The Alpha's Forbidden Mate

Amara’s POV I woke up with a man’s arm around my waist, and I could not remember going to bed with him. For a moment, I stayed still. My head hurt, my mouth was dry, and the curtains across the room were the wrong colour. Mine were blue. These were cream, with a narrow opening that let the morning light fall across a shirt on the floor. I looked beneath the sheet, then pulled it against my chest. Oh, Goddess. The man beside me was asleep. Short black hair fell untidily over his forehead, and his hand rested against my stomach. I stared at it until a memory returned of those fingers closing around mine, his kisses trailing down my neck. No. I shook the memory away. Now was not the time. There was something else too, a voice I’d heard somewhere, but I could not remember what it said. Yesterday was my twenty-first birthday. My mother arranged flowers, my father gave me a bracelet, and Rukaiya complained because I would not let her choose my dress. I remembered all of that. But I

Thiago’s POV Celeste looked at Amara, then back at me, waiting for an explanation that would put everything where it belonged. I could not give her one. “You’re certain?” she asked. Nero answered with a growl before I opened my mouth. I held him back. “Yes.” Sabine sat down beside her daughter. Idris stayed on his feet, watching me closely enough that I knew what he would do if I approached Amara without her permission. Under other circumstances, I might have respected it without difficulty. This morning, every part of me resented the distance between us. “Then why didn’t you say so?” Celeste demanded. Amara looked at her. “I only found out this morning myself.” “That is very convenient.” “Celeste.” She turned towards me. “You cannot expect me to accept this without asking questions.” “Accuse her when you have proof.” Amara glanced up at me. I noticed the surprise in her blue-grey eyes and disliked how much I wanted her to keep looking. Fuck, the bond is fucking with me.

Thiago’s POV As much as I wanted to blame Amara, I knew she wasn’t responsible. Oren made it clear that she did nothing to interfere with the rejection. Yet I kept looking at her, searching for a reason to believe otherwise. What bothered me more was how badly she wanted to be free of me. She stood in front of me and said every word. I agreed to the rejection because I thought I wanted it too. So why did hearing her say it feel like something I should be angry about? I had a fiancée standing in this room. A woman I intended to marry. I should have felt relieved that Amara wanted the same separation I did. Instead, I kept remembering how she looked directly at me while asking the Goddess to release her. She rejected me. When my turn came, I couldn't even finish the words. Why couldn’t I do it? “Because she’s ours, and because you also don't want to let her go.” Nero replied. I shut him out before he could say anything else. He wanted her from the moment he recognised her, and h

By the time we reached Valcrest, the blood on my dress was dry. We left the damaged car behind and continued in a replacement from the nearest patrol post. Bren travelled with Soren. Dario called my father before we moved, and Thiago assured me that I could speak to him properly when we arrived. I nodded, keeping my hands wrapped around the clean cloth. Whenever I let go, they started shaking again. The gates into Valcrest stood between two stone towers. Warriors waited on either side, already aware that the convoy was bringing wounded men. A tall man with tawny skin and short black curls came straight to Thiago’s window. “Kellan,” Thiago said. “Two escaped into the woods. Dario has the location. Keep the boundary patrols together until we know where they went.” “And the prisoner?” “Ivara takes him. No one questions him before she arrives.” Kellan’s amber eyes moved briefly towards me, then to the bandage beneath Thiago’s open shirt. He did not ask about either. “The healer’s

Amara’s POV I saw two maids stop talking when they saw me. I slowed beside the staircase, wondering whether I walked into something private. One held a basket of towels. The other was wiping the long table beneath the window. Both lowered their heads. “Good afternoon, miss.” “Good afternoon.” I looked behind me. There was no one there. When I faced them again, they were still waiting with their heads bowed. Before now, people whispered because I had no wolf. And this morning, they discovered that I had the wrong kind. I could not imagine what happened between then and now to deserve this reception. “Perhaps they’re being polite,” Nia suggested. “They look frightened to me.” I almost asked why, then decided I was tired of having uncomfortable conversations. “Have either of you seen Tessa?” “She’s near the kitchens, miss.” “Thank you.” I continued down the passage. Another maid stepped aside for me, and I began wondering whether I should return to my room until everyone reme