Rejected At The Altar, Claimed By The Alpha King

Magnus

I had been in Moon Valley for three days before the wedding ceremony.

I didn't come out of my room much. I was only here because of Kael. I walked to the window and stared out at the estate. It's been five years since he died. Five years, and the wound still bled like it was fresh.

"Nathaniel," I called.

My Beta appeared in the doorway. He was a good man, loyal to a fault, but sometimes I caught him looking at me with worry in his eyes. He thought I was losing myself to grief. Maybe I was.

"Alpha," he said. "The ceremony starts in two hours."

"I know," I said. "I'm going to the lake for a walk."

Nathaniel's brow furrowed. "The lake? Alpha, with respect, that's not on the grounds of the ceremony. You'll miss the..."

"I know what I'll miss." I turned from the window, and the look on my face must have been enough because Nathaniel closed his mouth and bowed his head.

"Of course, Alpha. Should I send warriors with you?"

"No. I would like to be alone."

I thought of the last time I had seen Kael, he had been so in love with his mate even when I warmed him that something was off about her. But Kael had always believed in the goodness of people. It was what made him a great warrior and a terrible judge of character.

"And watch for anything that seems out of place," I said. "I'll be back before nightfall."

The lake was still the same. The trees around it had grown taller in the years since I had last been here.

I sat down on the large flat rock near the water's edge. Kael and I had sat here a hundred times, sharing stories and whiskey and dreams of the future. Until Celestine had come along, and everything had changed.

I picked up a smooth stone and skipped it across the lake.

"I can't believe you are really gone, Kael. And I'm left trying to figure out what actually happened to you," I said aloud.

They had told me that Kael's death was caused by a rogue wolf who attacked, and Kael had been too slow to defend himself.

But I didn't believe it.

Kael had been the strongest wolf I had ever known. He could take down a full-grown bear with nothing but his claws. There was no way a single rogue wolf had killed him.

Unless someone had helped it.

Of course, Celestine was my first suspect. The woman was an expert at manipulation. Immediately after Kael's death, she clung to Damon like a leech.

And poor, foolish Damon who was Kael's younger brother, was busy nursing his guilt towards the woman who had probably killed his brother.

The ceremony was starting soon but I had only come to Moon Valley to say goodbye to my friend properly.

"I'm going to find the truth," I said. "I swear it. Whatever it takes. Whoever I have to destroy. I'll find out what happened to you, Kael."

The sun was starting to set when I finally stood up to leave but a scent stopped me in my tracks.

It was faint and it sent a jolt through my body that made my wolf shudder.

"The scent of the werewolf king." Mael, my wolf said.

That can't be possible. It had been nearly a century since anyone had smelled the werewolf king's bloodline. The last bearer had died in the Great War, and the bloodline had been scattered. Every Alpha, every warrior, every ambitious wolf who dreamed of ultimate power had hunted for the bloodline.

The scent was sweet and sharp, like honey and lemon mixed together. It filled me with the instinctive need to submit.

I began to follow the scent and it led me away towards the chapel around the forested area that bordered the estate. I moved quietly, scanning the darkness for any sign of movement. The scent was getting stronger and it was mixed with the smell of blood.

I was close to the edge of the forest when I saw three rogues, from their smell, surrounding a familiar woman in a torn white gown. I recognized her as Damon's mate. Aysel Stormborn. She was standing in front of another woman, her arms spread wide to shield her from the attackers.

She was outnumbered three to one but she didn't seem scared at all. I realized that the scent was pouring off her in waves. The rogues took a half-step back, their bodies instinctively responding to the presence of something greater than themselves.

I watched as Aysel launched herself at the nearest attacker.

She was faster than any wolf I had ever seen. Her claws slashed the throat of the one closest to her and the remaining two rogues fled into the forest.

Aysel was about to follow them but I pulled my jacket off and moved towards her without thinking. Her dress was barely hanging on her body. She was about to run half-naked into the forest, chasing her attackers.

She was so focused on her pursuit that she didn't hear me coming. I lifted the jacket and dropped it over her head, covering her exposed body.

"Cover yourself," I said.

She whirled around, her eyes wide with surprise. I was already moving past her, to chase the fleeing rogues. I caught only a glimpse of her face before I disappeared into the trees. Green eyes with brown curly hair.

She was beautiful.

But that wasn't what interested me.

What interested me was the power I had just felt pulsing through her veins. Her blood could bring me the truth about Kael's death.

I caught the first rogue near the stream. He was slow and clumsy, his fear making him sloppy. I took him down with a single blow. The second one was faster, but not fast enough. I caught him against a tree and squeezed his throat until he went limb in my hands.

Someone had hired them to hurt Aysel Stormborn.

I turned to walk back toward her but she was already standing behind me with my jacket buttoned and a suspicious look on her face.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

I rose an eyebrow. She wasn't even thanking me for saving her but then she hadn't asked me to.

"Magnus," I said. "Magnus Ashford."

Her eyes widened slightly and she stepped back. "You are the Alpha of shadowbane. What are you doing here?"

"I was invited to the wedding." I nodded toward my jacket, where the invitation was still tucked in the pocket. "The one you just walked out of."

She reached into the jacket and pulled out the invitation. I watched her face change when she saw her name printed next to Damon's. Pain? Loss? It was gone before I could name it.

"Why did you give me your jacket," she asked.

"I was saving a damsel in distress dignity, is that a crime?" I replied.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "So you're not working with them."

"If I were working with them, I wouldn't have saved you. And those rogues could never afford a suit like this."

She looked down at the jacket, then back at me. Her eyes narrowed. "Why did you save me?"

I could have told her the truth about how the scent of her bloodline had pulled me to her but something told me she wouldn't appreciate being treated like a resource.

"You remind me of someone I used to know."

"You should leave," she said finally. "This place isn't safe for you."

"It's not safe for you either."

She smiled bitterly at that. "I know."

She turned away from me and walked away.

Nathaniel found me twenty minutes later with two of my warriors behind him.

"Alpha," he said. "We smelt the blood. Are you injured?"

"I'm fine."

I looked toward the direction the wedding had been held. "I want you to find out everything you can about Aysel Stormborn."

"Aysel?" Nathaniel frowned. "The bride?"

"Everything," I repeated. "Her history. Her family. Her connection to Celestine. I want to know every detail."

Nathaniel nodded, "Of course, Alpha. But... what are we looking for?"

"I don't know yet." I turned away from the clearing. "But I'll know it when I see it."