Chapter 2 THE ALPHA’S CLAIM
The moment the chandelier stopped shaking, the entire hall fell silent.
The last crystal tremor faded into stillness, leaving behind a heavy quiet that pressed against the walls.
Every guard was staring at me.
Not with curiosity.
With fear.
Their eyes moved between me and the man holding me against the marble pillar, as if trying to understand what had just happened. No one spoke. No one even shifted their stance.
Alpha Kael Draven slowly lowered his hand from my neck, his silver eyes locked onto mine as if trying to peel me apart layer by layer.
The grip he had used to pin me there had been strong enough to remind me exactly who he was in this place.
The Alpha.
The ruler of this territory.
Yet when his hand left my throat, I noticed something strange.
I could breathe easier…
But the air suddenly felt colder.
“Leave us,” he said.
His voice was calm.
But it carried absolute authority.
No one questioned it.
Within seconds the guards disappeared from the hall. Boots echoed briefly across the polished stone floor before fading into distant corridors. Even the two men who had brought me here bowed their heads and retreated without a word.
The massive wooden doors at the end of the hall shut with a deep thud.
Now it was just the two of us.
And the silence between us.
“You felt that,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
His gaze was sharp, searching.
“I felt electricity,” I replied. “Maybe your house has wiring problems.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You’re not afraid of me.”
I shrugged lightly.
“Should I be?”
Most people probably would have been terrified standing this close to a man who radiated power like a living storm.
He was tall—easily over six feet—with broad shoulders and a presence that seemed to command the entire room. Even standing still, he looked dangerous.
But something strange was happening inside me.
Instead of fear…
I felt drawn to him.
And that scared me more.
Kael studied me carefully, his expression unreadable. His silver eyes moved slowly across my face as if searching for something hidden beneath the surface.
Then he began circling me slowly.
Like a predator inspecting something unfamiliar.
Each step was deliberate. Controlled.
“You smell human,” he murmured.
“Because I am.”
“But you triggered an Alpha reaction.”
I frowned.
“I don’t know what that means.”
His gaze sharpened instantly.
“Humans cannot trigger it.”
A cold knot formed in my stomach.
“Then maybe you’re wrong.”
For a moment he said nothing.
The silence stretched between us.
Then suddenly he grabbed my wrist.
The movement was so quick I barely had time to react.
The contact sent another shock through my body.
A pulse of heat rushed up my arm and straight into my chest, like lightning racing beneath my skin.
My breath caught.
Kael froze.
His grip tightened slightly.
“Impossible…” he whispered.
“What is?”
His eyes lifted slowly to mine.
The intensity in them made my stomach twist.
“The bond.”
My heart skipped.
“What bond?”
Instead of answering, he pulled me toward a large window overlooking the forest.
The glass stretched from floor to ceiling, revealing a vast expanse of dark trees beyond the estate. The moon hung high above the forest, spilling pale silver light across the room.
He turned my hand over.
And then I saw it.
A faint mark was forming on the inside of my wrist.
A crescent shape.
Glowing faintly.
At first I thought it was a reflection from the moonlight.
But it wasn’t.
The mark was actually there.
“What is that?” I asked.
Kael’s jaw hardened.
“That,” he said quietly, “is a mate mark.”
The words hung in the air like thunder.
I stared at him.
“You’re joking.”
“I never joke about mating bonds.”
My stomach dropped.
“No. That’s not possible. You said it yourself—I’m human.”
“Yes,” he said slowly.
“And humans cannot be mates to werewolves.”
The word hit me like a slap.
“Werewolves?”
He didn’t deny it.
Didn’t laugh.
Didn’t look embarrassed.
Instead he stepped closer, towering over me again. The moonlight reflected faintly in his silver eyes, making them seem almost unnatural.
“You truly don’t know,” he said.
“Know what?”
“What you are.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“I already told you,” I said. “I’m human.”
Kael’s silver eyes darkened again.
“No,” he said.
“You’re something much rarer.”
My heart began to race.
The room suddenly felt smaller, like the walls had moved closer without me noticing.
“What are you talking about?”
He studied me for several long seconds before finally speaking.
“There are only two possibilities,” he said.
“And neither of them should exist.”
I swallowed.
“What possibilities?”
His voice dropped lower.
“You are either…”
He paused, his gaze flicking briefly to the glowing crescent on my wrist.
“…a hybrid.”
The word sounded dangerous.
Like something forbidden.
“Or,” he continued slowly,
“you are the last surviving bloodline of something the supernatural world believed extinct.”
My pulse thundered in my ears.
“This is insane.”
“Yes,” he said calmly.
“It is.”
Then his expression darkened slightly.
“And if the wrong people discover you…”
His hand closed around my wrist again.
Not painfully.
But firmly.
“They will start a war to own you.”
The words sent ice through my veins.
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“I know.”
His eyes softened slightly.
And that frightened me even more.
Because powerful men did not soften easily.
“Which means,” he said quietly,
“I will have to protect what is now mine.”
My head snapped up.
“I am not your property.”
He held my gaze without blinking.
“You were purchased under contract.”
“That doesn’t mean I belong to you.”
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“You walked into my territory.”
His thumb brushed lightly over the glowing mark on my wrist.
The contact sent another strange warmth through my arm.
“And now the bond has chosen.”
My breath caught.
“You don’t get to walk away from that.”
The room felt smaller.
The air heavier.
The mark on my wrist continued to glow faintly beneath his touch.
“You said I was going to be a problem,” I said slowly.
His eyes gleamed.
“Yes.”
“And I rarely make mistakes.”
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
“But what worries me…”
His gaze flicked to the glowing mark again.
“…is that someone knew exactly what you were when they sold you to me.”
My stomach dropped.
Because suddenly the fifty million dollars made a lot more sense.
And for the first time since leaving home…
I wondered if my parents hadn’t just sold me.
Maybe they had been paid to get rid of me.