Alpha Kael

~Jada

I couldn’t move.

In sheer shock, I’m left staring at Alpha Kael’s unconscious body slumped backward on the couch. His eyes are rolled back, his mouth parted, hopefully still taking in air. I’m unsure what to do, my entire body shaking in pure fear. What just happened? Is he still alive? I can see his chest moving slightly, but I’m not sure how long that is going to last.

Standing up, my legs feel as if they are going to collapse at any moment. If someone walks in, they are going to see my Alpha, looking as if I’ve injured him myself. A Silent would surely kill me in this moment.

I lean my ear over his mouth, hoping to hear his breathing. He still is, but barely, the sound low and soft.

Reaching out, I go to check for his pulse.

“Don’t touch him,” a sharp voice utters from the door. I whirl around, and Jake stands there, glaring at me. “If you leave any trace of yourself on him, people will catch you. The Silent’s will. They have technology.”

I place my hand over my heart, startled by Jake’s brash approach. He steps into the room, looking around to make sure no one else is watching. His dark clothing looks stupid in such a beautiful room like this one. He looks stupid. This entire plan is stupid, and now we have an unconscious Alpha on our hands.

When Jake motions for me to follow him, I balk. “We can’t just leave him here.”

“Well, that’s the whole point,” he tells me, looking at me as if I’m absolutely stupid. I can hardly believe that he is being so careless about out Alpha, who just lays there, more vulnerable than I imagine he has ever been.

“Whole point?” I question. “You’re insane.”

Jake rolls his eyes at me, rushing around the room looking for more prohibited items that don’t belong to us. This is bad, and I’ve just dug myself into a hole that if I get caught in, could mean prison life or the death sentence. Kael might look peaceful now, but I can’t imagine him being so forgiving.

“Look, you should be thankful you’re not in the same position as he is,” Jake mutters, tucking down to shuffle through draws. He seems unsatisfied with what he finds, tossing papers back in.

It takes a few moments for what he’s said to sink into my mind. “Wait, what do you mean by that? What did you do Jake?”

“I spiked the cupcakes.”

I gape at him, unsure I heard him right at first. The more he stares at me, deadpan, I realise that this is no joke. With cupcake crumbs still lingering around Kael’s lips, it’s obvious no natural causes put him in this state. I just don’t understand how he got passed me to slip the drug in.

“Why the hell did you think that was a good idea?” I growl, wanting to rip both mine and his hair out in frustration. We can’t just drug our Alpha and get away with it. And for all Kael will know, I’m the only one involved.

“I couldn’t trust that you would be able to distract him for as long as I needed you to,” he explains. “And I knew if I asked you to deliver the cupcakes and leave you wouldn’t agree.”

I blink a few times.

Here I was thinking maybe I could trust Jake through this. That we would be able to figure this out and help Kael. And here we are, having drugged him and planning to leave him him be to wake up later. Actually, this is all on Jake.

“And what if I ate one of those cupcakes?” I question. Was Jake willing to leave me here to wake up with all the blame? Maybe that was his plan all along.

Jake shrugs, looking at me with a half smile. “Just be glad you didn’t.

There is no way I can trust Jake. And I don’t, however, I allow him to leave again to search for more information. I refuse to leave Kael’s side. If something changes in him I need to be there to make sure he’s okay. The punishment for assassinating an Alpha isn’t light, and I want that to avoid it best I can.

Kael looks peaceful, lying backward as if he simply fell into a slumber rather than being knocked unconscious by drugs. I want to make him more comfortable. Maybe move his neck into a better position. But Jake’s warning echos in my mind.

I feel awful about staring at Kael so heavily, but I’m taking monitoring his healthy seriously. And he looks so gentle and harmless sleeping. If I can even consider it sleeping.

Then I notice something.

The collar of his shirt is slightly pulled away from his neck, showing the top of a dark red mark. Curiously, I sit up, trying to get a better look at what it is. Up close, I can see it’s some kind of scar. Maybe a battle wound.

I’m tempted to pull his shirt back more, but I scold my itching fingers. Whatever it may be, it’s his business. I’m sure he attained that scar from training Silent’s.

When I pull away, I realise someone is standing at the doorway.

It’s not Jake, like I assumed it was. I was hoping he would come back with information that could lead us to Alpha Kael’s mother, but I was very much let down. Because standing at the doorway is not the untrustworthy boy wearing shadowy clothes ready to give me all the information I need.

Instead, it’s my worst nightmare in the form of an alluring immortal. I recognize him immediately as Sinful, the immortal who warned me to stay away from Kael. And now here I am, sitting over his unconscious body.

He sweeps into the room, all otherworldly poise and grace. Shadows creep behind him, disappearing and forming like fragile mist.

Oh great.

He doesn’t look too concerned by Kael’s state. With one look in the Alpha’s direction, he quickly disregards it, focusing his attention on me. Those lavender coloured irises are unnerving, digging into my soul and searching through my vulnerabilities. Despite myself, I can’t tear my gaze off the Sin of Lust.

“Aren’t you in quite the predicament,” he says, unable to control the smile that appears on his face. It’s sinister, knowing exactly how deep the hole is that I’ve dug myself into.

My jaw clenches. “What are you doing here?”

I’m unsure what business Sinful has with me and Kael. Of course, his warning still rings in my mind, but I had brushed that off initially. As afraid of the immortal as I am, I doubted he would have much time to be dealing with the likes of me.

“I was on my way regardless. The moment I stepped into this room I could smell the drug you’ve knocked him out with. And that foolish boy upstairs,” he tells me, raising an eyebrow in a condescending manner. “Would you like to explain how you got yourself into this position?”

Part of me wants to keep my dignity and tell him nothing at all. But I know that won’t get me anywhere. Not when he is surely powerful enough to get me to admit anything.

“It was that kid upstairs that drugged him. It wasn’t my intention.”

Sinful narrows his eyes on me. I’m trying to divert from telling him the full truth about why I’m here. Pulling the blame onto Jake isn’t evil of me, considering he was the one to do it in the first place. And I’m almost sure he was planning to leave me here to get all the blame placed upon me.

“You shouldn’t be here, getting in his business and such,” Sinful tells me pointedly.

His tone is bothered, yet still mildly amused. He seems to take fun out of others misery. My especially. I’m glad he isn’t standing any closer to me. He has a cloying scent of jasmine that makes my head fuzzy. I believe it has something to do with the fact that he is the Sin of Lust.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Trust me, I know,” I tell him, rubbing the back of my neck.

Sinful watches me silently for a moment. I don’t speak until he does, allowing him to think, although that might not be the best idea.

“I suggest you get out of here now. I’ll deal with Kael if you take your little friend with you. Don’t worry, Kael won’t remember anything when he wakes up,” Sinful tells me, tone so smooth and deadpan I almost believed him. That is, until I realise he is a wicked immortal who would never help me.

“You’re cruel, you know,” I mutter distastefully.

He cocks his head. “Get out of here. I will keep my word. If you don’t, well then you can deal with him when he wakes. Something tells me he won’t be out for much longer.”

His words are tempting, and in the moment, I know I have no other choice but to go for it and hope Sinful keeps his word. He has no reason to, but either way, I’m going to get caught up with the wrath of an angry Alpha and all his Silents.

Quickly, before Sinful can change his mind, I get up, wanting to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Before I can, he grabs my arm, looking down at me. “Remember, you owe me.”