Selena

For one terrifying moment, I forgot how to breathe as Alpha Kael’s hands were still gripping my arms.

His fingers dug into my skin just enough for me to feel the strength behind them. His eyes glowed an intense crimson, his wolf surfacing dangerously close to the surface and mine answered.

A sharp, unfamiliar sensation rushed through me as my wolf, who had remained mostly quiet ever since I’d discovered Alpha Kael was my mate, suddenly surged awake.

It was not anger or fear... instead, It was something else. It was something primal and possessive.

My pulse thundered as my entire body heated. Then a shocking urge slammed into me to mark him.

The thought came from nowhere or perhaps not nowhere. Perhaps from the wolf hidden deep inside me.

’Mark him! Claim him and make him yours.’ The urge was so sudden and powerful that my knees almost buckled beneath me.

Alpha Kael’s eyes widened slightly as apparently he must have felt it too.

For one brief moment, neither of us moved, then the feeling vanished as abruptly as it had arrived.

Alpha Kael immediately released me and stepped backward as though I’d caught fire.

I stumbled too as both of us were breathing heavily. Neither of us said anything.

The wind swept across the rooftop, carrying silence between us and finally, I swallowed and asked. "What was that?"

Alpha Kael rubbed a hand across his face. "Our wolves."

"My wolf has never done that before."

His jaw tightened. "Mine has."

That made me blink. "What do you mean?"

He exhaled slowly. "Because we’ve both refused to complete the mate bond."

I stared at him. "And?"

"And our wolves aren’t happy about it."

I folded my arms. "That’s ridiculous."

"It isn’t." His expression remained serious. "When mates reject the instinct to claim one another, sometimes the wolves become impatient."

I frowned. "Impatient?"

"Yes and they try to force what they want."

My cheeks immediately warmed. "So my wolf wanted to..." I couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Alpha Kael’s lips twitched. "Yes."

"Oh." I said as awkward silence followed. I suddenly became fascinated with a random chimney on the far side of the rooftop.

Alpha Kael seemed equally interested in the clouds as several seconds passed then we both spoke simultaneously.

"You—"

"You—"

We stopped and I sighed before saying. "You go first."

"No." He said firmly, making me roll my eyes.

"You are impossible." I said with a scoff.

"So I’ve been told." He said and a laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

To my surprise, a small smile appeared on his face then it disappeared quickly but I’d seen it and somehow that made me smile even more.

Alpha Kael cleared his throat. "I’ll make this simple... I won’t claim you."

The words surprised me as he looked directly at me and continued. "Not if you don’t want it."

For a second, I wasn’t sure what to say then I nodded. "Good."

One of his brows lifted. "Good?"

"Yes."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You’re agreeing too quickly."

I shrugged before saying. "It would complicate things."

"It would." He agreed.

"I have enough problems already."

"So do I." He said and we stared at each other without saying anything else.

The tension eased slightly enough for me to breathe again. Enough for me to remember the far more important problem.

"I still don’t understand."I started,

Alpha Kael leaned against the stone railing. "Understand what?"

"Why those men came for me." His expression darkened immediately as I continued. "They weren’t ordinary assassins.They were Alpha sons!"

"Yes."

I shook my head. "That makes no sense."

Alpha Kael folded his arms. "People do strange things when there’s something valuable to gain."

"Valuable? What do you mean?" I wanted to know more.

His gaze settled on me. "You are valuable."

I snorted. I’m not valuable."

"You are currently the most talked about missing person in the realm."

That wasn’t exactly comforting as Alpha Kael continued. "Your disappearance has become a political crisis."

I groaned. "I hate politics."

"Unfortunately politics seems to like you." I glared at him but he looked entirely unbothered.

Then he said, "Think about it, If gold was discovered tomorrow in Thornveil Region, what would happen?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Just answer." He groaned.

"People would rush there." I managed to voice out.

"Why?" He asked again.

"Because gold is valuable."I said and he nodded. "Exactly!"

Then he gestured toward the distant mountains. "Our region produces more wolfsbane than anywhere else."

I frowned. "So?"

"So people want what benefits them." Understanding slowly dawned as my stomach twisted.

"You think they wanted to ransom me."

"It’s the most likely explanation." He said and I hated how reasonable that sounded.

I moved toward the edge of the rooftop and the beautiful scenery no longer helped.

Instead, anxiety crept back into my chest. "If my father finds me..." My voice trailed off. "If those Alphas capture me..."

The words began tumbling out before I could stop them. "If my father gets me back, he’ll send me to the vampires."

I swallowed. "If the Velmorian Alphas capture me, they’ll probably sell me back to him."

My breathing quickened. "Then he’ll send me to the vampires anyway."

The memories returned, the horrors I’d heard growing up about the vampires.

"The creatures of the dark don’t just kill people." I wrapped my arms around myself. "They take them."

My voice shook. "They keep them." I stared at the ground. "I heard they drink blood until their victims beg for death."

The words poured out faster. "I heard they lock people underground and I also heard they—"

"Selena." Alpha Kael called out, making me stop. His hand settled firmly on my shoulder.

I looked up and saw his expression had changed.

The teasing was gone, the irritation was gone and only seriousness remained. "You are spiraling."

I blinked then realized he was right. I’d been rambling as fear had completely taken over.

Embarrassment flushed through me. "I—"

"You don’t need to worry." He said and a humorless laugh escaped me.

"That’s easy for you to say." I said.

"It isn’t."Something in his tone made me pause as Alpha Kael stepped closer to me.

"I gave you my word." I stared at him as his eyes never left mine. "I will protect you." The words were simple.

There was no grand speech, and no dramatic declaration. It was just certainty and somehow that affected me more than any promise ever had because I believed him completely.

The realization startled me.

Alpha Kael must have noticed because a faint smirk suddenly appeared on his face. "There." He said.

"What?" I asked, taken aback.

"You’re thinking again."

I rolled my eyes. "You’re unbearable."

"So I’ve heard." He bragged and that earned another reluctant laugh from me.

For a few moments we simply stood there beneath the sky then Alpha Kael glanced toward the horizon. "When’s your next break from your duties?"

"Oh." I thought for a moment. "By dusk."

He nodded. "Good. Meet me at the underground armory."

My brows furrowed. "Why?"

His expression instantly became suspicious. "Do you question everything?"

"Yes."

A slow smile appeared on his face. "I want to show you something."

"What?" I still ask again.

"You’ll see."

I narrowed my eyes. "Very helpful."

"I know." He smirked.

"What about the guards?" I asked as I didn’t want to be sent away rudely.

"They’ll let you through."

"Just like that?" I asked with a creased brow.

"They’ll obey my orders." He said and I couldn’t help laughing as the confidence in his voice was ridiculous.

Alpha Kael merely smirked, then without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there smiling like an idiot.

The realization made me groan then I returned to work.

The next few hours passed surprisingly quickly that even the endless cleaning felt lighter.

I worked tirelessly and somehow smiled through all of it.

Marqee eventually noticed as she stopped carrying a basket and stared at me. "What’s wrong with you today?"

I blinked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"You’re smiling."

"So?"

"You never smile this much." She said and I immediately stopped smiling.

Marqee snorted. "You are acting suspicious." I ignored her but the truth remained that I was excited.

When the sun finally began sinking below the horizon, I slipped away from the gathering servants quietly.

I followed the same underground route Beta Bastien had used the previous night.

The corridors were dim, cold and silent. The deeper I went, the quieter everything became and ancient paintings of warriors, battles and long forgotten victories covered portions of the stone walls.

The armory guard saw me approaching and without hesitation, he stepped aside.

"Miss." He said and I blinked, then nodded awkwardly. This was definitely Alpha Kael’s orders.

The massive doors remained shut as I approached cautiously. The underground passage felt eerie and almost haunted.

Suddenly— A figure appeared from the darkness and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Alpha Kael’s lips twitched. "You scare easily."

"You practically appeared from nowhere." I snapped at him as I rolled my eyes.

Alpha Kael moved toward the armory doors and with a heavy groan, they opened.

My eyes widened on seeing hundreds of weapons,swords, axes,spears, shields... rows upon rows.

Dust covered everything yet surprisingly, none of the weapons were rusted. I stepped inside and was left speechless.

Then Alpha Kael crossed toward a shelf and he pulled out something hidden behind it.

A second door appeared and I froze. "What is that?"

"Come." He said instead and I hesitated as the passage beyond looked suspiciously dark.

Alpha Kael expression softened slightly. "Just trust me."

I stared at him then sighed. "Fine."

The hidden passage eventually opened into a large clearing and my eyes widened again. It felt as though we’d somehow stepped outside the castle walls.

The training ground stretched before us as moonlight flooded the area while the air felt fresh, peaceful and beautiful.

I slowly turned toward him. "What exactly did you want to show me?"

Alpha Kael reached for the edge of his shirt then pulled it off. My brain immediately stopped working as his bare chest gleamed beneath the moonlight.

Heat rushed straight into my face as I quickly looked away. Then I immediately looked back again, unfortunately.

"What are you showing me?" I asked, thanking the moon goddess that I didn’t stutter.

His grin widened. "It isn’t something I want to show you."

I frowned. "Then what?"

His eyes sparkled with challenge. "It’s something I want to see."

I blinked trying to understand what he meant."I still don’t get..."

He folded his shirt aside then looked directly at me. "I want to see the combat skills you claimed to have learned from your pack."