The word Treason hung in the icy air between Allister and Ivan. It was a knife, sharp and terribly close to the truth.
Allister's control center, however, was now completely shut down. He met his Beta's serious gaze, not with anger, but with a freezing coldness that was much more frightening.
"Your thought is noted, Ivan. But you forget who your Alpha is," Allister stated, his voice now emptied of all feeling. He didn't raise his voice, yet the natural power of his rank made the words echo. "This is a problem for our leaders, and I handle those problems. Your job is to obey. Tell the council that I have captured the danger and will start questioning immediately. You are done here."
The final command hit Ivan with the weight of an invisible hand. Ivan was a faithful wolf, and that Alpha order was absolute. He straightened, nodded once a flash of deep worry still visible in his eyes and turned to lead the rest of the patrol away.
Allister didn't waste a second. He grabbed Sunflower's arm firmly and quickly walked her past the public holding cells. He led her deeper into the main fortress, toward his own, private area a plain, simply furnished part of the stone castle that few pack members ever saw.
"The dungeons have too many holes in security," he muttered, half to himself, half to his prisoner. "Too many people watching."
"Oh, so you're putting me in your bedroom," Sunflower replied, dragging her feet a bit. "How typical. Does this happen before or after the part where you force me to read an ancient prediction?"
Allister ignored the sharp, critical remark, though the corner of his mouth twitched in a frustrated reaction. Her wit was a constant, stinging annoyance. He stopped before a heavy, thick oak door next to his own sleeping room. It was a small room used for high-security storage, protected by magic and completely soundproof.
He shoved her inside. "You will not talk unless I talk to you first. You will not shift. You will not use… whatever that was on me again."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Sunflower said, her purple eye narrowed. "Gave me a terrible headache, honestly."
Allister slammed the door and locked it with three heavy, iron bolts and a silent burst of Alpha-level magic. He then stood outside, his forehead pressed against the cold wood, struggling for ten shaky seconds to calm his fast-beating heart. The scent of her sun-drenched earth and ozone was already filling the ancient stones. He was losing control.
After clearing his mind with strict control, he entered the room twenty minutes later. He found Sunflower sitting with her legs crossed on the small bed, looking surprisingly calm. He pulled a heavy chair to the center of the room and sat across from her, the small, forbidden black book on the table between them.
"We are going to start over," Allister said, his voice cold and formal. "What is your name? Your pack? Why were you breaking into Silverwood territory trying to damage the border?"
Sunflower let out a soft, dry laugh. "I told you my name. It's Sunflower. And damage the border? That old wall is held together with hope and moss. I was digging for a specific object."
"The object doesn't matter," Allister insisted, leaning forward. "You are the problem. You are a mixed-blood. We haven't seen your kind in this region in hundreds of years."
"Ah, a mixed-blood," she thought out loud, nodding dramatically. "And I'm guessing you pure-bloods hate that. Is that why your mate bond broke? Damaged blood ruins Alpha power? That's strangely funny, actually."
Allister physically jumped back. She had aimed right for his weakness, using the truth as a weapon. His control snapped.
"You will be quiet!" he yelled, slamming his fist onto the table, making the small room shake. "You will give me names, dates, and what you intended! You will tell me what you are running from!"
He tried to force his Alpha will out again, but this time, he was more careful. He didn't try to dominate; he tried to gently look at the connection to find the memories she was hiding. He wanted to use the broken bond, not break it more.
The attempt completely failed.
Instead of clear information, the bond, like a barrier violently ripped open, didn't give him words it gave him pure feeling.
Allister was instantly hit by a blinding flash of deep, complete loneliness the crushing weight of never belonging anywhere, of always having to hide a part of oneself. This feeling was immediately followed by a wave of desperate, clawing fear, the kind that comes from being tirelessly hunted. This wasn't just fear of being caught; it was the terror of being found by something much worse.
The blast of emotion was so intense it made his vision swim. He gasped, dropping his head into his hands, trying to clear the foreign emotions from his own mind.
Sunflower watched, her fierce look momentarily replaced by something raw and unsure. She hadn't sent the emotions; she had merely released them.
"You saw it," she whispered, her voice stripped of all sarcasm. "You felt it. That's what I'm running from. Not wolves."
Before Allister could think of a clear reply, a sharp, urgent knock shook the door.
He suddenly sat up straight, instantly regaining his calm. It was Celeste, the pure-blood she-wolf who had long tried to win his favor, her voice tight and formal from the other side.
"Alpha Allister, the Elders have been told about the capture. Elder Maeve has ordered that because of the possible danger of the mixed-blood's nature, I must stay on duty outside your rooms, making sure the prisoner stays secure and, quote, 'that the Alpha's thinking stays clear and pure.' I am your watcher, sir."
Allister squeezed his eyes shut in pure, silent rage. Maeve hadn't just assigned a guard; she'd put a spy, a jealous reminder of the pure-blood way, right outside his bedroom. He couldn't move Sunflower now. He was forced to keep his greatest threat, his devastating mate, within easy reach, under the watchful eyes of his most ambitious rival.
He looked across the table at Sunflower, whose lips curved into a slow, mocking smile of complete understanding.
"Well," she spoke softly, her gold and purple eyes sparkling with victory. "Looks like we're going to be roommates for a while, Alpha."