The Alpha's forbidden firstborn

CHAPTER 3: THE SCENT II

Kael crossed the hall in six strides that felt, to every wolf watching, considerably more like six strides toward a fight than toward a servant.

He crouched in front of her. Up close, she could smell him—clean, wild, pine and ozone before a storm. She flinched, bracing for the hand that always came next when someone got that close. It didn't come. He didn't touch her at all. He just knelt there, gold eyes locked on her face with an intensity that made her want to disappear.

Then he noticed the fresh wound on her wrist.

His expression changed.

"Who did that?" His voice was rough. Dangerous.

Elara instinctively covered her wrist. "No one," she replied, her voice trembling with fear.

"Who?" Kael asked again, softer this time—but no less demanding.

"The Beta," she whispered.

He hurt her.

Kael's wolf shook violently inside him. He took a deep breath, fighting for control.

The room became deadly quiet.

He turned to Viktor. "Your Beta?"

Viktor shrugged, his expression dismissive. "She is a servant. Discipline is necessary."

Kael's eyes became frighteningly cold. "Discipline?" he asked, his voice dripping with barely contained rage.

He slowly raised Elara to her feet. The moment his skin touched hers, their bodies shocked—the mate bond slammed into them so hard that his wolf surged forward with a snarl of pure possession.

The touch stirred something in Elara. Something she didn't understand.

He removed his coat and placed it around her shoulders. She was confused and frightened, but she felt the connection between them. She didn't know what it was, but she felt safe around him.

"You won't be sleeping here tonight," Kael said in a final tone.

Elara's eyes couldn't leave his face. She didn't even know where she got the audacity to look an Alpha in the face.

Kael turned to Viktor. "I'm taking her."

Viktor's eyes narrowed. "You can't just walk into my territory and take one of my servants."

Kael moved close to him, leaning forward. "You misunderstood me, Alpha. I'm not asking for permission. She is mine."

Viktor looked surprised. He understood everything now. "Yours? You mean she is your mate? That can't be. She is useless. Human. Weak. You are an Alpha. She can't be your mate. I think you are mistaken."

Kael's eyes darkened.

She is human. No wonder he didn't feel her wolf.

His wolf didn't care. Human or wolf. Weak or powerful. She was theirs, and they would protect her.

Kael lifted Elara in a bridal style—very gently, like she would break if he held tighter. He started walking out of the hall toward the entrance with Elara in his arms. He didn't want to stay any more minute, or he might lose control.

Viktor tried to block him, but he knew better than to challenge Alpha Kael. He stepped back.

They walked out of the hall and into the courtyard. One of Kael's men opened the car door, and Kael gently placed her inside.

"Are you really taking me?" Elara managed to ask. Then, immediately, she added, "I'm sorry. I won't speak again."

Kael's heart broke. He wanted to go back inside and tear Viktor's throat out for traumatizing his mate so much.

"You don't have to apologize, baby girl. You can speak anytime. Ask me anything, sweetheart," he said calmly.

She stared at him for a while, battling whether she should talk or remain silent. "Why?" she finally asked.

"Because you're my mate. Because the thought of leaving you here makes me want to destroy his whole pack."

Elara looked shocked. No one had ever tried to protect her before. Was this another trick? And what did he mean by mate?

One of the most powerful Alphas in the werewolf clan... her mate?