A dangerous

Leah's POV 

I stumbled out of Alpha Keal’s office, my mind a chaotic whirlwind of emotions. The hallway walls felt like they were closing in on me, each step I took was heavy with the weight of what had just transpired. My eyes blurred as warm tears felled down my cheeks, and my chest throbbed with a suffocating mix of anger, fear, and helplessness.

The words he’d said echoed in my mind, haunting me: “You started this… You’ll be mine, completely and totally mine.”

A sob escaped my lips, and I covered my mouth to silence it, my body shaking as I quickened my pace. I needed to get away—away from his overbearing presence, his cold authority, and the terrifying pull he seemed to have over me.

Lost in my distress, I didn’t even notice the figure stepping into my path.

The collision was sudden, snapping me back to reality. I stumbled, nearly losing my balance, but strong hands caught me. “Leah?”

I blinked up, shocked, and found myself staring into the worried face of Beta Marcus. His brow furrowed, his dark eyes searching mine with genuine worry.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, his voice gentle but firm. “That you didn’t even see me standing right in front of you. What’s wrong?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but the lump in my throat wouldn't let me. Another tear trickled down my cheek, and Marcus’s expression softened, his hands still gently holding my arms.

“Leah,” he urged again, his voice lower this time. “What’s going on? Why are you like this?”

I swallowed hard, trying to compose myself. Shame didn't allow me to tell him the truth—not about what Keal had said, not about the degrading demands he’d made. No one could know.

“It’s…” My voice cracked, and I quickly looked away, wiping at my face. “It’s Alpha Keal. He… he refused to let me leave.”

Marcus’s grip on my arms tightened slightly, his jaw clenching. “What do you mean he refused let you leave? Do mean he stopped you from going back to your parents?”

"Yes, I replied." 

Why?

“I don’t know,” I lied, my words spilling out quickly. “I’ve done everything he asked. I healed him, didn’t I? My job is done, but he refuses to let me go. He refused to give me a reason.”

Marcus stared at me for a long time, his eyes narrowing as if he were trying to make sense of what I was saying.“That's not fair,” he said finally, his tone filled with pity. “You’ve done more than enough. You don’t deserve to be treated like this.”

I bit my lip, my gaze dropping to the floor. The truth was too shameful, too frightening to confess, even to someone as kind as Marcus.

“Leah.” His voice pulled me back, and I looked up to see determination in his face. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Alpha Keal.”

I blinked, startled. “What?”

“I’ll talk to him,” Marcus repeated firmly. “This isn’t fair, and he knows it. I’ll make him see reason. You’ve done your part, and you deserve to go home to your family.”

The sincerity in his voice made my chest ache with gratitude, but also fear. I knew Keal. He wasn’t the kind of Alpha who would back down easily, not when he was so fixated on whatever it was he thought he felt.

But Marcus didn’t waver, his determination was clear. “I’ll handle it, Leah,” he said, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Alpha Keal’s POV

The door crashed shut behind her, but the faint trace of her scent lingered in the air—lavender with a hint of something wild, something that called to the beast within me. I leaned back in my chair, fingers tapping against the armrest as I tried to process what had just happened.

She had begged me to leave, her voice shaky as she knelt before me. The image of her on her knees, pleading, was burned into my mind. A part of me wanted to grant her wish, to let her go, but the other—stronger—part refused.

How could I let her go?

The question gnawed at me, refusing to be silenced.

There was something about her—something I couldn’t ignore. From the moment I first saw her, I felt it. A spark. A pull. A connection I didn’t understand but couldn’t deny.

I stood and began to pace my office, my boots echoing thudding against the floor. She wasn’t just any human. I’d convinced myself of that long ago. No human should have been able to heal me, not when the best healers in my pack from Crimson community had failed. Not when I had been on the brink of death. And yet, she managed to do it.

That alone would’ve been enough to make me suspicious. But it wasn't just that.

She was... different. I couldn’t explain it, but every time I looked at her, every time l was near her, my wolf stirred. The tension between us was impossible to ignore. And the kiss—oh, that kiss. I clenched my fists on the thought of her lips on mine, soft yet intence, igniting something primal in me.

I stopped pacing and looked out the window, my eyes fixed on the forest in the distance. How could she be fated to me? And not just a human—an enemy.

My jaw tightened at the thought. Her kind had taken everything away from me. My parents, gone. Their blood spilled by humans who saw us as nothing more than beasts to be hunted. I had 

been forced to raise my siblings, to bear the burden of an entire pack.

How could fate be so cruel?

“She’s hiding something,” I muttered to myself, my voice low and rough. “There’s no other explanation.”

I turned away from the window, my thoughts drifting back to her. She would remain in this pack until I had discovered the truth. She would stay until she opens  up and tell  me everything—until I find  the secret that bound us together.

But it wasn’t just about finding answers, no, it wasn't.

I leaned back into my chair, my hand brushing against my face. Her image appeared in my thoughts unexpectedly—her dark, expressive eyes, the curve of her hips, the way her body moved without effort, drawing my attention whether I wanted it to or not. My thoughts drifted further, to the way her soft, full lips had felt against mine.

I swallowed hard, heat rushing through me as I remembered how perfectly her body molded with mine, the way my hands had roamed over her skin. The tension, the spark—it was undeniable. It was dangerous.

I gritted my teeth and shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away. But my wolf wasn’t so easily silenced.

“She can’t be my mate,” I growled, my voice low and guttural as I felt the beast rising within me. My claws extended slightly, my wolf threatening to break free.

The mere thought of her sent a rush of heat through me, and I realized with how my body had begun to react to her at the thought of her. My muscles tightened, my skin tingling with awareness.

No.

I slammed my fist against the desk, the sharp sound snapping me out of my thoughts. She can't be my mate. It can't be possible.

“She’s human,” I muttered through gritted teeth. “And her kind... her kind, they are enemy to my pack.”

I stood up suddenly, I had to do something, to do something to push her out of my mind. But no matter how hard I tried, her face, her presence lingered.

And I hated how much I craved for more.