Shattered Bonds: A Second Chance Mate - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Hoowwlllll...
A sudden alert howl from the guard perimeter crackled through the warriors like lightning.
Rogues. Spotted near the eastern border.
Within seconds, the calm shattered into swift, decisive action.
The Alphas moved immediately, their warriors following without hesitation.
Francesco didn’t waste a breath — he gave a few sharp commands in his deep, commanding voice, summoning his Fourth Warrior to his side.
Meanwhile, six of his elite warriors remained close, circling protectively around me and the other Lunas gathered inside the Alpha mansion.
Despite the walls and the number of trained fighters surrounding us, a prickle of unease traced down my spine. It was a dangerous situation.
But more than fear for myself, my heart ached with worry... for him. For Francesco.
I knew he was powerful — stronger than any Alpha here — but I had just found him. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him now, not when we had barely begun.
The tension in the air was palpable. Lunas huddled closer, whispering prayers or sending silent mind-links to their mates. The warriors stood at full alert, their bodies tight, ears straining for the faintest hint of threat.
Through the windows, I caught glimpses of movement — shadows darting among the trees, snarls cutting through the stillness.
The rogues must have caught wind of the gathering of Alphas and sought to unleash chaos.
But what they didn’t know — what they couldn’t have known — was that among these gathered leaders was a force far beyond their reckoning.
A Lycan Alpha.
A monster... a storm cloaked in wolf skin.
Francesco Totti Lycaon...
And tonight, they had made the fatal mistake of endangering his Luna.
Something ancient and primal stirred in the air — a shift so palpable it made every werewolf in the mansion stiffen.
A low, vicious growl, bigger than usual werewolf, echoed from the battlefield.
Francesco had joined the hunt.
I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling the fierce rhythm of my heart as the bond between us pulsed stronger than ever.
His fury radiated through the link, a white-hot blaze that promised devastation to any who dared lay a threat before me.
Outside, the battle had already turned.
Those rogues hadn’t prepared for what they faced.
Francesco moved like a phantom among them — a blur of raw, terrifying strength. One after another, the rogues fell, barely having time to realize their end had come. His claws were longer, sharper. His speed was unmatched. His roar shook the very ground.
The other Alphas, seasoned warriors in their own right, could only watch in stunned awe as Francesco tore through the enemy ranks with brutal efficiency.
Now they saw…
They saw why, once, he had been called the Monster Alpha.
Why, once, even the bravest warriors had bowed their heads when he passed.
Why the Moon Goddess had created a fated one for him — to tame the storm, to soften the beast.
Because without that anchor, Francesco was unstoppable. Dangerous not just to his enemies — but to the world itself.
Three hours….
That’s all it took. Three hours to sweep the territory clean, to tear apart every last rogue foolish enough to step foot into Blackpine lands tonight.
Francesco’s scent — sharp, commanding, uniquely Lycan — lingered thick in the air, a warning no sane creature would dare ignore.
As the final rogue fell, silence blanketed the forest.
And then...
A sound split the night sky.
A powerful, victorious howl — deep and resonant, carrying across the mountains and valleys.
It was Francesco.
Claiming his triumph. Declaring his dominion.
Every werewolf instinctively dropped to their knees, heads bowed low in reverence. Even the Alphas themselves could not resist the pull.
They howled back — an answer, a submission. Acknowledging the true king among them.
Inside the mansion, I stood near the window, my hand trembling slightly against the glass.
Tears blurred my vision, but they weren’t born from fear.
No. They were tears of awe.
Of pride. Of fierce, overwhelming love.
He was mine. And I was his.
Behind me, the other Lunas whispered in stunned amazement, their warriors murmuring prayers of gratitude for having someone like him among their ranks.
But amidst the triumph, one figure stood isolated — consumed by bitter despair.
Ruben.
I caught sight of him across the room, his face pale, twisted with something between rage and helplessness.
He had seen it too. He had witnessed with his own eyes the sheer force of the being I now belonged to. A power he could never match.
A mate he could never be. And he hated it.
He hated knowing that I had found someone stronger. Better.
Someone who would protect me, love me, and destroy anything that dared harm me.
He had lost. Truly and completely.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled.
I quickly turn my head the moment the front doors of the mansion creaked open, every sound in the room seemed to vanish.
My heart lurched violently in my chest.
And there he was. Francesco…
He stepped inside, towering and commanding, every inch the victorious Lycan Alpha.
His black shirt was torn at the shoulder, claw marks ripped across the fabric, and streaks of blood — not his own — stained his hands and arms.
His hair was disheveled, his sharp jaw set hard, his golden eyes burning with a raw, feral light that hadn't yet dimmed.
And yet... when his gaze found me across the room, something shifted.
The fury melted away, replaced by something achingly tender. A low, rumbling growl vibrated from deep within his chest — not of anger now, but of need. Of relief.
Without thinking, without caring who watched, I ran to him.
The warriors around me parted instinctively, sensing the urgency between us. I crashed into his chest, my arms wrapping tightly around him.
He caught me effortlessly, lifting me off the ground as he buried his face in the crook of my neck, breathing me in like I was the only thing keeping him sane.
"I'm here," I whispered, tears slipping down my cheeks. "I'm safe."
His arms tightened around me until it was almost hard to breathe — but I didn’t care. I clung to him just as fiercely.
He pulled back just enough to look at me, one large hand cradling my face with such gentleness it shattered something inside me.
His thumb brushed away my tears.
"You are mine," Francesco rasped, his voice hoarse and heavy with emotion. "No one... will ever touch you, harm you. Not while I breathe."
The bond between us pulsed like a living thing, thrumming with fierce love, pride, and overwhelming possessiveness.
Around us, the world blurred.
It didn’t matter that dozens of Alphas, Lunas, warriors were still present.
In this moment, it was just us.
Francesco leaned in, his forehead resting against mine, his breathing ragged.
"I fought like a madman tonight," he confessed in a whisper meant only for me. "Because the thought of you being afraid... it drives me insane, Luna mia."
I smiled through my tears, tracing the line of his jaw with trembling fingers.
"I wasn't afraid," I said softly. "Because I knew you'd come back to me."
A broken, almost relieved laugh escaped him.
He tilted my chin up and pressed a kiss to my forehead — slow, reverent — like he was anchoring himself back to earth through me.
And in that moment, surrounded by the lingering scent of blood and victory, wrapped safely in his arms, I realized something: No fear. No regret. No more ghosts of the past.
This was home. Francesco was my home. And together, we were unstoppable.