Alpha Kael

~Jada

It wasn’t as if I had much of a choice.

It wasn’t as if I was going to tell Kael no. Not when he has been so kind to me, and not when I know he is my mate. Maybe on this trip I can find out how to tell him. First, I need to know how I’m going to deal with it, since being the Luna of the Discipline Pack doesn’t appeal to me so much.

I’m not going to lie about being nervous about how Kael will react, either. He doesn’t seem like he wants a companion, despite how nice as he’s been to me. Maybe he will cast me out, or send me back to the prisons to hide me and my secret from the public.

The thought makes me shiver. EIther way, I have to face this problem one way or another. There is no escaping a mate bond.

It’s my fate, after all.

Kael crosses the room in front of me after I agreed. I’m hoping to prove to him he can trust me. That I’m not going to go out and tell anyone about his mother, and the fact that she is still alive. That means as curious as I am about why she went missing, I don’t question him. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to get information out of him.

“I don’t know how long we will be out there, but I trust you,” Kael tells me firmly, the glow of the lights casting a buttery glow across the top of his head. Perfect, he trusts me. “If we go out, we go out in a few days. I have a friend who can help us track.”

Nodding slowly, I try not to think about what is to come. My thoughts will be clouded with the secret I’m keeping from him the entire time.

I could just tell him, maybe…

Watching him pace across the room, stress etched into his features. Even through his panic and stress, he is still undeniably handsome. At first he intimidated me, and in a way he still does, but now I can see past the cold sternness to a hard exterior of handsomeness that has been revealed with his kindness and understanding.

I’ll him soon. Very soon. And when I do, I’ll do it calmly, approaching the subject to see how he feels about having a mate before I even open my mouth.

“We will need some help while we are out there, and since some of the Silent’s are yet to warm up to you, I’ll let you pick two others to come with us,” Kael offers kindly. It’s a relief, since almost all the Silent’s hate me.

I know without thinking who to first choose.

“Ace. For sure,” I tell him confidently. “Ace tolerates me, which is the best I can ask for. I’m sure he would be happy to prove himself to you.”

Kael nods, satisfied with my choice. For my second choice, I know who I want to pick, I just don’t know if he will be so happy about it. Axel. He made is clear he doesn’t like me, and punished me because I rejected him, however, I want to know more about why he feels this way. And if we are stick together in a forest, maybe I can get something out of him.

“And Axel can come too,” I comment. Kael’s head whips around just as I realise what I said. “Oh, I meant Blue.”

“You know Blue’s true name,” Kael says slowly, taking a few steps toward me. My throat goes dry. I can see the suspicion on Kael’s face. “He never tells anybody anything. He’s ashamed of his past, yet he told you.”

I can’t tell him I know him out of this.

“Him and I have a special friendship,” I tell him anxiously, getting to my feet in hopes it will make me appear more legitimate. However, saying that didn’t seem to make any difference in his skeptical expression. In fact, it almost seemed to make it worse, a cool darkness shrouding his irises.

“Special friendship huh,” Kael says slowly. “I hope I don’t have to witness this special friendship on this trip.”

There is no joking tone. In fact, he seems quite bitter, as if he is somewhat resentful for any kind of relationship between Axel and I. Maybe it’s the beginning of the mate bond that even he isn’t aware of yet. It’s better he think we are in a relationship than what is the real truth. Either way, he will see Axel has no interest in me after I rejected him.

My attention needs to be on Kael only.

***

Kael’s friend arrived the next day early in the morning.

I was lingering in my room, packing my things when I heard a foreign voice speak from inside the suite. I’ve never heard that accent before, so curiously, I peak my head around the corner, seeing who will be helping Kael track where the letter had come from. It takes me a moment to recognize who they are.

It’s Alpha Grayson of the Freedom Pack.

He looks so much taller in person and significantly more muscular than I’ve seen in in the books. He might not be as tall as Kael, but he still looks intimidating. They don’t seem to notice me watching from the doorway, so I keep quiet, observing.

“You know I don’t mind helping,” Grayson tells Kael firmly, falling down casually onto the couch I was sitting on just yesterday. “Even if our past isn’t the best.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Kael looks mildly disgusted in the way Grayson puts his feet on the table, but doesn’t say anything. There’s a tension between the two, which suggests they might not be as close of friends as Kael had mentioned. The two of them are so different. Grayson has no rules within his Pack, living a life of freedom over discipline.

Naturally.

Even the look of Grayson is so careless and messy. From his dark locks of wild hair, to the blazing, almost crazed look in those silver eyes. I’ve heard plenty of rumours about him. All that I hope aren’t true, since we will be trekking into the forest with him.

“I’m glad we could resolve our past issues,” Kael mutters.

As he raises his gaze, seeing me peeking around the doorframe. “Ah, Jada. Come in here and meet Alpha Grayson.”

Nervously, I approach the two. Grayson turns around to face, the colour of those pure mercury eyes hitting me right in the chest. She smirks at me, although it’s not in a teasing manner. He seems interested in me, and what I’m doing standing in the middle of the Kael’s personal suite.

“Lovely to meet you,” Grayson says, getting up to shake my hand. Kael watches our every move. “I assume you are accompanying us on this trip to find Kael’s rather elusive mother. How long has she been missing now, Alpha?”

Kael shakes his head at him, handing him the letter that had been sent. “If you truly are so good at tracking, find out where she is.”

With a nod, he obliges.

“If it’s not so personal for me to ask, why did your mother leave?” I ask, unable to help myself. I regret it the moment it comes out of my mouth, however, Kael doesn’t seem so offended by my question.

He motions for me to sit down next to Grayson so he can explain. I do so carefully.

“My father was a bad man. He did a lot for this Pack, but little for his family. Throughout my childhood I knew he was harsh, but I didn’t know how he treated my mother behind closed doors. When she finally had the guts to confront him, he attacked her. Brutally too, to near death,” Kael explains.

My heart falls just hearing that. I can see the way is weighs on his shoulders, his voice solemn having to repeat it. I feel the need to say something, since I can’t get up and wrap my arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry.”

“You shouldn’t pity me, for I busted into his room at just seventeen after hearing her screams, and attacked him back. He was sick, so I overpowered him. At that time I didn’t know my own strength, and I killed him. I killed my own father,” Kael tells me, his voice only faltering slightly.

As sick to the stomach it makes me feel hearing that, I don’t blame him. In fact, I feel almost grateful he took such a horrible man out of power. The man whose law killed my parents.

“Mother escaped that night, and I haven’t seen her since. I don’t know why she would hide from me,” Kael says, sounding beyond defeated.

Everything seems to make sense now. I can finally see right in front of me who Kael is without all the intimidation and sternness he exudes. Suddenly I feel less afraid to be honest with him. Soon. The perfect time is close, I can feel it.

Grayson suddenly claps his hands, making me jump. “Well, isn’t that cheerful.”

Kael rolls his eyes at him, shrugging his shoulders. I can, though, that he is grateful for Grayson’s comedic relief.

Grayson stands, waving the letter around. “We should get going my friends. I have a feeling this trip is going to be a lot of fun.”