The Alpha's Forgotten Mate

Seraphina's POV

The snow beneath me was red.

Not from the sunset—

But from my own blood.

I lay sprawled in a pool of icy mud at the Silverclaw border, my body broken and trembling. My breath came in shallow gasps, fogging the frigid air. Every inch of me was torn, bruised, and bleeding.

But I was alive.

And worse—I remembered everything.

The screams.

The betrayal.

The night I lost everything.

And his eyes—silver like winter moonlight—once filled with love. Now, they haunted me.

Kael Thorne.

The name echoed like a curse through my bones.

He was my mate. My bond.

My doom.

Now I had returned to his territory, not as his chosen, not as his equal—

but as a ghost from a past he never wanted back.

“Movement detected on the east perimeter!” a voice shouted in the distance.

Boots crunched through snow. The guards were close. I tried to rise, to run, but pain exploded through my leg—an open gash that refused to clot. I bit down hard to stay conscious. My vision blurred.

Three shadows emerged from the trees, weapons drawn, eyes alert.

“She’s still breathing.”

“Is she human?”

“No... look at her eyes.”

They yanked me up without kindness. I felt the cold metal of silver cuffs clamp down on my wrists. The chains burned my skin like fire.

Lunaris steel.

Meant to bind wolves like me.

I didn’t resist.

I was too weak.

And Kael… Kael would protect me.

Wouldn’t he?

---

The Silverclaw Citadel loomed in the distance like a frozen fortress. Cold. Silent. Unforgiving.

I was dragged through the gates, into its bowels—where light barely touched stone walls, and old blood stained the floor. They threw me into a cell, a shallow cage lined with frost and rot.

It smelled of fear. Of forgotten souls.

I curled against the wall and listened to my heartbeat. Each thud reminded me—I still remembered the bond. I could feel it. Faint, like an ember deep in my chest.

He was still mine.

He had to be.

“You will be presented to the Alpha,” a guard barked. “Prepare yourself.”

My body protested with every movement as they dragged me through familiar halls—halls I had once walked beside him, hand in hand.

Now, I was in shackles.

They shoved the grand doors open.

And there he stood.

Kael Thorne.

Commanding. Cold. Magnificent.

His silver eyes landed on me. For a moment, I forgot the chains. Forgot the pain.

But he didn’t smile.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t blink.

His gaze passed over me as if I were nothing more than another prisoner.

“Name?” he said, voice low and devoid of emotion.

I blinked. “Kael... it’s me.”

His expression didn’t change. “Answer the question.”

I swallowed hard. “Seraphina Vale. Daughter of House Vale. Your mate.”

A silence fell across the room.

I saw it then—the barest flicker of something behind his eyes. Recognition? Regret? Pain?

No.

It vanished as quickly as it came.

Kael stood from his throne, descending the steps slowly.

My heart pounded in my ears.

Please… remember me.

But his face remained carved from ice.

“You crossed our borders without a crest, without diplomatic seal. You are bleeding from battle wounds. That is an act of aggression.”

“I was attacked,” I whispered. “I was running for my life. I didn’t mean to bring war—I came to survive.”

“You’re trespassing,” he said coldly.

“No. Kael, please, look at me.” I stepped forward, chains clinking. “Touch me. You’ll feel it. The bond is still there.”

He stared at me, longer this time.

For a heartbeat, I swore he faltered.

Then came the words that shattered me:

“My mate died three years ago,” he said.

“And you are not her.”

---

The dungeon they tossed me into was deep beneath the citadel. Stone walls wept moisture. The air was thick with mildew and decay.

But even here...

I could feel the bond.

I pulled back my sleeve. Beneath the pale skin of my forearm glowed a faint, crimson mark—the symbol of our blood-bond. The one he had kissed when he claimed me.

It pulsed softly, like it refused to be forgotten.

He lied.

The bond was not broken.

He was still mine.

Something—or someone—was keeping him from remembering.

---

Hours passed before the cell door creaked open again.

A girl entered. Young, maybe sixteen. She carried a chipped bowl of water and a crust of bread. Her golden hair was a mess of curls, her eyes wide with fear—and curiosity.

“You’re... Seraphina?” she whispered.

I nodded, struggling to sit up.

She knelt beside me. “I’m Lyra. I heard stories about you. About... that night.”

The night everything burned.

The night I ran with blood on my hands and betrayal in my heart.

“They say you destroyed the bond between Silverclaw and Vale. That you turned against Kael. But... I don’t believe it. I don’t believe you’re a traitor.”

“You’re right not to,” I said, gripping her wrist. “Kael doesn’t remember me. Or he pretends not to. But our bond—it’s still alive.”

“I’ve seen the old archives,” she whispered. “There’s something about your blood-bond. A ritual. Maybe… maybe I can find something that can prove it.”

She moved to stand. I clutched her tighter.

“Lyra... Kael is planning to marry again, isn’t he?”

Her face fell.

“Yes,” she said. “To the daughter of Highcliff. The ceremony is in three weeks.”

The words pierced through me.

He replaced me.

Or tried to.

“I’ll help you,” Lyra said. “Tonight, I’ll go to the archives. I’ll find the old seal. If we can present it to the Elders, maybe…”

But her voice faded.

Because I knew something she didn’t.

This wasn’t just about Kael forgetting me.

This was about someone making sure he did.

---

Night fell heavy.

I sat in the darkness, tracing the mark on my skin with trembling fingers.

Kael once swore he’d never forget me.

“Even if the world turns against you, I will not.”

He lied.

Or someone forced him to.

Then... I felt it.

A shift in the air.

The cell door creaked open again.

But it wasn’t Lyra this time.

A tall figure stepped inside, shrouded in shadows. The scent of dark magic wrapped around him like fog. His silver eyes gleamed, not like Kael’s—but darker. Sharper.

He looked like him.

But he wasn’t Kael.

“Seraphina Vale,” he drawled. “At last, we meet.”

I staggered to my feet. “Who are you?”

The figure smiled. “I’m Thorian.”

I froze. That name…

“No. Kael had no siblings.”

“They thought I died. They were wrong.”

He stepped closer, his boots silent on the stone.

“I was cast out because I was dangerous. Too powerful. A threat to their precious heir.”

“Why are you here?” I whispered.

“To finish what I started,” he said. “To take everything that once belonged to Kael.”

His eyes raked over me.

“Starting with you.”

My blood ran cold. I stepped back, but the chains pulled taut.

Thorian smirked. “The reason Kael forgot you… is because I stole the memory from his mind.”

I gasped. “You—what?”

“I fed him lies. Poisoned his bond. And now, he belongs to the Highcliff heiress. Just as I planned.”

He raised a hand, dark magic swirling between his fingers.

“But before the ceremony, I will sever what remains of your bond.”

“No…”

“And when Kael finally feels the emptiness, when he searches for what he’s lost—it’ll be too late.”

He grinned.

“Because by then… you’ll be dead.”