The tracker and the alpha

Chapter3

Kael POV

"You’re distracted, my love," Seraphina murmured, her voice a smooth purr that usually smoothed over the rough edges of my temper.

Tonight, it just irritated the f**k out of me.

We were standing in the center of the Grand Ballroom, surrounded by the dizzying beauty of Thorne Palace.

The gold chandeliers dripped crystal light over the hundreds of high-ranking Alphas, glittering nobles, and cutthroat politicians gathered for the winter summit.

Seraphina looked flawless. She was tall, elegant, her platinum-blonde hair pinned up perfectly, her emerald-green eyes locked onto mine.

She was the perfect choice for a future Luna. She was smart, ambitious, and bred from a loyal, powerful bloodline.

But as I held her waist, spinning her through the traditional waltz, my mind was miles away.

It had been fifteen years, and yet the phantom scent of silver and burning flesh still haunted the back of my throat.

Every time I looked at a young girl, every time I stood in the throne room, I saw her. Nyra Vale. The nine-year-old girl I had pinned to the freezing stone floor while my psychotic father drove a poisoned needle into her neck.

“Hold her down, Kael!”

The memory clawed at my chest like a feral beast. I had been a sixteen-year-old crown prince, paralyzed by duty, terrified of the tyrant king, and utterly complicit in a slaughter that still turned my stomach.

I had spent fifteen years drowning in that godfearing guilt. I thought the wolfsbane had killed her and she was dead. But a dark part of me always wondered if she was out there, broken and wolfless, cursing my f*****g name.

"Kael," Seraphina said, a sharp, warning edge dipping into her tone as she stepped closer, her hand tightening on my shoulder. "The Alpha of the Northern Territory is watching you. Smile. And look like the King you are, not a ghost."

"I am smiling, Phina," I lied smoothly, my voice dropping into that terrifyingly calm tone I used when I wanted people to back the f**k off.

Before she could snap back at me, a violent spike of mental static crashed into my skull.

‘Alpha.’ It was Paxon, my Beta, utilizing our high-frequency pack mindlink. His voice wasn't just urgent… it was laced

with a rare, cold panic.

‘Paxom. Report,’ I ordered back, keeping my expression a mask of stony indifference as I continued to lead Seraphina through the dance.

‘We have a breach. A dead guard was just found at the bottom of the western cliffs with its throat torn open with a silver blade and no alarm was tripped. Whoever the f**k did this bypassed the ancient wards.’

My jaw tightened. To bypass the Thorne wards required either high-level dark magic or someone who knew the perimeter like the back of their hand.

‘Where are they now?’

‘We tracked the scent trail through the old drainage grid and up the southern service stairs,’ Paxton hissed, his mental breath rattling. ‘Alpha... whoever they are, they just cracked the lock on your private quarters. They're inside your bedroom right now.’

An assassin? In my f*****g bedroom? During the most heavily guarded summit of the century?

A dark, lethal thrill shot through my veins, my inner wolf instantly waking up, scratching at the surface, ready to tear someone's throat out.

‘Do not alert the guard,’ I mindlinked Marcus, my voice dropping to a freezing psychic whisper. ‘And do not stop the music, and cause a panic. If the Council thinks I can’t protect my own bed, the civil war starts tonight. I’ll handle this myself.’

‘Understood. I'm moving elite shadow guards to secure the outer hallway silently.’

I smoothly completed the final turn of the waltz, bringing Seraphina to an elegant stop.

I kissed the back of her hand, giving her a flawless, fake smile. "Excuse me for a moment, darling. The Alpha of the Eastern Territory needs a word regarding the border taxations."

Seraphina narrowed her emerald eyes, her sharp mind instantly detecting the subtle shift in my posture. "Kael, if this is…"

"Enjoy the wine, Phina," I interrupted, my tone leaving zero room for argument.

I turned on my heel, blending into the crowd. I didn't run because running showed weakness.

Instead, I stalked through the grand arched exits, slipping past the heavy velvet curtains and into the quiet, marble corridors.

The moment I was out of public sight, my pace mutated into a predator's sprint.

Every instinct I possessed was screaming for blood.

Someone had dared to violate my sanctuary. Someone thought they could kill the Alpha King in his sleep. I was going to rip their f*****g limbs off.

I reached the grand corridor of the royal wing, nodding silently to the two elite guards stationed at the corner. They already had their hands on their swords after they must have been tipped off by Marcus.

I gestured for them to stay back. This piece of s**t was mine.

I approached the massive doors carved with the roaring wolf's head. The lock had been picked with terrifying perfection. It had no scratches, no damage.

This was either a master thief or an elite killer.

I wrapped my hand around the heavy gold handle, masking my scent and my breath, suppressing my aura until I was nothing but a shadow.

I turned the handle and slipped into the pitch-black darkness of my bedroom.

The heavy door clicked shut behind me.

Instantly, I lunged forward into the dark, my massive 6'5 framework moving with impossible, supernatural speed.

I caught the intruder completely off guard, slamming them violently back against the hard door.

I pinned their wrists above their head with a grip like titanium, my broad chest crushing them, immobilizing them completely.

"Who the f**k are you?" I growled, my voice vibrating with pure, unadulterated menace.

I expected an assassin, like a political hitman sent by the rebellious noble trying to take the throne.

Instead, the intruder gasped, and her scent hit me like a runaway train.

It wasn't a normal scent. It was an intoxicating, overwhelming explosion of wild winter rain, crushed pine needles, and a fierce, ancient electricity that defied all logic. It flooded my nostrils, sinking deep into my lungs, roaring straight down into my soul.

Inside my chest, my inner wolf didn't just wake up…he shattered his chains, howling with a violent, possessive fury that nearly brought me to my knees.

‘MATE.’ The word echoed through my mind like a thunderclap. ‘OUR FATED MATE.’

My golden eyes flared in the darkness, glowing with a sudden, uncontrollable heat. I forced my gaze down, staring into the face of the assassin pinned beneath me.

The shadows parted under the glow of my eyes, revealing a lean, athletic woman with a mane of tangled black hair and sharp, deadly features.

But it was her eyes that made my heart completely stop beating.

They were pale silver and glowing with a raw, blistering hatred.

"Nyra?" The name tore from my throat, a choked, broken whisper as the brutal realization slammed into my chest, fracturing my world into a million jagged pieces.