Claimed By The Alpha

Chapter6

I screamed.

The sound ripped out of me before my eyes even opened. My heart thundered. My body jolted upright as if escaping a nightmare—but it didn’t feel like I’d escaped anything at all.

This wasn’t my bed.

The sheets were satin. Cool and pearl-gray. The room was too quiet, too clean. A crystal chandelier twinkled above, scattering golden light across sheer curtains that danced from an invisible breeze. The floor—marble. Cold and polished to a shine. The walls? A shade of deep navy, luxurious and silent.

*Where the hell am I?*

I blinked hard. My heart raced even faster.

This wasn’t home. I wasn’t even wearing my clothes. A pale, silky nightdress clung to my skin. I touched my neck instinctively.

The pendant.

Still there.

Cold. Heavy. Alive.

And suddenly—it all came back in a rush.

I’d told Mom I was going shopping with Maggie.

*Just a normal day. Just a normal lie.*

Maggie met me outside the mall like always, sipping iced coffee and rolling her eyes at the heat. I’d told her about the dream. About the man. The way he touched me—*like he owned me. Like he knew me.*

His golden eyes. That voice. That hunger.

She’d laughed it off. “Girl, weird dreams are your thing. Let’s shop it away.”

We did. Shopping, gossip, sunlight.

And then—

The taxi.

Wrong turn.

“Excuse me, this isn’t Rosemont,” Maggie had said, tapping the glass.

No reply.

The locks clicked down.

Fear had crawled in fast.

The brakes slammed.

Doors burst open.

Another car.

Gloved hands.

Blindfolds.

Muffled screams.

Then—*nothing.*

Just darkness, and the burn of the pendant against my chest.

And then… *him*.

The same man from the dream. No longer shadow and fog. I remembered his touch, his voice. The way his gaze pinned me like gravity.

The moment I tried to speak—

A presence stirred in the room.

I froze.

The lights had dimmed somehow, casting soft amber across the floor. And then—I saw him.

Seated in a velvet armchair, half in shadow.

Wearing black. His shirt hugged his body like it was tailored by the gods. Silver watch. Glass of dark liquor. Legs crossed, completely at ease.

He didn’t speak.

Just watched me.

*My breath caught.*

It was him.

The man from the dream.

And just like in the dream, I couldn’t look away.

“You,” I whispered.

His lips curled into a lazy, wicked smile. “You wake up screaming in my home, and that’s your first word?” His voice was silk wrapped around thunder. “Not even a hello?”

I backed away from the bed. “You were in my dream.”

He lifted his glass. “Or you were in mine.”

I swallowed hard. “Where’s Maggie? What did you do to her?”

“She’s home,” he said smoothly. “Telling your mother you vanished. Probably crying. Probably blaming herself.”

My chest tightened at the mention of my mom. *She must be terrified.*

My voice cracked. “Where am I?”

He stood.

Every movement was slow. Intentionally calm. Controlled.

His golden eyes flickered as he closed the distance between us. Not touching. Just close enough to feel his presence ripple over my skin.

“This place isn’t on your maps,” he said. “It’s not where humans belong.”

“Humans?” I breathed.

He tilted his head slightly. “You still think you’re one?”

I blinked. “You’re not making any sense.”

He leaned in, his breath brushing my ear. “I’m a werewolf,” he whispered. “And you are the one I’ve claimed.”

I stumbled back.

My blood turned to ice.

*What?*

“No,” I whispered. “Werewolves aren’t real. This is insane. This is a dream. It has to be.”

“I wish I could say it was,” he said, not unkindly.

He stepped back with a faint smile. “Take a shower. Don’t leave this room until I come for you.”

My knees buckled, but I stayed upright. Barely.

He turned and began walking toward the door.

“Wait!” My voice was raw. “What do you mean, ‘you’ve claimed me’? You can’t just— You can’t *own* people!”

He stopped.

Half-turned.

And the look in his eyes wasn’t human.

“No,” he said softly. “But I can protect them.”

The pendant pulsed against my chest.

He opened the door. Warm light spilled into the room.

Just before he stepped out, he said, “Get used to this place, Halia. You may never see the human world again.”

Then he was gone.

And I was alone.

Still wearing a stranger’s nightdress.

Still holding a pendant that beat like a second heart.

Still trying to understand how a dream could become this real.

Still feeling the heat of his breath on my skin.

And wondering… why a part of me wasn’t afraid.