Chapter 130: The Alpha Dominance
Chapter 130: The Alpha Dominance
Trinity's POV
The air inside the room thickened the moment the door handle shifted, every breath felt like taking in smoke, heavy and stinging in the lungs. Nasir's body froze rigid before the door, shoulders braced and amber eyes shining softly in the dimness as his wolf came closer to toppling the human on the surface and his stance exuded both fury and readiness and a silent warning to whoever was on the other side of the door.
The sound came back, metal softly clicking against the latch, deliberate and not inadvertent. Whoever was doing it, wasn't doing it by mistake. They were trying to get in.
A chill crept down the spine, not from cold but from the wild urge to sense danger. Fists clenched around the edge of the blanket, coarse weave cutting into the flesh with each beat of the heart resounding in the ears, strong enough to block out every other noise except that horrible screech of metal.
Nasir held up a hand in a wordless command to stay still, his muscles contracted and his whole self an impenetrable shield, blocking the view of the door. His presence should be reassuring but tension seeped from him in massive waves, pressing more heavily than already tightened fear.
The latch clicked again, louder this time and more insistently. Nasir's chest echoed a low growl sounding animal and rough, the kind that warned an intruder of the mistake they were making and despite the sound, the grip on the handle did not relax.
Every instinct screamed to get up and go, to hide and to run but the body didn't stir like it was rooted where it sat. Fists clenched into hands where nails bit deep. Walls closed, shadows grew darker and each corner contained perils that didn't exist one moment earlier.
Recollections of those nightmares came back—the loneliness years, the distant whispers in darkness and the cruel laughter in halls when flight seemed impossible. That same helplessness tried to slip in now but there was one standing between that blackness and the fragile safety of the moment.
Nasir's voice growled low and gravelly "Who's there?"
There was silence, the silence that followed was worse than a response. It screamed of deliberate intention. Whoever hung up on the receiving end wanted them to know they were not leaving, not without finishing whatever mission had brought them there.
Trinity's heart was racing wildly, his ribcage was aching from the intensity of it, his breathing was shallow and almost strangling. A word was attempted before the mind could process, escaping like torn straight from the soul "Nasir.".
He shifted his head a fraction, enough to brush against the edges of her eyesight and the gold in his eyes blazed up with an intense light "Stay behind me"
Every edge of him seemed to radiate Alpha dominance and the wolf inside pushed near enough to the surface that air thickened with his strength. Spurts of dominance teased against skin, sending hairs along the arms quivering on end. The fear, though didn't dissipate for the reality was clear that whoever would undertake such an incursion was not an ordinary danger.
The door handle stood still, there was silence for an instant. Then a single knock that was slow. and deliberate.
It ran a shiver down the spine, much more terrifying than the rattle of the latch. Whoever was outside wasn't rushing and weren't needy. They were waiting patiently and confidently like a predator enjoying the build-up before devouring.
Nasir's growl thundered louder, vibrating the floorboards "Identify yourself!" His voice roared like the authority of an Alpha woven into every sentence.
Silence still and the handle began to turn again but not in haste this time but with deliberate slowness like taunting him.
The body finally reacted, moving off the bed without a thought. Bare feet brushed against the cold wooden floor, and trembling legs pushed her closer to him. Standing alone on the bed was unthinkable like waiting for night to engulf all in its grasp. Being near him did not eliminate the fear but at least the trembling subsided.
Nasir shifted, slanting one arm behind him in silent awareness of her being there, guarded but not repelling. The motion said a thousand words that could not...I know you're here and I'll protect you with every breath in my body.
The wood to either side of the lock creaked. Something sharp poked at the metal with no clumsy attempt. There were skilled hands at work.
Nasir's teeth clenched, his veins were standing out on his arm where muscles strained. His wolf slammed against him now, so close to breaking free that the air was charged with its contained fury, wanting to unleash what was etched on his face but he remained motionless waiting for the door to open.
Trinity's chest tightened and his thoughts whirled. What if it weren't intruders or rogues but one of their pack? One who would recognize the halls, the doors, the weaknesses as well as the possibility dived like poison in her gut. Because betrayal from without was something to endure. Betrayal within? that could shatter everything.
Her voice trembled and barely audible "What if it's" She couldn't bring herself to say the names, the possibilities, too vast to voice.
Nasir's answer was immediate "Then they'll live to regret it"
The final rasp of metal resounded like thunder and the lock groaned.
The door groaned open an inch, dropping a thin line of shadow on the floor and every breath hung in abeyance. The wolf in Nasir lashed out, snarling loose at the instant he leapt into movement. The door crashed wide, slamming against the wall and the figure standing there brought him up short.
Amber eyes widened, shock replacing the fury for one heartbeat and even his wolf stilled because the person in the doorway wasn’t an enemy it was someone Trinity never expected to see again.
The entrance yawned open further, pouring in faint moonlight and with it the scent that smelled familiar, haunting and impossible to confuse and it hit Trinity's senses like a punch to the chest, almost sending her to her knees. Her breath caught, his fingers wrapped around Nasir's arm in a vice-like grip because recognition flooded her before reason had the opportunity to step in.
Nasir was frozen, half-crouch and chest heaving like anger coalescing into something else entirely. His wolf growled against the ground, unsure and conflicted like it was struggling between attacking and running away and being confronted by the form of the person in the doorway removed his certainty, left him open and shaken in a way Trinity had never seen before.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ear, deafening it to the quiet that had them suspended in time. The shadow of the figure crawled across the wooden floor, stretching filling space not their own to claim.
Amber eyes cut back to hers for a fleeting second, she recognized Nasir knew this person and whatever history or tie they shared, it wasn't simple.
Her lips parted with shock, whisper slipping out unbidden.
"It can't be"