The Alpha's pretend mate

chapter 13

AVELORA

I stared at Zayn, Khyrix’s beta, waiting for the announcement. I didn’t want to be accepted into their ranks simply because I was Khyrix’s mate, I wanted to earn it. I wanted to show them I was worth it.

Zayn smiled at me, that boyish and charming smile that did nothing to hide the rot beneath. Khyrix was evil, but at least he was honest about it.

“Okay, we leave immediately.”

As if that was the signal, the rest of the group erupted in hollers and cheers. Damn. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to taste the food I’d been serving. I thought this nonsense would come after we ate, not before.

Khyrix stood up last. I followed, ready to trail behind him as usual, when his hand wrapped around mine. His fingers were large, strong, and the simple contact sent a shiver through my body, a reaction I hadn’t learned to control.

I rolled my eyes at the now-familiar sensation. He glanced down at me, expression unreadable, but there was a question in his eyes, a silent check to see if I was sure. I nodded, and his hand tightened around mine, reassuring as if this wasn’t just for show.

Time seemed to lose meaning as we walked. My focus was solely on the tingle running through me from that touch, and I barely noticed the forest until we passed through the gates. The trees were dense, a chill ran down my spine.

The memories of events that happened in the forest running through my mind in flashes.

“I thought being outside the gate was forbidden,” I said, my voice a whisper I barely recognized as my own.

“For you guys. Even the academy can’t keep royalty prisoner.” Khyrix’s Gamma–Derek, if I remembered correctly—spoke with an obnoxious grin that didn’t suit the seriousness of the moment.

“Shut up, Derek,” Khyrix snapped, finally looking up from his phone.

Silence followed as we continued, the air thick. We entered the heart of the forest, the part rumored to be home to a rogue wolf. Derek and Zayn stopped under a massive tree.

It was unlike any tree I had ever seen. Energy pulsed from it, faintly, in waves that made my skin prickle. My hand trembled as I looked at the ancient trunk, realizing that this was no ordinary tree. So, we weren’t going to the forbidden caves after all.

“This is the only Tree of Life left, the only one the High Priestess was able to save,” Derek, or maybe it was Zayn, said, though I couldn’t tell anymore. I blinked, making sure they weren’t joking. Why would anyone think it was acceptable to come here?

“The tradition is simple,” Zayn explained, voice calm, almost sweet. “All you need to do is touch the tree to prove you are worthy.”

My mouth dropped open. “Are you serious? It is forbidden to touch the Tree of Life. The books say anyone who dares will be delirious for the rest of their life.”

Zayn’s smile widened, infuriating to say the least. “This is the test, Avelora. You accepted the challenge, and we’re here to see if you are worthy enough to join…” His words blurred into the background as I tuned him out, he was repeating himslef like a broken record.

I looked to Alpha Khyrix, leaning casually against a nearby trunk, watching me with that unreadable expression. “You don’t have to do it,” he reminded me after a beat of silence.

I squared my shoulders. “I’ll do it.”

Zayn’s eyes sparkled. “The legend in the book is wrong anyways. The real one says those impure of heart shall never recover from the madness that spreads to their soul if they disrespect the tree.”

“So, you’re telling me everyone here is pure of heart?”

Zayn shrugged. “No. I’m special, dear. I’m his Beta.”

The words swirled in my mind as I stepped forward, hand trembling. I thought of everything I had done in my life, weighing my choices, my intentions. Would I classify myself as pure? I had never deliberately hurt anyone. I had never lied to deceive. But was that enough?

The forest seemed to hold its breath as I reached the tree. My hand hovered over the bark, hesitant. And then the pull began. It was subtle at first, almost unnoticed, as if the tree itself was assessing me, drawing me in, teasing me, testing the very fiber of my being. The force intensified, dragging me forward like a moth to flame, and I had no choice but to surrender.

“Stooooooop!” a voice screeched in my mind, a desperate protest I couldn’t heed. My body moved on its own accord, pulled toward the tree until my fingertips brushed the bark.

The moment my skin made contact. It was as if the world darkened around me, my mind dissolving into darkness, my senses overwhelmed by the energy that pulsed through the Tree of Life.

Everything fell away. The forest, the group, even Khyrix’s steady presence all disappeared. My body stiffened, my existence just dissolving into…

...Nothing