The Alpha Who Couldn’t Reject Me

The Unwanted Alliance

Kael insisted on four guards; I insisted they stay behind. Nobody won. Two guards followed at a distance while Kael and I continued ahead.

The entrance to the Moonridge tunnels was behind the collapsed remains of the childhood home I’d lived in my entire, long sixteen years.

I never would have known what secret the ground under my feet was hiding. Kael shove a rock to one side; a narrow tunnel appeared.

"Stay close."

I rolled my eyes.

" You’re going to have to stop saying that."

" You’re going to have to stop running into danger."

" I found the archives."

"You nearly got caught," he countered with a low, rumbling voice.

"But I didn’t."

His eyes were on me.

"That isn’t the point."

A smile tugged at my lips, and I quickly smothered it.

I shouldn’t be smiling at him; he’d rejected me, and he was still the Alpha who had humiliated me in front of an entire pack. Whatever this was between us, it couldn’t be trust. We continued on, and the temperature dropped steadily. My wolf let out a low growl that vibrated through my bones.

I stopped.

" What is it?"

Kael’s head shot up.

" Someone was here."

He crouched, pointing to fresh footprints pressed into the dirt.

"Three."

"Four," I corrected.

His brow furrowed.

" You’re sure?"

I nodded.

"They're surrounding us."

A guttural howl burst into the narrow corridor, and Kael shifted instantaneously.

His black wolf crashed into the first attacker, and I shifted at his side.

Claws scraped against stone, a swirl of fur and muscle exploded into the enclosed space. A wolf lunged at my throat. I ducked and drove my claws into its shoulder.

It snarled, heaving me against the wall with force. Pain rippled through my back, and just as darkness began to claim me, Kael was there. He pulled the animal off of me, the attacker scrambling away into the darkness.

Kael’s eyes were glowing as he turned to me.

" Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine."

" Let me see."

" No."

His wolf snarled, and his claws automatically began to extend.

" Kael."

The growling choked off, his claws slowly retracting. "I have to know that you’re safe."

" I’m fine, I said."

He stared, his wolf eyes locking onto mine before he finally gave a terse nod.

" Fine."

We finally reached the end of the tunnel, where a heavy stone door stood before us, the familiar symbol of a moon and a claw etched into the stone.

Kael gently touched the symbol, and the door swung inwards to reveal a chamber. An altar rested in the center of the room, and atop it sat a silver pendant. My breath hitched. I recognized it immediately; it was the same pendant my mother had worn.

I cautiously reached out and picked it up, a faint warmth spreading from the pendant into my palm.

The words on the chamber walls began to glow, forming from the stone itself. When the last Vale awakens, the Alpha who binds her will either become her greatest protector... Or her greatest enemy.

Kael stared at the wall, eyes wide with something that might have been shock. I turned to him.

" You knew about this?"

"No."

" You're sure?"

"Yes."

I looked back at the words as another line materialized. The bond cannot be broken by rejection.

My heart stopped.

Kael froze. I turned to him, my breath catching in my throat.

" That's why."

His gaze met mine.

" Why what?"

" You couldn't reject me."

Silence hung heavy in the air.

Kael's jaw clenched tightly.

"My wolf tried."

" And?"

"It wouldn't let me."

The words sent a strange, exhilarating shiver down my spine.

"So we're stuck."

" It would appear so."

I looked from the pendant in my hand to the documents we had collected, then to the coded message from Darius.

So many questions remained unanswered: My father was framed, my mother might still be alive, Darius was involved, someone wanted me dead, and Kael's family was connected to it all. I looked at him again, forcing myself to take a breath.

" I don't trust you."

" I know."

" But I need answers."

" I do, too."

I held out my hand.

" Then we work together."

Kael's eyes flickered from my hand to my face.

"Temporary alliance?"

" Until we find the truth."

"Agreed."

His hand closed around mine, and a searing jolt of silver energy surged up our arms, both of us gasp. A faint howl echoed from somewhere far beyond the chamber. Kael released my hand, his face gone pale as he listened.

" What?"

He glanced toward the tunnel entrance.

" We're not alone."

Another howl sounded, closer this time. A third followed, even closer.

Kael stepped in front of me, his voice low and dangerous.

"Whatever is coming..."

His eyes glowed with silver fire.

"...it knows that you're here."

And from the darkness came a voice, tinged with pure anticipation.

"Finally."

A lone figure stepped into the opening of the tunnel.

" After twenty-one years, we’ve finally found the last Vale."