THE ROGUE ALPHA’S FORSAKEN MATE

Chapter 6

No. I couldn't let that happen.

I grabbed a small bag and slipped out of the house before anyone could question me, moving quickly through the pack grounds and toward the treeline. I knew where I needed to go. Back to the forest. Back to the place where everything had started. The walk felt longer this time, maybe because I wasn't running from heartbreak anymore. I was searching for an answer.

When I reached the clearing where I had met him, I stopped and looked around, but there was nothing. The tree was still there, and the ground still carried faint traces of where I had spent the night, but he was gone. I searched for any sign I might have missed, a footprint, a broken branch, anything that could tell me where he had gone, but there was nothing.

My fingers moved to my neck, and the mark was still there, warm and permanent. Why had he marked me? I had never expected to be marked that night, certainly not by a stranger. And then he had disappeared before I woke. If he had wanted nothing to do with me, why mark me? If he had wanted me, why leave?

I turned away from the clearing and started walking. Then my wolf stirred, a strange sensation, almost like a quiet pull beneath my skin. I stopped, and the feeling remained. I took another step, and the pull became stronger. I frowned but followed, leaving the familiar trees of Ashford territory behind as they were replaced by thicker ones I barely recognized. I had never wandered this deep before.

The forest grew quieter as I continued, and I kept walking until I noticed something ahead. There was light between the trees. I slowed down and moved forward carefully, then I heard voices and stopped. People were here. My heart started beating faster as I pushed through the trees and stepped into a clearing. I froze. There were wolves everywhere, some sitting around fires, others standing near rough wooden houses scattered around the clearing. I had never seen a settlement this deep in the forest.

Then someone looked up, and another wolf followed his gaze, then another. Within seconds, several faces had turned toward me, and I realized I had walked straight into a place where I didn't belong. I took a small step backward, but before I could turn around, I heard a familiar voice.

"What are you doing here?"

I looked up, and he was standing across the clearing. The stranger. My breath caught, and for a moment, neither of us moved. He looked just as shocked to see me as I was to see him.

Then he started walking toward me, his expression hardening as he reached me. Before I could say anything, he caught my arm and pulled me away from the others, dragging me around the side of one of the buildings until we were out of sight. Then he released me.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I was looking for you."

"You shouldn't have come here."

"Why?"

He glanced toward the clearing before looking back at me. "How did you find this place?"

"I followed my wolf. I didn't know where else to look."

He stared at me for a moment as though he didn't know what to make of my answer. His expression changed slightly when I touched my neck without thinking, and his eyes immediately dropped to the mark.

"Why did you mark me?" I asked.

He looked away.

"You left before I woke up," I pressed.

"I had to."

"Why?"

He didn't answer.

I took a step closer. "I don't even know your name."

His eyes returned to mine, and for a moment, something unreadable crossed his face.

"Kael," he said quietly.

The name settled between us. At least now I had a name.

"I need your help," I said.

His expression hardened. "With what?"

"Garrett Voss."

Something in his face changed. He knew that name.

"You know who he is," I said.

"I know of him."

"His father has already approached the elders. They're talking about an arrangement. My father is considering it because I'm marked and they don't know who marked me."

Kael's jaw tightened. "Have you told them about me?"

"I didn't know your name. I didn't know where you were. I didn't know anything to tell them."

He stared at me for a long moment, and I could see him wrestling with something.

"I have two weeks," I continued. "After that, the elders will decide that my mark means nothing because the wolf who gave it to me never came forward. And then Garrett becomes my husband."

Kael's expression shifted, and I saw something flicker in his eyes before he looked away.

"I need you to come forward," I said. "I need you to prove the bond is real. I don't want Garrett. I would rather be alone than bound to someone like him."

He was quiet for a long moment. "I can't protect you."

"Why?"

"My pack is small. I've already failed them once. I can't drag someone else into my mess."

I stepped closer. "I'm not asking you to protect me. I'm asking you to stand beside me."

He looked at me then, and I saw something shift in his gaze.

"I don't know you," I said. "I don't know what you've done or what you're running from. But I know that when I'm with you, I don't feel broken."

He stared at me for a long time, and I could see the war raging behind his eyes. His past, his fear, his need to protect the people around him, all of it was written across his face.

"Nova," he finally said, the first time he had spoken my name. "You need to go back."

"Kael—"

"Please."

He turned away from me, and I felt something crack in my chest. I had found him, and he was sending me away.

But I couldn't give up. Not yet.

I walked back through the settlement, ignoring the stares from the wolves who watched me pass. I reached the treeline and stopped, looking back one last time. He was standing where I had left him, his back still turned.

But I had found him. That was what mattered. I had found the man who marked me, the man whose name was Kael, the man who had made me feel safe when everything else was falling apart. I didn't know if he would come forward. I didn't know if he would help me. But for the first time since I had walked into that room and seen Declan with Wren, I felt like I had a chance. He might save me from Garrett Voss. That was enough to keep me going.

Hope.