Kneel, Alpha: She's Not Forgiving You Yet

Chapter 6:

WREN

My heart nearly stopped when Elias asked the question.

"Rogue," he said, his eyes fixed on Ash. "Do you have a Mate?"

There had been no plan. No secret signal. No chance to warn Ash before I lied. I'd blurted those words out because I had run out of options, and now everything depended on a man who couldn't even remember his own name.

Ash remained motionless against the silver chains. Blood trickled down his arms, soaking the front of his shirt. The silver burns were severe, bad enough that any normal wolf would have been screaming in agony.

Instead, he looked strangely calm.

Slowly, he raised his head until those ice-blue eyes met Elias's. Then, without warning, he spat a mouthful of blood straight into the Alpha's face.

The entire room froze, even Beta Damon looked genuinely stunned.

My heart dropped into my stomach. Ash had just spat on the Alpha of Ironclaw?

Very slowly, Elias wiped the blood from his face without taking his eyes off him.

"Of course I have a Mate," Ash answered flatly.

Elias stepped closer. Without warning, he drove his hand into one of the silver burns on Ash's shoulder.

Ash groaned through clenched teeth.

"Think carefully," Elias said quietly. "The consequences of lying are severe."

Ash only sighed in annoyance. "You want details?"

Elias said nothing.

"She's about this tall." His eyes flickered toward me, and every head in the room followed. "Dark hair, stubborn, and walks around like she owns the place."

Heat crept into my face.

"Small hands," he continued, lifting his chained wrists. "Doctor's hands."

He looked back at Elias.

"Need more? Ask anyone at the black market. They all know me." A faint smile tugged at his lips. "I'm the live-in kept man of the best unlicensed doctor in the territory."

Beta Damon blinked in shock.

"The black market doctor..." His eyes snapped to me. "That's you?"

His grip loosened for a fraction of a second. I stomped hard on his foot hard enough for him to yelp. I pulled away before he could react and walked straight into the centre of the room.

"If we're quoting Pack law," I said evenly, "let's quote all of it."

Every eye turned to me.

"I'm still a member of this Pack. My parole didn't change that." I met Elias's gaze without flinching. "Ash is my Mate. Without proof, Pack law does not permit the torture of a Pack member's bonded partner based on suspicion alone."

For several seconds Elias simply stared at me. Then, to my surprise, he laughed.

"When exactly did this happen?"

I frowned.

"The boy toy," he said. "When did you decide to start keeping one?"

I almost laughed myself. Instead, I crouched beside Ash and began unlocking the restraints.

"My personal life stopped being your concern three years ago." The first lock clicked open, and so did the second lock. "You rejected me. If my presence offends you so much, exile me."

The final restraint broke free.

"Otherwise..." I looked up at him. "Step aside."

Damon lost it, and whatever restraint he'd been holding onto broke all at once. He lunged towards me with his hand raised, but he never reached me.

One second he was moving, the next, Ash was standing in front of him. It happened so fast I didn't even see him get up. The loose silver chain whipped around Damon's throat before anyone realised what had happened.

Damon clawed desperately at the chain as Ash pulled him backwards. The man beside me no longer looked like the wounded Rogue I'd been treating.

His face was expressionless, cold, lethal, and his voice was even colder.

"Touch her again..." He tightened the chain. "...and I'll send you to your ancestors."

The room fell completely silent.

I slowly turned back to Elias. "Unlock the remaining restraints."

Damon choked violently behind me.

"Whatever happens to your Beta after this..." I held Elias's gaze. "...will be your responsibility."

Finally, Elias closed his eyes and released a long breath. When he opened them again, he looked towards the guards.

"Remove the chains."

The guards didn't move, shocked at Elias' words.

"I gave an order!" His voice raised.

The guards rushed forward immediately. Within seconds every restraint had been removed.

Then Elias spoke the words nobody expected. "Let them go."

I didn't wait for him to change his mind. The moment Ash was free, I slipped his arm over my shoulders and supported his weight.

"Can you walk?" I asked quietly.

One corner of his mouth lifted. "Barely."

"Good." I nodded. "If you can complain, you're still alive."

A weak laugh escaped him. Despite everything, hearing it eased something inside me.

"Come on."

Together we walked out of the holding room.

The moment we stepped out, every eye turned toward us. The corridor fell silent I could clearly hear my breathing.

Their eyes followed us all the way down the hall. I could barely recognize some of those faces. Most of them were doctors I had worked with, people I had helped. Now they looked at me as though I carried a disease.

Funny how three years had been enough to erase every good memory they'd ever had of me. I'd convinced myself prison had made me stronger. Apparently not, because their stares still hurt.

Ash must have noticed. Without saying a word, he squeezed my hand.

I looked up.

He slowly swept his gaze across the corridor. One by one, they started to look away. Several guards instinctively stepped back. No one wanted to challenge whatever they saw in his eyes.

He rested his arm around my shoulders instead.

"Let's go," he murmured.

I glanced down and saw fresh blood soaking through his sleeve, he'd lost far too much already. I quickened my pace, and he matched it without complaint.

That frightened me more than if he'd admitted he was in pain.

Halfway down the corridor, I heard another set of footsteps. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

I stopped. "Stop following us."

It was a shock to the Pack members around at how confidently I had spoken to their Alpha. No one spoke to the Alpha like that.

Elias stopped a few steps behind us. "I'm not following you, Wren."

I raised an eyebrow.

He almost sighed. "If I wasn't here, you wouldn't make it out of this building."

I hated that he was right. Without him walking behind us, someone would've already tried to stop us. I said nothing. Instead, I turned and kept walking.

By the time we reached the entrance, I was exhausted.

The moment the doors opened, cold air rushed inside. For the first time since entering the Packhouse, I could breathe again.

Elias stopped at the doorway. "You know where to find me."

Three years ago, those words had meant home. Now, they meant nothing.

I didn't look back, I just kept walking. Just as I stepped through the entrance, a sharp slap landed across my face, causing my head to snap sideways.

Pain vibrated across my cheek before my mind even registered what had happened. Ash stiffened beside me, as though the slap had shocked him more than it had shocked me.

A furious female voice echoed through the courtyard.

"You've got some nerve coming back here, you murderer!"