Chapter 3

I turned so I could see the man. Joy and horror filled me in equal measure. It was him. It was Kalen. He was really alive and here now. Yet I had to admit he wasn’t quite how I remembered. His once smiling, warm face was now hardened and cold. His blue eyes were dark and stormy, promising violence and death.

“Well, well, what a surprise. Kalen, you have a knack for survival.” Carl let out a derisive laugh. “How dare you, a lowly rogue, come to my territory?” his voice was loud, but I felt the tip of the knife quiver against my neck.

“You know why I’m here,” Kalen demanded. His voice rang out through the room and everyone fell silent. Most of the pack pressed themselves to the walls of the room, barely breathing as if they didn’t dare make a noise unless he’d strike them down.

“I hope not,” Carl said with a laugh that made Kalen snarl at him.

A hint of uncertainty filled Carl’s eyes at the sound of it. He held up his hand, lifting his chin.

“That’s far enough. This doesn’t need to get physical. If you came for her, then you’ll want to rethink that,” Carl told him, nudging me with his foot.

“Don’t touch her,” Kalen demanded in a growl.

“Why not? Oh, see, here is the thing, Kalen. She’s mine now. Alyssa is my wife,” Carl replied, grabbing my hand and holding it up so Kalen could see the ring.

Oh, damn the ring.

I jerked away from him. I shook my head at Kalen, again trying to speak, to explain, but still nothing came out. Kalen’s eyes widened. I see the hurt, betrayal, and anger filling them.

“Alyssa,” Kalen said. The growl in his voice softened as he looked at me. “You married him? Why?” Pain and pleading filled his eyes as he looked at me, begging for me to tell him it was all a lie.

God, I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to explain myself, yet my voice was silenced. I tried to explain, show him the pain in my eyes as I shook my head. Oh, please, Kalen, I thought. It’s not like that.

“Why won’t you answer me?” Kalen demanded, his voice becoming darker and more dangerous. A chill ran down my spine and a hint of fear trickled through me at the hardened expression on his face.

“You have no place to make demands here, rogue! This is pack business. Leave now or else,” an elder demanded. He walked over to stand next to Carl.

Kalen turned to the elder. “Pack business? Is this how packs operate?” he asked as he walked up to the elder. “Well, this is what I think of your pack business,” he said and, with no warning, slammed his fist into the older werewolf’s face. My eyes widened as I watched him crumple to the floor.

“How dare you strike an elder of this pack? Soldiers! Get him! Apprehend him so that he may face judge-” another elder yelled then like the first fell when Kalen punched him.

Kalen turned on Carl and walked towards him. “How dare you marry my woman?” he said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t blame me,” Carl said with a smug expression on his face as he held up his hands. “She came onto me, practically dragged me into her bed.”

My head jerked to Carl. What was he saying? I tried to mouth ‘no,’ but Kalen wasn’t looking at me, but Carl.

“Whenever I brought you up, she was like ‘Kalen who?’ Sorry, man, I just gave her what she wanted.”

No. No. No!

The grin on Carl’s face grew. “You never told me how eager she is to please her men. Damn! I have never seen a woman try so hard.”

I shook my head, but neither of them were paying attention to me. So I tried to hit Carl to shut him up, but Lena grabbed me. “Oh, this is going to be fun,” she chuckled in my ear.

“Hey, did she ever do a little strip tease for you too,” Carl goaded and I tried to get Lena off of me, but her nails dug into my skin. It seemed Carl wasn’t only goading Kalen, but her too. Every word that came out of his mouth made her nails dig into me deeper.

Carl whistled and shook his head. “God, she’s quite the minx. It was hot.” He licked his lips as if he was reliving whatever he imagined I did for him. Disgust filled me and I wanted to get sick.

Kalen’s eyes darkened until they were almost black. His expression was wild, almost feral, as he approached Carl without saying a word.

Several of our warriors jumped to Carl’s defense, and Carl laughed. “Now you’re not going to be so tough,” Carl told him.

The first warrior was really good. My father had chosen him to stay behind to protect me, or he was until his loyalty shifted to Carl. He struck out at Kalen, who blocked him with the ease of an adult humoring a child. With two punches, Kalen had the warrior down on his knees and without a second thought, Kalen twisted his neck, breaking it. The warrior fell to the floor, eyes lifeless. Kalen didn’t even seem to notice as he took another step towards Carl.

Another warrior blocked his path, and the same happened. Kalen killed him in a matter of seconds. He didn’t even break a sweat as he took another step towards Carl. More warriors jumped to Carl’s defense, and Kalen killed each one of them with such grace and precision. All the while, his eyes were on Carl. It was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen. Kalen looked like some nightmarish warrior, bent on the death of everyone in front of him.

“Stop him,” Carl demanded, taking a step back. “Stop-”

Kalen grabbed his shirt and pulled him close as he slammed his fist into Carl’s face. Carl’s eyes seemed to unfocus, but surprisingly, he was quick to recover. He struggled, trying to free himself and put distance between Kalen and him, but Kalen wouldn’t allow it. Kalen hit him over and over. Carl’s blood flew as Kalen continued to beat on him.

Lena screamed in horror. “Stop it! You’ll kill him,” she shouted. Letting me go, she raced over to them and tried to pry Kalen off of Carl. With a growl, he shoved her off him, but she seemed to break whatever fury he was in because Kalen stopped hitting him.

He stood and stretched his neck, flinging the blood off his hands, then his eyes fell on me.

Whatever joy I felt at seeing him alive went cold. There was no warmth, no kindness. Just rage and violence. Slowly, Kalen walked over to me and my heart sank. I tried to get words out, but still I couldn’t make a sound. My heart pounded hard in my chest as he kneeled down next to me.

So quickly I didn’t see him move, Kalen grabbed me by the throat and pulled me close to his face. The iron tang of blood filled my nose. I saw none of the love we once shared, only ferocity. Was he going to kill me, too?

“How long did it take you to just forget about me, huh? A day? A week or maybe a month?” Kalen demanded. Knowing it was useless, I still tried to speak, to tell him. I’d never forgotten him. Yet all I did was move my mouth, nothing came out.

“Answer me,” he shouted.

Fear filled me and tears fell down my cheeks. I couldn’t give him what he wanted, no matter how desperately I wanted to. I lowered my gaze, no longer able to look into the gaping void that was now his eyes. It hurt too much. What happened to him?

Kalen’s grip tightened on my throat as he growled so loudly at me, it sounded more like a roar. When I still said nothing, he shook me so hard my head snapped back and forth as he shouted, “Answer me, damn you!”

Kalen’s grip on my neck as he shook me hurt, but my heart hurt more. It tore apart and sadness filled every pore of me. This is all I was. Tragedy. My heart raced and I couldn’t breathe. Darkness filled my vision, and I welcomed oblivion.