Chapter 7. Before The Alpha
Lia
Jawline like it was carved from stone, eyes I’ve seen every Monday, Wednesday and Friday just a few days ago during Lit class. Shoulders that used to wear varsity jackets, not leather and authority.
Jordan Blake.
He was standing there like royalty.
But I knew him. He’d been in my class.
And now he was the Alpha.
And I had just been chosen.
“Jordan Blake?” I called him out.
He looked at me with venom on his face. “Alpha Kai.” He corrected me.
“Alpha Kia? Are you kidding me right now?” I asked.
He turned away without a word.”Wait, you always called me silly at lunch when I talked about Alpha’s mate and werewolf. And were you a werewolf yourself ?”
He never cared to even respond.
Two guards walked on either side of me, both massive, both armored in dark leather with silver buckles that glinted. They didn’t even have to hold my arms; their sheer presence made me walk straight, the crunch of gravel under my feet, chin lifted higher than I felt inside.
I forced my voice into the empty space between us. “So, uhh… is this the part where you tell me what happens next, or I just … keep walking in total suspense?”
The one on my left, taller and broader, gave a dry snort. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Comforting,” I muttered. “Really reassuring. Ten out of ten escort services. So where has Jordan disappeared to? Sorry Kai, Alpha Kai. Your Alpha. But wait, is he truly the Alpha?”
The shorter guard actually smirked, though his eyes stayed on the road ahead. “You talk a lot.”
“Yeah,” I shot back, hugging my jacket tighter. “It’s either that, or start screaming, and I don’t think your alpha would appreciate you dragging in a girl who’s hysterical before she even meets him.”
The taller one didn’t laugh. He just kept his hand close to the hilt of the dagger strapped to his thigh.
Mae passed a set of stone pillars cracked in half, weeds pushing through them. The air smelled faintly of smoke, even though no fire burned nearby. I slowed, staring at the ruins. “What was this?”
“Border outpost, “ the tall guard said flatly. “From the last humans, they thought they could outnumber us.”
The words landed sharp. “So, you’re saying those stories in history books — the raids, the battles — they’re not just legends?”
He gave me a sidelong look that made my stomach twist. “You’ll see more proof before the night is over.”
I forced myself to keep walking, but my steps grew heavier. I wanted this, didn’t I? I’d wished for it, begged the universe for it. So why did my throat feel like it was closing ?
We turned a corner on the dirt path, and that’s when I saw them.
A line of houses — if you could call them that- say against the hillside. Broken shutters, sagging porches, walls so chipped they looked ready to collapse. In the shadows of the doorway, women sat quietly. Some stared at us as we passed their faces pale in the moonlight. Some didn’t even look up.
One though, lifted her head, her eyes caught mine, almost desperate “turn back,” she whispered, barely enough to hear. “Before you can’t.”
I stopped in my tracks. “What did she mean?” I asked, turning to the guards.
The tall one shoved me forward. “Ignore her. She lost her place. That won’t be you.”
“Won’t be me?” I echoed, trying to keep my voice steady, “and what exactly will I be?”
The short one smirked “that’s for the Alpha to decide.”
I slowed again, my heart hammering my chest “who are these people?” I asked, though I already knew.
“Treaty brides,” the shorter guy said, tone almost casual.
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Wait. You mean … they’re the girls chosen before me?”
He nodded, “some were given a good life, some didn’t fit.”
One of the women looked up right as he said it. Her eyes caught mine — hollow, rimmed with shadows. She had once been beautiful, I could tell, but now she looked worn thin, like something essential had been stripped away.
I swallowed hard, heat flooding my face. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t, my dream, my obsession, suddenly felt like a cruel joke .
The taller guard barked “keep moving.”
I tore my eyes away and forced my legs forward, but my voice shook when I spoke. “Do they ever go back? To their families?”
No one answered.
“Do they?” I pressed.