ArcKnight (The ArcKnight Chronicles #1)

Chapter Twenty-five

Rafaela

I pulled the shawl around my shoulders as I stared out over the palace grounds and beyond the massive wall that separated the ArcKnight stronghold from the rest of the city of Temple. It was obscene in size, but necessary to keep us safe. My home was acres wide and took up most of the northern side of the city. The tower I stood in was the tallest point of the palace, and I could see beyond the wall, past the city to where the wall of the MarkTier stronghold began. It ran for miles in both directions, a perfect reflection to ours, and just as intimidating.

Between walls lay the enormous city that could rival the world's largest. It never failed to amaze me how this vast city held so much power within its boundaries. Beyond the wall, in the Outlands, my sister roamed. I could feel her longing inside, troubling my spirit along with Gil's betrayal.

Sometimes I thought it might be better on that side of the wall. Lawless, ungoverned but free. Dangerous, chaotic, but never suppressed. As the Alpha's mate, I was bound to so many rules, customs and laws, it was impossible to understand where I stood in the hierarchy of it all.

Women were considered equal and could rule as Alphas too. It didn't matter if this situation had been reversed and I had requested a second mate. I probably would've been granted one if my mate tested with low fertility. But I would've never asked for such a thing. To have done that to me was unforgivable. If Gil did find another mate, it would send a crack down the center of my heart.

Never hold on too tight. Never love more than you are loved. I'd forgotten the things I had told myself and learned from watching others' hearts break.

How naïve I had been to think I'd be immune to such devastation.

"You called me, m'lady?" Alec's voice echoed behind me, but I didn't turn from the scenery.

"Yes. Thanks for coming. I need to ask you something." I ripped my gaze from the city and turned toward Alec. His dark eyes were fixed on me as he patiently waited. His dark hair had grown some, and I wondered if he was letting it grow longer. Some soldiers kept it long and pulled back at the nape. It was a personal choice. I'd never seen him with longer hair, and it made me realize how little I knew about his personal life.

"Please, sit." I waved toward a pair of chairs nearby. A tray set with tea and finger sandwiches was waiting on a table where I'd had the servants place it earlier. I rarely sat in my rooms alone with Alec. Most of the time we were in the conference room, and it was always about business.

I was tired of business. I needed to know more about Gil and try to set in motion a plan to change things. Who better to help me than Gil's right-hand man? I felt guilty asking Alec to help me, but he was the only person I trusted enough to ask the unthinkable questions. He knew more about the workings of the ArcKnight stronghold than Gil did, and if there was a chink in anyone's armor, Alec was the person to ask about it.

"We never speak informally, in your chambers," Alec observed as I poured us both some tea and offered him the sandwiches. The curiosity in his face lifted my spirits. It was comforting to know he was interested in what I had to say. It was rare to find that in a man, especially in a pack hierarchy, even when women were considered equal. There were always those opposed to the modernized ways of running things.

"I know. I think it's refreshing. Don't you?" I smiled.

He tipped his head in a nod but didn't touch the tea or sandwiches. "What's bothering you, Ella?"

"Have you ever heard of an Alpha being stripped of their title?" I leaned back, ready to hear his opinion on the subject.

Moments passed as he studied me. He didn't look surprised but was eyeing me for information. I didn't give him any. Instead, I took the same amount of time to avoid his gaze. I knew if there was someone I couldn't bullshit, it would be him. He knew me better than my own husband did, and I wouldn't be able to hide any of my intentions once I looked up. I needed his honest outlook on things, but more than anything, I needed him on my side first.