The Alpha King's Claim
1256 Words
Chapter 7:
The forest had gone silent.
Kael's massive black wolf stood between me and the darkness, every muscle tense.
His warriors had formed a protective circle around us.
I should have felt safe.
Instead, my heart was pounding for an entirely different reason.
He's our mate.
Vespera's words echoed through my mind.
I pressed a hand against my chest.
"No."
She stirred.
You felt the bond.
"I don't want another mate."
This isn't Theron.
I closed my eyes.
That name still hurt.
Theron.
The man who had once promised that I would be his Luna.
The man who had looked into my eyes tonight and told me I wasn't enough.
I couldn't simply forget that because another Alpha had appeared.
Especially not an Alpha King.
I looked at Kael's wolf.
He was enormous.
Powerful.
Terrifying.
Then his body shifted.
Bones cracked.
Dark fur disappeared beneath human skin.
Seconds later, Kael stood before me again.
He pulled a black cloak from one of his warriors and wrapped it around himself.
His golden eyes found mine.
"Come."
I didn't move.
"Where?"
"Blackthorn."
"No."
His brows drew together.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"You can't remain here."
"I'll find somewhere else."
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
His expression hardened.
"The men who attacked you weren't ordinary rogues."
"I know."
"They were looking for something."
"Me."
"Yes."
I swallowed.
"And you think taking me to your kingdom will stop them?"
"No."
His answer surprised me.
"It will give us time to find out why they want you."
I stared at him.
"You said you wouldn't force me."
"I won't."
He stepped closer.
"But I'm not going to pretend you're safe when you're not."
I looked away.
The truth was, I had nowhere else to go.
Moonridge was no longer home.
And the people hunting me had already found me in the forest.
"How long?"
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"How long what?"
"How long can I stay in Blackthorn?"
"As long as you need."
I looked at him suspiciously.
"And what do you expect in return?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
He held my gaze.
"You owe me nothing because you're my mate."
The word made my chest tighten.
I hated how naturally it sounded coming from him.
Before I could respond, a warrior approached.
"Your Majesty."
Kael turned.
"What?"
"We found the tracks."
"Where?"
"Three miles east."
Kael's expression changed.
"How many?"
"Eight."
His jaw tightened.
"Are they following us?"
The warrior nodded.
"They're close."
Kael looked at me.
"We leave now."
I didn't argue.
Not this time.
One of the warriors brought a horse.
I stared at it.
"I can ride."
Kael's eyebrow lifted.
"I didn't say you couldn't."
I climbed onto the horse.
My injured ankle protested.
I ignored it.
Kael mounted his own horse.
The moment we started moving, I felt something strange.
A tug.
Not physical.
Something deeper.
Like an invisible thread had connected us.
Every time he moved farther away, my chest tightened.
Every time he came closer, warmth spread through my body.
I hated it.
I hated that my body seemed to trust him before my mind did.
After several minutes, Kael rode beside me.
"You should rest."
"I'm fine."
"You've said that several times."
"Because I am."
"You were nearly killed tonight."
"So were you."
His eyes flicked toward me.
"I wasn't the one being hunted."
"You're helping me."
"Yes."
"Then they're hunting you too."
He was silent.
I smiled bitterly.
"See? You're not invincible."
Something almost like amusement crossed his face.
"I never said I was."
"Everyone says you are."
"Everyone is wrong about many things."
I studied him.
"You don't act like the Alpha King."
His expression became unreadable.
"How should an Alpha King act?"
"Cold."
"I am cold."
"Arrogant."
"I can be."
"Ruthless."
His gaze darkened.
"When necessary."
I smiled faintly.
"And yet you're helping a rejected Omega."
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then he said quietly,
"You're not an Omega."
My smile disappeared.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"That's what I am."
"No."
His gaze dropped briefly to my collarbone.
"That's what they told you."
My heart began beating faster.
"Who?"
"Everyone who wanted you to believe it."
I stared at him.
"You know something."
"Yes."
"What?"
"Not enough."
I frowned.
"Then what do you know?"
Kael's expression hardened.
"I know your wolf isn't weak."
Vespera went completely still.
I whispered, "How?"
"I can feel her."
My heart stopped.
"How?"
"Because my wolf recognizes her."
I didn't know what to say.
For years, everyone had called Vespera defective.
Even I had believed them.
She had never shifted.
Never shown unusual strength.
Never behaved like other wolves.
But Kael spoke about her as though she were something else entirely.
Something powerful.
Something ancient.
A sudden pain shot through my collarbone.
I gasped.
The strange mark burned beneath my clothes.
Kael immediately stopped his horse.
"Lyra."
"I'm fine."
He dismounted.
"So am I."
He came toward me.
"Show me the mark."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what it is."
"Neither do I."
That made me pause.
"The Alpha King doesn't know something?"
His eyes narrowed.
"There are things even I haven't learned."
He reached toward my collarbone.
I caught his wrist.
The instant our skin touched—
the world disappeared.
Silver light flooded my vision.
A woman stood beneath a blood-red moon.
Her long silver hair moved in the wind.
Her eyes were the same color as mine.
Behind her stood a gigantic white wolf.
The woman turned toward me.
And whispered—
"The blood remembers."
I gasped.
The vision shattered.
I released Kael's wrist.
He stared at me.
"What did you see?"
"I don't know."
"You saw something."
"So did you?"
His expression became guarded.
"No."
"You felt it."
He said nothing.
Then his gaze shifted toward the forest.
His entire body went rigid.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he drew his sword.
His warriors immediately surrounded us.
A howl sounded in the distance.
Then another.
Kael's voice became dangerously calm.
"They've caught up."
My stomach dropped.
"How many?"
His eyes met mine.
"Too many."
The wolves emerged between the trees.
Eight.
Then twelve.
Then more.
They weren't rogues.
They wore black markings around their necks.
The same serpent symbol I'd seen on the mysterious men who had chased me.
One stepped forward.
He looked directly at me.
"Lyra Vale."
Kael moved in front of me.
"Take one more step and you die."
The man smiled.
"We weren't sent to kill her."
Kael's grip tightened around his sword.
"Then why are you here?"
The man's eyes moved around him.
"We were ordered to bring her home."
My blood ran cold.
"Home?"
The man smiled.
"She doesn't belong to Moonridge."
He looked directly at me.
"She doesn't belong to Blackthorn either."
Kael's eyes turned gold.
"Then where does she belong?"
The man's smile widened.
"With the people whose blood runs through her veins."
Vespera suddenly screamed inside my mind.
RUN!
The mark beneath my collarbone exploded with heat.
Silver light burst across my skin.
Every wolf around us fell silent.
Even Kael froze.
The man who had spoken to us took a step backward.
His face went pale.
"No..."
He stared at the glowing mark.
"She's awakened."
Kael turned toward me.
His expression had changed completely.
And for the first time, I saw something I had never seen in the eyes of an Alpha King.
Fear.
The man whispered,
"The First Moon has returned."
And then every wolf in the forest dropped to its knees.
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