The Alpha's Exiled Mate Chapter 62

Freya's POV

My heart hammered against my ribs as he shoved me toward the factory entrance. With the moon-silver collar burning my neck and my wrists raw from the handcuffs, I could barely stay upright, but somehow I managed to walk through the rusted door into the cool night air.

The sight before me stole what little breath I had left. A perfect formation of wolves surrounded the building, positioned at every exit with military precision. And at their center, standing tall in the moonlight, was Alpha Thorne Grey himself.

Even from this distance, his presence was overwhelming. Power radiated from him in tangible waves, his stance that of a predator ready to strike. Our eyes met across the distance, and something primal inside me responded despite my weakened state.

I raised my hands slowly, trying to appear non-threatening. "Alpha Thorne," I called, fighting to keep my voice steady despite the burning pain from the collar. "I need to speak with you."

He stepped forward into the moonlight, his face impassive but his eyes burning with an intensity that made my wolf stir beneath my skin. "Ms. Riley. I see you've found yourself in trouble again."

The formal address stung more than it should have. I swallowed hard, tasting blood and fear. "I'm responsible for what happened at Moon Howl. The illegal trading, all of it. I confess everything. Please... let them leave safely."

Each word felt like ash in my mouth, but Terra's life depended on this lie. I watched Thorne's nostrils flare as he caught my scent, his eyes narrowing slightly. He stepped closer, and I fought the urge to retreat.

"You're lying," he said simply, his gaze piercing through me as if he could read every thought in my head.

My jaw tightened reflexively. "I've signed a confession."

"Under duress, I assume." His eyes flicked to the collar around my throat, and something dangerous flashed across his features. "That's military-grade restraint equipment. Not something a bar server could access."

He turned slightly, speaking to his second-in-command while keeping me in his peripheral vision. "Search the building. Use the moon-silver detectors. I want everyone inside identified and contained."

Panic surged through me. "No!" I cried, dropping all pretense. "Terra is still in there with Cole! He has moon-silver weapons!"

Before Thorne could respond, movement erupted from the side of the building. His lieutenant appeared, carrying a bloodied form in his arms. Terra. My knees nearly buckled at the sight of her beaten body, relief and horror warring within me.

"She's alive but badly injured," I heard someone say. "Moon-silver in her bloodstream."

I couldn't take my eyes off Terra as they carried her away. She was alive. My sacrifice, my confession—it hadn't been for nothing. The momentary relief left me vulnerable, my emotions crashing over me in waves. I fell to my knees, the moon-silver collar burning even hotter against my skin.

"You have to believe me," I pleaded, looking up at Thorne. "I did it. Everything they found at Moon Howl—the moon-silver trading, the forged documents—it was all me. I needed the money to find my family." My voice cracked as I spoke, tears streaming down my face, mixing with blood from cuts I hadn't even noticed. "Just let Cole go. Please."

Thorne didn't even look at me. His attention had shifted entirely to the factory, his golden eyes gleaming with predatory focus. When he spoke, his voice carried effortlessly, resonating with Alpha power that made even my weakened wolf cower.

"Cole Raine," he called out, his tone deceptively conversational. "You're surrounded by twenty-three members of my pack, including six trained Deltas with moon-silver tranquilizers. There is no scenario where you leave this place a free wolf."

I stared at him in confusion. Why wasn't he acknowledging my confession?

"However," Thorne continued, "your situation can get significantly worse. Harming pack members under my protection carries a penalty far beyond illegal trading. Release your remaining hostage unharmed, surrender your weapons, and I'll ensure your case is heard fairly."

From inside the factory, Cole's bitter laugh echoed. "Fairly? Like my father's case was heard 'fairly' by your father and the Riley patriarch? We both know what 'Grey justice' means!"

"Your father attempted to poison three council members," Thorne replied evenly. "The evidence was conclusive."

"The evidence was planted!" Cole shouted, his voice cracking with fifteen years of pent-up rage. "Just like I planted evidence on your precious Riley girl! How does it feel, Alpha, to have history repeat itself?"

Thorne's face remained impassive, but I felt a subtle shift in his energy—surprise, quickly masked. "Last chance, Raine. Surrender now."

The silence stretched for several seconds. I held my breath, hope warring with terror. Then came the sound of breaking glass from inside the factory, followed by Cole's desperate shout:

"If I'm going down, I'm taking Riley blood with me!"

A rush of air, a flash of silver, and Cole's hate-filled voice: "Riley traitor! Die for what your family did to mine!"

I turned, seeing the blade aimed for my heart, knowing I had no chance to dodge in my weakened state. In that split second, I accepted my fate. Perhaps this was justice—a Riley paying the final price for family sins.

But the impact never came. Instead, a blur of movement inserted itself between me and death. Thorne. The moon-silver blade meant for me sank deep into his forearm, and silver light erupted from the wound, illuminating his face in an otherworldly glow.

I gasped, unable to process what I was seeing. "An Alpha... for an exile..."

The words escaped me in a breathless whisper. In three years of exile, no wolf had risked even the smallest comfort for me, much less physical harm. My own kind had avoided me like a disease. Other exiles had mocked me as "the Alpha's discarded lover," though I'd never been that. And now Thorne—the very Alpha who had condemned me—had put himself between me and death.

What shocked me even more was his reaction to the moon-silver. Any normal wolf would be on the ground, writhing in agony as the silver disrupted their connection to their inner beast. But Thorne remained standing, his eyes glowing with golden fury as he kicked Cole with enough force to send him crashing into the factory wall.

He turned to me then, and I saw pain etched in the tight lines around his mouth, but his eyes remained clear and focused. The wound on his arm pulsed with eerie silver light, yet he maintained perfect control of his faculties.

"How are you still..." The question died on my lips as I stared at the impossibility before me.

Something deeper than conscious thought drew me toward him. My hand moved of its own accord, hovering near his wound without touching it. The silver light seemed to respond to my proximity, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat.

As my fingers trembled in the air between us, I felt something I couldn't explain—a resonance, a connection that seemed to flow between us like an electric current. The pain from my own wounds receded slightly, and for a moment, I could have sworn I felt what he felt—the burning of the silver, yes, but also an overwhelming protective instinct that wasn't my own.

Then his Alpha presence enveloped me completely, but unlike every other time I'd felt an Alpha's power, this wasn't meant to dominate or control. It sheltered, protected, wrapped around me like an invisible shield. The sensation was strangely familiar, triggering a memory just beyond my grasp—had I felt this before? When?

More shocking still was the way my heart seemed to synchronize with his, beating in perfect time as if our bodies had forgotten they were separate beings. In that moment, I felt more connected to another living soul than I had since my family disappeared.

Thorne didn't answer my question. Instead, he positioned himself firmly between me and the rest of the world, his body language making one unmistakable statement to everyone present: this exile was under his protection.

"Why?" I asked, barely audible even to my own ears. "Why protect me?"