The tracker and the alpha

Chapter 5

Nyra

The morning light didn’t just wake me; it

felt like a f*****g slap to the face.

I bolted upright, my chest heaving, every muscle in my body screaming in agonizing protest.

The heavy scent of winter snow and crushed pine needles still hung thick in the air, wrapping around my throat like a goddamned noose.

I looked down at the silk sheets tangled around my bare thighs, and a wave of nausea hit me so hard I thought I’d vomit right there on the king's expensive f*****g mattress.

I slept with him.

I had given the monster who helped slaughter my mother, the psychopathic piece of s**t I had spent fifteen years training to murder, the easiest goddamned victory of his life.

My own traitorous body had completely bypassed my brain, melting the second that primal, f****d-up mate bond sparked to life.

I hadn't just failed my mission; I had degraded myself in the most humiliating way possible.

"f*****g hell," I choked out, slamming my fist into the mattress.

I scrambled out of bed, dragging my torn leather vest and trousers off the floor.

My hands were shaking with a lethal cocktail of adrenaline and self-loathing as I threw my clothes back on.

I needed to get the f**k out of here. Now.

I lunged toward the massive carved doors, my fingers wrapping around the gold handle, and threw my weight against them.

But nothing. The heavy wood didn’t even

budge.

"You've got to be f*****g kidding me," I snarled, pulling a lockpick from the hidden lining of my boot.

I shoved the metal tension wrench into the keyway, working furiously. My hands were sweating, the metal clicking uselessly against the pins.

"It’s not a standard lock, little girl," a deep, gravelly voice echoed from the shadows near the balcony.

I spun around, my hand flying to my thigh, only to find my silver daggers were completely gone.

Kael stood leaning against the marble archway, completely unbothered, wearing nothing but a pair of dark trousers.

The sight of the fresh scratches my own fingernails had carved into his bare shoulders made my stomach twist into a violent knot.

His golden eyes were glowing with a terrifyingly smug, possessive warmth that made me want to rip his throat out with my bare teeth.

"Don't call me that," I hissed, dropping into a defensive fighting stance despite being entirely unarmed. "Open this goddamned door."

"I can't do that," Kael said, stepping forward with the slow, agonizing confidence of an apex predator. "The room is sealed from the outside. Paxton and the elite shadow guards have the entire wing locked down. No one gets in, and you sure as hell aren't getting out."

"You think you can trap me here? Like a f*****g pet?"

"I'm keeping you safe," he countered, his voice dropping into that suffocating Alpha frequency that made my skin crawl. "And I'm keeping my kingdom from tearing itself apart. You broke into my quarters, bypassed ancient wards, and tried to poison my water supply. But more importantly... you’re my fated mate. I'm not letting you vanish back into the shadows until you accept what we are, and until you tell me exactly who the f**k you are."

"I told you last night, you royal piece of s**t," I spat, my voice dripping with pure venom. "I am a nobody. I am the person who is going to watch you bleed."

Kael closed the distance between us in a second, his supernatural speed blurring the air.

He didn't grab me brutally this time, but his massive 6'5 framework completely boxed me in against the locked door.

"Stop f*****g lying to me! Your scent is an exact match for the Vale line, but you have no wolf. You fight like a human demon, yet you carry the blood of the most powerful prophecy this kingdom has ever seen. Who are you?"

"Go to hell."

"Are you Nyra?" he whispered, a sudden, pathetic flash of broken vulnerability cracking through his stony mask. "Tell me the truth. Did you survive the wolfsbane?"

Looking at his desperate, searching eyes, a brutal, dark realization washed over me. He wanted the little girl he helped ruin to tell him it was all okay.

I gave him a slow, razor-sharp smile that was entirely hollow.

"Nyra Vale died fifteen years ago on the floor of your throne room, Kael. You watched her burn. You held her down. Don't play the f*****g saint now."

His jaw locked, his golden eyes flashing with a dangerous, volatile heat. "If you won't give me answers, then we stay here. For days, weeks. Until you accept the bond."

"I will never accept a monster."

Kael’s eyes narrowed, a muscle leaping in his jaw. "We'll see about that," he murmured, his voice laced with an unyielding certainty that set my blood on fire.

He reached out, his thumb brushing the scar on my neck, sending a treacherous jolt of electricity straight down my spine.

I flinched away, cursing my body's reaction.

"You think a locked door and a few shadow guards can hold me?" I taunted, backing away until the edge of the heavy wooden table pressed against my lower back.

My fingers subtly drifted behind me, sweeping across the surface. My twin daggers were gone, but my hand brushed against something small, round, and cold.

It was the black glass vial.

It had slipped from my vest during last night's chaotic madness, rolling under a book. He hadn't found it, yet.

The concentrated silver-laced wolfsbane was still within my reach. One drop would kill him.

Kael watched me, his gaze tracking my movements with apex precision. "I know what you're capable of. But you're unarmed, and your human strength is nothing compared to mine. Just rest. We have all the time in the world."

"I'd rather rot," I spat.

I grabbed the vial, sliding it into my waistband. If I couldn't slip it into his water, I'd force it down his throat.

But before I could move, a violent knock shook the entire door. The marble floor groaned, and the crystal chandeliers above swung wildly.

“Kael, Open up.”

I froze. I would recognize that voice anywhere. It was Former Alpha, Darius Vale.

Shit, if he recognizes me, I'm doomed.