Kneel, Alpha: She's Not Forgiving You Yet

Chapter 5:

WREN

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

The last person I expected to see was Elias.

Three years had passed, yet he looked exactly the same. Strong, composed, and every inch the Alpha the Pack admired. Seeing him again felt like someone had ripped open a wound that had never truly healed.

His eyes widened. "Wren?"

My name left his lips like he couldn't believe I was standing there.

He took a slow step towards me.

"Wren..." he whispered again. "You came back."

I felt my heart did something strange. I couldn't tell if it was simply because my heart had refused to heal, despite the fact that the man standing ten feet away from me was someone I had once built my entire future.

I tried not to think about it, or I'd only end up tearing up. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to remember why I was here in the first place.

"I'm not here for that," I said before he could say anything else.

His expression changed, as though I had pointed a dagger to his face. I ignored it and pointed towards Ash.

"I'm here for him," I said. "He's my patient, and I'm taking him with me."

The guards looked at themselves, but the expression of Elias only remains the same. If anything, it hardened.

"Wren, that isn't happening," he said, and I felt irritation crawling up my skin.

"He has no Pack markings," Elias continued. "No verified identity. No known origin. He appeared near the border covered in combat wounds."

"He has amnesia," I defended.

"According to him?"

I folded my arms. "According to me."

Silence fell between us. Elias knew me too well to miss the certainty in my voice.

"Who is he?" he asked after a while.

I didn't answer.

His eyes narrowed. "What is his name?"

I hesitated. "Ash."

He raised an eyebrow, as though trying to figure out why anyone would agree to bear the name ‘Ash’.

"Ash?"

"That's the name I gave him."

"You gave him a name?"

I already hated where this conversation was going.

“Like I said, he has amnesia. Which means, he doesn't remember his actual name.”

Elias studied me quietly. "And you're willing to walk back into this Pack after everything... for him?"

"Yes." I said nonchalantly.

"Why?"

Because he's all I have left, the words echoed in my head.

"Because he's my patient."

Nobody looked convinced, not even Ash. Especially not Ash. I could feel his eyes on me from across the room.

Elias sighed. "Wren... look at this from my position. An unidentified Rogue appears inside my territory. Six trained soldiers were barely enough to restrain him. He has no Pack, no records and no identity. Tell me why I should simply let him walk away."

Look at it from your perspective? The last time I stopped looking at things from your perspective was the second you let them drag me into that hell.

Before I could answer, another voice interrupted.

"I think the better question..." Damon stepped out from the shadows with an irritating smile. "...is why she's hiding him."

My stomach tightened immediately. He looked between Ash and me with obvious amusement.

"A convicted criminal secretly shelters an unidentified Rogue." He chuckled. "That sounds dangerously close to violating parole."

My blood ran cold. What's he doing here?

"One report from me," Damon continued casually, "and you're back in the Silver Pits."

"Enough." Elias's voice echoed through the room.

Damon shrugged. "I'm simply stating the law."

"I said enough."

The Alpha's authority settled over the room, but the damage had already been done.

I looked around desperately. Two guards at the entrance, three more beside the stairs, there was no escaping. Meanwhile, Ash was losing blood by the second.

I had nothing; no proof, no leverage, nothing except one reckless idea. If I couldn't prove who Ash was, maybe I could prove who he was to me.

I looked directly at Elias, then I spoke. "He's my Mate."

I watched the colour drain from Elias's face before he hid every trace of emotion. His eyes immediately dropped to my neck, looking for a mark.

When he looked back up, and a cold voice he said. "You're lying."

I scoffed. "Am I?"

"If he were your Mate, you'd carry his mark."

"Bond marks don't always appear on the neck, Elias."

Damon snorted, clearly not buying what I was saying. But the very thing I did was ignore him.

"They can appear anywhere," I replied. "You should know that."

"You expect me to believe that?" Elias asked.

"I don't particularly care what you believe, Elias."

He studied me for a long moment, then said. "Then explain something to me. If this Rogue is your Mate, where did he come from? Which pack? Which territory?"

"I don't know."

His eyes narrowed. "You don't know?"

"I already told you, he has—"

“Amnesia,” he completed. “I haven't forgotten it yet. But tell me, Wren. How do you possibly think it's possible for your mate to have amnesia?”

"If you're that curious," I said evenly, "ask the Moon Goddess."

For a second, Elias looked genuinely stunned. Before he could answer, Damon suddenly grabbed the metal bucket beside the interrogation table.

Seeing the silver-laced water in it caused everything in me to react in a way I've never felt before.

"No!"

I rushed towards him, but a hand seized my wrist. I turned, and upon seeing Elias, my face twisted to a frown.

"Let me go," I said in clenched teeth.

"No."

I struggled, but his grip only tightened. Meanwhile, Damon smiled as he approached Ash. That smile terrified me, just enough to tell me how much he wanted Ash dead.

"You enjoy this, don't you?" I shouted.

His smile widened.

"Do you enjoy watching people suffer?"

Without warning, he shoved me backwards into the corner of the room and stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

His voice dropped into a whisper. "Your little lie is about to fall apart, bitch."

I tried moving around him, but he moved again, blocking every single view I needed to see Ash.

Fear crawled its way to my chest.

Then Ash cried out. The chains shook violently as his entire body convulsed against the silver restraints.

"Ash!"

I fought against Elias's grip with everything I had. "Let me go!"

He refused.

The rattling grew louder, then it stopped. Every sound inside the room disappeared.

Slowly, Ash lifted his head, I finally saw his eyes clearly. A chill raced down my spine. His eyes were no longer dark, they were icy blue. Cold, ancient, and powerful in a way words couldn't explain.

He slowly looked around the room, studying every guard before his gaze finally settled on me. For the briefest moment, his expression softened. Then it disappeared again.

Elias released my wrist and walked towards him. He stopped directly in front of Ash, reached out, and gripped his jaw, forcing him to meet his eyes.

For several long seconds, neither man spoke.

Then Elias finally broke the silence. "Rogue... do you have a Mate?"