Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 41

Elowen

Warm sunlight on my face pulled me from the depths of sleep. I blinked against the golden light streaming through tall windows, realizing with a start that evening was approaching. The bone-deep cold that had nearly killed me was completely gone, replaced by comfortable warmth.

*How long was I unconscious?*

But as awareness returned fully, mortification crashed over me like a wave. I remembered everything—the desperate way I'd reached for Kaius, how I'd clung to him like he was salvation itself. The memory made my cheeks burn with shame.

*His manipulation worked perfectly. That bastard.*

The realization sent a fresh wave of anger through me, quickly followed by panic as the full implications hit. If I'd been unconscious for hours in his arms, vulnerable and completely at his mercy...

I frantically examined my throat, running my fingers over the skin where a marking bite would have left permanent evidence of his claim. Nothing. The skin was unmarked, unscarred.

*Thank God. He didn't mark me while I was helpless.*

Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by confusion. Why hadn't he taken advantage? He'd had the perfect opportunity.

Looking around, I realized I wasn't in that opulent chamber anymore. This room was smaller, more personal—clearly Kaius's actual living quarters rather than some ceremonial space. Dark furniture, military precision in the organization, and the lingering scent of sandalwood and winter pine.

*What game is he playing now?*

On the bed lay several sets of clothes—practical garments that actually looked like they'd fit me properly. I dressed quickly, surprised to find everything perfectly sized. Even the shoes were the right size.

*How does he know my measurements so precisely?*

As I laced up the boots, I noticed something odd. The door wasn't completely closed—just slightly ajar, enough to reveal two guards stationed outside. But their posture was wrong. Instead of the relaxed vigilance I'd expect, they were tense, alert, constantly scanning the corridors like they expected attack at any moment.

Moving closer to the door, I caught fragments of the chaos erupting throughout the castle. Shouts echoed from multiple directions, running footsteps thundered past, and somewhere far below came the unmistakable sounds of combat—steel against steel, snarls of fighting wolves.

*What the hell is happening?*

The guards noticed my approach immediately. One of them pushed the door open wider, his face grim with stress.

"My lady, our pack is under attack," he said with barely concealed urgency. "Please don't leave this room. We can't afford to have you compromised—it would mean our heads."

*Attack?* A flicker of confusion and unease shot through me, but hope quickly swept it aside. *Perfect timing!*

I was about to smile when heavy footsteps announced the arrival of a higher-ranking wolf. A gamma by his scent, his armor splattered with blood and dirt.

"The western perimeter is being overrun!" he barked at my guards. "Enemy firepower is beyond anything we anticipated. I need one of you to carry a message requesting immediate reinforcements!"

The two guards exchanged panicked glances. "But the Alpha King's orders were explicit—we cannot leave our post under any circumstances!"

While they argued over their impossible choice, I saw my opportunity. Moving with the stealth my father had drilled into me, I slipped to the window across the room. The latch opened silently, and within seconds I was through the opening, dropping soundlessly to the corridor below.

By the time their heated discussion ended, I was already three floors down and moving fast.

*This is almost too easy.*

The thought nagged at me as I navigated empty corridors that should have been crawling with guards. Every warrior in the castle seemed to have been deployed to the fighting. I could hear the battle raging to the west—the clash of weapons, explosions that shook the stone foundations, howls of pain and rage.

*What kind of enemy could push Kaius this hard? Force him to commit every available fighter?*

Despite my determination to escape, an unwelcome flutter of worry stirred in my chest. Through the mate bond, I could sense echoes of his emotions—strain, frustration, something that might have been genuine concern for his pack's survival.

*Not my problem,* I told myself firmly, pushing down the treacherous sympathy. *He's brought this on himself with his wars and conquests. Time for him to face the consequences.*

Within minutes, I reached the castle's outer walls. Shifting to my white wolf form felt like coming home after a long exile. Power flowed through my muscles as I called the wind to carry me, racing across the landscape toward my sanctuary.

The journey that had taken hours by ground passed in what felt like moments. When the familiar illusions of the Silent Forest materialized around me, relief made me almost dizzy.

*Home. Finally home.*

I shifted back to human form just as Scarlett appeared on the path, her blue hair wild with obvious anxiety. Behind her, Evelyn sat cross-legged beside her scrying bowl, surrounded by glowing crystals and scattered tarot cards.

"There you are!" I called out with forced cheerfulness. "Just like I promised—safe and sound! You should have seen the close calls this time. I almost got marked, almost got—"

"That's not what we're worried about," Scarlett interrupted, her warrior's instincts clearly on high alert.

My smile faltered. "What else could you possibly be concerned about?"

Evelyn looked up from her divination tools, her usual playful demeanor replaced by something far more serious. "You know about the attack on Kaius's territory?"

"Of course I know," I said, confused by their grave expressions. "It's the only reason I managed to escape so easily. Lucky timing, right?"

Scarlett's face went pale. "Elowen, the prophecy... Evelyn's visions... something terrible is going to happen."

A chill that had nothing to do with temperature ran down my spine. "Terrible how?"

Evelyn's green eyes held an intensity I'd never seen before. "If no one intervenes, this won't just be a defeat for Kaius's pack. It will be a massacre."

I shrugged, trying to maintain my casual indifference even as dread pooled in my stomach. "So? The worst that happens is Kaius dies in battle. That's his own fault for making so many enemies. And honestly? It might solve my mate bond problem permanently."

"Don't lie to yourself," Evelyn said sharply, her voice cutting through my pretense. "And it won't just be him."

She stood slowly, her expression grave as a funeral shroud. "Alpha King. Beta. Every wolf in his command structure. And when his pack falls..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Every allied pack will be slaughtered too. Including your parents."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "Fuck! The reinforcements—they were calling for my parents?"

"Among others," Evelyn confirmed grimly. "Without intervention, everyone you love will die tonight."

Panic exploded through my system. My parents—my stubborn, duty-bound parents who would never retreat from a call to arms, who would fight to their last breath for wolves they barely knew because honor demanded it.

"But," Evelyn continued, her tone gentling slightly, "the choice is yours. If you go back, you'll have to reveal your true nature. Your white wolf abilities, maybe even our pack's existence. Everything we've worked to keep secret."

"That's my parents!" I snarled, already moving toward the forest edge. "I have to save them!"

Scarlett stepped forward, her jaw set with determination. "I'm coming with you. Your fight is my fight."

Evelyn's knowing smile returned, though it remained tinged with worry. "Concerned about a certain beta, are we?"

"Shut up and keep the pack safe," Scarlett shot back, but I caught the flush spreading across her cheeks.

*At least someone might find happiness out of this disaster.*

"No more time to waste," I said, shifting back to wolf form. "If we're doing this, we're doing it now."

As Scarlett shifted beside me, I tried not to think about the irony—racing back to the place I'd fought so hard to escape, toward the mate who'd tortured and manipulated me, all to save the lives of wolves who might never understand the sacrifice.

*Hold on,* I thought, whether to my parents or to Kaius himself, I wasn't sure. *We're coming.*