Chapter 34 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ALEX
I lean against the connecting door, my heart still racing from the hunt. My hands are shaking—not from exertion, but from the sheer effort it took not to claim her right there at the cliff's edge.
The sight of her red fur in the moonlight nearly broke my control completely.
Blood-wolf. My mate is a blood-wolf.
Every suspicion confirmed in one perfect, terrifying moment.
I push away from the door and pace my chambers, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. My wolf is going insane, demanding I go back through that door and complete the bond. Mark her. Claim her. Make sure she can never run again.
But I can't. Not yet.
She's already terrified. If I push too hard now, I'll break whatever fragile trust might be building between us.
A knock interrupts my thoughts.
"Enter."
Marcus steps inside, his expression concerned. "The perimeter alarms went off. Eastern quadrant. Her scent trail leads into the forest."
"I'm aware. I handled it."
His eyes narrow. "You went after her alone?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"And I brought her back." I move to my desk, pouring myself a drink I desperately need. "She's in her quarters. Unharmed."
"Alex." Marcus closes the door behind him. "What's going on? You've been acting strange for weeks. The obsession with this slave, the increased security, and now hunting her down personally in the middle of the night—"
"She tried to escape. I stopped her. End of story."
"That's not—"
"Drop it, Marcus." I drain the glass in one swallow. "She's secured. That's all that matters."
He studies me for a long moment. "The bond is affecting you. Whatever this is between you two—"
"There is no 'this.'" The lie tastes bitter. "She's a flight risk who needs to be contained. Nothing more."
Marcus doesn't believe me. I can see it in his eyes. But he's smart enough not to push.
"What do you want me to tell the guards? They're asking questions about why you went after her alone."
"Tell them she's valuable property that I didn't want damaged in a pack hunt." I set down the glass. "And increase security around her quarters. I want guards rotated every four hours. No one gets in or out without my explicit permission."
After he leaves, I return to the connecting door, pressing my palm against the wood.
I can hear her breathing on the other side. Unsteady. She's not sleeping.
Neither am I.
The image of her red fur haunts me. Beautiful and terrifying and everything the texts described.
She's been hiding this since she arrived. Living in constant fear of discovery. And now that I know the truth, she must be absolutely terrified of what I'll do.
Good.
Let her be terrified. Let her wonder. Let her stress over what comes next.
Because in a few hours, when her birthday officially begins, we're going to have a very serious conversation.
And this time, she won't be able to hide behind her lies.
ALORA
I lie in bed watching the sun rise, unable to sleep despite my exhaustion. Every time I close my eyes, I see him standing there in the moonlight, his silver eyes locked on my red fur.
He saw everything.
My true form. My blood-red fur. Everything I've been hiding.
But he didn't say anything. Didn't accuse me. Didn't expose me to his pack.
The silence is almost worse than confrontation. At least if he'd raged at me, demanded answers, I'd know what to expect.
This waiting is torture.
A soft knock on the connecting door makes me jump.
"Alora." His voice carries through the wood. "I know you're awake."
I don't answer, my heart hammering.
"We need to talk. Now."
"I'm tired," I call back, hating how my voice shakes.
"Too bad. Open the door or I'm coming through it."
I know he means it. With a resigned sigh, I get up and unlock the door from my side.
He's standing there fully dressed now, his expression unreadable. Without asking permission, he walks into my room and closes the door behind him.
"Sit," he orders, gesturing to the bed.
I perch on the edge, keeping my eyes down. My heart pounds as he moves to stand in front of me.
"Look at me."
I force my gaze up to meet his.
"That was quite the performance tonight," he says quietly. "Squeezing through a ventilation shaft. Very resourceful."
I don't respond.
"You shifted." It's not a question. "Despite knowing I'd hear it, despite the risk, you shifted anyway."
My throat goes dry. "I don't know what you mean—"
"Don't." The word cracks like a whip. "Don't insult my intelligence by pretending you didn't shift. I saw the claw marks. I tracked you through the forest. I saw—" He stops abruptly.
"Saw what?" I whisper.
"Your fur." His eyes burn into mine. "Red as blood in the moonlight."
The confirmation makes my stomach drop. He saw. He knows.
"I'm wolfless," I try weakly. "It must have been shadows, or—"
"Stop." He crouches down in front of me, his hands gripping my knees. "I'm going to give you one chance. One opportunity to tell me the truth before I lose my patience completely."
Tears burn my eyes. "What truth?"
"What. Are. You." Each word is precisely enunciated.
I shake my head, unable to speak past the fear choking me.
"Fine." He stands abruptly. "Keep your secrets. For now." He moves to the window, his back to me. "But understand something, Alora. I saw what you are tonight. I know you've been lying since the moment you arrived. And I will get answers."
"And then what?" My voice breaks. "You'll kill me? Sell me? Use me?"
He spins around, his expression dark. "Is that what you think of me?"
"I don't know what to think—"
"Then let me make something very clear." He stalks back toward me. "You are mine. Mine to protect. Mine to keep safe. Whatever you're hiding, whatever you're so terrified of revealing—it doesn't change that fundamental fact."
"You don't understand—"
"No. You don't understand." His hand shoots out, gripping my chin. "I've been patient. I've given you time. I've let you play your little games, hide behind your walls. But that ends today."
"Please—"
"Today is your eighteenth birthday." His thumb brushes my lower lip. "And tonight, under the full moon, we're going to have a very honest conversation. No more lies. No more secrets. No more running."
"I can't—"
"You will." He releases me suddenly. "Because the alternative is much worse for both of us."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that running from the truth won't make it disappear. It will only make the revelation more painful when it inevitably comes." His eyes flash silver. "And it will come, Alora. Whether you choose to tell me or whether I have to force it from you, the truth will out."
He moves to the door, pausing at the threshold.
"Rest. Eat something. Prepare yourself." He looks back at me. "Because tonight, little wolf, everything changes."
He leaves, the lock clicking from his side.
I sink onto the bed, my whole body shaking.
He knows I shifted. Saw my red fur. But he's not confronting me directly, not demanding I admit what I am.
He's playing with me. Like a cat with a mouse.
Letting me stew in fear and anticipation, wondering what he'll do, what he knows, what he wants.
And tonight—tonight he expects answers I can't give.
Because admitting what I am means admitting the danger I pose to him. Means acknowledging the mate bond that will destroy him if completed.
I curl up on the bed, still wearing his shirt, his scent surrounding me.
Hours until my birthday officially begins.
Hours until he demands the truth.
Hours until everything I've been hiding comes crashing down around me.
And I have no idea how to survive it.
Through the connecting door, I hear him moving around. Papers rustling. His voice, low and commanding, speaking to someone—probably Marcus.
"...increase security... tonight... under no circumstances..."
The words are too muffled to make out completely, but the tone is clear.
He's preparing for something.
And that something involves me.
I close my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart.
Happy birthday to me.
The day I've been dreading since the moment I arrived.
The day my blood-wolf nature becomes impossible to hide.
The day Alpha Alexander Stone stops playing games and demands answers.
And I still don't know if I'm brave enough to give them to him.
Even if refusing means losing everything.