KAI'S POV
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I stood in the middle of the ballroom, bleeding and broken, watching my mate run away from me.
The rejection hit like a physical wound. My wolf howled inside me, clawing to get out, desperate to chase her. But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think past the pain radiating through the bond.
She rejected us. She actually rejected us.
"Kai?" Sera's hand touched my arm. I shook her off violently.
"Don't," I snarled. My voice came out more wolf than human.
Around us, the entire ballroom was silent. Hundreds of wolves stared at me—the Alpha heir who just got publicly rejected by a nobody. Camera phones were everywhere, recording my humiliation.
I didn't care about them. I only cared about the auburn-haired girl disappearing through the doors.
My wolf surged forward. *Chase her. Claim her. Make her understand—*
"Give me a minute," I told him.
*No! Mate is leaving! Mate is hurt and scared and LEAVING—*
"KAI!" My father's voice cut through the chaos. He pushed through the crowd, his face purple with rage. "What the hell just happened?"
"Not now, Dad."
"Not now?" He grabbed my shoulder, his Alpha power pressing down. "You just found your mate and she rejected you in front of the entire pack elite! Do you have any idea what this means for our reputation?"
I looked at him—really looked at him. At the empty shell of a man who'd rejected his own true mate for politics. Who'd spent thirty years hollow and broken, lecturing me about duty while dying inside.
"I don't care about reputation," I said quietly.
His eyes widened. "What?"
"I. Don't. Care." I pulled away from him. "You rejected your mate and it destroyed you. I won't make the same mistake."
"She already rejected you!"
"The rejection doesn't count unless we both accept it." I started walking toward the doors. "And I'll never accept it."
"If you walk out of here, if you chase after that packless girl—"
I stopped and turned back. "You'll what? Disown me? Strip my inheritance? Go ahead. I watched you choose duty over love once. I won't let you make me do the same."
Sera stepped forward, tears streaming down her face. Fake tears—I could smell the lie. "Kai, please. We can fix this. Forget about her. We're meant to be together—"
"We were never meant to be anything," I said coldly. "And if I find out you had anything to do with framing Isla, I'll destroy you myself."
Her mask slipped for just a second. Calculation flickered in her silver eyes before the tears returned.
"I was trying to protect you," she whispered. "That girl is using you—"
"Enough." Dante appeared at my side. "Kai, go. I'll handle Dad and the vultures."
I didn't wait. I ran.
Outside, the night air was cold and sharp. I scanned the parking lot, searching for any sign of her. The bond pulled me left, toward the trees beyond the Academy grounds.
She went into the woods.
I shifted mid-run, my wolf taking over gratefully. Four legs were faster than two. Her scent was everywhere—fear and anger and something else. Something that smelled like... blood?
My wolf howled and ran faster.
I found them in a clearing two miles from campus.
Isla backed against a tree, facing a man I'd never seen before. He was tall, muscular, with dead eyes and a cruel smile. And he was blocking her escape.
"Your parents were thieves," the man was saying. "They stole something very valuable from very dangerous people. And when they refused to return it, well... accidents happen."
"You're lying," Isla said, but her voice shook.
"Am I? Then why did they die on a full moon, when rogues are weakest? Why were their bodies found miles from any known rogue territory?" He stepped closer. "Someone wanted them dead, little wolf. And that someone wants you dead too."
I shifted back to human form and stepped into the clearing. "Get away from her."
The man's smile widened. "Ah, the rejected mate arrives. How heroic."
Isla's eyes met mine. "I told you to stay away."
"Not happening." I moved between her and the stranger. "Who are you?"
"Someone who knows things." His eyes glittered with malice. "Like how your father paid off a certain group of rogues fifteen years ago. How those same rogues just happened to attack Isla's parents. Funny coincidence, don't you think?"
Ice flooded my veins. "What?"
"Your daddy's hands aren't clean, golden boy. But I'm sure he never told you about his side deals. The people he's hurt to maintain power." He looked at Isla. "Including her family."
"He's lying," I said, but doubt crept in. My father was capable of terrible things. I knew that.
"Maybe," the man said. "Or maybe the Moon Goddess has a sick sense of humor, pairing the daughter of murdered lone wolves with the son of their killer."
Isla made a sound like she'd been stabbed. "No..."
"Want proof?" The man pulled out a folder. "Bank records. Meeting logs. Witness statements. All pointing to Marcus Ashford ordering a hit on two lone wolves who knew too much about his illegal territory dealings."
He threw the folder at Isla's feet.
"Don't touch it," I warned. "This is a trap."
"Of course it's a trap," the man laughed. "But that doesn't make it less true. Read the files, little wolf. Learn what your precious mate's family really is."
Three more figures emerged from the shadows. All armed. All focused on Isla.
"We'll give you a choice," the man said. "Come with us willingly and answer some questions about what your parents knew. Or resist, and we'll take you by force."
My wolf exploded forward. I shifted mid-leap, putting myself between Isla and the attackers. My Alpha power rolled out, making the trees shake.
"You'll have to go through me first."
"Gladly." The man smiled. "We were hoping you'd fight. Makes this more fun."
They attacked.
I took down two before I felt the dart hit my neck. Wolfsbane. My vision blurred. My legs gave out.
"KAI!" Isla's scream was the last thing I heard before darkness took me.
When I woke up, my head pounded and my mouth tasted like poison. I was lying on cold ground, my hands zip-tied behind my back.
Isla sat across from me, also tied up, her green eyes fierce with rage and fear.
"Nice of you to join us," the man said, crouching between us. "Now, let's talk about what your parents stole from each other. And why you're both going to help us get it back."
"We don't know anything," Isla spat.
"Then I guess we'll have to motivate you." He pulled out a knife. "Let's start with which one of you screams louder."
He pressed the blade to Isla's throat.
And that's when I felt it—the bond surging with power I'd never felt before, responding to her fear, to my rage, to our desperate need to protect each other.
The zip ties snapped.
My eyes flashed gold.
And for the first time in my life, my Alpha power erupted with a force that shook the entire forest.