Beyond The Alpha's Reach

Episode 3: A Cold Welcome

*Alpha Damian’s POV*

I had never been a man of patience. Not with rogues. Not with strangers. Certainly not with women who stumbled into my territory with bruises, a child, and no explanation.

But here I was, seated behind my desk, with my fingers drumming against the dark wood while my sister hovered in my doorway.

"Damian, she’s awake," Eleanor said in a soft voice.

My face never lifted from the reports strewn before me: border patrols' reports, trade agreements, supply inventories, standard, tedious necessities for the pack to operate smoothly.

"What do you want me to do with that?" I responded coldly, without any intention whatsoever to sound that harsh.

Eleanor sighed. "How about you go over there and talk to her? She almost died out there! Don’t you think we should find out why she was running?"

I bit my lip. My fingers were still as I stopped drumming against the table. "If she wanted us to know, she'd have said something by now."

"Maybe she’s scared."

"Then she shouldn’t have come here."

The room became silent. Eleanor lingered by my door, still attempting to sway my decision.

"Damian," she said, while her voice descended into that risky boundary between a plea and a command. "She has a child. Whatever it is, it must be terrible if she’s risked rogue territory with a baby in tow."

I pushed my papers aside and pinched the bridge of my nose. "And what happens when whoever she has been running from comes here looking for her? Would you see me risk the safety of our pack for a total stranger?"

"Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night?"

My eyes darted toward hers. There it was, the fire that only Eleanor could get away with. She had always been the only one who could challenge me without fear. The only one who had been there when I took the mantle of Alpha far too young.

She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "You brought her here. You didn’t have to. You could have left her where she fell, but you didn’t. Why?"

I didn’t answer. Because I didn’t have an answer.

When I had found her in the woods, my instincts had screamed at me. My wolf had surged to the surface, agitated and restless. It had taken everything in me not to shift then and there, to stand guard over her unconscious form like she was something… like she was mine.

But that was ridiculous.

I didn’t know her.

I didn’t want to know her.

"I’m not asking you to make her Luna, Damian," Eleanor continued, softening her tone. "I’m asking you to be a decent person. At least talk to her. If she’s a threat, we’ll deal with it. If not… then maybe she needs our help."

I exhaled slowly as the responsibility on my shoulder settled in. I was the Alpha; the weight of it was heavy.

"Okay," I stood up from my chair. "But if she even thinks about the least trouble, I'm going to hurl her out on my own."

Eleanor's lips were curved into a small smile of victory. "All right, Alpha."

She walked on. During the journey through the corridors, leaving the pack would earn respect. I nodded back whilst wearing on the stoic mask from many years.

But my wolf stirred inside me with each step closer, giving a low growl that shook in my chest.

Calm yourself, I said. In response, the wolf bristled harder.

At the door, Eleanor halted, hand poised on the knob, and says, "Damian..."

"What?"

"Try not to scare her."

I stayed silent. Scaring people was kind of what I did.

She opened the door, and I strode inside.

The woman sat on the edge of the bed with her child tucked in her arms. Her dark hair waved vaguely across her face, but to my detail, some shades of bruises were fading from her cheekbone. Her gaze shot toward me as I walked in; she looked frightened already.

Her daughter stirred in her arms upon turning. She should have given that whimper with her delicate lips. The mother held her baby tight against her.

"Alpha Damian," she said, with as steady a voice as she could muster, although I sensed a little tremor beneath it.

Arms crossed to my chest, and I remained several paces behind. "You’re awake."

"Yes."

"Are you injured?"

She hesitated, her gaze sliding to Eleanor, who lingered by the door, offering a gentle smile. "I… I’m fine. Just a bit sore."

I nodded, out of force of habit rather than from any genuine concern. "Why were you running?"

She pursed her lips into a thin line. "That… it's personal."

"Personal?" I echoed with a slightly incredulous tone. "You passed out on our borders, carrying a child in your arms, and you call it personal?"

With a hunch of her shoulders, Selene tightened her grip on Lily. "I’m not a threat to your pack."

"Then why are you here?"

A grave silence lay thick in the air.

I moved closer, and my wolf surged forward to claim total power over my control. I wrestled it back, unwilling to show any sign of weakness.

"Listen very closely," I said, my voice low and dangerous. "You may be no threat to me but the trouble you hail could. I don’t risk my pack for a stranger with secrets. Either tell me the truth or get out."

A tear slipped down her cheek, and I hated the way it twisted something inside me.

"I… I can’t," she whispered.

"Then you can’t stay."

Eleanor moved forward, her expression one of both compassion and frustration. "Damian, please—"

"No," I cut her off, my gaze never leaving Selene. "If you want sanctuary, you earn it. I don’t give handouts."

Selene's eyes hardened. "I just need a place to lie down. A chance to keep my daughter safe. I won't cause trouble. If you want me gone, I will leave. But I'm not leaving until she is safe."

The room fell silent, and the only sound remaining was the soft, rhythmic breathing of the child.

I bunched my fists, fighting the war raging within me. Every logical part of my mind told me to cast her out, to sever this problem before it began. But my wolf...

It wanted her here.

It didn’t make sense. She was a liability. A risk.

And yet...

"Fine," I bit out. "You can stay. But only temporarily. You’ll follow our rules, and if I see even a hint of danger, you’re gone. Do you understand?"

Selene nodded with a mix of relief and wariness in her expression. "Yes, Alpha."

I then turned to leave.

As I stepped into the hallway, Eleanor followed me. "Thank you, Damian."

I didn’t respond.

Because deep down, I knew this wasn’t over.

My wolf's agitation was growing.

And I had a sinking feeling that this woman named Selene would destroy everything I worked so desperately to safeguard.