Claiming The Iron Queen

You Are Distracted, Ariselle

ARISELLE'S POV

I told myself I did not care.

I stood on the balcony of the Ironcrest pack house with my hands resting on the stone railing, watching the moon climb slowly into the sky. The night was too calm for my restless soul. My people slept peacefully below, unaware of the thoughts twisting inside my head.

Alpha Caelan of Nightfall Pack.

I clenched my fingers.

I did not like him.

He was arrogant. He was loud even when he was quiet. He walked like he owned every space he stepped into. His eyes judged without asking permission. He spoke like everyone owed him obedience.

And yet my mind kept circling back to him.

“You are distracted,” my wolf, Myrrh, spoke inside me.

“I am not,” I replied sharply.

“You have paced this balcony ten times already.”

“I am thinking,” I snapped.

“About him, of course.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

I stopped walking and turned toward the moon. “I would never want a man like that.”

My wolf laughed softly. “He rattled you. He has successfully planted himself in your head and that leaves you close to defeat.”

“He irritated me,” I said. “There is a difference.”

“You have faced warriors twice his size without blinking,” she replied. “Yet one arrogant alpha walks into our land and you cannot sleep the entire night.”

“I can sleep perfectly fine,” I said.

“Then why are you out here pacing the balcony and swearing that you could never have Alpha Caelan?”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I didn't have fitting words for my wolf.

“He looks at you like prey,” my wolf teased.

“I am not prey. I would never be.”

“He thinks you are. He likes to see you as prey.”

“That will be his mistake and he'll find out soon enough if he's not careful.”

A sound cleared behind me.

It was slow and purposeful.

My spine stiffened. I hadn't heard footsteps. How had someone walked up to me and I didn't hear? How lost in my own thoughts was I?

I turned, my hand going to the blade strapped at my waist.

Alpha Caelan stood a few steps away, arms folded, eyes sharp and unreadable. He looked even more imposing in the dim light, like the night itself had shaped him. I hated how aware I suddenly was of my own breathing.

I hated very much that my breath caught when I saw that tall figure standing there. I hated the heat that suddenly pooled in my lower belly.

“You do not knock,” I said.

“I do not ask permission,” he replied.

I lifted my chin. “What do you want?”

“Your father ordered you to escort me,” he said. “I am to inspect your pack safe house. I need access to your records.”

I scoffed. “Of course you do. And at this time of the night for that matter.”

“Do not waste my time,” he said.

I turned without another word. “Follow me.”

I had taken only a few steps when his hand wrapped around my wrist.

The contact was instant heat.

It was extremely firm and controlling.

Oh to have that powerful hand hold me so firmly.

My breath hitched before anger surged through me.

I stopped and looked back slowly.

“That is not how you treat an alpha,” he said quietly as he leaned closer. His voice dropped, rough and dangerous.

“Especially one who holds more power than you.”

My blood boiled.

I ripped my hand free. “You are not my alpha,” I snapped. “And you will never touch me again.”

For the first time since meeting him, he looked surprised.

Good. The impression was created.

I turned and walked away, boots striking stone sharply.

I heard his footsteps follow. He walked fast. Almost as fast as I was walking.

“Does your father know how much of a stubborn little thing you can be?”

He demanded from behind me.

“My father knows quite well that I am a warrior and would always be that,” I said without turning around to see him.

My heart beat was wild and my hands shook.

“Most women tremble at my presence. Most alpha daughters struggle to win my affection,” he said behind me.

“I am not most women, and I am definitely not one of those alpha’s daughters,” I replied.

“You think defiance makes you a strong woman, uhn?”

“It does,” I said. “Especially when standing before men who confuse power with entitlement.”

A low sound escaped him. Almost a laugh.

The bastard had the guts to laugh while I trembled.

“You wear warrior clothes,” he continued. “You carry a sword. Yet you forget your place in your own pack.”

I stopped so suddenly he nearly walked into me.

I turned to face him.

“Say that again,” I said softly, my hand instinctively going to my blade again. But I hoped that I would not have to draw it.

Drawing it would cause trouble for my pack and would leave my father in a bad place with the Nightfall pack. I was loyal to my pack and would do nothing to hurt my pack.

His eyes darkened with something heated.

“You belong in courts,” he said. “In fine dresses. Speaking when spoken to. Letting warriors bleed so you can sit safely and smile. Hoping to catch an alpha’s interest and getting claimed one day by one.”

My hand curled tightly around my blade hilt.

“I would rather die in battle as an unfit warrior,” I said, each word controlled, “than sit in courts waiting to be chosen.”

He stepped closer. Too close.

“And I would rather die,” I continued, “than ever hope to bag an alpha like you.”

Silence crashed between us.

The air thickened. My heart pounded. His gaze locked onto mine like he was deciding whether to burn or retreat.

For a moment, I thought he might grab me again.

Instead, he straightened slowly.

“Lead the way,” he said.

I turned and walked.

And behind me, I felt his eyes on every step I took.