Chapter Six: The Alpha’s Secrets
622 Words
I wait until nightfall.
Kael hasn’t returned since this morning. No guards posted outside my door. No Yelena barking orders. Just silence, thick as velvet.
Which means now is the time.
I slide out of my suite and into the hall. The packhouse is mostly asleep—dim torches line the stone walls, flickering as I move quietly past them. My body still aches from training, but adrenaline is a potent numbing agent.
I head toward the east wing—Kael’s wing.
No one’s allowed there.
Which makes it the perfect place to look for answers.
I’ve only seen him in shadows and commands. Never in vulnerability. Never as just a man. But if I’m going to survive here—if I’m going to outplay the Alpha—I need to understand him.
Even if it means breaking into the wolf’s den.
I slip into his chambers.
It’s colder than expected.
Dark wood and stone. A massive black bed draped in furs. A fireplace, unlit. Maps and old weapons line the walls. There’s a desk, covered in scattered papers, and a cabinet marked with a symbol I recognize from the auction.
The Black Sigil. The slaver’s mark.
Why would he have that?
I move closer, fingers brushing the edge of the parchment. Notes. Names. Locations. Some of them are crossed out in red.
Hunted.
Eliminated.
I freeze.
Kael isn’t supporting the slavers.
He’s hunting them.
A noise behind me makes my breath catch.
I turn.
He’s there.
In the doorway. Barefoot. Shirtless. His eyes glow faintly in the dark.
“You broke into my room,” he says quietly.
I swallow hard. “I wanted answers.”
He steps closer. “And did you find any?”
“You’re not what they say.”
“No,” he agrees. “I’m worse.”
I don’t believe him.
Not anymore.
“Why are you hunting them?” I ask.
He stops just inches from me. The heat of his body makes mine ache. “Because they took something from me once.”
“What?”
His jaw clenches. “Everything.”
Silence.
Then—I don’t know what possesses me—I reach up, brushing my fingers over the scar on his shoulder.
It’s deep. Ugly. Twisted.
“Silver blade,” he murmurs. “Right across the bond mark. The night they killed my mate.”
My breath hitches.
“She was yours?”
He nods once.
“And now you’ve bought me to… replace her?”
His eyes darken. “No. I bought you because the moment I saw you, the bond started to burn again. And I don’t know what that means.”
He leans in slowly.
My heart is racing. Every nerve alive.
“Maybe the Moon Goddess made a mistake,” I whisper.
“Or maybe…” His lips brush mine. Barely. A ghost of a kiss. “She’s giving me a second chance.”
His mouth crashes into mine.
This kiss is different.
Not dominance.
Need.
Desperation.
Fingers tangle in hair, bodies pressed tight. His hands roam over my back, my waist, gripping like he’s afraid I’ll disappear. My wolf howls in my chest—heat and hunger and chaos. I kiss him back, losing myself in the fire.
But just as quickly as it started… he stops.
He pulls away, breathing hard, eyes wild.
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know if I’m protecting you…” He pauses. “Or destroying you.”
He steps back, voice low.
“Leave. Now.”
I do.
But every step away from him feels like fire.
And I know, deep in my bones…
This isn’t the end.
It’s only the beginning.
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- Writer
