The Alpha's Exiled Mate Chapter 255

Freya’s POV

The woman's smile tightened, but she nodded and retreated with her friends, though not without a backward glance. Once they were out of earshot, I stepped away from Jasper's hold.

"Your companion?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged, unapologetic. "It was easier than explaining the complex political situation between you, me, and Alpha Grey. Besides," he added with a hint of a smile, "it kept her from hitting on me for the fourth time this month."

"You shouldn't joke about mate relationships," I warned, suddenly serious. "Even between different packs, claiming someone as a companion isn't taken lightly."

"Noted," he replied, his expression sobering. "You're right, of course. Forgive me."

We continued walking, eventually reaching a section of the park designated as a scent-tracking area. Jasper's eyes lit up with interest.

"Care to test your tracking skills?" he asked, nodding toward the entrance where several wolves were already engaged in the activity.

The game was simple—follow a predefined scent trail to locate hidden targets throughout a controlled area of the forest. In normal circumstances, it would have been child's play for a wolf with my bloodline. But now, with my senses dulled by silver exposure...

"I'm not sure my abilities are up to it right now," I admitted reluctantly.

Jasper studied me for a moment, then nodded. "Then I'll track for both of us. I've been told I have one of the best noses in the western territories."

His confidence made me smile despite myself. "Is that so?"

To my surprise, Jasper was terrible at the tracking game. He missed obvious scent markers, followed false trails, and generally made a mess of what should have been simple tracking. After his third failed attempt to locate a target, I couldn't suppress a laugh—a rusty sound I barely recognized as my own.

"For someone with 'one of the best noses in the western territories,' you're remarkably bad at this," I observed.

Jasper looked offended for a brief moment before a slow smile spread across his face. "Perhaps I'm having an off day."

"Perhaps you're full of hot air," I countered, forgetting for a moment that I was speaking to an Alpha.

Instead of taking offense, Jasper laughed again. "There's the spark Emma told me about."

Rather than continuing to humiliate himself with failed tracking, Jasper simply approached the game attendant and offered double the usual silver coin price for the prize—a soft wolf plush wearing a miniature ranger's hat. He presented it to me with a flourish.

"For you," he said. "A trophy of my spectacular failure."

I accepted it awkwardly with my left hand, the soft fur surprisingly comforting against my skin. Before I could thank him, a small voice piped up from behind us.

"Is that the ranger wolf?" A young pup, no more than six or seven years old, stared wide-eyed at the plush in my hand. "I've been trying all day, but I can't find the scent trail."

I looked down at the hopeful face, then at the toy in my hand. Without hesitation, I crouched down to the pup's level and offered him the plush. "I think he'd be happier with you," I said gently.

The pup's eyes widened with delight as he carefully took the toy, clutching it to his chest. "Thank you, miss!" he exclaimed before running back to his waiting parents, proudly displaying his new treasure.

When I straightened and turned back to Jasper, I found him watching me with an unreadable expression.

"You're much stronger than Emma described," he said quietly. "She told me yesterday you were in bad shape, so I came to check on you."

The admission surprised me. "Thank you," I said simply, touched by their concern.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the park. Jasper seemed content to walk beside me in comfortable silence, occasionally pointing out interesting features or wildlife. I noticed that he seemed somewhat unfamiliar with the public park, suggesting he rarely visited such common spaces.

By the time we reached a viewing platform overlooking a serene lake, the afternoon sun was beginning to lower toward the horizon, casting golden light across the water. The day's activities had exhausted me, but in a good way—a physical tiredness rather than the emotional weight I'd been carrying.

"Feeling better?" Jasper asked as we leaned against the railing, watching the light dance on the water.

I considered the question honestly. "Yes," I admitted. "I didn't realize how much I needed to get away from... everything."

Jasper nodded, his profile strong against the setting sun. "Sometimes we need distance to gain perspective."

We stood in silence for a moment before I gathered my courage to address what had been unspoken between us all day.

"Jasper," I began, turning to face him directly. "I appreciate you bringing me here today, but I need to be clear about something."

He turned to meet my gaze, his expression attentive.

"I can't return your interest," I said simply. "I'm grateful for your kindness and for this day away from everything, but I don't want to mislead you."

Jasper's lips quirked into a smile. "Direct and honest. I like that." He shook his head slightly. "I've never been rejected before, you know. Emma White was the first, and now you're the second."

His response surprised me—no anger, no wounded pride, just calm acceptance.

"We can be friends, Freya," he offered, his posture relaxed and open. "I'd value that too."

I nodded, grateful for his understanding. The sun dipped lower, casting long shadows across the platform.

Suddenly, Jasper's expression shifted, growing more serious. "Is it because of Grey?" he asked, watching me carefully. "Are you rejecting me because of him?"

The question caught me off guard. My breath hitched, and I found myself staring out at the lake, buying time to formulate an answer.

"No," I said finally, shaking my head. "It has nothing to do with him. I just don't want to love anyone right now. It's too exhausting."

Just as the words left my mouth, a twig snapped in the forest behind us. A powerful scent—mint and metal—rolled over us like a wave, accompanied by a surge of Alpha energy so strong it made the hairs on my arms stand up.

My heart stuttered in my chest as I turned toward the source. There, standing at the edge of the forest path, eyes blazing with golden wolf-light, was Thorne Grey.

The look on his face made my blood run cold.

His entire body seemed coiled with barely restrained fury, shoulders rigid beneath his tailored jacket. The golden glow of his wolf eyes illuminated his face in the dimming light, making him appear almost supernatural among the shadows of the trees.

Instinctively, I stepped back, my body shifting into a defensive posture before I could even think about it. I felt the birthmark on my neck—the crescent moon that marked my Riley bloodline—grow warm and begin to glow faintly, responding to the threat of an angry Alpha.

Between Thorne and Jasper, the Alpha energy in the clearing became suffocating. Their competing dominance made the air thick and heavy, like the moment before a violent storm. Small animals—squirrels, birds, even a fox that had been watching from nearby bushes—scattered in all directions, fleeing the primal power radiating from the two predators.

"Freya," Thorne's voice was low and controlled, but vibrating with authority. "I need to speak with you. Come back to me."

My wolf cowered inside me, recognizing his dominance, but a stubborn part of me—the part still raw from his rejection on the boat—refused to yield.

Jasper remained beside me, his posture relaxed but alert. He made no move to step between us, but he also didn't retreat.

"Whatever you have to say," I answered, proud that my voice remained steady, "you can say it here."