THE ALPHA KING'S REJECTED MATE (TO BE OR NOT TO BE)

POV Mara

"You knew my mother."

I closed the door behind me.

Damian stood beside the large windows overlooking our personal sitting chamber.

He turned as I approached.

Not surprised to see me.

As though he expected me.

"You shouldn't be here."

"Then you shouldn't have mentioned her."

He turned sharply.

His face was composed, but his eyes were raw with exhaustion and something else.

Something that looked frighteningly like fear.

"Your mother was dangerous."

I blinked at him.

"Elara was kind."

"Kind, yes," he said.

"She was also ambitious and greedy."

"So were you."

"That is not for you to decide."

For a long moment, we stared each other down.

The mate bond pulsed between us, weaker than before but still there.

Damaged but not gone.

I hated that I could still feel it.

His anger, his fear.

And most disturbing of all, his self-imposed restraint.

"Why did you reject me?"

"Because accepting you would put you in more danger."

"What? You publicly humiliated me to protect me?"

"Yes.

"Okay, that doesn't even-

"It will make sense soon enough."

"When? Because right now-"

"When you're ready to understand."

I took another step closer.

"I am ready now."

Damian was watching me closely now.

"You don't think your life was ordinary."

"Because it wasn't," I snapped.

"No," he said with a shake of his head.

"You were protected.

Hidden.

From who?"

A loud crash sounded from the outer chamber.

Damian's head snapped toward the window.

His muscles tensed as though preparing to shift.

The king was gone.

Alpha was here.

"Get down."

"What? The hell are-

I barely had time to react before strong hands shoved me behind a heavy pillar.

Something hit the far wall with a thud, narrowly missing us.

I heard the clatter of boots running up the corridor.

More guards were coming.

Damian stood in front of me once the room was empty.

I stared up at him.

"You said I wasn't safe."

"Never said you were alone," he muttered.

"From who? Who would want to hurt me?"

His gaze swept the street outside the window.

"I don't know."

A loud impact sounded from the other side of the wall.

Something in me stirred at the sound.

Not fear, but recognition.

My wolf was suddenly restless, pacing inside of me.

I pressed my hand against my ribs.

"What is it?"

Damian looked over his shoulder at me.

"You can feel it too."

"Feel what?

"The bond.

The mate bond.

Before I could respond, the outer doors opened, and Rowan Hale stepped inside.

"Your Majesty,"

Damian turned toward the new arrival.

"Report."

"The eastern tower was surrounded," Rowan said.

"Who was it?" I asked.

Rowan hesitated.

When he turned his gaze on me, I swear it the air thickened around me.

"Mara."

A heavy silence filled the room.

My stomach twisted into knots.

The eastern tower.

Someone had come for me.

Not the king - but me.

Damian's eyes darkened in fury.

"Seal the palace."

Rowan nodded and disappeared down the corridor.

I turned back to Damian.

"Why would anyone want me?

"Until recently, it was your arrival I was worried about, "Damian said.

"I've been trying to find out since before you arrived."

My breath caught in my throat.

"You knew I was coming?"

Damian turned his attention back to the window.

A scrap of paper suddenly appeared under the door.

Rowan was gone.

I picked it up, unfolding it carefully.

SHE MUST NEVER REMEMBER

The words sent a chill racing up my spine.

I looked up at Damian.

For the first time since coming into the palace, he looked positively scared.

Not of me, but for me.