even with my lifeless corpse deep within my grave.
I will never forgive myself. Ever.
"I'm sorry." The guy, whose name I still have no idea, apologized. "It was very immature of me to push you to the edge." He added.
I was still hiccuping from the outburst I had, but I managed to give him a shake of my head, telling him he didn't do anything wrong. Rather, I should be thankful to him and his pack for taking me in and helping me with my wounds and bruises.
"You didn't do anything wrong," I said, voicing out my earlier thought.
"Still, I shouldn't have done what I did. It was very insensitive."
I heaved out a sigh. "It's okay," I mumbled barely above a whisper.
The doctor came into view with a glass of water in his hand. He walked towards me with a soft look on his face.
"Here, drink some water." He said as he helped me sit up a little as I drank the water he gave me.
After I managed to dunk everything without leaving a single drop inside the glass, the doctor helped me lay back down once again. "Thank you," I told him, which he replied with a bright smile.
Wiping the side of my lips, I turned to the guy, who still has his name unknown to me. "What's your name?" I asked with a rather raspy voice.
His brows spiked up to his forehead at the question, making me blush all of a sudden.
"Sorry, I just feel bad for snapping at you earlier and I still haven't known your name," I stated an excuse.
"It's Trevor. Trevor Olsen." He said, now with a smile gracing his features. He turned to the doctor who was currently busy doing something on his personal computer on top of his desk. "That's Doctor Alfred right there." He introduced as the doctor looked up from the monitor and nodded.
I couldn't help the blush from coming out this time.
"I'm Winter." I introduced. Leaving my last name still a secret to him for personal reasons.
He smiled again, nodding his head along. "Nice name. And it's nice to meet you."
I looked anywhere else other than his alluring gray eyes before I decided to mumble a reply.
"It's nice to meet you too. And thanks." I said, once again, barely audible.
It's surprising because I'm not the shy type of person and here I am, feeling all flustered and a stuttering mess all of a sudden. Maybe it's because I'm inside a pack where I'm not a member that is making me feel kinda uneasy. It's usually that way for us werewolves. So I assume it's that.
"So," Trevor started, as he leaned his elbows on his knees, staring at me expectantly. "Do you have a family somewhere? You know, maybe you wanted to contact them and let them know where you are."
I did not expect that.
I sighed as I looked towards the ceiling, saddened by the thought of not having anyone as a family after I lost my Dad.
Well, he didn't know, so it's not his fault why I was suddenly sad.
I gave him a small smile, one that was not really reaching my eyes. "I wish I still have. But the last remaining person I call family died three years ago, along with my pack."
I turned to meet my gaze with Trevor and saw his face literally screaming he messed up again. His eyes looked so apologetic, telling me he really was sorry for bringing up such a sensitive topic.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay." I quickly cut him off before he starts to ramble his apologies and later on, giving me a look of pity. I've slowly moved on, so they don't have to pity me any longer. "It's all in the past now," I added, acting nonchalant and all.
Before he could utter a reply, a tall guy with a similar body build as Trevor entered the room.
Acknowledging his presence, Trevor stood to his feet and gave the guy a curt bow of his head in respect.
"Beta. It's good to see you." Trevor said after standing straight on his full height.
The Beta nodded back to him before his gaze turned to me.
His dark blue eyes silently throwing questions towards me.
"I'm glad that you're finally feeling well. I'm Jonah, the pack's second in command." He said as he introduced himself. "I was hoping you could join us have a little discussion inside the Alpha's office." He said and I unknowingly bit my bottom lip, feeling queasy unexpectedly. It's always a weird feeling being around weres that are high ranked. It gives me this unsettling vibe that I'm out of place or something. Or that, I'm being looked down.
"Also, Arthur Trevino, Alpha of Crescent Moon pack, wants to have a word with you," Jonah added, intensifying the uneasiness building up in my system.
Being around one Alpha was already disturbing enough for me, what more if there's two of them? It just makes me want to throw up my intestines from nervousness. What if they're not as nice as these people are? What if these two Alphas are stone-cold towards those who are lower ranked than them? What if I didn't have the information they needed and then they'll hurt me for it? Gosh, these questions are making my head feel heavy.
"Don't worry, both Alphas are nice. They may be intimidating but they're actually very kind." He said assuringly after seeing my current state, which didn't even help with my growing nervousness one bit.
"But if you're not comfortable enough, I could maybe ask them to just visit you here and talk to you in private." He suggested, making me bite my bottom lip a little harder as I thought about it.
If I ask them to visit me here instead of me personally going into the Alpha's office, that would look really rude. I know he didn't command me to be in his office, but still, it would be impolite of me for not acknowledging their request. I mean, they're Alphas. I'm sure they don't take orders from anyone, especially from someone who is as low ranked as I am. I would have been very disrespectful to their title.
It's not that I'm still hurting from the wounds and bruises I acquired after my escape, it's just that, I'm not comfortable being inside a room with two Alphas and a Beta. And besides, my ribs are still sore as heck.
"Will it be fine for them?" I asked, feeling a bit weary at the idea of disrespecting two powerful Alphas.
He nodded with a smile, making his intimidating demeanor to dissipate a little. "I'm sure it's fine. And besides, it'd be rude of them to make you walk when obviously you're still recovering." He reassured, which made me smile back at him in response.
"Thank you," I mumbled while sporting as soft tint of red on my cheeks.
Gosh, why am I being shy all of a sudden?
"They'll be here in a few minutes." He said before he made his way towards the couch on the far side of the room and taking a seat, waiting for his leader.
Not longer than five minutes have passed and two ginormous figures entered the room, both with a dominating aura circulating them, but with the other being the strongest of the two. And admittedly, they're very intimidating. Like, very intimidating. I could tell just from the way they stood there with both their gazes directed towards me that they're in fact Alphas. Their posture, their build, and most importantly, their gaze, screamed respect and dominance, making me squirm on my bed.
"If I'm not mistaken, your name is Winter, correct?" The first Alpha on the left suddenly spoke after both the doctor and Trevor had stepped out of the room. I unknowingly shivered from the intensity of his voice. Even that simple thing was intimidating to me. What the hell.
Not trusting my voice to speak, I could only nod my head in confirmation to his question.
The first Alpha attempted to give me a smile to help me with my nerves but it didn't even help. Rather, I was even more intimidated.
Internally wincing at his poor attempt, I looked somewhere other than their awaiting gaze. I figured it's not respectful to stair back since it would've looked like I was challenging him or something. Which is far from my intentions.
"I'm Linux, the Alpha of this pack." He said, which I momentarily met his gaze before looking towards the door behind him. "And here next to me is Arthur Trevino, Alpha of Crescent Moon." He introduced, averting my gaze to him before I went back to staring at the door.
I slowly sat up on my bed, wincing at my sore ribs.
"It's nice to meet you both," I acknowledge respectfully as I bowed my head a little, wincing at the soreness of my body again from the small action.
"I'm glad you're up and well," Linux said after fetching himself a chair and sat. Arthur doing the same after he took the chair in front of the doctor's desk. "How are you feeling?" Alpha Linux asked.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I looked up and met his eyes before I utter a reply. "I'm doing a lot better, which I have you and your pack to thank for. And other than the soreness, I'm good."
He nodded. "That's good to hear." He said, sighing a little. "Anyway, I'm sure you already know why we're here."
I nodded. "I'll try to provide as many answers as I can," I told both of them, earning me a grateful smile.
"And I hope you don't mind if we ask some personal questions," Arthur spoke this time as he waited for an answer.
"I guess." Was all I said.
I mean, how am I suppose to respond to that?
"Okay, first, what pack do you belong to before you were kidnapped?" Linux interrogated using a soft voice as to not scare me even more than I already was.
Well, talk about personal questions.
I sighed, already dreading the questions after questions they're about to throw my way. "Night Spring Pack," I answered just audible enough for them to hear properly without them using their much sensitive sense of hearing.
Linux's brows raised at my answer. "Isn't that the pack that was massacred three years ago?" He asked, now wearing a frown.
I nodded, confirming his question.
"But it was said that no one survived." He said, still sporting a frown on his face.
"My mate and I did," I told him. "We went on a small vacation out of town for my birthday at that time. But we had to cut it short after our Alpha called my mate about the pack being attacked, that's why we immediately went back to help." I heaved a deep breath, forcing myself not to cry from revisiting the past. "But we were too late."
"I'm sorry," Arthur said apologizingly.
I gave him a small smile.
"If I may ask, where's your mate now?" Linux questioned once more.
I turned to meet his gaze. "He's back at the mansion." Was all I said.
"Was he being held as a prisoner too?" He added, making me bite my lip as I pondered on how to answer the question. Well, I guess I could say he's also a prisoner since Azrael has my mate's soul.
"I guess," I answered simply as I played with my fingers.
"What do you mean?" Linux inquired.
"After the events of the massacre, my mate and I were both utterly devastated, but mostly my mate. Which prompted him to do something stupid. And by stupid, I mean by calling the devil and making a deal with him." I admitted, causing Arthur to lean his elbows on his knees, still wearing a frown on his face. "He asked Azrael to bring his family back in exchange for his life. He agreed to the deal but was tricked after Azrael took hold of my mate's soul."
"What's your mate's name?" Arthur asked curiously.
I met gaze with him. "Jordan Knight. His physical body was the one who took you mate under Azrael's hands after Jordan gave his soul to him."
"So technically, your mate is dead?" Linux asked in confusion.
I shook my head. "No, but he is on the brink of death. If Azrael had consumed my mate's soul in the first place, his physical form would've died with him. But since he needs my mate's body to execute his plans, he can't consume Jordan's soul just yet."
"So to better put it, he's Azrael's puppet then?" Arthur interjected, making me nod my head as an answer. "And that means there's a chance your mate might still live. He just needs to have his soul back." I nodded once again.
"Just a thought. Was it Azrael that's behind the massacre of your pack?" Linux questioned.
"I think so. Since most of the attackers are rogues and hunters, I'm guessing they're under his ruling." I answered.
"What do you think is the reason why he ordered to massacre your pack?" He questioned once again, making me flinch just from the idea why he did it.
"Since the Gods took his gift of immortality, Azrael now has to consume souls to keep himself alive. So I'm guessing that's the reason why," I told him.
Linux turned to his fellow Alpha with a deep frown on his face. "Why was he personally after your mate then if he had to kill hundreds of people just to consume their souls?" He questioned Arthur.
"That's because he found out my mate was someone special. Someone far more valuable than consuming a regular human or werewolf's soul." He stated, causing Linux's already deep frown to even go deeper.
"What do you mean?"
Arthur turned to meet Linux's awaiting gaze. "We're not supposed to discuss this here where someone could eavesdrop. It's sensitive information. Anyone could gain interest on it and end up putting my mate in more danger than he's already in."
Linux nodded his head. "I understand. We'll talk about it in my office."
"I think I might be able to help save him." I intervened, gaining both their attention.
"I'm all ears," Arthur spoke, facing me once again.
"I have a phone with me that can control the cameras around and inside the building. I also have a set of keys." I told them, which had them raising their brows at me.
"How are you able to get all those?" Arthur asked.
I bit my bottom lip momentarily. "I got a little help." Was all I said. I didn't want to tell them that Jordan would sometimes gain control back on his body. I figured it's not something they have to know. Or maybe it is?
"Who? We could use them to help us get my mate." Arthur said.
I looked down, not meeting both their gazes as I hesitated on whether I should tell them who it was or not. But then again, if we did attack and then they'll end up hurting Jordan's physical form, it would be my mate's demise. If they somehow damaged my mate's body, it will be the end of him and I can't have that.
So I guess I have no other choice but tell them.
"It's Jordan," I admitted, earning two confused looks from both Alphas.
"But you said he's..." Linux said but I cut him off.
"He would sometimes gain control of his body. The last time he did, he said he had help from the Moon Goddess." I explained.
Both Alphas looked at each other, seemingly in doubt of what I just told them.
"I know it's hard to believe, but I know it was him. I could feel the mate bond, his wolf, and his familiar scent was back. When it's Azrael controlling his body, I couldn't feel any of those at all, so I know it was indeed him." I explained much further.
"So that means there's still a chance you can have your mate back?" Linux questioned interestingly, in which I nodded in response.
"Yes. As long as his physical form isn't hurt, he'll be able to regain control once he's no longer under Azrael's hold." I told the both of them.
"How are we supposed to defeat Azrael if we can't even hurt his host body?" Linux inquired thoughtfully.
I shook my head slowly, not having any possible ideas until one thought came crashing down into me.
Ash has powers. Maybe he can? But then again, he doesn't know how to use it since he didn't have proper training.
"We'll come up with something," Arthur said, turning to look at me.
I have to tell him about Ash. But I also have to be careful not to open it up where someone could hear. Like he said, since Ash is the son of the Moon Goddess, it makes him a very valuable target for anybody. So I have to consider the sensitive subject if I wanted to keep my friend safe.
"For now, the first thing we have to do is plan this f*cking attack very carefully," Arthur added.
I nodded at him. "I'm with you. If it means to get Ash to safety, I'll gladly help." I said, earning a confused stare from Alpha Arthur.
"How'd you know my mate's name?" He inquired, seemingly interested to know.
"We were locked up in the same room. He was also with me when we attempted to escape. But we got caught and he was dragged back into the mansion as he told me to go run and get help. That's how I ended up near this pack's borders." I summarized, making both of them nod their heads understandingly.
I met Arthur's intense gaze. "I failed him once, now I'll make sure to not fail him twice."
Arthur smiled at me with gratefulness showing in his eyes. "Get some more rest. We'll call you at the office when we get to plan the attack. But for now, you stay here and rest up." He said as Linux stood to his feet.
When they went to step out of the door, I remembered something that was vital for them to know.
"Alpha Arthur," I called, halting him on his feet as he turned to me with a curious, questioning gaze.
"Yeah?"
I bit my bottom lip in mild hesitation. "Ash may be pregnant."