Page 12 of Alpha's Runaway Mate

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I’ve got to…take care of some things.”

Again with that vague, cryptic answer. What was he hiding? I nodded my head slowly before shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.

“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” he asked.

“I’ve been on my own for the last six years.”

He caught the subtle jab and, without another word, turned to leave the house. But not before leaning in to whisper something in Salome’s ear.

It was uncomfortable, sitting in silence with a witch who clearly didn’t like me. But she was willing to do the cloaking spell without asking any questions, and most importantly, without asking for anything in return. Perhaps she owed Kaine a favor? She’d been warm toward him, so that seemed likely.

After what felt like an eternity of her “getting ready”—whatever that entailed—she finally performed the spell. It only took a couple of minutes. A mark materialized on my right arm, exactly where the last one had been.

Tracing the mark, I muttered a quiet, “Thank you.”

She didn’t acknowledge my gratitude. Instead, she said, “I’m not doing this for you.”

I frowned. “You don’t even know me, Salome. Why do you hate me?”

She went quiet, and I took it as my cue to leave. I stood up and started for the door, but her voice stopped me. “Does he know?”

Confusion crept across my face as I turned back. “Does he know what?”

“Does Kaine know the boy is his son?”

Shock washed over me.

“Yeah, I know, Lyra.” She stood up, her gaze steady. “Who do you think found you that night in the forest?”

My mind drifted back to that night. The memory was blurry, but I remembered shifting after Kaine had rejected me. When I woke, in my human form, I found myself with a woman who scolded me for shifting in my condition.

“It was you?” The words barely escaped my throat.

“No,” Salome corrected, her voice cold. “That was my sister—bless her soul. But I had seen you, and I sensed you were carrying an Alpha’s child. It didn’t take much to figure out you were the mate Kaine had rejected.”

I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening. I turned to the door, my steps growing faster. I wasn’t about to relive that awful night with her.

“Don’t even think about running again.” Salome’s sharp voice cut through the air.

“Excuse me?” I stopped, spinning around to glare at her.

“I know how people like you think, Lyra. You planned to get the spell and leave Crescent Valley again, didn’t you?”

My silence gave her the answer she needed.

“Well, don’t bother. The spell is tied to this packtown. Once you cross Crescent Valley’s borders, the very thing you’re running from will find you. You have Kaine to thank for that.”

A rush of anger surged through me. “Kaine put you up to this?”

Salome’s smile was pure cruelty. “You better hurry, Lyra. You don’t want to miss the ceremony.”

“What ceremony?”

Her next words struck me like a knife. “Kaine’s mating ceremony.”

Chapter Five — Lyra’s POV

The witch’s words echoed in my head: there was a mating ceremony, and Kaine was the star of the show. That was enough to keep me from following the crowd to the pack’s headquarters. But doubt crept in. Kaine wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble to save me, bring me back to the pack, and find a witch who bound me to this territory on his orders just to marry someone else, would he? That was beyond cruel—even for him. And as much as I thought Kaine was heartless, I didn’t think he could be this cruel.

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