The Alpha’s Forgotten Wife

The Study

Kian stared at the wedding ring in his palm, turning it over slowly, the metal warm now from how long he'd been holding it.

He hadn't moved from his study since Elena walked out of the pack hall. Vera had come to the door twice, asking softly if he was alright, and both times he'd told her he needed to be alone, his voice steadier than anything he actually felt inside. She hadn't pushed. She never pushed. Somehow, that made everything worse.

A knock came again, sharper this time. "Kian." Marcus's voice, low through the door. "We need to talk."

"Not now."

"Now," Marcus said, letting himself in without waiting for permission.

Kian closed his fist around the ring, shoving it into his pocket before Marcus could see it, though judging by the look on his Beta's face, he already knew exactly what Kian had been doing alone in the dark for hours.

"You look like hell," Marcus said, closing the door behind him.

"I feel like hell," Kian admitted, the words slipping out before he could stop them. "Is that what you came to tell me?"

"No." Marcus crossed the room and sat down across from him, his expression unusually careful, like he was choosing every word before it left his mouth. "I went looking for Elena this morning."

Kian's head snapped up. "You did what?"

"I needed to know she was safe," Marcus said, holding his ground even as Kian rose from his chair. "Someone had to check, Kian, because you sure weren't going to."

"That's not your place."

"Someone had to," Marcus repeated, steady despite the anger rolling off Kian in waves. "And I found her. She's alive. She's got somewhere to stay."

Kian's chest tightened at the confirmation, relief and something darker twisting together until he couldn't separate one feeling from the other. "Where?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"Marcus—"

"You rejected her," Marcus said, cutting him off, his voice hard now. "In front of the entire pack. You don't get to demand information about where she's hiding the morning after."

The words landed like a physical blow, and Kian sank back into his chair, the weight of everything from the night before crashing over him all at once. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, trying to push away the image of Elena's face when he said those words to her, the way her whole body had gone still like he'd struck her.

"I didn't have a choice," Kian said quietly. "The bond—"

"I know how the bond works," Marcus said. "I've watched two other Alphas go through it. But I've never watched one of them look like you looked when she walked out that door."

Kian didn't answer. He didn't have an answer that made any sense, not even to himself.

"There's something else," Marcus said, his tone shifting again, careful now in a different way. "She wasn't alone. There was a man with her. Rogue wolf, no pack markings I recognized."

Something sharp and unfamiliar twisted in Kian's chest at that, a feeling he refused to name even as it settled heavy in his gut. "Who is he?"

"Doesn't matter," Marcus said. "What matters is she's safe, and she's got someone looking out for her since you clearly aren't in a position to."

"I want to know who he is."

"Why?" Marcus leaned forward, studying him closely. "You rejected her, Kian. You don't get to be jealous of the man helping her survive what you did to her."

Kian's jaw tightened, the truth in Marcus's words cutting deeper than he wanted to admit. He didn't have any right to feel the twist of possessiveness rising in his chest, not after what he'd done, not after choosing the bond over the woman who had given him two years of her life without hesitation.

"Does Vera know you went looking for her?" Kian asked instead, needing to change the direction of the conversation before it went somewhere he wasn't ready to face.

"No," Marcus said. "And I'd rather keep it that way, for Elena's sake as much as anyone's."

Kian nodded slowly, understanding the warning buried in Marcus's tone. If Vera learned that pack members were tracking down the woman Kian had rejected only hours into their bond, it would create exactly the kind of tension that could destabilize everything the pack was trying to hold together.

"I need to see her," Kian said suddenly, the words surprising even himself.

"No," Marcus said immediately, firmly. "You don't."

"Marcus—"

"You made your choice last night," Marcus said. "In front of the whole pack. If you go chasing after her now, you'll destroy whatever peace she's trying to rebuild, and you'll hand Vera every reason she needs to start questioning your loyalty to the bond you just claimed was undeniable."

Kian wanted to argue, wanted to explain the desperate need clawing at his chest to see for himself that Elena was truly safe, but he knew Marcus was right. He had no claim to her anymore. He'd made sure of that himself, standing in front of everyone who once called her their Luna.

"Just tell me she's okay," Kian said quietly. "That's all I need."

Marcus studied him for a long moment before answering. "She's okay," he said finally. "For now."

The last two words hung in the air between them, heavier than either of them wanted to acknowledge. Kian looked away first, staring at the cold fireplace across the room, trying to convince himself that Marcus's warning didn't mean what he feared it might.

"There's something you should know," Marcus added, his voice quieter now. "I wasn't the only one asking questions about her this morning."

Kian's head came up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I mean someone else was already looking for her before I even got there," Marcus said. "Someone from outside the pack."

The room seemed to grow colder around them, and Kian's instincts, the ones that had kept him alive as Alpha for years, sharpened instantly into focus. "Who?"

"I don't know yet," Marcus admitted. "But whoever it was, they were asking about her specifically. By name."

Kian rose from his chair fully now, the weight of guilt momentarily forgotten beneath a rising tide of alarm. Whatever peace Elena thought she'd found in the hours since she walked out of his pack hall, it was already unraveling, and the reasons why terrified him more than he wanted to admit.

"Find out who," Kian said, his voice hard now, the alpha in him taking over completely. "Whatever it costs, Marcus. Find out who's looking for her, and find out before they do.”