Chapter 165
Lexa's POV
His father's voice cut through the tension like a blade, desperate and pleading. "Kyle, son, you have to understand....I knew nothing about your mother's antics. I had no idea she would go this far."
Kyle's grip on me tightened protectively, his entire body radiating a fury that made the air around us crackle with dangerous energy. "I don't give a damn what you knew or didn't know," he snarled, his voice carrying the kind of lethal promise that made even Alphas think twice. "You crossed boundaries that should never be crossed by hurting my mate....my own fucking mate that I've fallen for the first time in my life."
The raw emotion in his voice made my heart clench. I could feel the depth of his feelings through our bond, the way his love for me had become something fierce and protective and absolutely unbreakable.
"If anyone....and I mean anyone....tries to stop me from leaving with her," Kyle continued, his eyes blazing with an intensity that made his father actually step backward, "I will renounce this pack entirely. I'll cut all ties, reject my birthright, and make sure everyone knows exactly why."
I gasped against his grip, not from pain but from the shock of hearing him threaten something so drastic. Renouncing a pack wasn't just about giving up a title....it was about severing the spiritual bonds that connected a wolf to their family, their heritage, their very identity.
His father's face went pale, his eyes wide with genuine fear. "Kyle, you can't be serious. Renouncing the pack... it's the worst thing that can happen to a wolf. You'd be cutting yourself off from everything that makes you who you are."
"Everything that makes me who I am is right here in my arms," Kyle replied without hesitation, his voice steady despite the magnitude of what he was threatening. "This woman is my future, my happiness, my reason for existing. Your pack politics and power games mean nothing compared to her."
The finality in his tone seemed to hit his father like a physical blow. I could see the moment the older Alpha realized that his son wasn't bluffing, that Kyle was genuinely prepared to sacrifice everything for me.
"Son, please," his father tried one more time, his voice breaking slightly. "Think about what you're saying. Think about the generations of wolves who built this pack, who died to protect it."
"I am thinking about it," Kyle said coldly. "And I'm thinking that none of it matters if this is how you treat the people I love."
Without another word, he turned and carried me toward the main house, his steps purposeful and determined. I could feel the eyes of the pack members on us as we passed, some shocked, others calculating, all of them witnessing the moment their future Alpha chose love over duty.
He took me to his childhood bedroom, the space filled with memories of the boy he used to be before the weight of leadership had settled on his shoulders. He laid me gently on the bed, his hands immediately moving to check my body for injuries, his touch careful and reverent despite the anger still radiating from him.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice soft now, filled with concern and guilt. "Did they hurt you badly? Do you need a doctor?"
His fingers traced over the rope burns on my wrists, the bruises that were already forming on my arms and legs. I could see the pain in his eyes as he catalogued each mark, each sign of what I had endured because of his family's machinations.
"I'll be okay," I whispered, reaching up to cup his face in my hands. "I'll be okay if you kiss me."
He didn't hesitate. His lips crashed against mine with a hunger that was hard and angry and desperate, as if he was trying to pour all of his regret and love and fury into that single connection. I could taste his apologies in the kiss, feel his promises in the way his hands tangled in my hair.
"I'm sorry," he whispered against my lips between kisses. "I'm so fucking sorry, baby. I should never have left you alone. I should have known they would try something like this."
"It's not your fault," I breathed back, pulling him closer. "You couldn't have known."
"I should have protected you better," he continued, his voice breaking with emotion. "I should have taken you with me, should have never trusted them to respect what we have."
He kissed me again, deeper this time, his tongue sliding against mine in a way that made heat pool low in my belly despite everything we had just been through. The combination of his anger and his love was intoxicating, making me forget about the pain and fear of the past few hours.
"We need to leave tonight," he said, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. "I can't stay here another minute knowing what they're capable of. I'll take care of you in Mudiville, I promise. You'll never have to worry about being hurt again."
The sincerity in his voice, the absolute certainty that he would protect me no matter what, sent a wave of desire through me that was so intense it took my breath away.
"Then you should hurry," I whispered, my voice husky with need. "Because I need you inside me. I need to feel you claiming me, reminding me that I belong to you and no one else."
His eyes darkened with desire, the scent of his arousal mixing with mine in the small room. "Lexa," he growled, my name sounding like a prayer on his lips.
"Please," I begged, my hands already working at the buttons of his shirt. "I need to forget everything that happened today. I need you to make me yours again."
He captured my lips in another searing kiss, his hands beginning to roam over my body with the kind of reverent hunger that made my toes curl. Whatever happened next, whatever challenges we would face in leaving his pack behind, I knew that we would face them together.
And that was all that mattered.