The Alpha’s Exiled Mate Chapter 18

The Alpha’s Exiled Mate Chapter 18

My hands clenched into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms hard enough to draw

blood. The sharp pain helped me maintain control.

“Now you listen to me,” Thorne continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. “This little performance business of yours? It ends tonight. I won’t have an exile from my own

judgment parading around, selling her body for cash.”

“I don’t sell my body,” I retorted, a flash of my old fire returning. “I dance. There’s a

difference.”

“Is there?” Thorne’s eyebrow arched. “From what I saw, you were minutes away from being

stripped naked for the entertainment of those wolves.”

The reminder made heat flood my cheeks. “I wouldn’t have-”

“Wouldn’t you?” he interrupted. “For the right price? For information about your precious

family of traitors?”

His words struck like physical blows. I had no response because I wasn’t sure what my answer

would have been. How far would I go to find my family? I didn’t know the limits of my own

desperation.

“You have one week,” Thorne said, turning toward the door. “Find legitimate employment, or

leave Moon Bay. I won’t have you turning up in places where I conduct business, reminding

everyone of my judgment.”

“Your judgment was wrong,” I said quietly to his back.

He paused, hand on the doorknob. For a moment, I thought he might turn around, might

engage with my claim. Instead, his shoulders stiffened further.

“One week, Riley,” he repeated. “Don’t test me further.”

The door closed behind him with a decisive click, leaving me alone in the quiet room. I stood there, trembling slightly, the echo of his presence still filling the space.

After a few minutes, I gathered myself enough to leave. My legs felt unsteady beneath me as I

made my way to the door. When I opened it, the hallway was empty except for Terra, who

waited anxiously against the opposite wall.

“Freya!” she exclaimed, rushing forward. “Are you okay? What happened? Those guys who were

hassling you they all left in a hurry, and then Ryder Foster told me to give you this.” She

thrust a thick envelope into my hands. “He said it’s from the jerks who bothered you. Double

what they promised, Alpha’s orders.”

I stared at the envelope, feeling its weight. Inside would be more money than I’d seen since

returning from exile.

“Thank you,” I managed, tucking the envelope into my pocket.

“What did Alpha Thorne want?” Terra asked, her eyes wide with curiosity and concern.

“Everyone’s talking about how he dragged you out of the room.”

I leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. The events of the evening-the humiliation,

Thorne’s appearance, my plea for information about my family, his rejection-it all crashed

over me at once.

“Freya?” Terra touched my arm hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

I looked down at my hands, remembering who I used to be. The proud daughter of one of

Moon Bay’s founding families. A high-ranking Beta with a future full of promise. The wolf who

had dared to love an Alpha and believed she could be his mate.

“No,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’m not okay.”

The first tear fell before I could stop it, sliding down my cheek and dropping to the floor. Then

another. And another. The dam I had built during three years in the Wilds-the emotional wall

that had kept me alive-suddenly cracked and gave way.

Terra made an awkward sound of sympathy and put her arms around me. I barely knew her,

but in that moment, her kindness was more than I could bear. I sank to the floor, my back

against the wall, and she crouched beside me, her hand on my shoulder.

And there, in the dimly lit hallway of a Shadow District bar, I finally allowed myself to cry. For

my lost family. For my stolen years. For the wolf I used to be and would never be again. The

sobs came from deep within, raw and primal, the grief of my human half and the mournful

howl of my wolf combined into a sound of pure anguish.

“It’s all right,” she murmured, though we both knew it wasn’t.