His Mate-Killer's Fate

Chapter 3: Unwelcome Guest

*Rayan's POV*

Blood still stained my hands when Rowland came for me.

He said nothing. He just placed a firm hand on my elbow and started guiding me away from the ceremonial circle. Marcus's body still lay there, getting cold.

My legs moved on their own, but my mind was spinning with the impossibility of it all. One moment, I was facing banishment. The next moment, I belonged to the most feared Alpha in all the territories.

We passed faces that had known me since childhood. Their expressions showed relief and confusion, but none showed sadness that I was leaving. I've spent all my life here, and no single tear was shed for me leaving. I was truly unloved than I thought.

As we approached the line of cars waiting at the territory's edge, the reality of my situation finally began to sink in. I was leaving everything I had ever known to serve an Alpha whose reputation was built on fear and ruthless power.

"W… Why?" I stammered, my voice not coming out loud. Rowland didn't slow his pace or answer my question at first. We continued walking, gravel crunching beneath our feet, until we were almost at the convoy.

"Why?" I asked again, sounding more audible this time. My desperation making me bold. "Why would he want someone like me? Someone everyone claims is cursed?"

Rowland stopped so suddenly that I nearly ran into him. When he turned to face me, his eyes held a warning that made my wolf cower inside me like a beaten animal.

"The Alpha's reasons are his own," he said, his voice carrying absolute authority. "I know when to ask questions and when to stay silent. You would do well to learn the same, as your survival may depend on it."

The message was crystal clear. Stop asking. Accept your fate. Learn to endure.

He resumed walking, and I followed in silence. Whatever Alpha Kalen's plans for me were, I would discover them when he chose to reveal them. Not a moment before.

I sat in the back of the vehicle, surrounded by Alpha Kalen's warriors. None of them spoke to me. None of them even looked at me directly. But I could feel their eyes sliding over me when they thought I wasn't watching. Curious, cautious, like I was a dangerous wolf they weren't sure how to handle.

The inside of the vehicle was luxurious beyond anything I had ever experienced. Soft leather seats, thick furs for warmth, even a small window covered with expensive glass. But luxury couldn't disguise the truth of what this was.

A cage. A beautiful, comfortable cage.

Hours passed in suffocating silence. The wagon rocked gently as we traveled deeper into territory I had never seen. Carrying me further away from everything familiar.

But as we traveled on, something unexpected began blooming in my chest. Not hope. I wasn't foolish enough for hope. But something warmer than the despair that had been my fate.

I felt Relieved.

I had a pack again. Maybe not in the way I had hoped, and maybe not as a respected member. But I had somewhere to go.

Even as a slave, I would have shelter, food, and protection. It was better than me roaming about in the forest, hiding from the rogues that haunted and tore lone wolves for sport.

It was more than I had expected when I knelt beside Marcus's lifeless body, watching the light fade from his eyes.

My wolf stirred restlessly at the memory. She pressed against my ribs like she wanted to escape my skin entirely. The mate bond that had shattered so violently was still aching in my chest. It was a constant reminder of everything I had lost.

But maybe, in Alpha Kalen's pack, I could find something new. A purpose for my existence. I could finally belong somewhere and have a reason to keep fighting.

The thought warmed me more than it should have.

****

Hours later, the forest began to thin, and in no time, I caught my first glimpse of my new pack.

Alpha Kalen’s land was nothing like the small territory of my old pack. Huge stone walls rose from the ground like giants, their tops lined with iron spikes that shone in the fading sunlight.

There were guard towers that stood along the edges, each one manned by warriors whose very scent carried strength and confidence.

This wasn't just a pack; this was a fortress. The entire view of the pack was overwhelming. My former pack's territory could have fit inside these walls three times over.

As we approached the main gate, guards stepped forward to inspect our convoy. But the moment they recognized Rowland's scent, they waved us through without question. The massive iron gates swung.

And then we were inside.

The Pack grounds stretched out before me like a little city. Tall houses stood along wide streets, and between the buildings were gardens full of late-blooming flowers, and the air smelled sweet with their perfume.

I saw the pack members line the streets to watch our convoy pass. Their faces showing curiosity and suspicion in equal measure. It looked like word of my arrival had spread faster than we had traveled.

The convoy finally stopped in front of the largest building I had ever seen. The Alpha's palace rose seven stories into the darkening sky. Its black stone walls were carved with symbols I didn't recognize. Torches burned in iron brackets, casting shadows around the courtyard.

"We have arrived. Come out," Rowland commanded, coming down from his horse.

I climbed down from the vehicle on unsteady legs. My muscles were cramped from the long journey. The small crowd that had followed us kept their distance, but they still whispered to each other. What I began to hear made my stomach twist with dread.

"She's the mate-killer they spoke about," an elderly woman murmured to her companion. Just loud enough for me to hear.

"Why would the Alpha bring such darkness here? She'll bring nothing but death. She already cursed our lands just by entering," her companion replied.

"She'll kill him too," the elderly woman said. "Mark my words, our Alpha will be dead within the month."

"Shh! Your words could put us in trouble. What if Beta Rowland hears you?" another voice whispered.

"Look at her, death follows wherever she goes," the elderly woman replied.

The others that were not whispering just looked on, their faces had a mix of disgust and absolute certainty that I would bring nothing but destruction to their home.

My hands trembled as I felt the weight of their collective hatred. These people didn't know me, had never spoken to me. But they had already decided I was their enemy. Their destroyer.

This was not the welcome I had hoped for. It was now obvious to me that I would always be the outsider. The cursed one. The mate-killer who had brought death into their perfect world.

I kept my eyes straight ahead. I refused to let them see how their words cut me. But inside, my wolf was sad at the hostility radiating from every direction.

"Come," Rowland said to me, turning toward the palace entrance. "The Alpha has ordered a quarter to be prepared for you while we were on our way here."

I followed him up the wide stone steps. My legs were weak with exhaustion. The palace doors were massive things made of dark wood and reinforced with iron bands. They swung open at our approach, revealing a hall that took my breath away.

The ceiling rose high above, fading into shadows. Tapestries of great battles hung on the walls, their colors glowing bright in the torchlight.

This was not just wealth. This was power made manifest in stone and steel.

Rowland led me through long corridors that felt endless. We passed rooms whose use I could only guess. Servants hurried past with their eyes lowered, showing their respect to Rowland.

Finally, we stopped in front of a heavy wooden door on the third floor.

"This is your quarters from now on," Rowland said, producing a key from his vest. "Meals will be brought to you three times a day. You are not to leave the Alpha's palace without permission. You are not to speak to other pack members without supervision. You are not to shift on palace grounds without explicit approval."

He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The room was larger and more luxurious than any space I had ever called my own.

"The Alpha will summon you when he has need of you," Rowland continued. "Until then, you will wait. Quietly."

I stepped into the room and quickly turned to face him before he could leave.

“What does the Alpha really want from me?” I asked.

“What is your name?” he replied.

“Rayan. Rayan Damaris.”

“Rayan, I told you not to ask questions until the Alpha speaks for himself,” he said quietly.

“But I—”

“No buts,” he cut me off. “Remember everything I’ve told you. It’s for your own good.”

Then he was gone. The door shut behind him with a heavy thud that sounded like a cell door slamming shut.

I looked around and saw fire cracking in the hearth. I sank into a chair beside the fire and finally allowed the tears I had been holding back to fall.

Outside my window, I could hear the pack settling in for the night. Voices calling to each other, children laughing, the sounds of a community that would never accept me.

My wolf pressed against my consciousness, seeking comfort I couldn't provide.

“We're alone again,” she whimpered.

“We're safe,” I reminded her while wiping my tears. “That's more than we had earlier.”

But as I sat there, one thought kept circling through my mind.

Alpha Kalen was the most powerful leader in the territories. He could have any wolf he wanted. Could command armies with a single word. Could take whatever he desired by force.

So why did he need a broken woman, branded already as a cursed mate-killer?