Bound To The Alpha She Left

Chapter 3

Elena’s POV.

By eight o’clock that evening, I was sitting in a dimly lit, velvet-boothed lounge downtown, downing my second glass of wine. My close friends and fellow clinic staff, Clara and Maya, sat across from me, eyeing me with wide, curious eyes.

“So…” Clara leaned in over the table, her voice dropping to a low tone. “Word travels fast. Everyone’s talking about the Moon Pack Alpha and his Luna barging into Bay Three today. Is it true you slapped her?”

I had hoped we’d talk about anything else, but I should have known my friends would probe. They didn’t know half of it. They didn’t know Raymond had followed me all the way to my apartment after my shift. I had almost ran out into the street to scream at him to get out of my life.

What did he want from me?

The worst of it was that as much as I’d claimed my old feelings were long gone, seeing him again had proven otherwise. And I hated the traitorous flutter in my chest more than anything every time he was around.

“She hit me first,” I murmured, staring into the crimson liquid in my glass. “I merely returned the favor.”

“And Alpha Raymond?” Maya pressed, eyebrows raised. “I saw him watching you the whole time he was there. Do you two know each other or something?”

“Sort of, I suppose.” I took a slow sip, keeping my expression blank. “We aren’t close. Just… acquaintances.”

“Not close?” A deep, smooth voice purred from directly above us.

I froze.

My heartbeat flared, as I slowly lifted my head to take a peek upward. You can’t be serious, I thought immediately. Was he still following me?

Raymond was leaning over the glossy, steel railing of the VIP balcony perched right above our table, a crystal glass of whiskey loosely held in his long fingers. Beside him stood the Host Alpha of this territory, curious of the exchange. Raymond’s warm gaze locked onto mine, a lazy, wicked smirk playing on his lips. “Not close?” he repeated. “That’s not what you said when you were in my bed, sweetheart.”

The table went dead silent. Clara’s jaw dropped, and Maya nearly choked on her cocktail.

The Host Alpha let out an awkward, hearty laugh, trying to smooth over the sudden drop in air pressure. “Ah, Dr. Elena! I didn’t realize you were down here. Come up and join us for a drink!”

My face burned with a sudden flush of embarrassment and fury. “Thank you, Alpha, but I was about to leave for the restroom,” I bit out, sliding out of the booth without looking back up at Raymond’s triumphant grin.

I ran toward the restroom as fast as my heels would allow me to without planting face-first onto the floor, my entire body shaking.

I washed my hands once I was inside, splashing cold water on my face to stop the racing of my pulse. Just acquaintances. Why did I have to say that? Then again, how do I even explain the truth to my friends to begin with?

And why did he have to make such an inappropriate comment?

I dried my hands, pushed open the door, and slipped out into the quiet, dimly lit hallway. I contemplated making a beeline for the exit, but I barely made two steps when a shadow shifted. Before I could even register the movement, Raymond walked directly into my path, cutting off my exit.

“Raymond, really?” I snapped, jerking back. “Can you move? You’re in my way.”

He responded by shifting into my personal space, raising his arms to plant his palms flat against the wall on either side of my head. He caged me in with his body, trapping me without touching me.

The rich, intoxicating scent of pine and rain—his Alpha scent—flooded my senses, making my knees dangerously weak.

I hated how vulnerable I felt at that moment.

“You lied to your friends, Elena,” he whispered, dipping his head until his lips brushed the shell of my ear, sending a rush of goosebumps across my skin. “Since when are we mere acquaintances?”

I closed my eyes for a fraction of a heartbeat, fighting the magnetic pull my wolf had to his.

No, this is wrong.

“We are nothing,” I gritted out, raising my gaze to glare at him as my back was pressed flat against the wall.

Raymond lifted one hand from the wall and traced his knuckles down the line of my jawline, his touch feather-light and agonizingly tender. “Lie to them all you want. But don’t lie to me. Do you have any idea how much I missed you?”

I suddenly struggled to speak, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.

“I looked for you everywhere,” he murmured, his thumb brushing over my lower lip. His stare darkened, heavy with an obsession that made my throat go dry. “Your rejection broke my heart, Elena. But seeing you today made me certain there is more to the story than with what you left behind in that letter.” He sighed. “Did you really think I would let you go so easily?”

He leaned in slowly. His lips were centimeters from mine, his heat wrapping around me, threatening to erase five years of separation in a single beat.

He’s married, I reminded myself. That—and that I needed to remember why I left in the first place.

What was the point of everything I went through to get here if I was going to give into a moment of overwhelming feelings?

“Raymond? Where did you go?” Biana’s shrill voice echoed from the far end of the hallway near the main lounge.

Relief washed over me as the spell broke. I used the split-second distraction to duck beneath his arm and slide out from him. I didn’t look back as I hurried down the long, narrow space, my chest heaving, and my pulse roaring in my ears.

***

The next morning, I arrived at the clinic, immediately noticing something was off the second I walked in.

Staff members huddled together, staring at their phones, while sneaking glances at me and whispering to each other. The moment I would attempt to approach, they would either scatter in different directions or fall quiet.

“Dr. Elena,” Sarah exclaimed as she appeared beside me, pulling me into a side alcove. “It’s bad. Luna Biana posted photos online this morning. Someone took them in the hallway of the lounge last night!”

My blood ran cold as she drew out her cellphone to show me.

Photos of Raymond pinning me against the wall, his face inches from mine, looking like a high-definition scandal. Biana had splashed them across every local media outlet, framing me as an ambitious, homewrecking Omega who had used her position at the clinic to seduce the Moon Pack Alpha.

Before I could process it, two pack guards escorted me to the Host Alpha’s executive office.

I shouldn’t even be surprised to find none other than Biana inside, pacing the floor, her eyes red-rimmed and venomous. The Host Alpha, William, sat behind his desk, appearing thoroughly exhausted.

“This is unacceptable!” Biana shrieked the moment she saw me walking in. “She seduced my husband! She is a disgrace to the medical field and a threat to my marriage! I demand a public confrontation, and her medical license stripped at once!”

“I didn’t seduce anyone,” I bit out, keeping myself collected despite the fury raging inside me. “Alpha Raymond cornered me.”

“Lie all you want, you dirty Omega!” Biana spat.

The oak doors of the office swung open.

Raymond entered, imposing and devastatingly attractive in his tailored suit. He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by the scene Biana was making, or the nonsense she had been spewing to the public. He didn’t look angry or upset. In fact, as his gaze swept over the room and landed on me, he looked questionably pleased with himself.

“Raymond!” Biana turned to him, putting on a tragic display. “Tell Alpha William! Tell him how this woman harassed you last night!”

Raymond didn’t even acknowledge her. He walked straight past Biana, stopping right in front of me. His attention was locked onto me with an unshakeable, terrifying possessiveness.

“There is no scandal,” Raymond stated. “And Dr. Elena’s license remains untouched.”

“What are you talking about?!” Biana gasped, her mouth dropping wide with disbelief.

Raymond again ignored her, looking directly into my eyes as he delivered the blow. “Elena is returning with me to the Moon Pack. She is going to be my Second Luna.”

The air left my lungs. The room seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

“E–excuse me? What do you mean?” I choked out. “You can’t just decide that for me!” I took a step back. “I never agreed to this!”

Before I could lose my temper entirely, Alpha William stood up quickly. “Dr. Elena… follow me into my private office. Right now.”