Page 6 of The Silent Mate

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ARIA

“Aria!” Desperation clung to my father’s voice.

I watched over my shoulder as he tried to chase me down, but two imposingIntonat Nocteguards blocked his path. He struggled against them to no avail, arms flailing and cheeks pale with panic.

Tears prickled my eyes.

I should’ve fought. Should’ve demanded that this male—Malik,apparently—allow me to stay with my father. He needed me, far more than any soul in theIntonat NoctePack. And yet…

I went with Malik willingly.

Calloused fingers were wrapped firmly around my wrist, tugging me toward an exit with surprising speed. Little electric pulses stemmed from the spot where our skin touched. I blindly stumbled forward, never tearing my gaze away from my father.

Then, the door to the throne room slammed shut with a finality that I felt in my bones, and I lost sight of my father.

“P-please, make sure they don’t hurt him!” I cried, finally turning my attention back to the long-haired man in front of me.

He didn’t address my concerns, only kept tugging me along as if he hadn’t even heard me. Up close, he was even larger than I initially thought. The top of my head barely reached his shoulders, and one hand looked wide enough to wrap around my throat and snuff the life out of me without a second thought.

Monster.Wasn’t that what Alpha Roman had called him? Hisbrother?

Unease clenched at my gut. The scars on his face, however gruesome they appeared, didn’t warrant such a nickname. Perhaps he’d earned the title through hisactionsrather than his outward appearance. Perhaps fate had linked my life to a killer— heartless and inhumane.

That thought terrified me more than any scar ever would.

Even so, a small, cowardly part of me was grateful that I couldn’t see his face as we marched down the hallway. I needed time to compose myself. Needed time to reconstruct my resolve after the jarring last few minutes of my life.

Malik’s long, aggressive strides didn’t slow until we reached a staircase at the far end of the hall. It dawned on me then that I didn’t know where he was taking me, or what he planned on doing once we arrived.

I’d heard horror stories. Some men believed that a fated mate bond gave them the right to do whatever they pleased with their mate’s body.

Malik hadn’t spoken a word since I laid eyes on him. I didn’t have an inkling of his character but knew that I saw possession and hunger in his churning, storm-like eye. How could I know what he planned on doing to me once we arrived at our destination?

I sniffed and wiped furiously at the tears staining my cheeks with my free hand. I hadn’t realized they’d fallen.

“Tell me if my father is safe. Please,” I tried again, willing strength and conviction into my words.

At long last, he glanced over his shoulder, revealing the unscarred half of his face.

My heart palpated. I’d never paid so much attention to a man’s profile before but somehow knew that no other could compare to Malik. He was handsome, with a strong jawline and straight nose. Once, perhaps, he might’ve been blessed with perfect symmetry.

He nodded, a subtle dip of his chin, before tightening his hold on my wrist and leading me up the stairs.

I frowned. Was my father safe, then? Or did that nod mean something else?Goddess,why didn’t he justanswerme?

Unless…

Unless he couldn’t speak. And if he couldn’t speak, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with him. At least until I was initiated into theIntonat NoctePack and gained access to their mind-link, which could take weeks. Or we consummated our mate bond.

My mother once told me that the first…joiningofficially cements a mate bond. It marks the moment when the two souls, after a lifetime apart, finally become one again.

My stomach dipped at the thought, and I stared at my feet, praying that my blush would disappear before we reached the top of the stairs. Now wasn’t the time to think about such things.

When we climbed to the second floor, he led me directly to a closed door. He released my hand and dug around in his pocket before pulling out a key ring. Several silver keys jingled on the ring, but he selected one to unlock this mysterious door and pushed inside.

With hesitant steps, I followed him in.

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