The Alpha's Doomed Mate

Chapter 11: Too Close

POV: Asha

Zade was the first to move, a single step back. It was as though the words had physically pushed him.

"That's not possible."

“I don’t know how this works, Alpha,” Hestia said, shaking her head.

“Then don’t guess.”

“I have a working theory, though.” Hestia’s gaze didn’t shake. “The Wolfsbane pushed her wolf deep enough that she’s struggling to hold herself near the surface. Your bond seems to be giving her something strong enough to follow back.”

I frowned. “Follow?”

“Think of it as an anchor. For now,” she replied, and turned to Zade. “I would like to test that theory, Alpha. Give her your hand.”

"Give her—" His gaze fell on me, his expression hardening. "No."

“Alpha—”

“Find another way.”

“I’m not asking you to strengthen the bond,” Hestia said patiently in a way that made it clear she had expected that exact answer. “Just like you having to step away, I only want to see whether contact changes her wolf’s response. That’s all.”

Zade didn’t move.

I felt strangely insulted as he looked at my outstretched hand like it might bite him.

“You don’t have to look so horrified,” I muttered.

His gaze hardened even more. “I’m not.”

Liar, Rylie whispered faintly, the smugness in her tone unmistakable.

Hestia waited without saying anything.

I glanced at Hera, still leaning against the wall, watching the exchange with an interest that made me wonder how this all looked to her.

Finally, Zade took a step forward, and then another.

He crossed the room slowly. It was the same way he had done the night he'd broken through that door, and came to a stop just beyond my reach.

For a moment, I thought he might refuse again. Then, he held out his hand.

There was no attempt to come closer than necessary, but the action somehow made my pulse jump even harder.

The loud thumps of my heart got louder with every second, drowning out everything else.

The silence pressed in from every corner of the room.

Zade remained rooted in the same spot, his dark eyes holding mine in a chokehold.

It didn’t take long for the silence to start feeling dangerous. I felt like I was being pulled into limbo, but a calming one.

The mate bond hummed in my chest, willing me to move even closer.

Rylie, on the other hand, was back and stronger as she joined forces with the bond. She pressed right up against the inside of my skin toward him like there was nothing else in the room worth reaching for.

I reached out slowly, and the second our hands touched, sparks lit beneath my skin.

Rylie surged forward so hard I gasped.

His thumb had gone still against my pulse, and I was suddenly far too aware of our hands joined together.

His eyes dropped to my mouth for a fraction of a second before returning to mine, and I could have sworn something in my chest turned over.

“How is your wolf now, Asha?” Hestia’s voice broke through the trance.

Zade released my hand instantly, almost like he had been waiting to do so. The loss of contact left a hollow ache in its place.

I cleared my throat. “Stronger.”

“Does this have to continue?” Zade suddenly spoke out, his eyes still on me.

“This isn’t a cure, and it doesn’t mean she needs you beside her every hour, Alpha. It only appears to make it easier for her wolf to surface while the Wolfsbane clears.” She glanced at me. “I believe with the pup, she needs that extra help.”

I bit my lip, suddenly feeling the weight of Zade’s gaze.

“I'll examine her again by nightfall. For now, she needs rest.”

A knock came at the door, and it opened. Dante stepped in and bowed slightly to Zade.

“I’ll take my leave now, Alpha.” Hestia bowed and instantly exited the room.

My gaze shifted to Hera, whose eyes were on me. A ghostly smile played on her lips, leaving me confused.

Dante stepped further into the room with a grim expression and a folded document in hand.

"You need to see this."

Zade took the paper from him, and I watched his whole body go rigid as his eyes moved down the page.

“Marrok.” Dante’s voice was tight as he looked at me. “He's invoked pack law and formally demanded your return as per the contract signed by your father.”

My stomach dropped. “He… he can do that?”

“Blackhollow doesn’t recognize werewolves as property,” Dante said. “But old inter-pack law still honors debt agreements, unless the contract’s voided or someone else assumes legal responsibility for the dispute.”

My mouth fell open in shock.

"So he just comes and takes me?"

"Not immediately; there’s a formal process that takes about three days to begin," Dante responded. “Maybe less.”

Panic clawed up my throat.

Three days to undo a debt my father had signed away with me like I was livestock. Three days, and the man my wolf insisted was my mate was silent on this.

I pressed my palm flat against the bed to keep my hand from shaking.

“Then let me leave,” I suggested. “I’ll go somewhere he can’t find me.”

Zade's jaw worked. “I won't stop you.”

I blinked. “What?”

“If you walk out of Blackhollow, I won't chain you here.” Something raw passed behind his eyes before he looked away.

“But Marrok can petition any neighboring pack to detain you before you get ten miles,” Hera said for the first time since Dante stepped into the room. “Alone with no pack backing you, you'd be handing yourself to him faster.”

The full weight of it all hit me hard.

Cole rejected me, my parents sold me, and I had no pack that wasn't already someone else's territory.

The floor of my stomach dropped further.

“There is one way to suspend Marrok’s claim,” Dante said.

I straightened so fast my head spun. “What way?”

Whatever it was, it had to be better than being shipped off back to Marrok.

“You’d have to request sanctuary.”

“Request…” I frowned. “I don't understand.”

“For thirty days, no wolf, no Alpha, no pack outside Blackhollow can remove you from here while the claim is reviewed.”

I looked at Zade, but his expression gave me nothing.

“Then what happens if I ask, and they say no?”

Dante's eyes settled on mine, and something in them made my stomach turn cold all over again.

“Marrok leaves the council chamber with you.”