THE ROGUE ALPHA’S FORSAKEN MATE

Chapter 12

Kael stood. "I need to send word to my settlement."

I looked up at him. "Now?"

"Garrett knows I'm here. If he's planning something, my people need to be ready." He paused. "And I need Ilsa to tell me everything she remembers about the night Thornwood fell."

I nodded and stood. "I know someone who can help."

We found one of the younger pack messengers near the training grounds, a boy named Tomas who owed me a favor from years ago when I had covered for him after he broke one of the elders' windows. He was barely sixteen, thin and quick, and he listened carefully as Kael explained what he needed.

"The settlement is a full day's walk from here," Kael said. "Maybe more if you take the long way around to avoid the main trails. You'll be looking for a woman named Ilsa. She's older, grey-haired, and she doesn't trust strangers. Tell her Kael sent you. Tell her it's about Thornwood."

Tomas nodded. "I'll leave at first light."

"Now. Before anyone notices you're gone." Kael said.

Tomas looked at me. I nodded. He disappeared into the trees without another word.

Kael wrote a short note for Ilsa, keeping it vague. Just enough to warn her and ask her to search her memory for anything about the Alphas who had been involved in Thornwood's fall. He folded it and handed it to Tomas.

After Tomas was gone, Kael and I returned to the clearing. The afternoon sun was warm, We sat on the fallen log, and for a while, neither of us spoke.

Then Kael said, "You asked me once what I was running from."

I looked at him. "You didn't answer."

"I know." He was quiet for a moment. "I've spent three years not answering that question. To anyone."

"You don't have to tell me."

"I want to."

I waited.

"My father was a good man," Kael said. "He was fair, and he was strong, and he believed that a pack was only as good as the way it treated its weakest members. He used to tell me that being Alpha wasn't about power. It was about responsibility."

I listened.

"When Thornwood fell, I wasn't there. I was away, meeting with a neighboring pack about a trade agreement. By the time I got back, it was already over. The houses were burning. The dead were everywhere. My father was in the eastern house. He had been trying to protect the elders." Kael paused. "I found him myself."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I spent months searching for survivors. When I found them, they had nothing. No home, no food, no protection. They looked at me like I was supposed to fix it. So I did. I found the land we're on now, and I built something. It's not Thornwood. It never will be. But it's something."

"You gave them a home."

"I gave them a place to hide." Kael shook his head. "I told myself I was protecting them. But Ilsa was right. I was protecting myself. I was so afraid of losing anyone else that I kept everyone at a distance. I didn't let myself care about anyone."

"Until now," I said quietly.

Kael looked at me. "Until you."

The words hung between us. I didn't know what to say.

"You asked me why I marked you," Kael said. "The truth is, I didn't mean to. But my wolf chose you. And I've spent every day since then trying to convince myself that it was a mistake."

"Is it?"

"No." He held my gaze. "It's the only thing that's felt right in three years."

I reached out and took his hand. He didn't pull away.

We sat there as the sun moved across the sky, and for a little while, I let myself forget about Garrett and the elders and the two-week deadline. I let myself just be with him.

That night, Kael slept in the clearing. I went back to the house, but I didn't sleep. I lay awake, thinking about everything he had told me. His father. Thornwood. The survivors. The way he had looked at me when he said I was the only thing that had felt right in three years.

By morning, I had made a decision.

I found Kael at first light. He was already awake, sitting on the fallen log with his elbows on his knees.

"You didn't sleep," he said.

"Neither did you."

He didn't deny it.

"The elders will call a meeting today," I said. "My father will make sure of it. They'll want to question you formally."

Kael nodded. "I expected that."

"Are you ready?"

"I've been ready since I walked into your territory."

We walked to the elders' hall together. The pack was already stirring, and I could feel the stares as we passed. Word had spread quickly. Everyone knew the stranger who had marked me was here, and everyone wanted to see him.

The hall was full when we arrived. My father stood near the head of the table, his expression unreadable. Three elders sat in their usual places, and several other pack members had gathered near the walls, watching. Mara was there too, standing off to the side, her eyes fixed on me with quiet concern. Garrett was not present. That was something, at least.

"Nova," my father said. "Come forward."

I walked to the center of the room. Kael stayed near the back, watching.

One of the elders spoke first. "We have heard that the stranger who marked you has arrived in our territory. Is this true?"

"Yes."

"And you brought him here without permission."

"Yes."

The elder's expression hardened. "You were given two weeks to find him. Not to bring him into our pack and present him as if he were already accepted."

"I brought him here because he is the wolf who marked me," I said. "He came forward. That's what you asked for."

"We asked for proof that the bond is real," another elder said. "We asked for a male who could stand before us and prove himself worthy of you. Instead, you bring us a rogue with no pack and no territory."

I felt my jaw tighten. "He's not a rogue."

"He has no pack."

"He has a pack. It's just not recognized by you."

The elders exchanged glances.

"Nova," my father said quietly. "That's enough."

I looked at him. "No. It's not enough. You asked me to find him, and I did. You asked for proof, and he's here. What more do you want?"

"We want to know who he is," the oldest elder said. "We want to know where he comes from and why he marked you. We want to know if he is worthy of standing beside a daughter of Ashford."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Kael spoke first.

"Then ask me."

Everyone turned.

Kael walked forward until he stood beside me. His posture was calm, his expression steady.

"I am Kael Thornwood," he said. "My father was Alpha of the Thornwood Pack. Three years ago, our territory was destroyed in an attack. My father was killed. My pack was scattered. I have spent every day since then rebuilding what I could for the survivors who chose to follow me."

The elders were silent.

"I did not come here to make demands," Kael continued. "I did not come here to claim a place in your pack. I came here because Nova asked for my help. She is marked with my bond, and I will not abandon her to face the consequences alone."

One of the elders leaned forward. "You say you have no pack and no territory. How can you protect her?"

"I have a home. I have people who follow me. It may not be as large as Ashford, but it is mine."

"And your status? Are you an Alpha?"

Kael hesitated. "I was."

"You are not anymore?"

"I have not claimed the title since Thornwood fell."

The elders exchanged looks.

"Then you are no one," the oldest elder said. "You have no standing, no power, no influence. You are a fallen Alpha with nothing to offer."

Kael didn't flinch. "I have myself."

"That is not enough."

I stepped forward. "It's enough for me."

Everyone looked at me.

"I don't care about his status or his territory or his power," I said. "I care about the fact that he came back. He could have stayed hidden. He could have let me face Garrett Voss alone. But he didn't. He came here. That means something."

"You are young," the elder said. "You do not understand what is at stake."

"I understand perfectly." I met his eyes. "You want to marry me off to Garrett Voss because he has power and territory and influence. You want to use me to build an alliance. You don't care about what I want. You never have."

The room went quiet.

My father stepped forward. "Nova—"

"No." I held up a hand. "I've spent my whole life trying to be what everyone else wanted me to be. I've spent my whole life believing that if I was just a little stronger, a little more wolf, a little less human, then I would finally be enough. But I'm done with that."

I looked at the elders.

"Kael is the one who marked me. Whether you approve or not, the bond is real. And I would rather stand beside a fallen Alpha who came back for me than marry a monster who only wants me for my bloodline."

No one spoke.

Then Mara stepped forward.

"She's right," she said quietly. "The bond is real. I've seen it. I've felt it. You cannot deny what the Moon Goddess has joined."

The elders looked at each other.

Finally, the oldest one spoke. "We will need time to consider this."

"How much time?"

"Forty-eight hours."

I nodded. "Then we'll be here."

The meeting ended. The elders filed out, followed by the pack members who had gathered to watch. My father stayed behind for a moment, looking at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"You've changed," he said.

"I know."

He nodded slowly. Then he walked out, leaving us alone.

Kael turned to me. "That was reckless."

"Maybe."

"You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did." I looked at him. "You came back for me. I wasn't going to let them tear you apart."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Forty-eight hours."

"It's not enough."

"It has to be."

We walked back to the clearing in silence. The morning sun was rising, and the pack was beginning to stir. When we reached the fallen log, I sat down, and Kael sat beside me.

Neither of us spoke for a long time.

Then I heard footsteps behind us. I turned to see Mara, her expression urgent.

"What is it?" I asked.

She handed me a folded piece of paper.

"It came an hour ago," she said. "A messenger brought it from the border. He said it was urgent."

I opened the note and read it.

The handwriting was cramped and hurried. It was from Ilsa.

I read it twice, then handed it to Kael.

He read it in silence. When he looked up, his face was pale.

"She remembers something," he said. "About the night Thornwood fell."

"What does it say?"

Kael's voice was quiet. "She says there was a meeting between several Alphas in a nearby territory. She didn't know what was discussed, but she remembered one name that came up repeatedly." He paused. "Garrett Voss's father. Roland Voss."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

"There's more," Kael said. "She says she heard a rumor among the survivors. Something no one could confirm for years."

"What rumor?"

"That the attack on Thornwood was planned months in advance. Someone inside the pack was feeding information to the attackers."

I stared at him.

"Someone I trusted," Kael said