The Alpha’s Order
1467 Words
“Everyone you’ve ever loved?”
Vaelith stared at Draven.
His warning hung between them like a blade.
She should have been frightened.
Instead, anger rose first.
It was easier to hold.
“That’s your explanation?”
Draven’s expression remained unreadable.
“It’s a warning.”
“No. It’s a threat.”
“It isn’t.”
“Then stop speaking in riddles.”
His jaw flexed.
For a man rumored to terrify entire territories, Draven Kael seemed remarkably determined to avoid answering a simple question.
Vaelith pushed away from the wall.
“Who are the Aether?”
His eyes narrowed.
“You don’t know?”
“If I knew, do you think I’d be asking?”
Silence.
Draven looked toward the corridor where Seraphine had disappeared.
Then back at Vaelith.
“Come with me.”
“No.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“No?”
“You’ve already summoned me here, told me to leave, told me I’m apparently some extinct bloodline, and warned me that everyone I care about is in danger.”
She folded her arms.
“I think I’ve earned an explanation before I follow you into another mysterious room.”
Something flickered in his eyes.
“Your courage is going to get you killed.”
“People keep telling me that.”
“And yet you keep surviving.”
Vaelith’s smile faded.
There it was again.
That word.
Surviving.
“You knew my mother.”
Draven didn’t answer.
“You knew about my family.”
Nothing.
“And you’ve been looking for me.”
His silence confirmed enough.
Vaelith stepped closer.
“How long?”
Draven’s gaze hardened.
“Long enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is the only one you’re getting.”
She let out a humorless laugh.
“You’re terrible at conversations.”
“I wasn’t summoned here to entertain you.”
“You summoned me.”
“No.”
His voice sharpened.
“You were brought here because I ordered it.”
Vaelith stared at him.
“That distinction is ridiculous.”
“It matters.”
“Not to me.”
She turned toward the entrance.
“Fine. If you’re finished wasting my time, I’ll leave.”
She had taken only two steps when his voice stopped her.
“You can’t.”
Vaelith slowly turned.
Draven stood exactly where she’d left him.
“Why?”
“Because the moment you crossed the Blackthorn border, your scent was carried through the territory.”
Her brows drew together.
“And?”
“And something else sensed you.”
The strange warmth beneath her collarbone returned.
Vaelith pressed her palm against it.
“What?”
Draven’s gaze dropped to her hand.
“Aether wolves aren’t ordinary shifters.”
His voice lowered.
“They can be tracked through blood.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Who is tracking me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why are you so certain?”
“Because I felt them.”
The words came quietly.
Vaelith studied his face.
For the first time, she wondered what his wolf looked like.
Then something inside her stirred.
He knows.
Her breath caught.
There it was again.
That strange voice.
Not quite a thought.
Not quite a sound.
She looked at Draven.
His expression had changed.
“You heard it.”
Vaelith froze.
“Heard what?”
“Your wolf.”
A chill traveled down her spine.
“I don’t have a wolf.”
Draven stared at her.
“Every shifter has one.”
“Not one that talks.”
His face became completely still.
Vaelith suddenly wished she’d kept quiet.
“Mine does.”
Draven’s eyes sharpened.
“What does she say?”
Vaelith hesitated.
“She said this place is home.”
For the first time, Draven looked genuinely shaken.
He turned away.
“That’s impossible.”
“That’s becoming your second favorite sentence.”
He ignored her.
Vaelith followed him.
“Draven.”
He stopped.
She almost collided with his back.
He turned.
They were too close.
Vaelith became suddenly aware of the warmth radiating from his body. She could see the faint tension in his jaw, the controlled rise and fall of his chest.
His eyes lowered briefly to her lips.
It lasted barely a second.
Then he stepped away.
The distance returned.
So did the cold Alpha.
“You need to leave Blackthorn.”
Vaelith blinked.
“We’re back to that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because keeping you here puts a target on this territory.”
“And sending me away removes it?”
“No.”
His answer came immediately.
“It puts the target on you instead.”
She stared at him.
“That sounds less like protection and more like abandonment.”
Something tightened in his expression.
“Call it whatever you want.”
“So that’s your solution?”
“Yes.”
“Order me away and pretend you never found me?”
His eyes met hers.
“If that’s what keeps you alive.”
Vaelith’s anger faltered.
There was something painfully sincere in his voice.
She didn’t understand it.
She didn’t trust it.
But she heard it.
Then footsteps sounded from the far end of the hall.
A guard appeared.
He bowed toward Draven.
“Alpha.”
Draven turned.
“What?”
“The western patrol found tracks near the boundary.”
Draven’s expression changed instantly.
“How many?”
“Six wolves.”
“Pack?”
“No.”
The guard hesitated.
“They weren’t ordinary wolves.”
Vaelith felt the mark beneath her collarbone burn.
Draven noticed.
“Get everyone inside.”
The guard nodded.
“Now.”
He hurried away.
Vaelith looked at Draven.
“You said something sensed me.”
“Yes.”
“And now there are six wolves at your border.”
His silence answered her.
She stepped toward him.
“So tell me the truth.”
Draven’s eyes darkened.
“You wouldn’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“You aren’t safe anywhere.”
“That’s not an explanation.”
“It is the truth.”
“Then give me the rest.”
He stared at her for several seconds.
Finally, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small black object.
A pendant.
He held it toward her.
Vaelith recognized the symbol immediately.
The same crescent.
The same three stars.
The same symbol carved into the envelope.
Her fingers hovered over it.
“Where did you get this?”
“My father.”
She looked up.
“You said your father knew about the Aether.”
“He knew too much.”
Draven’s voice became colder.
“And he wasn’t the only one.”
Vaelith touched the pendant.
The instant her fingers brushed the metal, a flash tore through her mind.
Fire.
Screaming.
A woman running through darkness.
A man’s voice shouting her name.
Vaelith! Run!
She gasped and jerked her hand away.
The pendant struck the floor.
Draven caught her before she stumbled.
His hand closed around her waist.
For one breath, neither moved.
His eyes locked onto hers.
Her heart pounded.
Not because of attraction.
Because of what she’d just seen.
“My father…”
Her voice shook.
“I saw him.”
Draven’s grip tightened instinctively.
“What did you see?”
“Fire.”
Her eyes filled with confusion.
“He was alive.”
Draven went completely still.
“What else?”
Vaelith looked toward the fallen pendant.
“He was running.”
“From whom?”
She swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
A loud howl erupted beyond the estate.
Then another.
Then four more.
The windows rattled.
Draven released her and turned toward the doors.
His entire demeanor changed.
The coldness became something darker.
Commanding.
Deadly.
“Stay here.”
Vaelith stared at him.
“Absolutely not.”
His eyes flashed.
“That wasn’t a request.”
“And I’m not one of your soldiers.”
“You are now in my territory.”
“And apparently being hunted because of something I never asked for.”
He stepped toward her.
“Vaelith.”
The way he said her name stopped her.
His voice was low.
Serious.
“Please.”
She had expected another order.
Not that.
For one heartbeat, the feared Alpha of Blackthorn looked less like a ruler and more like a man asking her to trust him.
Then a crash shook the estate.
The front doors burst inward.
A black wolf stepped through the broken entrance.
Its eyes glowed silver.
Behind it came five more.
Draven moved in front of Vaelith.
His shoulders shifted.
His eyes flashed gold.
And somewhere inside Vaelith, her hidden wolf whispered:
That’s him.
Then Draven’s voice came out as a growl.
“Run, Vaelith.”
The wolves lunged.
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