Chapter 523 - 523 A Seeker’s Turmoil

523 A Seeker’s Turmoil

Madeline’s reason for leaving the games was not as grand, noble or generous as visiting the former delta in the hospital room that he was in.

No, in fact, it was something much more selfish than that.

Because of everything her friends had told her the day before as they were trying to ‘help’, she’d come across a rather dangerous idea.

Madeline was indeed the Seeker who would succeed her grandmother and her abilities were very treasured so much they were hidden and turned into a myth. Thanks to numerous years of hiding and secrecy, they were all but a rumour now.

The Seeker was an old story that usually got the kids gossiping.

‘Someone with the power to find your mate.’

It sounded like a dream come true.

But for Madeline, it was anything but. She had the power to find someone else’s mate for them… but was robbed of the power to seek out hers.

Kyle was definitely an oddball.

.....

Madeline observed him, trying to figure out whether it was indeed true that he was the one… but how much could she know about the mate pull without actually experiencing it? What did Kyle have to gain from lying about it? He’d never met her before either…

It wasn’t like the King of Lycaon had known of her existence either, so there was no way he could have known. There was the matter of him being able to see her eye colour no matter how much she masked it.

Kyle’s emotions almost felt obvious…

And yet they weren’t at the same time. Madeline’s grandmother had already told her stories of how three males fought over her when she was still young, each claiming to be her mate.

And her inability to figure this out herself made it even worse. Fortunately, her grandmother’s true mate was a patient and cunning man who never once backed down.

Eventually, he accepted a three-way duel where the wolves would fight for her hand… and nearly lost his life. Beatrice’s mate wasn’t as strong as the other two that fought for her hand… but what convinced Beatrice of his sincerity was his undying determination to save her.

It didn’t matter if they’d broken a few of his limbs or worse, Madeline’s grandfather never once surrendered to his two opponents…

‘Your mate is your other half, Mady. Without them, you can never be complete. To him, losing me was a fate worse than death and that’s why he wouldn’t give up,’ the memory of Madeline’s grandmother echoed through her voice.

It was a cruel fate… Not being able to identify your mate yourself. It’s not like Madeline could ask Kyle to jump off a cliff for her.

The thought did flash through her mind for a moment though…

‘What was the goddess even thinking granting my family this power?’ the girl cursed as she continued walking through the white halls of the medical floor.

There was a lot going through her mind at this point. Her convoluted thoughts were unrelenting, as though promising to shatter her young mind with never-ending confusion and indecision.

Among the only things that were clear to her, however, was the moment that Kyle had held her the night before.

Before Crysta’s interruption.

The beta alpha might have been acting on his instincts but even then, he’d been far too gentle in contrast to the strength he could have asserted against her. She noticed how her words took root within him. How his eyes flashed with merriment when she saw him and how he obeyed her wishes, whilst still showing his discomfort.

A beta alpha she’d never met shouldn’t have cared that much about her opinion, let alone had any interest in her. Compared to everyone else that Kyle could have picked to mess with, Madeline was not worth it.

Even Delta Bella was several leagues more stunning and impressive before mentioning her athletic build and easygoing attitude.

Kyle wasn’t the best at expressing himself but Madeline found reading him so easy that it was like second nature.

‘You can’t feel it, can you? The mate-pull,’ he’d asked that night as well.

‘Of course not, you dolt. I’m the Seeker… but he doesn’t know that.’ Madeline covered her eyes and nearly screamed into her hands.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

It was these complicated thoughts that had forced her out of the sporting centre in the first place.

‘Grrrrr…’ a rumbling growl filled the air, taking the worries that plagued her out of her mind and a sinking feeling of terror filled her. She felt her blood run cold all at once and goosebumps develop on her upper arms.

This wasn’t just any growl… It was violently hostile.

And what was more was that the growl felt directed towards her. At least, that’s what her senses told her. The girl opened her eyes, trying to discern her surroundings.

The first thing she noticed was that there was no one around.

Her eyes widened in shock when she noticed a door numbered 19 smashed up and laying on the other side of the corridor, opposite its threshold and torn off viciously at the hinges.

From the open door frame to room 19, a dirty grey paw stepped out, followed by the guttural growl she’d heard earlier. This time, however, it was much louder than she’d heard it.

A wolf stepped out, locking its amber eyes with her directly without looking around, almost like it knew exactly where she was.

‘Oh, dear!’

Drool dripped down the wolf’s maw as it bared its fangs at her.

The Seeker did the only thing she could. She turned around and ran.

The distance separating her from the wolf was still fairly long. About a hundred metres…

This distance should have been enough for the wolf to easily catch her but the girl wasn’t going to make it that easy. Digging deep into her innate werewolf genes, she ran as fast as she could.

Her ears kept track of the chasing wolf. Growls turned to feral snarls as the wolf barreled towards her.

‘The elevator!’ she remembered.

Room 19 was not far from the elevator. Rounding a corner, the girl spotted the open door of the elevator. It was open…

Madeline felt her thighs scream at her in exhaustion after only running for a few seconds, ‘Is that really all I can manage after all the effort I put into training?’ she mentally yelled but never once slowed her pace.

As she ran, a voice suddenly clobbered her mind. The voice of the king… it was an announcement and along with it came a wave of terror and fear from the rest of the pack.

And they were in trouble. Images of humans going through the First Shift flooded her mind as well. The Great Arena had descended into chaos in a matter of minutes and here she was being chased by a rabid wolf.

She also noticed that the lights were off in the images she received but didn’t have the time to think about that. She was currently running for her life.

‘Wait… wasn’t Victor supposed to be in Room 19?’ the winded Seeker asked herself.

She knew Victor’s wolf to be a beautiful light shade of grey and not the matted mess of dirty grey that was chasing her right now.

Rogue wolves always had one colour for their fur coat. It was rumoured that the beautiful colour of their natural hides would lose its former lustre and ‘fall’ from grace, no longer favoured by the Moon Goddess.

It was perfectly possible that the wolf chasing her was indeed Victor.

Madeline was running with everything she had towards the elevator. However, right when she was about to reach it. Ten metres away from the open door, a blur of dark grey darted past her and blocked her way.

The girl forced a painful break in her dash stopping a few metres short of the rogue and elevator, her heart beating wildly with fear.

The wolf had easily caught up with her and she’d sorely misjudged her chance at surviving.

There was a look of madness in its eyes as though it was contemplating the different ways it could tear her limb from limb.

Madeline felt, for the first time since running away from the Rogue King, that she was truly going to die. Terror gripped every fibre of her being… and just like before, she called out.

“Someone help!” Madeline yelled over the mind link.

“Madeline, are you alright?” Honour called out.

“I… I’m on the hospital floor. The East Wing. Oh dear!” a loud snarl brought her mind to the present. With the wolf stalking her, forming thoughts was getting increasingly difficult.

“Find a room… Higher Ground… A window… Anything that puts you further from it,” a male voice invaded her consciousness.

With the male’s voice came a surprising wave of calmness that helped her face the wolf once again. Suddenly, moving and breathing weren’t so hard either. She was still in danger… but she wasn’t frozen in fear.

The rogue wolf snarled, not liking the look on her face, and attacked.

Before, Madeline would have simply closed her eyes, frozen in fear. But now, her limbs moved, almost possessed…

And she stepped out of the way, rolling on the ground as the wolf crashed into the wall behind her, missing its target by a hair’s breadth.

‘Run…’ her thoughts spurred her away from the rogue. A split-second glance at the elevator door confirmed it had long closed and was already on its way to a lower floor.

The girl followed the orders she’d received, running through the halls in search of a room. Fortunately for her, there was a room not far from the elevator. She slipped into the room and slammed the door shut. Then began searching for something to bar the door.

As soon as she’d placed a chair against the doorknob, the door jerked violently, the lock shattering the wood that held it shut. The chair, however, held and kept the door from opening.

The sound of vicious snarls coming from the other side of the door, kept her panting in fear. The door shuddered again and this time, cracks ran along the wooden chair’s legs. It was only a matter of time before the rogue broke in.