The Alpha's Mate

CHAPTER TWO; ALPHA KELLEN

2.

~EVERLY.

We stepped outside, and the guards who had dragged me away turned without a word and left. Alpha Kellen hadn't said a thing since buying me. He just paid, turned, and walked off, leaving the guards to pull me along and drop me at the gates.

I stood alone on the cold ground, feeling small and exposed. My gaze flicked to him. He was a few feet away, his broad shoulders stiff, his back straight. His cold gray eyes were fixed ahead, as though I weren't even there.

Didn't he feel it? The pull. The bond. It was so strong for me, like something deep inside was reaching out to him, but he didn't even spare me a glance. Wasn't I supposed to be his mate?

When I first saw him, the bond had been undeniable. But now… now he acted like nothing had changed. Like I was just another stranger.

And then there was the way he bought me. Why? Was this a game to him? If I was his mate, why treat me like this?

After a long silence, he spoke flatly. "You're free to go."

He didn't even look at me, just turned and began walking away.

Confusion flooded my mind. Free to go? Didn't he feel it? Wasn't I supposed to be his? Didn't he feel the bond? How could he not?

I couldn't hold it back. "Wait!" I called. But he didn't stop.

My heart pounded in my chest as I hurried after him. When I reached him, I stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"What do you mean by that?" I gasped, struggling for breath. "Why did you buy me?"

He looked down at me, his expression hard, his eyes betraying no emotion. "I bought you your freedom," he said flatly. "You're free to go."

My stomach dropped. Freedom? This felt nothing like freedom. This was rejection.

I took a shaky breath and edged closer. "Don't you feel it?" I whispered, the tears threatening. "The mate bond. We're mates. You're my mate."

His eyes didn't shift, and his expression stayed neutral. "The only mate I ever had—and the only one I ever will—was murdered years ago."

His words hit me hard, as harsh as my family's cruel rejection. I staggered back, breathless. For a long moment, I couldn't speak. His words rang in my ears, but the pull between us… the bond… it was undeniable.

Looking up at him, my throat tight, I whispered, "But the Moon Goddess paired us together. She wouldn't have done that if we weren't meant to be. Please… we deserve a chance."

His eyes flickered for a moment, something dark passing through them, but it was gone in an instant. He turned away, his jaw tightening. "No," he growled, "Your freedom is all I can give you."

His words struck deeper than I'd imagined.

I barely had time to react before he met my gaze again, his beautiful features hardening.

"Under the watchful eyes of the Moon Goddess," he declared, "I renounce you as my destined mate and break the ties that bind us.'"

Alpha Kellen didn't spare me another glance. Without a word, he turned on his heel and walked away.

His words tore through me, leaving only emptiness in their wake. The bond—the thing I had felt so deeply—snapped. It unraveled like sand slipping through my fingers. Eva whimpered, retreating into the shadows of my soul, leaving me cold and broken.

I staggered back, gasping for air. The world spun around me. The silence was deafening. The connection was gone.

Tears blurred my vision as I collapsed to my knees, unable to stop the sobs that racked my body. Eva's absence left an ache in my chest. How could he walk away from it? How could he break the bond so easily?

But he did. Alpha Kellen was gone.

*************

After what felt like hours, I wiped the tears from my face. I couldn't keep wallowing in self-pity; it wasn't going to change a thing.

Alpha Kellen had bought my freedom, but it didn't feel like freedom. It felt like a hollow void. And truthfully, I had no idea where to go from here.

I couldn't go home. Not after everything that had happened. My parents wouldn't understand. They'd cast me aside and send me back to the auction house, where I'd be sold again. Maybe to someone worse than Alpha Kellen.

I couldn't go back there.

The cold air seared my lungs as I wiped my eyes again. I had to figure something out—I had to. But for now, all I could do was keep walking, step after step, further from everything I had ever known.

Eva still hadn't spoken. It was as though she'd pulled away completely, retreating into some quiet corner of my mind, unwilling to offer comfort. What could she say? Our world had shattered, and I had no idea how to put the pieces back together.

I kept walking. The ground beneath me felt endless, as if I were walking in circles, but I kept moving. The sun began to set, and nightfall crept in, draping the world in dark shadows.

Eventually, I stumbled into a narrow alley. My heart raced, and I pressed myself against the grimy walls, doing my best to stay out of sight. I wasn't about to take any chances.

My stomach growled painfully. I hadn't eaten since the night before.

I glanced around, my pulse quickening. The alley was a mess, filled with discarded wrappers, bottles, and garbage that smelled faintly of rot.

I shuffled along the wall, my hands trembling as I searched through the trash. Moldy bread. Half-eaten fruit. Everything was disgusting, but hunger gnawed at me.

The humiliation of it—the shame curling deep in my chest. This wasn't who I was supposed to be. But I had no other choice.

My legs wobbled, but I kept searching.

Nothing.

I sank to the cold ground, my body trembling, hands balled into fists. How had it come to this?

Things couldn't get worse, could they?

The thought barely finished forming when I heard slow, uneven footsteps. My breath caught, and my body tensed.

A man staggered down the alley, his steps unsteady, as though drunk. My instincts screamed at me to run, but my legs refused to move. I curled into the shadows, pulling my knees to my chest, praying he wouldn't notice me.

But he did.

He stopped when he saw me, his bloodshot eyes scanning my face with a predatory gleam. Recognition hit me with the force of a blow.

An omega.

He could smell it. See it in the way I carried myself—broken, defeated, exposed. My shoulders were slumped, my face pale and worn from everything I'd endured.

His gaze turned darker, dangerous.

"Well, well," he chuckled darkly. "A little lost omega. What's a girl like you doin' out here all alone?"