Another Alpha
1561 Words
Ariella’s POV
Aiden blinked four times. Slowly. I caught it like a secret code he'd taught himself for me…the way his lids trembled on the fourth, the tiny shake of his jaw afterward.
I read it perfectly: “I will come for you.”
My eyes slid shut. I prayed…not the good kind of prayer, but the small, selfish wish that he would never keep that promise. That he would find his mate in Alaska, that his life would go on without me.
Because I plan on doing the same.
When I opened my eyes again, the Alpha was already making a toast to Sophia. They were all congratulating her.
While they were cheering and clicking their glasses, Aiden stood, the color sucked from his face. He crossed the room in one long stride and stopped in front of me.
For a second the world narrowed to his face and mine…his breath quick, his fists clenched so hard the knuckles went white.
Memories of how he’d always protected me tightened my throat, and I nearly sank to my knees. Tears rose, but I blinked them back.
I shouldn’t cry.
He wrapped his jacket around my shoulders with hands that trembled but wouldn't let go.
“Don’t let them see you shiver. Don’t let them see you cry,” he mouthed. No sound. Just the raw promise behind his eyes.
My wolf answered with a low, hungry growl in my chest. Aiden felt it…his fingers tightened on my shoulders.
‘Oh, I’ll shiver,’ I thought. Not from the cold or the pain. I’ll shiver from the pleasure of killing every single person on my list.
Starting with my mistress.
****
The journey was supposed to be simple…me sitting in the front passenger seat, ready to serve Sophia every time she snapped her fingers.
Instead, she rolled down the window, looked me dead in the eye, and smirked.
“Run, dog.”
At first, I thought she was joking.
She wasn’t.
The convoy of vehicles pulled out of the pack territory, and I was forced to run beside Sophia’s car…barefoot, half-dressed, body still bleeding beneath Aiden’s jacket like I was some animal being escorted to slaughter.
No one stopped her.
Not the driver.
Not even the warriors escorting us.
My lungs felt like they were filled with acid. Each breath seared. Every step made my back scream. I wasn’t healing…hadn’t had the chance to. And my wolf couldn’t help me. Not without exposing myself.
My feet burned due to the friction. My vision blurred. Sweat stung the lashes that were still sticky with dried blood.
The cars kept moving.
And I kept running under the dark sky.
Sophia leaned out the window, waving her phone and small ring-light like a queen on parade.
“Look at her go!” she giggled to whoever was watching her pointless evening live stream. “You’d think she was being chased by death itself. Oh wait…she is. Her own failure.”
I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. Raven clawed inside me, begging for release, begging to rip, shred, kill.
I held her back. Barely.
Because right now, the only thing keeping this entire convoy alive was the thin thread of control I still had.
And then—
My vision tunneled. My guess? Exhaustion. Obviously.
My knees buckled.
I collapsed face-first on the road.
I couldn’t move, my body felt like a lump of clay. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open, every breath was like a knife was being plunged into my chest.
Sophia stepped out of the car and stood over me, casting a perfect little shadow with her heels and silk dress.
“Awwww. Tired already?” she cooed.
Then…she dumped a full bottle of cold water over my head.
Ice water.
It splashed over my mouth and down my scarred body. I watched it drip into the road like a dying river. My tongue burned with thirst. I hadn’t had a drop of water since morning.
She poured out two more bottles.
All of it wasted in front of me.
My wolf snarled. My fingers twitched. My whole body trembled with hate and anger.
But then…Aiden’s face flashed in my mind, his last words ringing in my head.
Aiden is not here and I don’t need saving anymore.
I needed him when I was trapped in that pack.
But now?
Now I’m closer to my goal.
To my obsession.
To my destiny.
And no one…not Sophia, not her father, not her fiancé…will stop me.
****
Hours later, I staggered through the entrance of the Dark Moon Pack and stopped beside Sophia’s car, panting.
My steps were uneven and my breathing ragged. My body was shaking from the pain of running for miles barefoot, and barely a piece of cloth covering me from the cold.
I didn’t even have the strength to heal myself yet. I’m certain that I looked like the aftermath of a war no one else witnessed.
The houses here were nothing like the ones in my old pack.
Tall, stone-built mansions. Balconies wrapped in silver railings. Glass walls catching the sunlight. Warrior towers high above rooftops. Not a crack. Not a weed. Not a careless stone out of place.
The Dark Moon Pack was magnificent.
No wonder they called their Alpha ruthless.
You don’t build all this without being feared.
“Ariella!” Sophia’s shrill voice cut through my thoughts.
She was charging at me like a possessed Barbie doll, then stopped a few feet away, poking me with a selfie stick like I was a stray mutt.
“Stay six feet behind me at all times. I’m not letting you ruin my reputation before I even get inside. And don’t make me call you twice for anything. Do you understand?”
I nodded. The faster she shut up, the better.
She pointed at eight massive luggage cases stacked beside the vehicle. Bright yellow. Gold zippers. All useless.
“Carry my things and follow me.”
Eight.
For a three-month stay.
Did she pack her entire closet? Her nightstand? The freaking vanity table?
I bent slowly, back screaming with every move. Just two bags felt like lifting boulders. I could barely stand, yet she expected me to lift all eight by myself.
Two servants moved forward to help…until Sophia snapped.
“Don’t touch them. That’s her job.”
The servants backed away.
I forced myself to wheel the luggage. My arms shook. My vision blurred. I probably looked like a zombie trying to steal groceries in broad daylight.
Pack members whispered as we passed:
“Who is she?”
“Why is she bleeding?”
“Is she a rogue?”
“Poor thing.”
Yeah. Great first impression, Ariella.
Sophia walked ahead, holding nothing but a tiny purse, filming herself, while a servant held the ring-light close to her.
“Guys!! I’m finally here! I’m about to meet my future husband. You guys are looking at the future Luna of Dark Moon! I’m SO excited! I look perfect, right??”
I nearly tripped just from the urge to roll my eyes and spit at her.
Just then—
Everything changed. The air shifted.
An aura rolled through the courtyard…powerful enough to silence every whisper. Heavy. Authority carved into every breath.
I didn’t see him at first. I just felt him.
Then— He stepped into view.
Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair that fell perfectly without effort. Sharp jawline. A face sculpted in stone and sin. Eyes…cold, unreadable, dark like midnight storms waiting to swallow worlds.
Sophia squealed and ran forward, dropping into a perfect curtsy like she was auditioning to be a royal doll.
But he didn’t look at her.
He was staring at me.
Not with disgust. Not even with pity.
With interest.
Wait… Interest? Ew. Why?
He was staring like I was something captivating. Something new. Something he wanted to take apart and understand.
‘Stop staring,’ I screamed inside. ‘Look away, you creep.’
But he didn’t.
He walked past Sophia without a glance, shoving her aside. Straight toward me. Two strides and he was standing close enough for me to smell him…forest, smoke, and something older than blood.
He ripped the jacket off my shoulders. The cold slapped my bare skin. I gasped, staggering.
Before I could react…his hand gripped my waist and yanked me forward, pressing me flat against his chest.
Bodies collided. Heat and ice.
I froze.
His jaw ticked, a muscle feathering like he was restraining something deadly.
His hand wrapped around my chin, fingers gripping hard enough to bruise, tilting my face up until I had no choice but to meet his eyes. Heat radiated from him, dangerous and controlled, like a wildfire someone mistakenly believed they could contain.
He leaned down, breath ghosting my ear, voice a low, lethal growl meant for me and me alone.
“Tell me, princess…”
His grip tightened.
“Who did this to you…and I swear by the heavens, I’ll rip them apart piece by f*****g piece.”
His words were supposed to have an effect…right? I guess I’m not the right audience.
I didn’t swoon. I didn’t soften. I didn’t melt like Sophia or every other lovesick female might have.
I just blinked once, slowly, and thought;
Great. Another overgrown Alpha with a hero complex.
Exactly what I needed.
- Writer
