The Alpha beneath my shadow

Chapter four

Chapter Four — The Forbidden Bond

Days passed after Elena learned the truth about her father.

But the castle no longer felt the same.

Every corridor seemed colder. Every shadow seemed to whisper her father's name.

She had spent her entire life believing he was a simple farmer—a quiet man who worked the land, protected his daughter, and wanted nothing more than to keep their family safe.

Now she knew the truth.

He had been a hunter.

Not just any hunter.

He had been the man responsible for destroying Kael's family.

And Kael had been only a child when it happened.

Elena understood why he hated her.

What she couldn't understand was why he kept looking at her as though he wanted to hate her but couldn't.

Kael tried to stay away from her.

He avoided the dining hall whenever she was there. He left meetings whenever she entered. Whenever Elena approached him, he found an excuse to walk away.

But distance did not weaken the strange bond between them.

It made it stronger.

Whenever Elena was hurt, Kael felt it.

When she accidentally cut her finger while helping in the kitchen, Kael suddenly doubled over in the middle of a council meeting, clutching his hand.

When Elena cried alone in her room, his wolf became restless.

And whenever another man came near her, something dark and possessive awakened inside him.

One afternoon, a young warrior named Rowan offered to escort Elena through the castle gardens.

Kael happened to see them from the balcony.

His jaw tightened.

His golden eyes darkened.

"Who is that?" he asked.

One of his guards glanced toward the garden.

"Rowan, Alpha. He's been assigned to protect Lady Elena."

Kael said nothing.

But the glass in his hand cracked.

The guard stared nervously at him.

"Alpha?"

"Leave."

The guard immediately obeyed.

Kael watched Elena laugh at something Rowan said.

A strange pain twisted inside his chest.

He hated it.

He hated that she could make him feel this way.

He hated that the daughter of his greatest enemy had somehow become the person his wolf wanted most.

Most of all, he hated himself.

That night, Elena couldn't sleep.

She walked through the silent castle until she reached the balcony overlooking the dark forest.

The moon was high above the trees.

And there stood Kael.

Alone.

His hands rested against the stone railing as he stared into the distance.

Elena stopped behind him.

"You rejected me."

Kael's shoulders stiffened.

He didn't turn around.

"I know."

"You didn't even give me a chance to understand."

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

Kael finally turned.

His face was cold again, but Elena could see the pain hiding beneath his expression.

"Because you are his daughter."

Elena swallowed.

"I didn't choose my father."

"I know."

"Then why punish me for what he did?"

Kael looked away.

"Because every time I look at you, I remember him."

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

"And every time I look at you, I see the man who saved my life."

Silence fell between them.

The wind moved gently through Elena's hair.

Kael stared at her.

Something inside him broke.

"I had no choice," he whispered.

Elena stepped closer.

"You always have a choice."

Kael's eyes met hers.

For the first time since Elena had met him, the terrifying Alpha disappeared.

There was no anger in his eyes.

Only fear.

"I am afraid of you."

Elena's heart skipped.

"Afraid of me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Kael took a slow breath.

"Because I don't know how to hate you anymore."

Elena froze.

Kael moved closer.

"Your father destroyed everything I loved."

His voice trembled.

"He killed my father. He destroyed my pack. He turned my childhood into a nightmare."

Elena lowered her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do it."

"But I'm still his daughter."

Kael closed his eyes.

"That's what makes this impossible."

He opened them again.

"I could forgive the world for what your father did."

He stepped closer.

"But I don't know if I can forgive myself for loving you."

Elena's heart stopped.

"You... love me?"

Kael didn't answer.

He didn't need to.

The look in his eyes told her everything.

Elena reached for his hand.

Kael hesitated.

Then their fingers touched.

A sudden warmth rushed through both of them.

The crescent-shaped mark on Elena's wrist began to glow faintly.

Kael stared at it.

"What is happening?"

"I don't know."

The glow spread across Elena's skin before disappearing.

Kael's wolf growled inside him.

Not with anger.

With recognition.

His mate.

The forbidden truth neither of them wanted to accept.

Kael lifted a hand and gently touched Elena's cheek.

She leaned into his palm.

"I tried to stay away from you," he whispered.

"I know."

"I tried to hate you."

"I know."

"I failed."

Elena smiled through her tears.

"So did I."

For several seconds, they simply stared at each other.

Then Kael leaned closer.

Elena's breath caught.

Their lips met.

The kiss was gentle at first, almost uncertain.

Then the world seemed to disappear.

There was no Alpha.

No hunter.

No revenge.

No dead fathers.

No blood between their families.

Only two people who had fallen in love despite every reason they shouldn't.

When they finally separated, Elena rested her forehead against his.

"Maybe we're not responsible for the sins of our parents," she whispered.

Kael closed his eyes.

"Maybe."

Neither of them noticed the figure standing beyond the balcony doors.

A shadow watched them silently.

Two cold eyes gleamed beneath the hood of a dark cloak.

The stranger smiled.

"So it has begun."

The figure slowly disappeared into the darkness.

Inside the castle, Elena held Kael's hand.

She believed the worst was behind them.

She was wrong.

Because the person watching them knew the truth.

The bond between Elena and Kael was not an accident.

It had been planned.

And soon, Elena would discover that her father's greatest secret was far darker than being a werewolf hunter.

It was the reason she had been destined to become Kael's forbidden mate.