"MATED TO THE FORBIDDEN ALPHA"

Episode003

Darrian Volkova's POV

Long before I could smell her, I heard the howl. Like a warning, it sliced through the rumble of the storm. I listened with my fists pressed to my sides at the wooden threshold of my cabin. A howl echoed inside, limping, soft, and wounded, while snow whispered across the roof and a lightning flash smeared the sky.

I went outside. I was surprised to find her. But she was there.

Trembling, half-buried in white, curled beneath my porch. A wolf-shifter who is pregnant. Her body strained against pain as her claws dug into the wood. Memories of my exile, ripped apart by treachery and condemned to wander, stabbed me as I closed my eyes. I grabbed for the air, but I let it in on her.

The howl ceased. Without a driver, she raised her head fever-blurred gold-green eyes. In my veins, my wolf roared. I felt uneasy around this woman. Her wild, raw, and fierce scent stood for everything I had suppressed.

"Easy," I said quietly as I moved closer with my hands raised. I'm not against you.

She growled. It had a hint of blood. Her wolf, however, hesitated. I unbuckled my cloak and knelt. I continued to look at her round belly despite the icy wind screaming in my ears. My heart twisted. She was alive.

I said, "Come inside." No deal. Put in order. She paused. Her face flashed with pain. With shaky strength, I reached through the storm and pulled her to her feet.

She staggered across the threshold inside. Her face flickered orangely from my hearth. I closed the door while maintaining eye contact with her.

"She put herself in danger," I spoke with concern and steel. Under my bulky cloak and the storm, she appeared so tiny.

I pushed the shadows away. I tightly wrapped her shoulders in furs. The weight seemed to be able to hold her broken pieces together as she leaned into it.

"Now, take a nap." I led her to my hiding bed. She didn't object. Her eyelids seized with sleep. I grasped her hand and sensed the fever in her bones.

I cleaned her arms and jaw of the blood. Both new and old scars are etched into the skin. With glowing hands, I whispered our people's healing words. The injuries subsided. She shivered but remained unconscious.

"It was only healing," I told myself. However, her aroma calmed the cursed wolf that never sleeps and filled my blood.

She opened her eyes at my face when she stirred. Inside her, fog and fear flickered.

I remained motionless, allowing her to catch her breath. "Who" she whispered.

"Darian," I said. Warmth? Respond? I felt more than just curiosity as I gazed at her belly. "Alpha of the exiled Ravager."

Her eyes pricked up. "I didn't mean to trespass."

With unending rage, I swore: "Your scent almost broke my wolf's chain." I stared at her. "You are expecting a child." Thrown out.

She blinked as though remembering treachery. "My friend... he picked someone else."

My chest tightened. Anger flared. "Your partner abandoned you while you were carrying his child"? Magic is unkind. Only when I saw tears did my voice soften.

She took a whiff. "I had faith in him."

I stood up. "I'll protect you." Without a doubt. The plain truth.

We converted by fire as the storm battered the cabin. I got bread and broth. Their eyelids were heavy, and she ate little. As she held the bowl, I saw her hands shake. My inner wolf gave a low growl.

Then scuffling. Outside, footsteps. Rogue no pack, no law, these were wild lands. Someone put her life in danger.

I walked out the door. Two men at the edge of my porch were illuminated by lightning. One brandished a blade while the other growled at the door.

I turned to face them and slammed the door. The thunder rolled. I didn't respond. I lifted my arm and moved. The front claws clicked wood.

She must have heard my wolf coming. Shortly after, I smelt the first rogue's scent: greed and fear. The second struck, and I lunged.

I ripped one through the wood of the door. The other dropped the blade and sprang forward. I took his arms in mine. He yelped. With a c***k, I slammed him onto the porch. No mercy, no words.

I peered inside. Her eyes were wide as she backed into the corner. "Stay," I said softly.

I cleaned my teeth of blood. In my chest, my wolf roared. The outlaws were lying broken. I opened the door and slipped out into the storm. They ran off into the night.

I took a step back towards the cabin. Shut the door.

She shuddered. I offered clothes, broth, and furs. She looked at my face, my chest, and my scars. My heart was racing.

I healed her over several days. She slept more, bled less, and her belly became calmer. She talked sparingly, revealing tidbits about her past and his treachery. My heart muscles arched with rage at every word. Kaelan would feel less.

I discovered her by the fireplace one evening. There were sheets on the floor. A partially faded scar was visible on her leg. I cleaned it on my knees. She winced but did not retreat.

"My pack raised me," she muttered. I performed the ancient rituals. I went with Kaelan until he stopped talking to me.

Between us, heat buzzed. Her aroma intensitet. My wolf growled a deep desire. I combed her hair away from her face. She was warm against my palm. She took a breath.

She asked, "Why stay?" "You might murder me."

"I couldn't," I muttered. But reality? She kept my wolf alive. "You need a place to stay."

I took a seat. "But you require more."

She raised her gaze. Fear was present. Perplexity. Want.

A night of storms. Windows rattled with thunder. She had a restless night. Feverish. I lingered. Inside, my wolf paced.

There was a flash of lightning. Her forehead twitched in agony. She groaned.

I knelt next to the bed. Her heartbeat was palpable to me. My wolf gave a low howl.

"If he didn't want you," I muttered. Instead, I'll take you.

We were surrounded by silence except for the wind and thunder. I leaned closer. I felt her breath on my neck. I could smell her alive and fiercely.

Then she moved. Eyes were flicked open. I went cold. It was a glass-cracking moment.

She opened her mouth. "Darian."

Then the cabin walls shook, and we were drowned by thunder. I didn't wait for a response.

We remained in that position, our heartbeats intertwined while our faces were shadowed by lightning.

Is she going to let me keep this? My wolf queries. My heart is screaming.