Chapter 5 FIVE

Kael's POV

I pushed myself up from the edge of the chair, muscles stiff and aching from the long journey. Before I could even think about food, I needed a shower. Three damn days on the road from the northern territories, three days of wind, sweat, blood, and the stench of beasts burned into my skin.

The suite Gracie placed me in was lavish. Ornate wooden walls, polished marble floors, a bed fit for a royal. But it all felt cold. Lifeless.

The bathroom was surprisingly elegant. Sleek tile. Silver fixtures. The water system was top-notch, offering both cold and warm streams. I turned the knob until hot water poured out from the tap, just warm enough to comfort a wolf's tired body after a shift.

Steam quickly filled the space as I stepped under the spray. The warmth rolled over me, loosening the tightness in my shoulders. For a moment, I almost allowed myself to relax.

"He's really trying his best to improve the pack... even if he's a cruel bastard," I muttered, a bitter laugh curling out of me.

I reached for a towel, dragging it over my face as the mirror fogged up in front of me. Wiping it clean with the corner of the towel, I froze.

My hand stopped mid-swipe.

There, just above the sink, was a photo frame. I hadn't noticed it when I first walked in, probably because it blended into the marble wall.

I leaned in, heart beginning to race. It was a photograph of me.

And not just any photo, it's a photo of me, standing over a bear I had killed during a hunt. Blood stained the snow around us. The creature had been fierce, and its scent was part human, part animal which made me tell that it was a rogue shifter who had lost control.

I remembered that hunt vividly. The isolation. The silence of the woods. The way I buried the body deep in ice to keep other rogues from picking it apart.

Nobody had been there.

Nobody.

Except--

"My father," I muttered, barely heard. I clenched my fists as anger flared in my gut. "He was the only one who knew I was in the northern part."

Why would he have a picture of this?

Who the hell took it?

I didn't carry a camera. There were no surveillance drones in that part of the territory. And I sure as hell didn't sense anyone nearby that day. I trusted the wilderness. I believed I was alone.

Even the other trainers who we were both training in the north didn't know I went hunting that day.

Clearly, I wasn't alone.

Is someone spying on me?

Is he spying on me?

And if he is... why?

Something wasn't right. The photo didn't feel like a keepsake. It felt like a warning. A reminder.

A reminder that no matter how far I ran, how high I climbed, how alone I believed I was...

He was always watching.

I stepped back, the back of my knees bumping into the vanity. My chest tightened. I wrapped the towel around my waist, hands still damp and trembling, and stared at the image one last time and then yanked it off the wall and stepped out of the bathroom.

I needed answers. But first, I needed clarity.

Knock. Knock.

A sharp knock at the door yanked me from my thoughts.

Who the hell?

"Who is..." I didn't finish. The door opened before I could stop it, and I stood there, barely covered in a towel, my muscles exposed and water dripping down my chest.

Gracie.

She stepped in like she owned the place. Her eyes swept over my body without a hint of shame or surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she said with the faintest smile.

But she didn't stop walking. She didn't turn around. She kept moving like she meant to walk in on me.

I expected her to leave.

Or at least avert her gaze.

But no.

She sat comfortably on the armchair near the bed, crossing one leg over the other. Her expression was calm. Casual. Like this was completely normal.

I blinked, unsure if I was hallucinating from exhaustion.

"W-what d-do you want?" I stammered with a voice rough with suspicion. My hands tightened on the towel. I wasn't used to being caught off guard and right now, I was completely unarmed, literally and mentally.

She tilted her head, lips curling into a smug grin. "Don't mind me. Continue what you were doing."

"What?" My brows furrowed. "You barged into my room while I'm practically naked, and you want me to continue?"

"I knocked," she said innocently.

"And then came in anyway," I growled.

"I had a message." Her eyes flicked to the photo still in my hand. "But now that I'm here... I don't think it can wait."

"What is it?" I asked warily. My heart was still pounding from the photograph, but now there was a new edge to my adrenaline. Gracie wasn't just here to flirt. That much I could feel.

"I was told to make sure you're comfortable. That you had everything you needed. And..." Her gaze landed on the photo again. "Looks like you found something you weren't supposed to."

I stiffened. "You knew about this?"

She shrugged, standing now. "It's not my place to say. But I'll give you one piece of advice, Kael."

She walked up to me, stopping just inches away. I could feel the heat radiating off her body.

"Don't assume you're the only player in this game."

My breath caught.

Before I could respond, she turned on her heel and headed to the door.

"Oh," she added, glancing over her shoulder with a sly smile, "you might want to keep that towel tight. It's a long drop if it falls."

The door clicked shut behind her.

And just as she was gone, I was alone again. Holding a photograph that shouldn't exist. Wearing a towel that suddenly felt too damn small.

"I have to see my father. Alpha Lucien," I muttered, tugging on a pair of trousers and pulling a shirt over my head in record time.

But as I reached for the door, something unexpected happened.

A voice rang in my mind.

"I need help."

"Alpha Lucien can't be my mate. I need to escape from here."

What? I froze.

Someone had mind-linked me.

This was my first time experiencing anything like it.

But who is it?