The air was no longer buzzing with the shock of finding her, but heavy with the silent, crippling weight of a lie. Allister still held Sunflower's wrist in a grip like steel, forcing her to walk ahead of him back toward the center of the Silverwood lands. His body felt stiff, not from running, but from his desperate need to keep the wild confusion locked down inside him.
The feeling of the broken mate bond was like a thousand angry bugs buzzing right beneath his skin, spreading out from where his fingers touched her wrist. He had to keep touching her to keep her under control, but touching her was the very thing that threatened to break his mind.
"If you try to run," Allister forced out, his voice barely a rough whisper, "my men will find you. Don't test my patience."
Sunflower's chin lifted a little, her mismatched eyes purple and gold flashing over her shoulder. "You're the one who seems ready to run, Alpha. That strange thing you did with your brain back there wasn't very... professional-looking."
His fingers squeezed tighter, briefly cutting off the blood to her hand. He ignored her dark joking; he couldn't afford to talk back. The truth was, she was right. He had been thrown off balance, hurt by a mental attack he never knew was possible.
A moment later, Ivan and Ben stepped silently out of the darkness, returning from their search.
Ivan, the Beta, was built like a stone pillar and moved with the sure confidence of a man comfortable in his role. He saw the prisoner a small woman, clearly tired and then he saw the way Allister was holding her: too tight, too stiff, his eyes fixed firmly on the trees.
"Alpha," Ivan said, his voice deep and calm, with worry mixed into his respect. "What have we found? She's not one of the Mountain Pack, is she? Her scent…"
Allister finally made himself look into Ivan's eyes, a challenging thing to do when he felt so easy to read. He put up his leader walls for Ivan cold, strict authority. "She is an unhelpful source of information, Ivan. A lone wolf from the southern borders, causing trouble. She was caught messing with our old pack boundary markers. We need information. I want her locked up and questioned right away, before anyone else finds out."
The lie sounded awkward, even to him. Why would the Alpha, who needed to be seen dealing with big political threats, waste his time on a small-time criminal?
Ivan's look lasted a moment too long. His nose twitched. He smelt the powerful, unbelievable fragrance sticking to both the prisoner and his Alpha cinnamon and ozone, strong and noticeable. But more worrying, he smelt the thin, sharp scent of raw, uncontrolled fear coming off Allister himself.
What are you hiding? Ivan didn't say the question out loud, but the thought vibrated between them through their mental link, a silent question from the Beta to his Alpha.
Allister instantly shut down the mental link, the refusal coming as a shock. He forced his legs forward. "Move, Ivan. Ben, stay twenty steps behind. No talking."
The silent walk began. The problem, Allister realized, was that he couldn't shut off the broken mate bond. Even as they walked, a desperate, silent conversation was happening on the edge of his mind, like two people yelling over a poor radio connection.
I am not a spy, Sunflower's mind fiercely threw at him, a quick flash of an image showing him a dusty library and a broken tool for finding directions. I was looking for something that belongs to me!
Quiet! Allister mentally roared, the force of his command coming out muffled and weak. You are wrong! You are danger!
You're afraid of me because you felt it, she shot back, her mental presence surprisingly strong. You felt the pull. It scared you.
The accusation hit him like a bomb of truth. The strain made him clench his jaw so hard his teeth ached.
As they walked over a particularly steep, rocky area, Sunflower, tired and fighting the mental battle, tripped hard. Allister's caring instincts, sharpened by the mate bond, reacted faster than his discipline. He didn't just stop; he pulled her upright, his other hand naturally going to her shoulder, steadying her whole body against his own. The touch was too close, too kind.
He let her go instantly, pulling back as if he had been burned. But Ivan had seen it. The quick, gentle move was not how a guard should treat a hostile criminal.
Ivan's suspicions turned into a cold certainty. Whatever this woman was, she had a grip on his Alpha, a terrifying one.
They reached the compound gates huge, metal barriers watched over by two guard wolves. The lights of the main pack buildings looked warm and welcoming, but Allister felt only dread.
He stopped, turning to Ivan. "Take the patrol back. Send two guards to the holding cell. She goes nowhere until I talk to the Elders."
Ivan did not move right away. He held Allister's gaze, his own eyes serious, fixed.
"Allister," Ivan said, lowering his voice to an urgent rumble. He used his Alpha's first name a sign of deep worry taking over proper behavior. "Before the Elders see that… thing on your wrist, you need to tell me what that scent is. That is not just a lone wolf. I smell something very old on her. And I smell panic. Your panic."
He paused, letting his gaze drop to where Allister's fingers had just quickly let go of the crumbling book on her wrist.
"What have you brought into the Silverwood, Allister? Is this treason?"