Alpha’s Deceptive Mate

Chapter 2POV: LioraThe golden eyes blinked once, twice, then vanished into the darkness. I didn't wait to see what they belonged to. Adrenaline overrode the pain screaming through my shoulder. I scrambled to my feet, my hand clamped over the arrow shaft, and ran. Behind me, I heard snarling, the sound of flesh tearing, more screams from hunters I couldn't see. My pack's howls had gone silent, replaced by an eerie stillness that was somehow worse.Run. Just run.My human form was slower than my wolf, but shifting would take energy I didn't have. Blood ran hot down my arm, dripping from my fingertips. Each breath felt like swallowing glass.The forest grew thicker, darker. I couldn't hear pursuit anymore, but that meant nothing. Whatever killed that hunter could be stalking me right now, silent as death.A sound reached my ears. Water. Running water. I crashed through a final wall of undergrowth and nearly fell down the embankment. A river stretched before me, wide and fast, the curre

Chapter 4POV: LioraCold water hit my face like a slap. I jolted awake, gasping, my body screaming in protest. Everything hurts. My shoulder, my wrist, my jaw where Kael's fist had connected. The world spun in nauseating circles."Wakey, wakey, little rogue."Laughter echoed around me. I blinked water from my eyes and found myself surrounded by warriors. Six of them, all massive, all looking at me like I was dinner. We were outside now, in what looked like a training yard. Dirt beneath me, weapons racks along the walls, the afternoon sun beating down.How long had I been unconscious?"Look at him, barely bigger than a pup," one warrior sneered. He was built like a bear, with a shaved head and arms covered in scars. "Alpha's gone soft, letting something this weak live.""Maybe he's keeping him as entertainment," another said. A woman this time, tall with braided red hair. "See how long the runt survives before someone accidentally breaks him."I tried to sit up. My broken wrist scream

POV: Liora I couldn't sleep. Kael's words echoed in my head, over and over like a curse I couldn't shake. Why does my wolf want you? His face had been so close, his eyes burning with confusion and something darker. Something that made my stomach flip and my wolf whined with longing. This was dangerous. More dangerous than being hunted by my old pack. More dangerous than living as a rogue in hostile territory. Because part of me had wanted him to close that distance. To press closer instead of pulling away. I sat up in my cot, the barracks quiet around me. The other guards snored softly, exhausted from the day's training. Moonlight filtered through the narrow windows, painting everything in silver. I needed answers. Needed to understand what was happening, why Matthias had killed Declan, what he gained from destroying my life. And I needed to know if the Night bane Pack was involved like those guards had whispered about. The archives were in the main hall's lower level. I'd seen w

Chapter 8POV: LioraKael stopped looking at me after that night. Five days had passed since the rogue attack, since those words hung in the air between us. No man should make me want everything. Five days of Kael avoiding the training yard, sending orders through Vera, staying locked in his office.Five days of feeling his absence like a physical wound. I threw myself into patrols, taking double shifts at the borders. Anything to exhaust myself, to stop thinking about ice blue eyes and the way his touch made my skin burn. Anything to stop my wolf from whining for an Alpha who couldn't want her back.Because he thought I was male. And even if he knew the truth, I was still a fugitive. Still someone he should turn away."You look like hell," Thomas commented during the evening meal. "When's the last time you slept?""I sleep enough.""Liar." He pushed bread toward me. "Eat. You're no good to anyone if you collapse."I picked at the food without appetite. Across the hall, Kael's usual s

Chapter 10POV: LioraThe question hung between us like a blade.Who the hell are you, really?Kael’s hand was still locked around my jaw, not crushing, not gentle, just enough to hold me in place, to make sure I couldn’t look away. His grip was firm, his thumb pressing just beneath my chin, forcing my head up so I had no choice but to meet his eyes.And those eyes…They weren’t just angry but were searching.Demanding.Hurt.That was the part that struck deeper than anything else, the anger I could handle, the threat I could survive, but the hurt… that meant I had crossed a line I couldn’t step back from.My pulse hammered against my ribs, loud enough I was certain he could hear it. My wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin, pacing, uneasy, pushing against the tension that filled the room. She didn’t like this, didn’t like the way Kael’s energy felt sharp and unstable, didn’t like the way his control seemed to be hanging by a thread.Tell him, she urged.I swallowed, my throat dry,