Fated to the exiled wolf

CHAPTER 2

I hated that thought.

I hated the way my wolf had accepted him so quickly.

Most of all, I hated the fact that some part of me didn't want to fight it.

"Lyla."

My father's voice dragged me back into the room.

I blinked.

Everyone was staring at me.

Rowan's hand was still resting against my waist, but I suddenly couldn't stand the feel of it.

I stepped away.

His eyebrows drew together.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

The lie came too quickly.

My father cleared his throat.

"We have a ceremony to prepare for."

Right.

The ceremony.

The marriage.

The life I had been planning for years.

I looked toward Kael.

He was still standing beside the fireplace.

His expression was unreadable now.

Whatever had passed through his eyes when our wolves recognized each other had vanished beneath an impenetrable mask.

He looked completely in control.

I envied him.

My wolf didn't seem capable of control at all.

She was still pressed against my consciousness, restless and desperate.

Mate.

I swallowed.

"Come," my father ordered.

I followed him from the room.

I didn't look back.

I couldn't.

Because I knew if I did, I would look for Kael.

And I couldn't afford to do that.

Not tonight.

Not ever.

The ceremony hall was overflowing.

Hundreds of wolves had gathered beneath the enormous chandeliers, dressed in ceremonial black and silver. The banners of the Blackthorn and Vale families hung from opposite sides of the room.

Tonight was supposed to unite two powerful families.

Instead, it felt like I was walking into the middle of a war.

Whispers followed me as I approached the altar.

Everyone knew Kael was back.

Everyone was wondering why.

I could hear fragments.

"After all these years..."

"I thought he was dead."

"What is he doing here?"

"Alpha Darius should have killed him."

"Don't say that too loudly."

I kept my eyes forward.

Rowan stood at the altar waiting for me.

He smiled when he saw me.

Normally, that smile would have calmed me.

Tonight, it did nothing.

I took my place beside him.

The priest began speaking.

I barely heard a word.

My wolf kept turning toward the entrance.

Waiting.

Searching.

I told her to stop.

She ignored me.

Then the doors opened.

My breath caught.

Kael walked into the hall.

He wasn't dressed for the ceremony.

He wore black.

Nothing more.

No ceremonial markings.

No family insignia.

He looked like he had walked straight out of the night.

Every conversation died.

Kael's gaze swept across the room.

Then found me.

The bond hit again.

Harder.

My fingers tightened around the flowers I was holding.

My wolf surged forward.

Mine.

I almost lost my balance.

Rowan noticed.

His hand closed around my arm.

"Lyla?"

"I'm fine."

Kael's jaw tightened.

He had seen.

I knew he had.

He walked toward us.

Every step felt deliberate.

The entire room watched him.

When he reached the altar, he stopped several feet away.

His eyes remained on mine.

Then he looked at Rowan.

"Congratulations."

Rowan's expression hardened.

"You weren't invited."

"I noticed."

"Then why are you here?"

Kael looked at our joined hands.

"To see something."

"What?"

Kael's eyes returned to mine.

"Whether the rumors were true."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Rowan frowned.

"What rumors?"

Kael didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at the priest.

"Continue."

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to run.

I wanted to ask him what he meant.

But I stood there.

Frozen.

The ceremony continued.

When it was time for Rowan to place the ceremonial band around my wrist, my hand trembled.

He noticed.

"You don't have to be nervous."

I looked at him.

"I'm not."

He smiled.

Then he leaned closer.

"You've wanted this for years."

Had I?

I wasn't sure anymore.

But I nodded.

"Yes."

He placed the band around my wrist.

The hall erupted in applause.

Everyone celebrated.

Everyone except Kael.

He stood at the back of the hall, watching me.

And when Rowan kissed my forehead, Kael turned away.

For some reason, that hurt more than it should have.

The ceremony ended in chaos.

People crowded around Rowan and me, offering congratulations.

My mother hugged me.

My father shook Rowan's hand.

Seraphina kissed my cheek.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

Her smile was perfect.

Too perfect.

"You finally got everything you wanted."

I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

She laughed.

"Your future. Your Alpha. Your position."

I smiled weakly.

"Right."

My eyes drifted across the room.

Kael was gone.

I shouldn't have cared.

But I did.

I excused myself.

I told everyone I needed air.

No one questioned it.

I stepped outside.

The gardens were dark and quiet.

Moonlight spilled across the stone paths.

I walked farther from the house.

Then I heard footsteps.

I stopped.

My heart began pounding.

I turned.

Kael stood several feet away.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

"You shouldn't be here," I whispered.

"Neither should you."

"This is my family's home."

"I wasn't talking about the garden."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

He stepped closer.

My wolf immediately reacted.

I hated how my body responded to his presence.

"Go back inside, Lyla."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know what you're dealing with."

"You?"

His eyes darkened.

"Yes."

I crossed my arms.

"You rejected me."

His expression hardened.

"I know."

"You felt it."

Silence.

"You felt the bond."

His jaw clenched.

"I know what I felt."

"Then why did you reject me?"

He looked away.

For the first time, I saw something beneath his confidence.

Pain.

It disappeared almost immediately.

"Because you belong with Rowan."

I laughed bitterly.

"That's convenient."

"It's the truth."

"No. It's what you want me to believe."

His eyes snapped back to mine.

"You have no idea what you're saying."

"Then explain it."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because you're safer not knowing."

I stepped closer.

"You don't get to decide that for me."

His expression changed.

"You're going to learn very quickly that I make decisions when someone's life is at stake."

"Don't threaten me."

"I'm not."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Trying to keep you alive."

The words silenced me.

I stared at him.

"Who wants me dead?"

He didn't answer.

"Kael."

He took another step.

"Go back inside."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Then don't expect me to trust you."

His eyes narrowed.

"Trusting me is exactly what you shouldn't do."

He turned.

I grabbed his arm.

He stopped.

The instant my fingers touched him, the bond surged between us.

His breathing changed.

Mine did too.

We stared at each other.

I should have let go.

I didn't.

Neither did he.

His gaze dropped to my hand around his arm.

Then slowly lifted back to my face.

"Don't," he said.

My voice came out barely above a whisper.

"Don't what?"

"Make this harder."

"For who?"

His eyes darkened.

"For both of us."

I released him.

He stepped back.

Then, without another word, he walked away.

I watched until he disappeared into the darkness.

Only then did I realize my hands were shaking.

I returned to the house twenty minutes later.

Rowan was waiting.

"Where were you?"

"Outside."

"With Kael?"

I froze.

He noticed.

His expression changed.

"You were with him."

"We talked."

"About what?"

"Nothing."

Rowan laughed without humor.

"Lyla."

"What?"

"He's dangerous."

"So I've heard."

"You shouldn't be alone with him."

I stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because he's unstable."

"You don't know that."

"I know my brother."

I looked at him.

"Do you?"

Something flashed across his face.

Anger.

Then it disappeared.

"You need to stay away from him."

"You're not my Alpha yet."

His jaw tightened.

"I will be."

"Then perhaps you can start giving me orders when you actually are."

I walked past him.

"Lyla."

I stopped.

"You've changed."

I looked over my shoulder.

"Maybe I finally noticed things."

Then I left.

I couldn't sleep.

I lay awake staring at the ceiling, replaying every second of the evening.

Kael's eyes.

His voice.

The bond.

His warning.

Someone wants you dead.

I sat up.

My heart was beating rapidly.

My wolf suddenly growled.

Not at Kael.

At the window.

I turned.

Nothing.

I got out of bed and walked toward it.

The curtains moved slightly.

I pulled them aside.

A shadow stood beyond the garden wall.

I froze.

The figure disappeared.

I opened the window.

Cold air rushed into the room.

Nothing.

Just trees.

Moonlight.

Silence.

Then I saw it.

A small black feather resting on the windowsill.

My stomach dropped.

I had seen that symbol before.

Everyone had.

The Blackthorn traitor's mark.

I stepped backward.

Someone had been outside my room.

Someone connected to Kael.

Or someone who wanted me to think they were.

A knock sounded at my bedroom door.

I jumped.

"Lyla?"

My mother's voice.

I quickly hid the feather beneath my pillow.

"Yes?"

"Are you awake?"

"Yes."

She entered.

She smiled when she saw me.

"Your ceremony was beautiful."

I forced a smile.

"Thank you."

She sat on the edge of my bed.

"Tomorrow we begin preparing for the next stage."

I frowned.

"What next stage?"

"The marriage."

My stomach tightened.

"The wedding is in three weeks."

Three weeks.

I had almost forgotten.

My mother touched my hand.

"You'll be Luna soon."

I looked down at the ceremonial band around my wrist.

Three weeks ago, that thought would have made me happy.

Tonight, it terrified me.

Because somewhere beyond these walls was a man my wolf had recognized as my mate.

A man who had rejected me.

A man who claimed he wanted to protect me.

And apparently, a man whose return had something to do with someone wanting me dead.

My mother kissed my forehead.

"Get some sleep."

She left.

I waited until the door closed.

Then pulled the black feather from beneath my pillow.

There was a symbol carved into its stem.

A crescent crossed by a single line.

I had seen it in the oldest history book in my father's library.

The mark belonged to the original Alpha bloodline.

A bloodline that was supposedly extinct.

I stared at the feather.

Then at the closed door.

My pulse quickened.

Kael had told me to stay away.

He had rejected me.

He had refused to explain anything.

But now I had a question he couldn't ignore.

Why was the symbol of an extinct bloodline sitting outside my bedroom window on the same night he returned?

And why did I have the terrifying feeling that the answer had something to do with me?