THE ROGUE ALPHA’S FORSAKEN MATE

Chapter 9

I was in my room when Mara burst through the door.

"Nova."

I looked up from the bed, where I had been staring at empty space for the past hour, trying to figure out what to do next. Mara's expression was urgent, her eyes wide.

"There's someone at the border asking for you."

My heart stopped.

"Who?"

"A man. He won't give his name to the guards. He just said to tell you it's Kael."

I was on my feet before she finished speaking. I grabbed my shoes and ran out the door, ignoring Mara calling after me. I ran through the pack grounds, past the houses and the training yards, past the curious stares of wolves who had never seen me move this fast. I didn't care. I didn't care about anything except getting to the border.

I reached the treeline and saw him.

He was standing between two guards, his hands at his sides, his posture calm but alert. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept, but he was here. He had come.

I stopped a few feet away, breathing hard.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The guards looked between us, confused.

Then I walked up to him.

"Why did you come?" I asked.

Kael met my eyes. "I couldn't let you face Garrett alone."

I didn't know whether to hug him or hit him. A part of me wanted to scream at him for sending me away, for making me walk back to the pack alone, for making me think he didn't care. But another part of me, the part that had spent the last two days praying he would change his mind, just felt relief.

"You sent me away," I said.

"I know."

"You told me you couldn't protect me."

"I know."

"So why are you here?"

Kael was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Because I was wrong."

I stared at him.

"I spent three years keeping everyone at a distance," he continued. "I convinced myself that it was the only way to keep people safe. But it wasn't. It was just the only way to keep myself from getting hurt." He paused. "You came to me for help, and I turned you away. That was a mistake."

I crossed my arms. "So what changed?"

"Ilsa."

"Who?"

"An old friend. She reminded me of something I had forgotten." He looked at me. "She told me that you weren't asking me to save you. You were asking me to stand beside you. There's a difference."

I felt something loosen in my chest.

"I'm here now," Kael said. "If you still want my help."

I looked at him for a long moment. Then I turned to the guards.

"He's with me."

They exchanged uncertain glances.

"Are you sure?" one of them asked.

"Yes."

They stepped aside, and I led Kael past them, into the territory. I could feel the stares of wolves we passed, the whispers that followed us. A strange man walking beside me, his presence sparking curiosity and suspicion. I ignored all of it.

I took him to a quiet place near the edge of the grounds, a small clearing surrounded by trees where I used to go when I needed to think. We sat on a fallen log, the same way we had that first night in the forest.

Kael looked around. "This is your pack?"

"Part of it."

"It's bigger than I expected."

"It's home." I paused. "Or it was."

Kael looked at me. "You don't have to stay here."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, after all of this is over. If you wanted to leave, you could. You don't owe them anything."

I stared at him. No one had ever said that to me before. Everyone in my life had always told me what I should do, who I should be, how I should act. No one had ever told me I had a choice.

"I don't know what I want," I admitted.

"That's okay." Kael's voice was quiet. "You don't have to decide right now."

We sat in silence for a while. The sounds of the pack drifted toward us, but it felt distant, like another world.

"Why did you really come?" I asked.

Kael was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Because I couldn't stop thinking about you."

I looked at him.

"I tried to convince myself that leaving you was the right thing to do," he said. "I told myself you were better off without me, that you would find a way to survive. But I couldn't stop thinking about the way you looked at me when you said you didn't feel broken when you were with me."

My breath caught.

"I don't know what this is," he continued. "I don't know what it means, or where it's going. But I know I couldn't let you face Garrett alone."

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

"Thank you," I said.

Kael looked at our joined hands. Then he looked at me. "I'm not promising anything. I don't know if I can be what you need."

"I'm not asking you to be anything," I said. "I'm just asking you to stay."

He was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Okay."

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. For the first time since I had walked into Declan's room and seen Wren smiling at me, I felt like I wasn't alone. I felt like maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay.

Then I heard footsteps behind us.

I turned to see my father standing at the edge of the clearing. His expression was hard, his eyes fixed on Kael.

"Nova," he said. "We need to talk."