Rejected By The Alpha, Claimed By The Enemy

Chapter 5: Caught

I froze.

Dante stood behind me in the dark. No shirt. Just black pants. Arms crossed.

He didn’t look angry. He looked... disappointed.

"Did you really think you could get past my guards, Elara?"

My throat was dry. "I had to try."

"And if you succeeded? What then?" He stepped closer. "Back to Kieran? Back to people who laughed while he broke you?"

"I’d rather die than—"

"Don’t." The word was sharp. He grabbed my shoulders. "Don’t say that."

For the first time, I saw it.

Not the monster. Not the Alpha.

Hurt.

"You think I brought you here to hurt you?" he asked quietly. "I felt you break, Elara. When he rejected you. I felt it in my bones."

"What do you want from me?" Tears burned my eyes. "Pity? Revenge?"

"I want," he said, and his voice broke a little. "I want you to choose to stay. Not because I forced you. Because you want to."

He let go and stepped back.

"Come on. Before you catch a cold."

He didn’t drag me back. He walked beside me. Slow.

Like I was fragile.

Back in my room, he handed me a blanket.

"Day 3," he said at the door. "Final decision in the morning. No more running."

He left.

I didn’t sleep.

---

Morning.

The whole pack was gathered in the main hall.

Dante sat on the Alpha throne. Cold. Unreadable.

"Step forward, Elara of Silver Moon."

My legs shook but I walked.

Everyone stared.

Dante stood up.

"Last night, this woman tried to escape."

Gasps.

"By Crescent Fang law, she should be punished. Or executed as a spy."

My heart stopped.

"But," Dante continued. "She is under my protection."

He looked at me. Only me.

"So I’m giving her a choice. One last time."

He walked down the steps to me.

"Choice one: I send you back to Silver Moon. To Kieran. To your fate."

The room held its breath.

"Choice two: You stay. Here. With me. As my guest. My responsibility. And maybe..."

He swallowed. "Maybe more."

He held out his hand.

An Alpha offering his hand to a wolf-less girl. In front of his whole pack.

This was humiliation for him. Risk.

If I said no, he looked weak.

Everyone was waiting.

I looked at his hand. Scarred. Strong. The hand of the man who killed my pack.

Then I looked at his eyes. Golden. Honest. Tired.

Kieran’s face flashed in my mind. Laughing. Rejecting.

Dante’s face. Training me. Feeding me. Catching me.

My heart made the choice my brain couldn’t.

I took his hand.

The whole hall erupted. Some cheered. Some growled.

Dante’s grip tightened. Relief flooded his face for half a second before he schooled it.

"Good," he said quietly, just for me. "Good girl."

He turned to the pack.

"She stays. Anyone who touches her answers to me."

Then he looked at me again.

"Welcome home, little wolf."

And just like that, I was claimed.

Not by love.

By an enemy.

End of Chapter 5