Sentenced to The Ruthless Alpha

Chapter 21: Nothing But a Sentence

Roman POV

The hall fell deathly silent, enough that a single indrawn breath would have been heard. Shoulders stiffened around the room. Roman turned slowly, scanning the crowd for the wolf who'd had the impudence to slander him.

He didn't have to look long; Beta Devlin was on his feet, standing out from the bowed heads around him like a lit match in a dark room, his eyes fixed on the alpha.

Devlin wasn't an original member of the Valcourt pack. He'd once ruled a pack of his own before it fell, and had worked his way into the Valcourt ranks through hard work, skill, and until now, unimpeachable loyalty. But watching him from across the hall, Roman didn't see a loyal beta anymore. He saw a stubborn alpha jostling for cheap fame.

"What was that?" Roman's voice dropped to a growl, giving the fool one last chance to swallow his own question. The air in the room thinned. Everyone else flinched. Devlin didn't.

He jammed both hands into his pockets. "I asked if it's true that the human, Thora Storm… sorry," he corrected himself with a dry chuckle, "Thora Valcourt, is your long-awaited fated mate."

Before the fire in Roman's eyes could burn a hole through his skull, he pressed on with a mild smile. "Alpha Roman, I'm only bringing rumors to your attention that have been simmering under the surface since your wedding. Our people are too afraid to ask you directly."

But apparently, you're not, Roman thought, anger kindling in slow, deliberate leaps.

"I just want to put the doubts to rest, Alpha, especially since your decision today will only feed them further. Is the human your fated mate the same way your grandfather, Alpha Alan Valcourt, was fated to a human? Is that why you're so protective of her?"

Roman's hands curled into fists as curious heads lifted around the room. He was furious at Devlin's nerve, but more furious still at how eagerly the rest of the pack leaned in. Even a few of the elders cleared their throats, pointedly. How long had this rumor been circulating? Who had started it? And how much did they actually know?

Roman descended from his high seat and closed the distance to Devlin, staring him down.

"You've clearly been busy in the Valcourt archives, Devlin."

"Yes, Alpha. I've spared no effort immersing myself in this pack's history." He beamed, hands clasped behind his back in a show of deference.

"Then your incompetence must be the problem, because if you'd actually been thorough, you'd know Alpha Alan's mate was chosen by the Moon Goddess herself, not handed to him by a council of elders. He had a confirmed bond, which is the only reason their marriage survived and bred purebloods despite her being a human Luna. That is nothing like my case."

He stepped forward until he stood in front of Thora. Her jaw was lifted in defiance, her eyes sharp with anger. He knew what he was about to say would undo every ounce of trust he'd just built by defending her, but this mattered more than her feelings toward him.

"This human and I share nothing but a sentence." He turned, sweeping a hand toward the elders. "Our own council saw fit to drag an old punishment out of the archives, one with the power to ruin not just one man, but drag his entire pack down with him; a human Luna."

"Alpha Roman…"

"I'm not finished, Darryl." Roman's glare froze the elder mid-rise until he sank back into his seat. He turned back to Devlin, whose smug grin had all but vanished.

"I am not Alpha Alan. This was never the Moon Goddess's will. So, if the human's presence disgusts you, if you resent what this pack has lost because of her, don't blame my forced marriage, and don't blame my duty to protect her life due to this sentence. Blame your elders who put us all in this mess."

The silence that followed was different from before. It was oddly colder and heavier. Roman swept back to his seat like a man daring the room to challenge him again.

"Anyone else have a rumor they'd like cleared up?" he boomed, eyes sweeping the room. "Anyone?"

Devlin sat down without another word.

"That had better be the last rumor I hear about my sentence, or how I choose to run my life. Anyone caught spreading another will hang by my decree."

"Long live the alpha!" Penny called out.

"Long live the alpha!" the hall echoed back.

His eyes found Thora. There was a question burning behind hers, one he wouldn't survive answering if he gave her stubborn tongue the chance to ask it aloud. He didn't need her to speak it; he heard it anyway, as clearly as if she'd whispered it against his ear.

Where is your fated mate? Would I have been spared, if she'd come to you sooner?

He clenched his jaw and shook the thought loose. "That's all for tonight. Take the human away. Everyone, return to your quarters."

***

Penny trailed after him, furious and brimming with questions. She was still stinging from being snapped at in front of the other night wolves and pack members.

She wasn’t okay with the harsh punishment he'd handed Rhea, or the fact that he still meant to punish Cecily once she'd recovered. And worst of all, she couldn't unhear the rumor about Thora being his fated mate.

When he spun to face her, she nearly walked straight into him.

"You've been avoiding me ever since my father proposed our formal union." Her eyes glistened, close to spilling over. Her hands rose to press against his chest. "I know you've been with Varsha because she won't stop bragging about it. I know you were with Serena just hours ago. When is it going to be my turn?"

Roman peeled her hands off him. "I'll seek your company when I want it."

"Alpha!" Her voice cracked. She dabbed at a stray tear.

"What is it, Penny? I don't have patience for this."

Her eyes hardened. "I kept my promise to you. I haven't tortured your human mate these past weeks." She let the last word land with deliberate weight, holding his stare the entire time. "I did that for you, Roman. Only for you. When are you going to keep your promise and give me something in return?"

Roman's jaw tightened.

She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pressed her forehead to his chest. "How can you not care how I feel, Alpha? Finn was my mate. We were supposed to be married. Everything was perfect, until…" She broke off, sniffling, letting the unfinished thought hang heavy between them.

"You saved me from that despair by making me one of your night wolves. You promised to heal my broken heart by giving me the life what Finn couldn't give me. I never asked for it. It was your idea to make it up to me."

Her arms locked around his waist like a vice. "Everything was going well between us. I even helped choose a human to fulfill your sentence, even though it killed me to watch another woman stand at your side and exchange vows. I've done everything asked of me, just to prove how much you mean to me." Her eyes lifted to his. "When are you going to give me something back?"

Gently, he pried her arms loose. Clever of her, working Finn into this.

"We'll revisit this once I've overturned the sentence your father and his cronies forced on me. How about that?"

He watched her tears dry up, then turned toward his room without waiting for her retort. Anger simmered hot in his blood. When would he finally be free of the guilt over Finn's death, or free of the Blackwells pulling his strings like he was some puppet?

He slammed the door shut behind him and drew a deep breath. When his eyes opened, a familiar, intoxicating scent hit him first. Thora turned from the window, hands at her sides. His heart slammed against his ribs.

"What are you…"

"The omegas kicked me out." The words came out in a single breath. "They don't trust me. They call me a bad omen."

His wolf leapt inside him, delighted. It took real effort to keep the satisfaction off his face.

"And you came here? Why?"

She squared her shoulders. "Matilda won't let me stay in her room. Everyone else looks at me like they want me dead. I had nowhere else to go."

He stepped closer; she stepped back. The questions still burned behind her eyes. Most of what had been said in the hall had gone over her head, but she clearly meant to get to the bottom of it now.

"You have questions."

"Yes. I do." She flinched as he closed the distance, and in retreating, met the wall behind her. Her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths.

"Tread carefully." His voice dropped to a murmur, his face inches from hers. When she looked up at him, her eyes shone with a courage that struck something warm loose in his chest.

"You defended me. Why?"

"Because Rhea was clearly lying, and I don't like being lied to."

She gasped as his nose brushed hers. She tried to slip past him, but he caught her, bracing a hand on either side of the window to pin her in place.

"What does it mean… to be someone's fated mate?"

The question caught him off guard. It wouldn't do him any favors if she started chasing curiosity about mates. Before she could catch the flicker of unease on his face, he covered it with a grin.

"It means you're built to complete someone else physically, sexually, and spiritually. It means you're 'the one' for them, as you humans like to call it."

Heat climbed his spine as color rose in her cheeks. Their arms brushed, sending sparks skittering down his nerves. Her scent was intoxicating. For one night, he was ready to taste her lips again. And the look in her eyes told him she wasn't opposed to the idea.

She drew a sharp breath and asked her last question. "What changes, if I turn out to be the alpha's fated mate?"

He didn't hold back. "My restraint."

He seized her mouth, crushing her lips beneath his in a fierce, devouring kiss. One hand slid to the nape of her neck, angling her head exactly how he wanted while his tongue swept in, claiming every inch with hungry strokes. She melted against him, a soft sound escaping her throat as he pressed closer.

A sharp knock rattled the door. They tore apart, chests heaving, panic flashing in both their eyes as footsteps approached