Axton POV

"Axton!" she screams for me. I can see her reaching for me as the rain pours down on us, blocking me from reaching her fast enough.

"No!" I yell as I push against the hidden force pulling me away from her.

I watch as the slimy hand wraps around her throat, an evil laugh fills the empty forest as her fear etches into my memory. She opens her soft lips as if to tell me she loves me one last time, but I never hear the sweet music escape in the words I need to hear as his claws dig into her neck.

In one swift movement, the beast yanks his claws across her throat, taking her from me forever.

The force pulling me back gives way as I race to catch her before she hits the forest floor. I turn her over to face me as her blood soaks into the soil. Her skin feels as soft as the day I first found her. Her once blonde hair is stained from the black liquid seeping from her wound. Her once beautifully full green eyes are devoid of life.

My mate is gone, forever taken from me.

I hold her in my arms, weeping for her to return to me. Finally, I lay her down as anger to the one who took her fills my body as my wolf howls for his fallen mate.

That's when I feel it. Sparks erupt up my arm, but not ones of love. As if my life is being drained from my soul, darkness spreads over my body and to my heart as I watch my dead mate lift her head from the ground.

She stares at me, devoid of all emotion and love, "Why?"

"What?" I ask the now living corpse.

"Why did you let me die?" her voice is monotone, empty of all emotion.

"No."

"Why am I dead, Axton?" her nails grow into my skin, spilling my blood onto the ground. The only thing I can focus on is her face as it morphs into anger over my failure, "Why did I die, Axton? Why did you kill me?"

"I didn't-. I tried-"

"It's all your fault."

"No!" I yell.

"It's all your fault I'm dead."

"No!" I scream, jerking out of my nightmare.

I feel my pounding heart as I look around my office. I slowly peel my eyes open and look to the clock sitting in front of me. It's almost 3 in the morning. I must have fallen asleep at my desk when I was working on the treaty with two opposing Alphas who were fighting over land.

Knocks pound against the oak door to my office. I rub my hands over my face in frustration. I have been having nightmares over the loss of my mate for years now. I try to erase the memory as my hoarse voice calls to the person waiting for me to allow them in, "Enter."

The doorknob slowly turns as my beta pushes into the room. He lowers his head slightly in respect, "Alpha."

"What is it, Walker?" I ask him.

Walker has been my best friend since we were children. He has known me for years and he was there when I lost my mate. He supported me in my search for her, but we never found her. Eventually, he dragged me back to the pack, but I will never stop looking, even if everyone thinks she was dead. I refuse to believe it until I see her for myself.

"Are you alright, Axton?" he asks.

"I'm fine," I respond automatically. After so many asking the same question, I have become accustom to the same lie I told to them and myself.

He slowly nods his head in understanding before giving me a look of sadness, "I heard you call out her name again," he says.

"I'm fine, Walker," I tell him again.

"I know," he says, "But it's ok not to be." He pauses for a second, in an attempt for his words to sink in. I know he is just trying to look out for me, but nothing he says could get me to crack and spill everything.

When I lost my mate, I lost all hope in life itself. I became feared by all who crossed me. I burned rogues into nothing and killed all those who stood against me or my pack. I became cruel in a way that my mate will be ashamed to discover when I find her again.

"What did you dream this time?" he asks me softly.

I take a deep breath before answering him honestly, "She died in my arms. Then she came back and asked why I killed her."

"You didn't kill her," he says definitively. I look up to him. He has been the only one who to urge me to keep hoping for her return. He is the only one who still saw the man I was, instead of the cruel Alpha I have become, "She isn't dead."

"I-" I go to answer him when I am cut off by a message in the pack mind link.

Alpha, one of the patrols says.

What is it? I question him, standing in case I need to move quickly.

Rogues are getting close to the border.

I let out a snarl as my wolf becomes angry at the thought of another rogue coming onto out lands.

Have they crossed yet? I ask, as Walker listens in on the conversation.

No. They appear to be chasing another wolf. She seems set on crossing the border.

I look at Walker and quickly order, "Go. Kill any rogue that crosses into our territory."

"Yes Alpha," he quickly says before heading out the door.

Kill those who cross the border, I tell the patrols.

I sit back into the chair behind my desk, waiting for my men to tell me they were dead, that no rogue survived. When my mate was taken, the smell of rogues was present. Ever since, I have killed every rogue that crosses my path. If I kill enough of them, I will eventually find her.

A few minutes pass before I hear Walker trying to reach me, Alpha.

How many? I ask.

There were about four rogues, but they ran before they crossed the border.

Chase them down, I tell him, confused on why he didn't automatically chase the scum and wipe them from this Earth.

Alpha, someone did cross over. She says she needs to speak with you.

I take no prisoners, Beta, I growl to him as my wolf starts to surface at the thought.

Alpha, it's Alpha Madden's mate, Luna Layla, he tells me, The Blue Moon Pack has been attacked.

Bring her here immediately, I order him.

Yes Alpha, he immediately replies.

How could someone have attacked the Blue Moon Pack and no one received word about it until now. There has been no distress call sent out. They are one of my pack's greatest allies under my father and they supported me when I took over Alpha. Although I'm haven't been close to Madden and the pack in the last couple of years, I know they aren't a small pack. How could the rogues have beaten them?

After about ten minutes thinking over what could have happened, I hear voices in the forest. I can hear the soft words as my beta guides the poor Luna to the house.

As swiftly as I can move, I leave my office and pound down the steps of the pack house until I reach the solid oak front door. Without a thought, I open the door to greet Luna Layla.

The second the door is open, I don't see the Luna in front of me. All I see are two deep blue eyes reflecting sadness and a need for comfort. I stare at the soft face as silent tears flow down her face.

She looks so small and helpless as she clutches closer in the arms of the Luna.

I can hear my wolf in the back of my mind calling out to me, Pup! Protect pup!