The Alpha's pretend mate

chapter 33

AVELORA.

Khyrix still didn't say anything even as we walked into his room.

First thing i did was remove the pin that had been pressing uncomfortably against my nape. Chills from the cave still lingered. The scent of rotten body, the herbs.

Those things were burnt somewhere deep in my mind, I knew I was going to have a hard time forgetting.

I stood in the centre of the dimly lit room, every muscle in my body was tight, waiting for the inevitable explosion. I had called him a sadistic monster, I don't know what was wrong with me but I knew I was as good as dead.

We were never equal, not even in my wildest dreams, not even in the next thousand years, but he didn't need to know that.

By all laws of nature and the academy, an Alpha should have broken me for that. His eyes were still a deep, dangerous shade of gold, the irises practically vibrating with predatory energy. The sheer weight of his aura pressed down on the room, making the air feel heavy, almost impossible to breathe. I braced my feet against the floor, refusing to let my knees buckle. I had just escaped a crazy man in a cave, I wasn't going to cower before him.

He took a slow step forward. I didn't back down. I clenched my fists, locking my jaw, waiting for something-anything, even shattering of furniture.

Not...

Khyrix closed the distance between us in a single, silent stride, and before I could even raise my hands to push him away, he threw his arms around me.

It was a desperate, crushing embrace. He pulled me so hard against his chest that the remaining air left my lungs, burying his face into the crook of my neck. I froze, my arms pinned helplessly against his torso, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. The warmth sent a shockwave through my system.

"Don't ever leave like that again," he muttered, his voice raw, stripped entirely of the cold mask he usually wore. The command was laced with something that sounded terrifyingly like fear.

"Khyrix, let go..." I protested, twisting my torso to break the hold, but his grip only tightened, his hands anchoring into the fabric of my ruined dress.

"Just shut up for a second and listen to me, Avelora," he growled, nothing but an overwhelming exhaustion. He exhaled a shaky breath against my skin, his chest rising and falling violently against mine. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

I stopped fighting, stunned into silence by the vibration of his voice.

"I almost lost control of everything," he whispered, the admission sounding like a confession he hated himself for making. "The moment I realized you were outside the gates, in forbidden territory, everything just...."

I could fill in the gap myself. I knew what could happen if he lost control, I knew how feral Torin was.

What I couldn't understand about all this was why he was this shaken by all this.

I feel like with all the trouble I'd been putting him through, It would be his benefit if I just dropped dead.

He slowly pulled back, just enough to look down at me, though his hands remained firmly planted on my shoulders, grounding me in place. The gold in his eyes was slowly receding, going back into his natural, piercing dark eyes, but the intensity of his gaze hadn't faded at all. He scanned my face, searching for any hidden injuries I might have omitted during our shouting match in the woods.

"You think I enjoy what happens in that arena?" he asked, his voice dropping to a bitter cadence. "You think I sit up in those bleachers because I enjoy the sight of the masaccre?"

"You don't do anything to stop it," I shot back defensively, though the motivation from earlier had dulled. "Tradition does not excuse any of that, any of the things that goes on in this academy, I don't care how many times I say it or how stupid I sound repeating it.""

Khyrix’s expression hardened, pain passing over his features before he could mask it. "I cant change anything Avelora, I'm being controlled by everything around me, My authority get passed on to the council for decisions to be made." He took a deep breath

"Yes, I am the only alpha to present in over a century, that also makes me the pawn in every pack, every territories game."

I gulped, this was all so much to take in.

"I'm sorry" I apologised sincerely, at least he hadn't punished my defiance. He had hugged me because the thought of me dying in those woods had genuinely broke his restraint.

his hand dropped to his sides, his gaze was so intense I fumbled and hugged him.

He stiffened but loosened up a second later, his hand slowly wrapped around my waist "I'm sorry too."

What?

My heart skipped a bit as I tightened his hand around him. This was the second time he would apologise to me.

"No matter what you think Alpha, you are great, and you will be the greatest alpha ever."

He chuckled, "You saying this makes me want to believe you." I tried to pull away but his hand locked me in place "Thank you," I smiled against his chest. He wasn't actually as unreasonable as I expected him to be.

"So..." I pulled away, realising I needed to fill him up the bizzare situation in the forest.

"So?" He asked. I plopped on the bed with my very dirty dress hoping he doesn't get angry about it.

I tapped the bed

"I met a man in the the cave and I am seventy percent sure he is the rogue." I ran my hand through my hair "But he wasn't a rogue at all, he was there, he was almost human."

"I noticed." Khyrix interrupted "He wasn't as out of control as we were told, it just circled the cave door, it didn't keep attacking, that was strange for a rogue, I was thinking of investigating once everything settles down."

I played with my finger, the uneasiness settling in again "He called me Aurora." Khyrix focused on me some more

"Aurora?" I nodded "That name sounds very familiar." Khyrix noted, i could see the wheels spinning in his head.

"He knew who I was, he called me a scholarship student. He told me this wasn't a place for me."