Chapter 214: Question his worth
Ronan retreated several feet, establishing a mindlink with his warriors to order them out of his path.
The four men scrambled back as Ronan’s wolf burst into a sprint, charging toward the precipice.
Taking a powerful lunge into the air, he launched himself across the wide gap between the two plateaus, a perilous leap with no margin for error.
His wolf’s claws slammed against the far ledge just as he shifted back into human form, his fingers scrambling for a hold on the rocks attached on its cliff side.
"Alpha Ronan!" the warriors shouted from the opposite cliff, their hearts pounding.
Loose gravel cascaded into the abyss, but Ronan dug his fingers in deep, hauling himself upward until he finally pulled his body over the lip of the plateau.
He turned around, pulling the folded map from between his teeth. Offering a quick smile to his worried warriors, he gestured that he was fine and signaled for them to wait for his return.
Unfolding the map once more, Ronan studied the remaining path to chart his next move. Following the ancient lines, he turned away from the cliff edge and made his way into the shadowed depths of a dense forest.
"I need to find the pond," he muttered under his breath, tracking his progress with the compass.
Half an hour of pushing through the dense growth brought him to the edge of a clearing. Before him lay a vast, still pond. Its surface so pristine and glassy that it reflected the canopy above like a giant mirror.
Standing at the water’s edge, Ronan unfolded the map once more to check the final directions.
Suddenly, the soft voice of a woman cut through the silence.
Ronan spun around, his posture immediately rigid. Standing near the tree line was a figure of ethereal beauty, draped in flowing white robes. Unmoved by her appearance, his brow furrowed with suspicion—what was a woman doing out here in the middle of a hidden forest?
"Ronan, I can give you the moonstone," the young woman said softly, her eyes fixed on him. "You need only follow me."
"Thank you, but I don’t think so," Ronan replied coolly.
Keeping his gaze locked on her, his hand drifted toward his back, his fingers closing quietly around the hilt of his hidden dagger.
The woman stepped closer, her movements silent and fluid. Ronan instantly brought the blade up, resting the tip of his dagger against her throat.
"Leave before I stop asking nicely," he growled. "I don’t entertain the presence of other women when I already have a mate."
The young woman merely smiled, untroubled by the steel at her neck. "Don’t you need the moonstone to help your elder brother?"
Ronan’s eyes narrowed. She knew about Lucien. The air around her hummed with power, but it wasn’t the dark, aura of a witch. If she wasn’t a witch, what was she?
"Your mate doesn’t even love you, Ronan. Leia is far more interested in your brothers than in you." The woman reached out, the tip of her finger slowly tracing down the collar of his shirt. "She already bears Lucien’s mark. She chose him over you. You can’t even catch her scent, can you? Do you truly believe she is meant to be yours?"
"Shut up," Ronan snarled, refusing to let her words take root. "I don’t wish to end you today, so it’s better to shut your mouth and not a say word about Leia."
He realized that the woman was a magical entity of the forest, using her powers to play mind games with anyone who dared approach the pond.
"It turns out you love her too much," the woman whispered, a sly smile touching her lips. "Then shall I show you something interesting?"
She swept her hand across the air in front of his face. Ronan’s gaze froze, his eyes locking onto the shimmering vision unfolding before him, a vivid scene showing Leia in intimate conversation with his brothers.
In the vision, Leia was laughing and kissing his brothers. When Kieran brought up his name, she brushed it off, declaring that she didn’t want Ronan anywhere near her.
"No one wants you, Ronan," the woman whispered, her voice echoing inside his mind. "Even your father called you cursed. He never loved you because he blamed you for your mother’s failing health. Every time something went wrong in the pack, it was always your fault. He couldn’t even bring himself to call you his son."
The woman leaned closer, her tone dripping with mock sympathy. "And your brothers are no different. Lucien uses you for his own gains, and Kieran sees you as a burden. Kieran has always been the favored, blessed child. You know it’s true."
Her manipulative words seeped into his head, striking every old, unhealed wound. Tears burned in Ronan’s eyes as the painful memories of his late father resurfaced, bringing back the bitter words that had made him question his worth for years.
"You don’t deserve to live, Ronan," the woman urged softly. "Without you, Leia can finally live happily with your brothers. That is what she wants, after all."
Under the spell of the woman’s manipulative words, Ronan raised the dagger, aiming the sharp tip directly at his own heart to end his life. But just as the steel pressed against his chest, the sound of Leia’s laughter echoed in his mind.
"You aren’t cursed, Ronan. You never were. I love you."
Her voice cut through the dark fog, flooding his thoughts until the haze cleared. Realization slammed into him, he was being manipulated.
His brothers had always stood by him. While the bitterness of his father’s harshness still lingered deep down, Leia had helped him see the truth about himself.
He wasn’t a curse. His pack respected him, and his family loved him for the way he fought to protect them.
Before the woman could react, Ronan redirected the dagger and drove it straight into her heart.
"Stop messing with my mind," Ronan growled, his voice steady and full of conviction. "My mate loves me. If there is anyone who cares for me more than anyone else in this world, it is Leia."