CHAPTER 6: THE ALLIANCE
1380 Words
ARIA WINTERS
I stare at Kael's face trying to figure out if he's about to hand me over to die or not. Honestly, I don't even know what I want too. A part of me just wants to die and get this over with. But another part wants to stay with him, and be loved by him.
I yank myself from spiraling again. He's my mate, but it’ll cost him nothing to throw me in the hands of death. After all, that b***h Celeste is already warming his bed.
I focus on my powers, trying to know what's on his mind. His duty as an Alpha was pulling him one way, his instinct was pulling the other.
Finally he turns to his beta and speaks.
"Hey Marcus,” he says calmly.
“Yes, Alpha”
“Tell the high Alpha’s enforcers that we're investigating the accusations internally. Aria Winters is under Shadowmoon's protection as a potential witness in the murder of Lily Ashford. If the high Alpha wants to question her, he should go through the proper diplomatic channels."
My legs nearly give out.
He chose me? He's risking a war with the Council for me? There couldn’t be a more wrong time, but seeing him defying the high Alpha, whoever that is, because of me just made him two hundred percent hotter. f**k!
"Alpha, the backlash would be…" Marcus starts but he cuts him off.
"The backlash would be mine to handle. Nobody storms into my territory and take my wolves without due process. Rogue or not, she's under my protection now."
Marcus nods and leaves to deliver the message and I'm just standing here trying to process what just happened.
Did he just lay his claim on me?
"Thank you," I say, my voice coming out shaky.
"Don't thank me yet." His eyes are hard when he looks at me. "I'm not doing this out of kindness. I'm doing this because too many things don't add up and you're the key to figuring out what's really happening."
"What do you mean?"
"Here's the deal." He steps closer and I have to tilt my head back to look at him. "You help me investigate who's trying to kill me and who killed Lily Ashford. In return I keep you alive. Do you understand?"
I nod slowly. God, his height is killing me. And those eyes, I’m struggling to focus. He’s just… beautiful.
I swallow, trying to find the right words and not show that the butterflies in my tummy were making me go crazy. "And if you discover I'm guilty of something?" I finally manage to say.
"Then I'll kill you myself." His voice doesn't waver.
My empathic sense flares suddenly and I feel someone nearby watching us, and experiencing intense satisfaction. I concentrate trying to pinpoint it. It's coming from the compound. Someone is happy Kael just defied the high Alpha.
What the f**k? Why would anyone want that?
"There's something you should know," I say carefully. "I think Lily Ashford looked like me.”
His head snaps up. “What?”
“When I was helping Celeste prepare for her ceremony,” I continue, trying really hard to keep my voice steady as his eyes lock into mine. God… He's so fine.
“I saw a locket with a photo of a girl who could have been my sister."
His expression sharpens. "That means you could have been a replacement. If I was supposed to mark Lily for a political alliance but she disappeared and you, who look similar, were drugged and delivered to my room instead..."
"Then someone substituted me for Lily," I finish the thought. "And had you mark me while I was drugged.”
"What? Does that mean Lily's disappearance, my memory loss, and Celeste being my mate are all connected?"
"Maybe. But who benefits from all of this?"
Before he can answer, my mother's necklace suddenly grows warm against my skin and I pull it out hurriedly.
Another coded message glows with silver light, and new words that weren't there before appear.
"The Raven knows what happened to Lily. Find them before the Council does. Trust Kael Shadowborn, he is innocent of his father's crimes."
The message fades and I'm left staring at the necklace in shock.
"What was that?" He demands.
“Uhmmm,” I clear my throat. “It's… uhmm… It's nothing.”
I don't know if I can trust him yet. Even though he literally just defied whoever this so-called high Alpha is just to protect me. There could be something more to all of this. I can't just trust him like that, even though the mark on my neck is crazily pushing me to him. I just can't. I can't risk it.
“What the f**k did you say?” He asks, his eyes getting darker.
“Uhmm… it's nothing.” I manage to say. My hands start shaking real bad. His eyes grow so dark I can't look at them anymore. I look down. f*****g hell, what did I just do?
“Are you calling me a fool?” His voice booms in his Alpha tone and I can feel every part of me submitting. f**k.
“No…” My lips are trembling. “I'm not.”
“Then how the hell do you explain what just happened? Your necklace glowed, I saw it.”
“Oh, that…” I try to think up a lie. “It's just something that happens when I'm anxious.”
“Don't you dare lie to me.” He moves closer and grabs the iron bars. “It costs me nothing to snap your neck right here, right now.”
Oh s**t.
I rub my hands together trying to stop the trembling.
“It's…. it's a family heirloom.” I confess. Unable to shake his Alpha command anymore.
“Go on.” He says, leaving the iron bars now.
“My… my mother left me a coded message when I left my pack. But… it just changed.
“What?”
“Yes. It just added new information." I raise my head and look at his eyes now."It said to trust you.”
He scoffs.
I continue anyway, seeing that he doesn't care.
“And that you're innocent of your father's crimes. What crimes?"
His face goes hard immediately and he grabs the iron bars again. “What the f**k do you know about my father?”
“Uhh… No.. nothing.” His eyes go dark again and I drop my gaze and move back a little. Alphas are dangerous when their wolves take over. Even people with wolves can't shake the dominating aura, not to talk of me, a wolfless rogue.
My fingers are trembling again. My knees feel so weak they nearly give out. f**k.
“I said, what do you know about my father?” He repeats, his voice colder.
“I swear I do not know anything!” I yell, my voice trembling. Hot tears spilling freely down my face. “The message in my mother's necklace is all I know. I don't… I don't know anything else.”
“You better not be lying to me!”
“I'm not, I swear.”
“Better.” He moves back now. “Keep my father's name out of your mouth!”
“Ye… yes. I understand.”
He turns to leave before I can look up.
I feel his emotional reaction through my empathic sense. His head is a mess. There’s so much going on in there guilt, hate, pain. His mind is a home for all things bad.
Whatever his father did, he is still carrying the weight of it.
"I’ll send someone to come fetch you out of here." He says, his back still turned to me. “They’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
He walks towards the entrance and stops. “And it’s Alpha Kael to you. Got it?”
“Yes, Alpha Kael.”
And with that, he storms out.
I can feel his aura receding as he leaves. And slowly, the Alpha energy pressing on me disappeared. I drop to the cold, hard floor of the prison room, cupping my face in my arms.
What the f**k have I gotten myself into?
- Writer
