Page 23 of Alpha’s Hated Mate (Shifters of Clarion)

A week passes in a blur of meetings with the academy board as it conducts investigations surrounding Nadia’s actions. The faculty treats me with a strange mix of suspicion and gratitude. My sister remains under guard in a special holding facility on campus—monitored around the clock. Mother came to visit her and said the healers and mages must complete mental and medical evaluations before deciding if—and under what conditions—she can bring Nadia back to Claymore.

I haven’t visited her. I can’t bring myself to see her face. Not yet.

Part of me feels guilty for betraying my own sister, but I know it was the right thing to do. How much blood stains the Vaultmore name? My father experimented on Scarlet wolves. My sister continued his twisted legacy. And me—completely oblivious while it all happened.

The whispers follow me through the halls of Moonhelm. Students part like water as I pass, their eyes darting away from mine.

“That’s the Alpha who took down his own sister.”

“I heard she turned into some kind of monster.”

“His dad was doing experiments on Scarlets for years.”

“But isn’t his girlfriend a Scarlet too?”

I keep my shoulders squared, my chin up. A Vaultmore never shows weakness in public. But something has shifted inside me. The pride I once felt in my name now sits like poison in my veins.

In the cafeteria, I load up my tray with breakfast and spot Saffron sitting with Yarra and Chad across the room. Saffron’s red hair catches the light, and for a moment, everything else fades away. She meets my eyes and gives me a small smile.

“Morning,” I say, setting down my tray and taking a seat next to Saffron.

Her hand finds mine under the table—her touch grounding me. “Sleep any better?”

“Not really.” I squeeze her fingers.

We’re supposed to sleep in separate dorms, and sometimes we actually do, but she knows about my insomnia. Whenever I shut my eyes, I only see two things—my father killing Saffron’s mother and Nadia naked and wounded on the forest floor. The villain and victim of her own insanity.

“How about you?” I ask.

“Better,” she replies. “No more visions or sleepwalking . . . but I can’t stop thinking that once the Alpha King finds out I’m Raphael’s daughter, he may come for my head.”

“He won’t!” Yarra says. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“If anything,” Chad chimes in, “you stopped the person who tried to assassinate the Luna Queen.”

Yarra tilts her head, studying Saffron. “I can’t get over that you’re a princess, Saffron.”

“Oh, Goddess,” she says. “Don’t say that! I’m the worst fucking princess ever.”

We laugh. It’s good to laugh.

I look around the cafeteria, at the faces watching us—some curious, some hostile, some hopeful.

A few tables away, I notice a group of wolves sitting with several Scarlets—something unheard of before last week. The day after the “incident in the woods,” Dean Fowler called an assembly and hailed Saffron, the Scarlets, and me as heroes. Not sure if most of the student body believes that, but the lines are blurring, cliques are starting to crack. The old hierarchies won’t hold any longer.

A loud knocking on my dorm door interrupts my thoughts as I am about to head out for my two o’clock class. When I open it, Dean Fowler stands there with an envelope bearing the ornate wax seal of the Vaultmore pack.

“This just arrived via courier, Mr. Vaultmore.” His expression is carefully neutral. “Given recent events, I wanted to deliver it personally. Do let me know if there is anything we need to be concerned about.”

I take the envelope, feeling the weight of the thick parchment. “Thank you, Dean.”

After he leaves, I break the seal and unfold the letter. My stomach drops with each line I read.

By official decree of the Vaultmore Pack:

Alpha Aydan Vaultmore is hereby summoned to return to Claymore immediately to account for his actions at Moonhelm Academy, including but not limited to: unsanctioned scientific experiments on wolves, the imprisonment of Lady Nadia Vaultmore, and the unauthorized marking of a Scarlet wolf as his intended Luna.

Failure to appear within three days will result in a formal review of his position as Alpha and escalation to the Royal Council of Clarion.

Signed and sealed by the Vaultmore Pack Council of Clarion

Well, they know about Saffron. Word travels fast in Clarion.

I pace my room, crumpling the letter before smoothing it out again. As I read it again, a tinge of my anxiety turns to anger. I never conducted experiments on anyone. “Imprisonment of Lady Nadia Vaultmore” makes preventing an assassination against the Luna Queen sound like I kidnapped my sister for no reason. “Unauthorized marking”—as if I need their permission to choose my Luna.

Another knock on the door breaks me from my thoughts. It’s Saffron. We always walk to our first class together.

“Hey,” she says when I open the door.

“Hey.” I turn to grab my backpack.

Her eyes narrow immediately. “What’s wrong?”

I hand her the letter as we walk out the door together. Her expression hardens as she reads.

“Three days?” She looks up. “When were you going to tell me about this?”

“I literally got it an hour ago.”

“Okay, when are we leaving?”

“ We ?” I look at her with surprise.

“You were planning to go alone, weren’t you?” The accusation in her voice stings because she’s right.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come, Saffron.”

She stops walking abruptly, and her eyebrows begin to knit together in a slight scowl. “Why not?”

“You don’t understand what they’re like.”

“I’ll never know until I meet them.” She leans forward. “I’m going with you.”

“No.” The word comes out harsher than I intended. “This is my pack, my problem. These people—they’re not like the students here. We’ve never had a Scarlet in our pack. They’ve spent generations believing Scarlets are dangerous, untrustworthy.”

“So I should hide?” Her eyes flash. “You said so yourself. They’re my pack now too.”

I sigh. She doesn’t understand. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” I clasp her hands. “After everything you’ve gone through . . . after everything my family has already put you through . . . my father murdered your mother. My sister brainwashed and kidnapped you. I’m trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection.” She pulls her hand away. “I need your respect. We’re mates, Aydan. If we can’t face our pack together, what future do we have?”

“You don’t understand,” I try again to protest.

“I understand perfectly.” Her voice softens, but her gaze remains steady. “I’m worried too. Despite everything I did to stop Nadia, the prejudice against Scarlets continues. It might even get worse now, especially in traditional packs like yours. People are going to blame us for what happened, and that it’s our own fault that we can be mind-controlled. By not taking me, you’re telling your pack that you are ashamed of me. You know you did something wrong.”

“That’s not true.”

“That’s the only way they’ll see it. Have you really thought about what having a Scarlet as your Luna will mean for your future? For your reputation as Alpha? And shit, for your pack’s reputation in Clarion?”

The question hits me right in the chest. “Are you saying you don’t want to—”

“I’m saying I need to know you’ve considered the cost.” Her bright blue eyes bore into mine. “I’m not afraid of what the future holds, but I’m also not going to watch you lose everything because of me.”

After my last class ends, I find myself walking toward the faculty residence area rather than my dorm. It’s a cluster of large stone buildings with apartment-style quarters.

I’m not really sure what I’m doing here until I’m in front of Professor Robertson’s quarters. My sub-conscious knows she might have insights I need right now. I’m in such a daze. Is this what sleepwalking feels like?

I knock on her door, half expecting her to not be back yet from her own classes. To my relief, she opens it almost immediately.

“Aydan.” Her eyes widen slightly. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Professor. Do you have a minute?”

Her quarters are warm and inviting—bookshelves lining the walls, comfortable furniture, and the scent of cinnamon tea in the air. She gestures to the couch and offers me a cup. I don’t know if I said yes or no.

Before I realize it, I have a warm teacup in my hands and she has the summons from my pack council in hers. She reads it carefully, her expression giving nothing away.

“I see.” She sets the paper down on the coffee table. “When do you leave?”

“That’s actually why I’m here.” I grip the teacup tightly. “Saffron wants to come with me.”

Professor Robertson settles into her chair. “And you don’t want her to.”

I rehash my previous conversation with Saffron to the professor. “You understand, right?” I ask when I’m finished.

“It sounds to me that all she really wants is for you to understand.”

“I’m trying to protect her.”

“Are you protecting her, or are you protecting yourself?” Her question hangs in the air.

“What do you mean?”

She sighs. “In all of recorded wolf history, there has never been a Scarlet Luna.”

“Never?”

“Not one.” She adjusts her glasses. “Given the hatred for Scarlets and how rare a Neutral Alpha is, it’s not that surprising. What you and Saffron are attempting is unprecedented. The backlash you’ll face won’t be small or temporary.”

“So you agree I should go alone?”

“I didn’t say that.” She leans forward. “Aydan, do you understand what it means to take a mate? In particular, a Scarlet mate?”

“I love her.”

“Love is the beginning, not the end.” She sets her cup down on the coffee table. “When you marked Saffron, you didn’t make a private choice—you made a political statement whether you intended to or not. Especially given your family name.”

Her words sink in. “So what do I do?”

“That’s the simple part. You do exactly what she’s asked you to do.”

I wait for her to continue.

“Have you considered that Saffron might understand the situation better than you think?” Professor Robertson’s tone softens as she folds her hands in her lap. “She’s lived with prejudice her entire life. You’re only beginning to experience what she’s always known.”

I frown into my tea. I know being a Scarlet makes Saffron’s life hard . . . “But won’t all that change once she’s my Luna?”

Professor Robertson shakes her head. “Think about the Alpha King. No one likes to admit it, but your sister isn’t alone in her feelings about him taking a hybrid—even a powerful celestial hybrid—as Luna Queen. Some still believe that only a pure wolf should give birth to the heir of Clarion’s throne.”

“I will protect Saffron. She knows that.” I hear defiance in my voice, but damn it, it’s true. “I’d move mountains for her. I don’t understand why that isn’t enough.”

“It’s not so much about protecting her. It’s about standing beside her. You need to walk with her. Suffer with her.”

“Suffer with her?”

“Yes, every slight, every whisper, every door closed in her face—you must feel it as your own pain. Her tears will become yours . . . That’s what it means to take a Scarlet as your mate.”

I don’t know why I thought becoming a Luna would solve all of Saffron’s problems. She’ll still be shunned. People will still hate her for existing. And hate me for taking her as my Luna.

“So you think I should take her with me?”

“You need to decide if you’re ready for what comes next. Saffron knows what the consequences of her relationship with you are because she’s lived with this of all her life. She also knows what a monumental ask it is of another wolf to take on that life.” Her stern eyes meet my gaze. “If you truly believe she is your Luna, then face your pack together.”

Shit. Of course, Saffron is right. By trying to protect her, I’m undermining everything we’ve fought for.

“Thank you, Professor,” I say, picking up the summons from the coffee table and standing up. “I needed to hear this.”

As I turn to leave, Professor Robertson calls after me. “Aydan?”

I pause at the doorway.

“Remember, your father was a brilliant man and passionate about his research.” She clears her throat before continuing. “But somewhere along the way, he lost sight of what really mattered.”

My jaw tightens. “And what was that?”

“That knowledge without compassion is dangerous. That progress without understanding is meaningless. Please don’t make the same mistake he did, even if you think it’s for the right reasons.”

I nod. “Yes, professor. Have a good evening.”

The walk back to my dorm is a blur. My mind races with everything Professor Robertson said. About suffering together. About facing consequences together. About what it truly means to take Saffron as my mate.

When I reach my room, I mind-link with Saffron.

Start packing , I say. We leave for Claymore tomorrow morning.

Together? She responds immediately.

I smile despite myself. Together.

Because that’s what mates do. We face everything—the good, the bad, the impossible—side by side. And if the pack council has a problem with that, well, they’ll have to deal with both of us . . . and we’re both pretty dangerous.