Shattered Bonds: A Second Chance Mate - Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Eight black SUVs were lined up outside the estate, engines humming softly like loyal beasts waiting to move. It was a calculated move—Beta Alfonso had decided at the last moment that we needed more warriors. Not just for show, but for protection. In total, ten people would accompany us to the Blackpine Pack.
It shocked their Alpha, of course. At first, he hesitated, clearly not expecting such a heavy escort. But in the end, he agreed, recognizing that Alfonso’s instincts were never wrong—especially when it came to Francesco.
After all, this was the first time Alpha Lycaon had left his territory in more than two decades.
No one wanted to take chances. Especially not Beta Alfonso.
The drive to the airport was quiet, the tension thick with anticipation. I stared out the window, watching the world blur past as we left the comfort of home behind.
When we arrived, the atmosphere shifted instantly.
Humans couldn’t stop watching us. From the moment we stepped out of the SUVs, heads turned. Whispers rippled through the crowd like waves. Some were in awe, others clearly intimidated. I couldn’t blame them. This was nothing like when I first arrived in Italy. Back then, I had stepped off the plane unnoticed, a silent girl with nothing but a duffel bag and broken pieces of her heart. No one had cared. No one had looked.
But now… everything was different.
Now, I walked beside the Alpha Lycan.
Even Francesco drew attention—his presence alone commanding respect. His tall, powerful frame, dressed sharply in black, exuded dominance. But it wasn’t just his looks that stunned people—it was the way he moved. Like a force of nature that had suddenly come to life.
And yet, even with all eyes on us, he stayed close, subtly shielding me with every step.
Francesco kept holding my hand, never letting it go—not even for a second. His grip was gentle but firm, like he was afraid I might disappear if he loosened it. That small gesture said more than words ever could.
I felt the eyes on us as we moved through the airport. Especially from human women. Their stares were thick with envy, not just because of how Francesco looked—because let’s be honest, the man could stop traffic—but because of how he treated me. Like I was the center of his entire world. Like nothing and no one else mattered.
He was mine. And I was his. Even if no one else knew the full story, they could feel it.
We made our way to a sleek black private jet that waited just beyond the runway, its engines already purring to life. I stopped in my tracks for a moment, blinking in disbelief. That’s ours?
Francesco gave me a small smile, clearly amused by my surprise.
Of course he owned it. What else should I expect? He was a Lycan Alpha—not just powerful, but ancient, wealthy beyond comprehension. A private jet was probably as basic to him as a car.
Still, it stunned me.
A tall man in a dark uniform stood at the base of the stairs. His scent gave him away instantly—werewolf. The pilot bowed his head slightly in deference the moment we approached.
“Alpha,” he greeted respectfully. Then his eyes shifted to me, curious but respectful.
“This is my mate,” Francesco said, his voice deep, steady, and proud.
I stiffened slightly at the title, even though I already knew it was true. He had never introduced me like that to anyone before. But he said it so naturally, so confidently, that something in my chest fluttered and settled all at once.
The pilot nodded again, his expression unreadable. “Welcome, Luna.”
Francesco helped me up the steps and inside the plane, his arm never straying far. The interior was luxurious—cream leather seats, polished wood, soft lighting. Every detail screamed elegance, but I barely noticed any of it. All I could feel was his hand in mine and the way he looked at me as he helped me sit beside him.
For the first time in a long while, I felt something I hadn’t felt since leaving home.
Safe. Warm. Chosen.
Despite everything—despite the upcoming meeting, despite the presence of Ruben—I found myself smiling. Not out of politeness or habit, but because I genuinely felt it.
This trip, for once, didn’t feel like a mission or a punishment.
It felt like a beginning.
And even if I had to face my past… I knew I had already let go.
I had nothing left for Ruben. Because my heart was already in the hands of another.
When we arrived, it was already night.
The soft hum of the jet’s engine had lulled me into sleep somewhere mid-flight, and I didn’t even realize we had landed until I felt a shift—warmth, movement, the gentle sway of strong arms beneath me.
Francesco didn’t wake me.
Instead, he carried me off the plane in silence, his steps measured, powerful, and careful not to jostle me. I stirred only slightly, my cheek pressed against his chest, breathing in the faint scent of pinewood and earth that always seemed to cling to him. I didn’t speak. I didn’t need to. Even half-asleep, I trusted him completely.
Down below, the Blackpine Pack waited in the cool night air. Word of Alpha Lycan Francesco Totti’s arrival had spread through the ranks like wildfire. Of course, it had. A visit from the Lycan Alpha was nothing short of legendary. Most of them had never seen him in person—not even during the wars. For more than two decades, Francesco hadn’t stepped out of his territory. Some of the younger Alphas likely wondered if he was just a story used to keep rogue wolves in check.
But now he was here. In their lands.
And they had prepared accordingly.
A formal welcoming ceremony was already underway, with banners bearing the crest of Blackpine flanking the lit pathway leading from the runway. The ceremonial torches cast flickering shadows across the gathered crowd, highlighting the reverent expressions of pack members lined up to greet him. Everything had been arranged to honor a powerful guest, believing Francesco came because of his old ties with the late Alpha Gregor.
Ruben stood at the front, dressed in traditional Alpha ceremonial attire, flanked by his most trusted warriors. His face was composed, but tension was visible in the tight set of his jaw. He was preparing to extend the hand of friendship and alliance, to secure a bond with the Lycan Alpha. A strategic move for someone on the brink of taking full control.
But whatever thoughts or plans he had unraveled the moment he saw who Francesco carried in his arms.
His body stiffened.
Shock rippled through the gathered warriors like a stone tossed into still water.
All eyes fell on me.
And more importantly, on the way Francesco held me.
It wasn’t just that he carried me—no. It was how he carried me.
His expression wasn’t cold or unreadable, like most expected from the reclusive Alpha Lycan. No, it was anything but. His features were soft with affection, protective in a way that made even the most hardened warriors exchange glances. He didn’t carry me like a possession.
He cradled me like something cherished.
Like something precious.
From afar, even without words, people could feel it. The bond. The truth that had yet to be spoken aloud.
And that truth hit Ruben like a thunderbolt.
The woman in the Lycan Alpha’s arms… was me.
His rejected mate. His past.
And now, clearly… someone else’s future.
I blinked my eyes when I smells the scent and sound in my mind-link—one I hadn’t felt in years—it echoed again in my mind like a forgotten melody suddenly replayed.
My old pack’s link. The Blackpine Pack. And they have awakened me.
It stirred something deep within me, dragging me from sleep to awareness with a sharp pull. The familiar hum of a connection I thought was severed forever.
I gasped softly.
Francesco noticed immediately. His grip on me tightened protectively as I blinked up at him, eyes still hazy from sleep. But he didn’t say a word—he just helped me slowly to my feet, steadying me as I tried to adjust to the overwhelming wave of memories crashing down on me all at once.
And just like that, we were there.
Standing right in front of the Blackpine Pack, led by none other than Ruben Black.
He stood tall at the center of the welcoming party, posture perfect, shoulders squared, his mate Kaithlyn beside him, warriors flanking them in ceremonial formation. But nothing could mask the flash of emotion that crossed his face the moment he saw me—wide eyes, parted lips, the smallest step forward before he stopped himself.
I could feel the stares. The whispers. The shock rippling through the crowd like a thunderclap.
Everyone in the Blackpine Pack knew who I was.
Ellaine Rollin—the orphaned daughter of George and Joselyne Rollin, the brave warriors who had died protecting this very pack when I was only six. I’d grown up under Alpha Gregor’s care, trained with the warriors, played with the other pups in the training field, and disappeared quietly after graduation with a scholarship and no goodbyes.
They had all watched me grow up… and then watched me vanish.
Now I was back. Not as the quiet girl from the warrior’s wing—but in the arms of the Lycan Alpha himself.
Carried like something sacred. Held like something treasured.
Francesco didn’t falter. His expression was unreadable, cool and commanding, yet his arm around me was nothing but gentle. He didn’t bow or break stride. He walked straight toward the Blackpine Pack with a regal grace that made everyone else feel… small.
This wasn’t just an Alpha visiting.
This was Alpha Lycaon returning to the world.
Even Kaithlyn’s mask cracked for a second. Her polite smile faltered, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes as she tried to piece the scene together—Francesco’s arrival, me in his arms, the weight of affection in every one of his movements.
She didn’t know.
None of them knew.
Not about the bond I had once shared with Ruben. Not about how he had rejected me beneath the pines on a cold winter morning when we both turned eighteen. How he had chosen power. Politics. Kaithlyn. He had never told anyone about our bond. Neither had I.
And now it didn’t matter.
Because I wasn’t his anymore.
I was Francesco’s mate.
And as we stood before the stunned Blackpine Pack, I let the weight of my past settle quietly behind me.
No more shame. No more secrets.
Just truth—shining in the way Francesco looked at me like I was his entire world.