CHAPTER 4: REJECTION WITHOUT WORDS

KAEL'S POV

The door to my office slams behind me.

I lean against it and press my palm against my chest. My heart is racing. My hands are shaking. My wolf is screaming inside my head, clawing at my ribs, demanding that I turn around and go back to her.

She is ours, he growls. Go back. Claim her. Now.

No.

I push away from the door and walk to my desk. The room is dark. I like it dark. Darkness does not ask questions. Darkness does not judge.

I pour myself a glass of whiskey and drink it in one swallow. The burn does nothing. The fire in my blood is stronger.

Her face will not leave my mind.

Those eyes. Big and brown and full of fear. And then, when the bond snapped into place, full of hope. She looked at me like I was her salvation.

I am not salvation.

I am death.

---

Three women.

Three Lunas chosen for me by the pack elders. Three women I tried to protect. Three women I tried to love.

Three women who stopped breathing in their sleep.

The first was Elara. Sweet. Quiet. She liked to read by the window. I found her on the floor of her bedroom. No marks. No blood. Just empty eyes staring at the ceiling.

The second was Mira. Strong. Brave. She could fight better than most of my warriors. She died in my arms. One moment she was laughing. The next, her body went limp.

The third was Sera. I did not even get to know her. She arrived at the fortress. She stayed for three days. On the fourth morning, the servants found her cold in bed.

The pack elders called it a curse. The healers called it a mystery. The wolves called me cursed.

I do not know what to call it. I only know one thing.

Everyone I get close to dies.

---

I sit at my desk and stare at the wall. My office is full of files and maps and old letters. But my eyes see none of it. I only see her.

Lyra.

The Beta's daughter. Sold to me like livestock. Brought here in chains.

And now she is my mate.

The Moon Goddess has a sick sense of humor.

I pick up a piece of paper. My hand writes the order before my mind catches up.

Lyra of Silver Ridge Pack is to be kept in the east wing. No one enters her room except the assigned servant. No one speaks to her. No one tells her anything about me. She is not to leave the east wing under any circumstances.

I sign my name and ring the bell for my messenger.

"Deliver this to Captain Dain," I say. "And tell him I want security reports on her every hour."

The messenger bows and leaves.

Every hour. I need to know she is still breathing. I need to know the curse has not found her yet.

---

The hours pass slowly.

I cannot work. I cannot eat. I cannot think about anything except her. My wolf paces inside me like a caged animal. He wants to see her. He wants to smell her. He wants to touch her.

I refuse.

The security reports come every hour. They are always the same.

Subject is sitting on the bed. Subject has not eaten. Subject is crying.

Subject is crying.

Because of me. Because I walked away. Because I looked at my mate like she was nothing.

I want to explain. I want to tell her that I am not cold. I am not cruel. I am terrified. Every moment she stays in this fortress, she is in danger. And the danger is not from me.

It is from whatever haunts me.

---

The door opens without a knock.

Cassia.

She is my Beta's wife and the closest thing I have to a friend. Tall. Sharp-tongued. Afraid of nothing. She walks into my office like she owns it and sits on the edge of my desk.

"You look terrible," she says.

"I am busy, Cassia."

"Liar." She crosses her arms. "You have been sitting in this dark room for six hours. The guards told me about the girl. The one from Silver Ridge."

I say nothing.

"The one you locked in the east wing and ordered everyone to avoid."

Still nothing.

Cassia leans closer. Her eyes narrow. She is smart. Too smart. "Kael. What happened when you saw her?"

I look away.

Her breath catches. "Oh no. No, no, no." She stands up and paces the room. "She is your mate. Is not she? The new girl. The debt payment. She is your mate."

I do not deny it.

"Kael, that is wonderful." Cassia grabs my shoulders. "Do you understand? The Moon Goddess sent you a true mate. Not a chosen Luna. A real mate. That means—"

"That means nothing." I pull away from her. "Three women are dead because of me. Elara. Mira. Sera. They were not even my mates. They were just connected to me. And they died."

Cassia's face softens. "That was not your fault."

"It was." My voice breaks. I hate when my voice breaks. "I brought them here. I let them close. And the curse killed them. Now the Moon Goddess has sent me a mate. Someone I cannot avoid. Someone the bond will pull me toward no matter how hard I fight."

I look at Cassia. My eyes are wet. I do not care anymore.

"If I claim her, she will die. If I love her, she will die. If I even look at her too long, she will die." I slam my fist on the desk. The wood cracks. "The only way to keep her alive is to push her away. To make her hate me. To make her leave."

Cassia is quiet for a long time.

Then she says, "Does she know? About the curse?"

"No. And she will not. The fewer people who know, the safer she is."

"Kael—"

"She will hate me," I say again. "She will leave. She will live. That is all that matters."

Cassia opens her mouth to argue.

A knock stops her.

---

"Enter," I say.

A servant stands in the doorway. His face is pale. His hands shake.

"Alpha," he says. "Someone entered the east wing tonight. The girl's room. There was a blackout just a minute ago. The guards cannot see anything."

I am already on my feet.

"Send word to Captain Dain," I say. "And tell no one else."

The servant bows and runs off.

Cassia grabs my arm. "Kael, wait. Let the guards handle this."

I pull my arm free and walk toward the door.

"I am the one the curse follows," I say without looking back. "If someone is in her room, it is because of me."

I stride into the hallway.

Behind me, Cassia calls out, "What will you do?"

I do not answer.

But the question that burns in my chest as I run toward the east wing is this:

Who is targeting Lyra? And what has been killing?