Taming The Mad Alpha

CHAPTER THREE: THE ALPHA'S REJECTION

KIRA'S POV

The words hung in the air between us, heavier than the rope still biting into my wrists.

His eyes held mine, red and burning, and for a moment I thought he might kill me right there in front of the whole council.

"Say something," Dante said quietly, his face tight with fury. "Deny it."

"I didn't know," I whispered. "I swear on my brother's life, I didn't know any of this would happen. I don't even know what I am."

"Convenient." His voice cracked like a whip.

He turned to address the hall, his back to me, as if I wasn't even worth looking at anymore. "Silas's daughter. Grown up on rogue land, and sent here to finish what he started. To wait until my guard was down and put a knife between my ribs while I slept peacefully beside my fated mate."

"That's not true!" I scrambled to my feet, my legs shaking beneath me. "I'm just like you! I didn't know you were my mate until now. I was in the forest looking for medicine!"

He scoffed, his lip curling. "Looking for medicine? You don't look like someone who can even afford it. Where were you planning to steal it from?"

"I didn't choose this mark just like you didn't! I don't want this either!"

Dante's jaw worked, his fists clenched so tight I could see his knuckles whiten. When he spoke again, it was to the Elders, not to me.

"I reject this bond." Each word landed like a stone dropped into still water. "Whatever the Goddess intended, I will not stand beside the daughter of the man who slaughtered my family in their beds. I would rather live with the madness than live beside her."

The hall erupted.

"He can't reject a fated bond outright—"

"The Moon Goddess will agree with his decision—"

"The madness will only worsen—"

"She's a traitor's blood. Execute her and be done with it—"

"Send her back to the rogue lands where she belongs—"

I watched them decide my fate. I hadn't even committed a crime, and still — just because of my father — I was being treated like one.

I sank to my knees, pushing my pride aside. "I have a little brother, please. He's only four. He's sick. He needs me. I can't die. He'll have no one."

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I sniffled, wiping my nose with my bound hands.

And then I felt it.

A sharp pull in my chest. Like something was tugging at my heart. I gasped, looking up.

Dante had flinched. His hand pressed against his chest, right over his heart. His jaw tightened. His red eyes flickered with something I couldn't name.

Can he feel my pain?

I saw it in the way his breathing hitched. In the way his gaze softened for just a fraction of a second before hardening again.

He stared at me, and for a moment, he looked almost... lost.

Then he glared at me, annoyance masking whatever he had just felt.

"Stop your crying. You're hurting—"

"ENOUGH!"

The voice that cut through the chaos was old, dry and unhurried.

The hall went quiet the way a room goes quiet for someone who has earned the right to be heard.

An elderly man rose from the far end of the council, leaning on a carved wooden staff. His eyes, when they found mine, weren't cold like the others.

"I am Elder Corwin," he said. "I have sat on this council since before Dante's father led this pack. And I remember Silas."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

"I remember him before the betrayal, and I remember what happened after."

"Elder, this isn't the time—" Bianca started.

"This is the time, you foolish girl," he snapped. "We've been blessed with a wolf who has the power to calm Dante's madness."

He swept his gaze across the hall.

"You've all forgotten the tension his madness has caused. Rival packs are taking advantage of our weakness. Dante's health is deteriorating. And now we've been given a chance to stop it."

"I won't accept the daughter of the man that caused my madness in the first place," Dante spat, stepping toward him.

My eyes widened. My father caused his madness?

I paled, hating that I was related to him. Hating that the blood in my veins came from the man who destroyed this broken Alpha in front of me.

"You will," Corwin said firmly. "You're just an angry man, and you're not thinking clearly."

One of the Elders spoke up, suspicion lacing his voice. "What if she's a spy?"

Corwin shook his head. "Her father vanished after his wife's death. From what I heard, she hasn't been involved with him for years. She has no idea of his alliances or his plans."

He turned to me. "Am I right, dear?"

I nodded eagerly, unable to speak.

"Then she stays," Corwin said. "Not as a prisoner. As a guest of this pack, under its protection, until we understand what the Goddess intends by this mark.

His eyes flicked toward Dante. "And whether the Alpha wishes to acknowledge it or not, every pack from here to the coast has heard whispers of his affliction. If this girl's touch is the only thing capable of calming him, then we would be fools to throw that gift away out of wounded pride."

"I am not broken," Dante snarled.

"No," Corwin agreed evenly. "But you are not well, either. And our enemies know it."

Dante said nothing. His silence was its own kind of admission.

"She will be given a room in the guest wing," Corwin continued, "and treated with the respect due a potential Luna, until this council determines otherwise."

"Potential Luna?" Bianca's voice climbed an octave. "You cannot be serious. Look at her. She's rogue filth—"

"She bears the mark," Corwin said simply. "That is not for you, or me, or even Dante to argue with."

The hall stirred. A few hands were raised in agreement, but reluctantly. They didn't trust me. I could feel their suspicion like a weight on my chest.

Corwin’s argument made sense. But I couldn’t stay here without Milo.

"I won't stay," I said, my voice shaking but firm, "if my brother Milo isn't here. He's sick, and I want him here with me."

Dante scoffed. "She's already making demands."

"Your demand is accepted," Corwin said, his voice calm and final. "We will send our men to bring him here. Once he arrives, he will be taken to the healer to be treated."

I smiled, grateful, bowing my head as tears streamed down my face. "Thank you so much."

Dante stared at me, his expression twisted with anger and annoyance. He scoffed, turning away.

"Just take her away from here. She smells. It's affecting my nose."

"Then stop standing so close," I said, before I could stop myself.

The hall went quiet. Dante's eyes snapped back to mine — surprised, like the last thing he expected from a half-starved rogue with rope burns on her wrists was to talk back.

"Excuse me?"

"You keep complaining about the smell," I said, holding his gaze even as my heart hammered. "You're the one who hasn't moved."

Shock flickered across Dante's face. Then his jaw tightened, and whatever it was disappeared behind the same cold mask as before.

"Watch your tongue," he said, low and dangerous. "You're a guest here. Not a guest with privileges. Remember your brother is under our care, so you better watch yourself."

The threat landed like a punch to my gut. I swallowed whatever I wanted to say next and stared at the floor instead.

He held my stare a beat too long before he turned away.

Bianca laughed coldly from the corner. "See? Even the Alpha can't stand the stench of a rogue."

My face burned. I dropped my head, letting my hair fall forward to hide from the judging eyes still fixed on me. I could feel their stares like needles against my skin.

Corwin spoke up once more, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "And what has been said here tonight does not leave this hall. Her father's name stays buried. As far as anyone outside this room will know, she is a rogue wolf who saved our Alpha's life during a hunt, and nothing more."

His voice hardened, and I saw the Elders shift in their seats. "The first person who breaks that silence answers to me. We can't afford the pack being in fear that a traitor's daughter lives among us."

A murmur of reluctant agreement rippled through the hall. I exhaled, my shoulders sagging with relief I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Thank you, I thought, staring at the old man with something close to gratitude.

Thank you for protecting me when my own father never did.

Dante's voice cut through my thoughts, cold and dismissive. "Send in a maid to take her away."

Before I could react, a young woman appeared at my side. She didn't meet my eyes. Her expression was blank, professional, but I caught the subtle way she stepped away from me, as if my presence might stain her.

I followed her silently, my bound hands still aching, my wrists raw from the rope. The hall stretched before me, endless and cold. The whispers followed me like shadows.

All the servants and maids recoiled when I passed. It was obvious I was a rogue wolf, so I expected this reaction. I was used to being treated like a disease.

Finally, I arrived at my guest room. I gasped at the sheer size of it — a large bed draped in silk, a roaring fireplace, a window overlooking the dark forest below. It was more luxury than I had ever known. The maid left without a word, closing the door behind me.

I sat in silence, eagerly waiting for Milo to be brought to me. The minutes stretched into what felt like hours. I kept my eyes fixed on the door, my heart pounding with every passing second.

Would he be okay? Would they even bring him?

I was so lost in my thoughts, so desperate for any sign of him, that when the door opened harshly, I flinched at the sound.

My gaze met Dante's. He stood in the doorway, then stepped inside and shut the door behind him, walking toward me with slow, deliberate steps.

I quickly got up, but he grabbed my wrist hard, his grip unyielding. His fingers burned against my skin — not painfully, but intensely. I felt a jolt shoot through me at his touch.

"Now that we're alone, let me make myself clear," he said, his voice cold and sharp. "You're just a tool to calm my beast. Don't think for a second you'll be Luna."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

"If I have to use you to cool down this stupid wolf that keeps begging for your touch, then so be it." His eyes burned into mine. "But I'm not an easy person to be with. And something in you wants me too. I feel it.”

I yanked my wrist free, my anger finally breaking through the fear.

"My wolf is silent," I said, my voice shaking but firm. "I don't have one. So whatever you think you feel, it's not coming from me."

He laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "No wolf? Then how are you standing here? How are you alive?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "But I'm not your tool. And I'm not your Luna. I'm just a girl trying to save her brother."

He stared at me for a long moment. His jaw tightened.

"Your brother will be brought here tomorrow," he said, his voice flat. "The healer will see him. That's not kindness. That's a transaction. The Elders want you calm and cooperative. If seeing your brother makes you easier to control, then so be it."

He stepped closer, his red eyes boring into mine.

"Don't mistake my compliance for care. I don't care about you. I don't care about your brother. I care about keeping my pack safe. And if you threaten that, I will not hesitate to put you both down."

He turned and walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle.

"Stay in your room. Don't wander. Don't cause trouble. And if my wolf starts begging again, I'll deal with it myself."

He left, slamming the door behind him.

I sank onto the bed, my body trembling. I stared at my wrist where he had grabbed me. It was still warm.

He said his wolf is begging for my touch.

But I have no wolf.

So why does it feel like something inside me is reaching for him too?