Chapter 411
Four hundred and thirteen
Emma POV
Alexander’s silence weighed on me day after day.
I tried to convince myself that staying away from him was the smartest thing I could do. But no matter how hard I. focused on my daily life, my mind kept drifting back to him.
Cherry kept me updated on what was happening inside the rogue camp, about the trade bans cutting off their supplies, and about how hard Alexander was working to bring in flour, petrol, and other necessities.
Hearing about his struggles stirred a growing sympathy in me, one that scared me in equal measure.
He was a rogue. I shouldn’t be tossing restlessly on the bed thinking of how to help him.
As the head accountant for my pack, I had access to the Pack Treasury, the vault where tokens were stored. In all my years working there, I’d never broken a rule. Uncle Cameron trusted me to keep the books balanced down to the last token.
That afternoon, my hands trembled as I typed in the password to the vault.
I grabbed two leather travel bags and walked to the shelves lined with tokens. My heart hammered as I began scooping stacks into the bags.
My mind screamed at me for stealing from my own pack, and my hands shook as I loaded the bags, but then I thought of Cherry’s messages about the hungry pups.
I was doing this for the pups.
Nothing else.
I zipped the bags shut, waited until the coast was clear, and carried them to my car.
Cherry told me Alexander wasn’t at the camp. He’d driven to Alpha Kieran’s territory for a Council hearing concerning his petition.
Alpha Kieran’s pack was a two hour drive away.
I needed a way to get there without raising suspicion, especially from Charlie. He’d been hovering around me lately, waiting for an answer to his proposal. I didn’t want him thinking I’d driven two hours just to see him.
“Is it true the Alphas are filing a petition against the rogues?” I asked Wesley, making it sound like a question about pack security. “Are they trying to change the territory rules because of the abduction p>
“It’s not the Alphas filing a petition. It’s Alexander. He şubmitted an official Petition for Bloodline Challenge,” Wesley said with a scoff. “He actually thinks the Council will hand him the crown after what he did p>
“Bloodline challenge? Was his father an Alpha p>
“So I heard,” Wesley said. “Zachary of Crimson Echpse pack is his brother p>
My heart pounded against my ribcage in shock.
Alexander was an Alpha’s son?
I nodded and turned away as if it were nothing more than ordinary news. But it was all I thought about.
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When I spoke to Anita a few minutes later, the last piece of my plan fell into place.
ust go and say you’re visiting my grandma Susan. She’s as much your grandma as mine p>
It was the perfect cover.
Anita helped confirm from Charlie that the bloodline hearing was scheduled to run from 7:00 p.m. until around 8:. 00 p.m. in the Great Hall.
I arrived at Kieran’s territory around 7:30 p.m. and parked in the lot. My gaze scanned the place for a bike or anything that could give away that Alexander was here, and it caught on his black truck, parked like something left in a hurry.
I sat in my car with the engine off, watching the doors of the hall. The trunk held the two bags of stolen tokens. My heart couldn’t stop pounding.
At exactly 8:00 p.m., the doors swung open.
I spotted Alexander. He came out first, flanked by two guards who moved away once they cleared the doors.
I opened my car door and stepped outside. The moment my boots touched the ground, Alexander’s head snapped toward me. Before his eyes found me, the mate bond reacted. I caught his scent just as he caught mine.
Shock crossed his face, then the mask returned.
I stood beside my open car door. Seeing him again despite the aloofness he was trying to maintain struck me hard. After everything that had happened between us, after the arguments and cruel words, I realized how much I’d missed being near him.
I’d spent weeks telling myself that distance would weaken the mate bond, and that staying away would help me forget him. But as I looked at him across the gravel lot, my heart pounding in my throat, I knew that distance had only made the pull stronger.
I glanced around the parking lot, relieved when I saw no guards or onlookers coming our way. Still, standing out here was too dangerous.
“Can we talk somewhere private p>
Alexander seemed to be in a bitter mood after whatever he had experienced inside there. He glared at me with his arms crossed over his chest. “Why can’t we talk here p>
I sighed. Why did he always have to make everything so difficult? Every conversation with him felt like pulling
teeth.
Instead of arguing, I turned, walked to the driver’s seat, and got inside. I didn’t beg him to follow. I backed out of the space and drove away, leaving the choice to him. Come if you want. Don’t if you won’t.
I drove a few blocks down the road before stopping in a parking lot behind an empty building. While I parked, I checked the rearview mirror and spotted his truck pulling in behind me. I smiled and opened the front passenger
door.
Alexander stepped into view. He got into my car and pulled the door shut.
The moment the door closed, the car filled with an intoxicating scent. The mate bond hit my senses, making my head spin.
I looked at him, fighting the pull of the bond. How could someone be so alluring when my mind kept screaming
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that I wasn’t allowed to have him? The contradiction felt cruel.
break the silence, I cleared my throat.
“Isn’t it getting a bit late for you to travel all the way back to your camp tonight p>
Alexander gave me a side-eye. “You aren’t from this pack either. So what are you doing two hours away from home? Stalking me p>
I laughed awkwardly and shook my head. “Alpha Kieran is family, actually. I came to visit his wife p>
Alexander gave a dry grunt but didn’t challenge the lie. He leaned his head against the seat, looking exhausted and unwilling to talk.
“I heard you were struggling,” I said.
His head snapped toward me.
“I mean with the supplies,” I added quickly. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, Alexander. The lack of food is just the consequence of what happened after your people abducted us p>
“So that’s why you’re here?” he sneered, his pride rising at once. “You came all this way to mock me? To hand out charity p>
My hand moved before I could stop it. I reached across the center console and placed my palm over his.
Our eyes dropped to my hand resting over his knuckles.
“You don’t have to keep putting up these defenses,” I said softly, looking back at him. “I’m not here to fight you, Alexander p>
He didn’t pull away.
Back at his rogue camp, when we were alone, he’d made it clear how much he wanted me without ever having to ask. Tonight, though, he looked like he was fighting a war within himself, caught between his resentment toward me and the bond pulling us together.
Still, he let my hand stay.
Gaining courage, I ran my thumb over the back of his hand. The touch sent a shiver down my spine.
I smiled at him. “What did you actually come here for tonight? What were you petitioning against? Maybe I could help you p>
Alexander huffed and looked out the side window.
I swallowed the sting of his response. I knew he was bitter and stressed, and I was too tired of the distance between us to start another argument.
“How are you handling things?” I asked, returning to the topic we’d both been avoiding. “The severance we talked about. Are you really able to handle the consequences p>
He kept his eyes on the trees outside the window. “Don’t worry about me, Emma. I can handle myself p>
I chuckled and leaned back in my seat. “Do you even want the bond severed p>
Alexander turned toward me, already preparing his comeback. “I wasn’t the one who suggested it, was I p>
Instead of pulling away, I slid my fingers between his, laced them together, and looked straight into his eyes.
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“I don’t want it p>
The words hung in the car.
Shock crossed his face, and his usual mask disappeared. He looked at me as if he’d never seen me before.
“You don’t?” he asked, his voice dropping to a rough softness.
I shook my head. “I don’t. I’m terrified of what it’ll do to us. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in misery hoping that someday I might find a second-chance mate just to feel normal again. I don’t want that kind of life. And I know you don’t either p>
When I finished, he let out a relieved breath and leaned back, watching me.
A laugh escaped me. “Aren’t you just a proud fool? Puffing your chest out, acting tough, and you couldn’t even bring yourself to ask me to stay p>
Alexander didn’t smile, but the frown in his eyes softened.
“I’m still not in a good mood, Emma. And I don’t beg. Everyone is free to make their own choice. I will never keep anyone hostage p>
Despite his words, the space between us felt charged. Our linked fingers weren’t enough anymore. The mate bond surged between us, pulling us toward each other.
Alexander leaned across the console, cupped the back of my neck, and pressed his lips to mine.
P
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Lucia Morh
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.