The Alpha's Torment

Kael’s

I watch the guards drag her away, her tears shining in the torchlight. Her eyes find mine, filled with deep pain, not fear, and something painful twists in my chest. I clench my fists hard, forcing the foreign feeling down, and storm away from the hall. My heavy boots echo loudly on the stone as I move toward my father’s chambers, the crushing weight of his murder upon me.

I shove the door open, and the coppery scent of blood strikes me like a physical blow. He lies on his bed, his throat violently cut, his eyes wide and lifeless. My knees hit the stone floor, and a raw, broken growl tears from my throat. “I am sorry, Father,” I whisper, my voice suddenly cracking. “I was a complete fool. I could not protect you from this.”

I grip the solid edge of his bed, my claws digging deep into the wood. “That cursed girl will pay,” I vow, my voice low and venomous. “Elira will answer for this horrific act.”

I stand up, my chest tight with rage, and stride into the hallway. Liora’s voice abruptly stops me. “Kael!” she calls out, her tone soft, concerned. She hurries toward me, her white gown trailing behind her like a pale shadow. “Are you all right? After... everything that happened?”

I look at her, her eyes wide with carefully rehearsed worry. I have never felt anything true for her, certainly not the way a mate should feel. This proposed marriage was only my father’s final wish, a business deal to join our families, nothing more than that. My wolf silently snarls, restless, thinking only of Elira’s defiant face instead.

“I am fine,” I say, forcing my face into a tight smile. “You do not need to worry, Liora. Go and rest. The ceremony will happen again, but not now. Just... rest.”

“Kael, I am here completely for you,” she says, moving closer, her hand lightly brushing my arm. “She is a monster, you know that fact. We will make her pay for this crime together.”

I pull away from her touch, my jaw tight. “I will handle this business,” I say, the tone sharper than I intended. “Go.” I do not wait for her reply, turning and striding down the hall, my thoughts raging like a storm.

The dungeon’s damp, cold air hits me immediately as I descend the heavy stone steps. The waiting guards part instantly, bowing low, and open the cell door.

Elira sits against the unforgiving stone wall, her wrists heavily chained, her hair obscuring her face. She stares fixedly at the small window, moonlight catching the mark on her palm, and does not acknowledge my entrance.

My wolf stirs deep inside, the mate bond pulling instantly like a heavy chain around my heart, urging me to go to her, to simply hold her.

I violently shove the insane thought away. How could the moon pair me with her—a cursed slave, a probable killer? My father’s warm blood is on her wicked hands. My wolf gives a painful growl, deeply torn, and I absolutely hate the sensation.

I step forward, my boots scraping harshly on the stone. Her head snaps up, and her eyes meet mine directly.

I braced for fear, but there is only pain, a deep, raw ache, like an open wound I cannot see. “Are you finally ready to confess the truth?” I ask, my voice utterly cold, hard as the stone around us.

She laughs, a bitter, broken sound that cuts through the tiny cell. “Confess to what exact crime, Alpha?” she says, her voice hoarse but completely defiant. “If I confess the murder, will you simply release me? Or will you kill me anyway, regardless?”

I move closer still, utterly towering over her fragile frame. “Confess or not, you will never find peace,” I growl. “Your scent was on the murder weapon.

You were inside his private chambers. You cannot possibly lie your way out of this.”

Her eyes flash in the dim light, and she leans forward suddenly, the chains clinking loudly.

“You know that I am your true mate,” she says, her voice low, startlingly steady. “You feel the undeniable pull, exactly the same as I do.

Why have you not rejected me, Kael? If I am truly such a curse, why do you not break this bond right now?”

Her brutal words strike me like a sharp blade. I freeze instantly, my wolf internally howling, the mate bond throbbing violently in my chest.

Why haven't I rejected her yet? I should have done it instantly. She is nothing—a slave, a killer, a blight upon the entire pack. But my furious wolf claws violently at my insides, absolutely refusing to let go.

“You do not have the right to question me,” I snap, my voice trembling with contained rage. “You have exactly five days to confess your crimes, Elira. Or I will personally ensure you meet the very same fate as my father did.”

She stares up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears but utterly unyielding. “I wish for instant death,” she says, her voice barely audible now. “Living like this—bound in chains, intensely hated, deeply cursed—it is far worse than actually dying.”

Her quiet words twist something unexpected inside me, a deep, searing pain I absolutely refuse to acknowledge. My wolf whines internally, pleading with me to reach for her, but I immediately step back, my fists clenched tight.

“You do not get to assume the role of the victim,” I say, my voice dangerous. “You are a witch, a plague. You will pay fully for what you have done.”

She shakes her head, a single tear finally escaping down her cheek. “I did not kill him,” she says, her voice breaking with honest pain. “He was kind to me. Like the father I lost. Why would I ever hurt him?”

“Stop lying now!” I roar, my voice echoing violently off the cold stone walls. “Your scent, your presence—every single thing points directly to your guilt!”

“Then why do you still hesitate?” she shoots back, her voice gaining strength. “If I am truly guilty, then reject me! End this terrifying bond! Or are you simply afraid of the consequence?”

I snarl, stepping closer, my claws instinctively itching to extend and tear. “You think you can play games and manipulate me? You are nothing, Elira. A simple slave who entertained the ridiculous notion that she could ever be my mate.”

Her laugh is weak, completely broken. “I never truly wanted to be your mate,” she says. “I did not ask for any of this profound pain. But you clearly feel it too, do you not? That is precisely why you are here, screaming at me instead of simply rejecting me and leaving.”

My chest tightens agonizingly, her words far too close to the ugly truth. The mate bond burns hot, a fire I am powerless to extinguish.

I want desperately to hate her, to believe wholeheartedly that she is guilty, but my inner wolf absolutely forbids it. “Five days,” I repeat again, my voice low, absolute, and final. “Confess the truth, or you will die.”

She meets my furious gaze, completely unflinching. “Then kill me right now,” she says, her voice utterly devoid of fear. “It would be far kinder than leaving me here like this.”

I turn sharply away, my heart pounding painfully. Her voice follows me, soft but piercing through the silence. “You will regret this choice, Alpha Kael. Deep down inside, you know I am not the true monster here.”

I do not say a single word in reply and walk away, the single, agonizing thought on my mind: Why does hearing her pain hurt me so much?