The Alpha's Exiled Mate Chapter 188

Thorne’s POV

The silver moonlight reflected off the tinted windows of my SUV as I sat parked in the Grand Lunar Hotel lot, staring at my phone. Twelve missed calls from council members, three from Kaelin, and one from Edward Brooks. None of them mattered right now.

My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin, claws scraping against my self-control. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel, waiting. The tension in my shoulders had built into a knot of fury since I'd learned my father had arranged a secret meeting with Freya.

Finally, my phone lit up with Mark's name. I answered before the first ring completed.

"Alpha," Mark's voice came through, steady and professional. "Ms. Riley has safely left the hotel. The Deltas escorted her directly to her apartment building as instructed."

I exhaled slowly, feeling my wolf retreat marginally from the edge of my consciousness. "Any signs of distress? Did my father—"

"No physical harm," Mark assured me. "She appeared tense but uninjured. Your father remained in the presidential suite after she departed."

"Good." My reflection in the rearview mirror caught my attention—golden wolf eyes staring back at me instead of human ones. I closed them briefly, willing my wolf to settle. "Stay with her building tonight. Discreetly."

"Already arranged, sir."

I ended the call and pocketed my phone, adjusting my tie and the collar of my custom tailored suit. Three hours ago, I'd been reviewing case files in my temporary office at Silverstone territory when Mark had called with the news—my father had crossed into Jasper Stone's territory without notification and had sent Deltas to bring Freya to him.

The territorial violation alone was enough to spark my anger. That he'd sought out Freya specifically had ignited something far more primal.

I stepped out of the SUV, straightening to my full height as I buttoned my jacket. The night air carried the scent of autumn, the crisp edge of approaching winter. My wolf inhaled deeply, searching for traces of Freya's scent, still agitated at the thought of my father near her.

"She's safe now," I reminded myself. "Focus on why Father is interfering."

The hotel doorman recognized me immediately, bowing his head slightly as I passed. "Alpha Thorne," he murmured, the deference in his voice automatic.

I nodded acknowledgment but didn't slow my pace. The elevator doors opened as I approached, as if sensing my impatience. Inside, I studied my reflection in the mirrored walls, carefully composing my features into the impassive mask expected of Moon Bay's Alpha and Chief Justice.

My wolf, however, remained alert, urging me to move faster, to confront the perceived threat to our territory and our... I stopped the thought before it could fully form. Freya Riley was not mine to protect. She was a banished wolf who had somehow managed to reenter my life like a splinter under the skin—irritating, persistent, impossible to ignore.

Yet here I was, racing across territorial lines because my father had dared to approach her.

The elevator chimed as it reached the top floor. Two Deltas stood guarding the presidential suite at the end of the hallway, their postures straightening as they caught my scent. Both wore the silver pins of my father's personal security detail—wolves who had served him during his thirty-year reign as Alpha and remained loyal even after he had passed the mantle to me.

"Alpha Thorne," the larger of the two said, inclining his head but making no move to step aside. "The Elder is not expecting visitors this evening."

I let a fraction of my Alpha presence seep out, just enough to make both Deltas tense. "The Elder is my father, and I'm not a visitor."

The second Delta swallowed, his eyes flickering between my face and the floor. "Sir, he left explicit instructions—"

"Which don't apply to me." I stepped closer, letting my scent—the unmistakable aura of the current Alpha—envelop them. "Move aside."

The first Delta hesitated, his loyalty to my father warring with the instinctive submission to the current Alpha. Finally, he lowered his gaze completely and stepped aside, though the reluctance in his movement was clear.

"He's alone?" I asked.

"Yes, Alpha. Since Ms. Riley left."

I nodded and raised my hand to knock, but before my knuckles could touch the wood, my father's voice came from within.

"Come in, Thorne. I know it's you."

Of course he did. Alexander Grey might have relinquished his position as Alpha, but thirty years of power had honed his senses to rival even mine.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the suite. The opulence of the Grand Lunar's presidential accommodation spread before me—plush carpets, artful lighting, and floor-to-ceiling windows that showcased the city below. My father stood with his back to the door, silhouetted against those windows, his hands clasped behind him as he gazed out at the territory that had once been exclusively his.

I closed the door behind me, the soft click somehow as final as a prison gate shutting.

"You couldn't wait until morning to visit your old man?" he asked, still not turning.

"You arranged a private meeting with Freya Riley without informing me," I kept my voice level, professional. "And you've been conducting private negotiations with Jasper Stone behind my back. I think those actions warrant immediate discussion."

He turned then, moonlight highlighting the silver streaks in his dark hair. At sixty-three, Alexander Grey remained an imposing figure—tall, broad-shouldered, with the same sharp features I saw in my own mirror. Only the lines around his eyes and the silver in his hair betrayed his age.

"I might ask why the Chief Justice of Moon Bay has been spending so much time in Jasper Stone's territory." His eyes—the same shade of blue as mine in human form—narrowed slightly. "Or why you felt the need to send your assistant to interrupt my meeting with Ms. Riley."

"I'm handling a complex legal dispute between two packs," I replied smoothly. "As for Mark's timing, I needed to speak with you about tomorrow's council vote."

"Convenient timing." My father moved to the bar and poured himself two fingers of whiskey, not offering me one. "Let's not waste time with pretense, Thorne. You're here because I spoke to the Riley girl."

"Woman," I corrected automatically, then regretted drawing attention to the distinction. "And yes, I'd like to know why you felt it necessary to summon a banished wolf to your hotel suite without consulting me."

"Consulting you?" A flash of the old Alpha authority colored his tone. "I may have stepped down as Alpha, but I don't need my son's permission to speak with anyone."

"When that 'anyone' is someone I personally sentenced to exile, you do." I stepped further into the room, maintaining the distance between us but making my presence more commanding. "Especially when you cross pack borders to do it."

My father took a slow sip of his whiskey, watching me over the rim of the glass. "Three years ago, you were ready to make her your Luna. I handpicked her myself—the Riley bloodline was one of the oldest and purest in our territory. Then suddenly, you're sentencing her to exile for attacking your chosen mate." He set the glass down with a deliberate click. "Now I find you following her to Silverstone territory, watching her from the shadows. What game are you playing, Thorne?"