Chapter#62

Chapter#62
Rhea’s POV
He’s losing himself. Selene’s absence is haunting him, but it’s me who’s paying the price for his madness. I want to kill her before he finds her.
I paced the shadowed corridor outside Leandro’s chamber. My Alpha was unraveling. His obsession with Selene, that Silverthorn bitch, was consuming him like a fever. He’d barely slept since we arrived. 
“Rhea!” Leandro called for me. 
I entered the room with my head bowed. He was standing by the window with nothing covering his upper body. 
“I want you to be on the patrol tonight.”
“Yes, Alpha.” I lifted my head up and then walked a few steps toward him. I hovered my hands on his bare and broad back. His muscles flexed under my touch, but then in a swift motion, he turned around and grabbed my right hand hard enough to bruise it. 
“Don’t disappoint me.” His breath was hot against my mouth as he said the words. And then with a jolt, he yanked my hand away, making me stumble on my feet.
“I-I won’t, Alpha,” My voice was barely audible and submissive… as always. 
The night patrol took me through Ironfang’s twisted alleys. My wolfless state made me invisible to wolf senses. It was a curse that made me feel weak. I could feel the knights' glances on me. The way they stared at me and whispered into each other's ears, I knew they were disgusted by me. Because I was Leandro’s beta and now a lord as well, they couldn’t say anything to me. They had to obey me, no matter what. 
A rustle in the fog ahead stopped me cold. I drew my dagger and stepped into the mist. A figure lunged, and before I could stab him, he called my name. 
“Rhea?”
My heart lurched as a storm of emotions crashed over me. Shock, joy, pain? I couldn’t name it. “Kael?” His name escaped my lips as he pulled me in a tight hug.
It was my cousin from my mother’s family, the boy who’d chased me through Frostfang meadows as pups, who’d sworn he loved me with a child’s innocence. His face was hardened by years, his body was lean and scarred, but his eyes held the same warmth. 
He’s alive? After all these years, he’s here.
“Rhea,” he whispered my name again as he gently broke the hug and grabbed my hands. “Gods, I thought you were dead.”
I lowered my blade. “Stromhowl’s Alpha enslaved me, but you know me. I survived. But Kael… what are you doing here? You’ve been gone since…” I stopped, knowing bringing the old memory would only cause more pain. Then I continued, asking what mattered. “Are you still…?”
“I’ve been on him since that day. One chance and he’s dead.” He breathed out, leaving my hands.
“Kael,” I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him. “What happened was wrong, but… forget it, okay. Revenge won’t do you any good.”
“Forget it?” He hissed, yanking my hand back. “How can I… Gods! Rhea! He fucking killed my mother! And you’re telling me to forget it? She loved him as his own, and he didn’t even listen to her cries when he stripped her naked and made his wolves stone her to death.”
“What she did was unforgivable.” I tried to debate, but he silenced me.
“Oh, so this is how you’re going to justify your Alpha?” He taunted in a mocking tone as he crossed his arms.
“She slept with her freaking brother!” I snapped. “Do you know what the Moonwardens would’ve done to her if they’d found her alive?”
“I wanted to ask you to join me.” His words came out weak and angry as if he was struggling. “But you… you’re his beta. And you love him.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as I grabbed his arm. “Don’t leave, Kael. You’re the only family I’ve got.”
He gently grabbed my cheek and pulled me in closer. “Come with me… please.” Our eyes met as his hot breath touched my face.
My heart ached, a deep, throbbing pain. His scent wrapped around me, stirring something long buried. Leandro’s obsession with Selene had left me cold and rejected, and Kael’s gentleness was a balm. So, I gave in.
My lips brushed his in a kiss that deepened as he pulled me close. His hands found my waist and pulled me further into him, pressing me against himself. While still kissing, he took a few steps further, making me step back till I hit the stone cold wall.
“Kael,” I moaned as my back pressed against the wall and my front pressed against him. “Someone’s going to see us.” 
But he didn’t listen. He kept going.
His lips trailed my neck with soft kisses that made me shudder. His hands slid under my tunic, and his fingers traced my curves with reverence. It was seductively beautiful… his calm contrasted with Leandro’s brutality. 
Tears stung my eyes as a longing for this gentleness, guilt for betraying my Alpha, and shame at my wolfless state all hit me at once.
“Rhea,” he murmured in a husky tone as his hands cupped my face. “Come with me. I’ll make you a lady in our rebellion against that bastard. You’ll have power and freedom. He isn’t a wolf, he’s a monster, and you know that better than anyone. Please.”
I pulled back and slightly pushed him away. “I can’t,” I whispered. “I’m his beta. My duties… my heart… they don’t allow it.” I dragged my sword out in front of him.
He looked at the sword and then at me. “Then my rebellion shall be against you as well.”
“Go, Kael… I’m sparing you.” My voice cracked, but I tried to keep it steady. “If I see you again, you won’t be breathing.”
Without another word, he fled into the mist. I stood there, leaned against the wall. My body felt heavy, and my hands trembled. My sword fell from my hand as I struggled to breathe. I crouched down on the ground and hugged myself, letting my tears fall freely.
“Lady Rhea!” A distant call made me jump up to my feet. I quickly fixed myself and followed the voice.
They had caught a Silverthorn boy. He looked young, probably around thirteen or fourteen. He was crying in tears, telling them he knew nothing, but the knights dragged him to the interrogation room.
The interrogation room wasn’t big. It was a stone table in the middle and only one chair beside it. But it wasn’t as simple as well. The walls were decorated with items that could reveal the truth, only by seeing them.
One thing I knew for sure was that this boy was taking his last breaths. I wasn’t a fortune teller, but I knew this was his last night. And I also know he wasn’t going to have an easy death.