Violet
My breath caught despite my best efforts to control it.
’Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it!’
He was dressed more formally this ti, his dark shirt fully covering his chest and neck. His hair was loose too. When his eyes t mine...
They were different. Far different. And very similar to the sa aloof, intensifying air he had around him at the camp.
He was indifferent.
My chest tightened but I shifted my eyes from him, an unsavoury feeling crawling underneath my skin. I should be glad, but why was he looking at like I was so stranger?
Like he hadn’t kissed breathless just yesterday.
The thought began to make angry.
He did that yesterday and now he was acting like this.
"Thank you, Tow."
His voice brought back to the present, along with the soft click of the door being closed. Thankfully, I wouldn’t be left alone here with him.
"Sit here," Tow spoke up, gesturing towards the wide cushioned seat in the center of the room, and directly facing Kael’s desk.
I silently made my way there and sat down, looking everywhere but at him.
Kael cleared his throat.
I forced myself to et his gaze.
He was watching with that sa careful neutrality. Professional. Distant. Like I was just another pack mber here for a formal eting. He then propped an elbow on the desk and rested the side of his face on his hand.
"There are so things we need to address. I should have brought them up earlier, but I didn’t have the ti," he started, still staring at .
"First, there is the matter of your forr pack, which is unresolved. Shadowpine’s Alpha sent scouts to my borders claiming you were a threat."
As he explained what had transpired while I wasn’t there, my heart sank and my hands clenched in my laps.
Why?...
They would actually cross borders to have killed?
I hung my head, my eyes lowered as a sinking feeling took hold of , only to be replaced by a brewing hatred.
Did he want dead that badly?
"You know sothing. I need to hear your account of what happened. The truth, Violet. All of it."
I looked up at him. Tow had already gone to stand in front of one of the shelves close to Kael, watching intently.
Where would I even begin?
"I..." My voice ca out rougher than I intended. I cleared my throat. "I didn’t do anything wrong, but I don’t know what you already know." I glanced at Tow. "I had already ntioned a bit."
Tow nodded and Kael just said, "I want to hear everything, and from you. Assu I know nothing."
I told them everything. Everything except for my actual death and awakening. The words ca easier than I had expected, as if I was reciting details about another person’s life. How Damon had announced the rejection before the whole pack, how I suffered from the complications, and how I genuinely felt my life was in danger, and so I ran.
Kael’s eyes seed to flicker with anger, but he said nothing.
I could not tell them the other things. How Damon had issued a banishnt order. How he had sent out of the pack while I was in pain from the rejection sickness. How he had scread at while I had barely been able to stand.
I squeezed my eyes shut, dispelling the unpleasant mories.
No. That had been the other life... not this one.
I let out a shaky breath and straightened in my seat before forcing myself to lean back. I still looked at my hands.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
"He tried to kill you," Kael said flatly.
It wasn’t a question.
"I... don’t know for certain. But I strongly feel he is capable—"
There was a distinct sound that brought my attention to the table. Kael’s knuckles were white where they gripped the edge of his desk.
"He rejected you," Kael said slowly, carefully drawing out each word, "And while you were at your weakest, he sent wolves to get rid of you..."
He was getting angrier by the second and he was no longer staring at , but rather at a fixed point on the table. "And you were his fated mate."
Sothing cracked in Kael’s careful control and my pulse quickened as his eyes flashed hot for just a heartbeat before he closed them. His jaw clenched hard enough that I could see the muscle jumping beneath his skin.
"Kael," Tow said quietly, a warning in her tone that was overshadowed by worry.
He took a breath. Then another. When he opened his eyes, the glow was gone, but the anger he felt still lingered in the air.
Kael looked like he was lost in thought, and Tow...
"This might be bad," she whispered, astonishnt spread across her face.
’Might?’
Just when I thought she was referring to my predicant, her next words banished the thought.
"You didn’t follow protocol."
I lightly frowned, confused. "I don’t understand. I no longer have anything to do with them. I decided to beco a lone wolf when I left. That’s how it works... or is it different with your pack?"
"No," Kael grumbled, finally shifting his eyes to et mine. "Every nation already has set general pack rules."
"Violet," Tow said carefully. "Where did you learn that?"
"I... I don’t understand the question."
Kael stood up and walked round to stand beside his table. "Who taught you about pack law?"
I looked between both of them, Tow’s expression in particular made my stomach drop. "My grandmother taught . The rest, I just picked up from observations. Why?"
Kael frowned, his expression serious. "Leaving without formal permission does not make you a lone wolf. By universal pack law, you’re rogue."
My mouth imdiately went dry.
"I am sure you are wondering why this detail is important," Tow added. "A rogue wolf can still join other packs, just not the pack they left. However, there is a summit coming up in a few months and your forr Alpha will be there."
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