The Alpha Who Couldn’t Reject Me

The Alpha’s Conditions

I sneaked out before my father and mother could catch me crying.

By the time the sun started to crest the horizon, I had finished packing. Nothing to pack really. I mean, the Vale family had been losing for years now.

Their land.

Their name. Their money. Even their title was barely a whisper anymore. My father had "betrayed" the pack (at least that's what everyone said).

And I never believed them, but I didn't have any proof to say otherwise.

I was halfway through tying the drawstring for my bag when a knock hit the door.

"Who is it?"

"Alpha Kael."

I stopped dead. Of course.

I opened the door and Kael was standing there, looking exactly as stoic as he always does.

"You are leaving."

"Yes."

"You can't."

I laughed. "That is quite funny. You rejected me yesterday, and now you are telling me where I can and cannot go?"

His eyes darkened. "You do not understand what happened."

"I understand perfectly."

"No, you don't." He took one step closer into the room, and I immediately recoiled backwards. "Stay there."

He stopped. A moment of silence. And then he produced a folded piece of parchment from his inner coat.

"This belonged to your father."

I hesitated. "What is it?"

"An ancestral contract."

I stared at him. "What ancestral contract?"

"An ancestral contract that involves you."

He placed it on the table where I was packing and I unfolded it.

My eyes widened.

The daughter of the Vale bloodline shall be bound to the Alpha of Shadowfang when the blood bond awakens.

I looked up at Kael. "You knew about this?"

"Yes."

"And you still rejected me?"

He simply looked at me with an answer.

My anger rose again. "So you knew I was your mate even before last night?"

"I suspected."

"You suspected?"

"The blood bond was expected to awaken around your twenty-first birthday."

"And yet you still came?"

"Yes."

"To reject me."

His expression tightened. "Yes."

I pushed the paper back towards him. "You are insane."

"I didn't have a choice."

"Anyone can make a choice."

"Not when the entire pack is at risk."

I folded my arms. "Fine, this is my choice."

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I refuse."

"You cannot refuse the bond."

"I can refuse you."

His jaw clenched tight. "Liana."

"No." I jabbed a finger towards the door. "Get out."

He still wasn't moving. "You'll need protection."

"I do not need you."

"Yes you do."

"Why?"

"Because someone has been watching you."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

Kael's eyes grew colder. "Three wolves were seen on your territory last week."

I stood still. "Who?"

"We don't know."

"Then go and find out."

"I intend to."

I stared at him. "What do you want from me?"

"The blood bond connected us."

"Unfortunately."

His eyes flashed. "You don't think I wanted that?"

"I don't know what you wanted."

"I don't know either."

Another moment of silence until he placed another parchment on the table. "These are my terms."

I looked down. "Your terms?"

"You will reside in Shadowfang territory."

"No."

"You will stay where my guards can protect you."

"No."

"You will not leave without notifying me first."

"Absolutely not."

Kael let out a breath. "You're so difficult."

"And you are so controlling."

"Fine then," he sighed, leaning back against the table. "What are your terms?"

I stared at him, surprised. "My terms?"

"Yes."

I eyed him critically. "Firstly, I make all my own decisions."

He nodded. "Agreed."

"Secondly, you do not lay a finger on me without permission."

His jaw flexed briefly. "Agreed."

"Thirdly, you do not expect me to act like a subservient Luna."

His eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Fourthly, if you learn any information about my father and my pack, you will tell me."

Kael remained silent for a while, then nodded. "Agreed."

I reached out my hand, and he looked at it, then took it. The minute our palms touched, I felt a jolt of warmth flood through me. Kael instantly released me, his breathing now a bit rough.

"So that's that?" I questioned him, staring at the binding contract.

"For now."

I glanced at the ancestral contract again. "Fine."

He turned toward the door.

"Kael."

He stopped.

"If you reject me again..." I swallowed, "you won't get a second chance."

His eyes met mine. I saw something I couldn't quite read flicker within them.

"I know."

He walked out and I stood listening to his footsteps fade away until they disappeared completely. I looked at the ancestral contract again. Something was different about it.

A strange symbol had been carved into the bottom corner.

Three claws with a crescent moon inside. I recognized the symbol. From something on my father's possessions, which I'd sold long ago. Suddenly, I was no longer so eager to leave.

I wanted answers.