THE ALPHA’S HEARTBEAT

Kamari’s Pov; The drive back to Black Hollow felt longer than it should. The trees looked taller, darker. The air was the same cold and damp, like rain and pine. I’d forgotten how quiet this place used to be. The kind of silence that sits heavy on your chest. Four years away, and still, this town felt like it was waiting for me. Or maybe like it didn’t want me back at all. When the car stopped in front of Wolfe Manor, my stomach tightened. The house looked just like it did in my dreams: tall, cold, carved out of stone. The kind of place that never forgets what’s happened inside it. I got out, my boots crunching against gravel. The wind hit me, sharp and wet. For a second, I thought about turning back, getting in the car, leaving again. Then the door opened. “Kamari?” Rheya’s voice snapped me out of it. She stood in the doorway, smiling wide before I could even answer. She ran over and pulled me into a hug. “God, look at you,” she said, holding me back to stare. “You actually grew up.” I laughed a little. “Guess time does that.” She grinned, looping her arm through mine as we walked inside. “Reis doesn’t know you’re here yet. He’s been in meetings all morning. You know how he gets when the council’s on his neck.” Just hearing his name made my stomach flip. I tried not to show it. “Still bossing everyone around, huh?” Rheya rolled her eyes. “He’s worse now. Don’t let that calm face fool you.” The manor looked like the same dark halls, stone walls, that mix of smoke and pine that always reminded me of him. I could feel him here before I even saw him. The air just... shifted when he was near. When we reached the end of the hall, the door to the council room was cracked open. Voices murmured inside. “…you can’t hide her forever, Alpha.” “I’m not hiding her,” his voice came, low and calm, but sharp enough to cut. “She’s under my protection. That hasn’t changed.” My chest squeezed. I hadn’t heard that voice in years, and still, it hit like a punch. The door opened, and there he was. Reis Vyxen. He looked older. Not in a bad way, just harder. His jaw sharper, his hair a bit longer, silver catching the light. Same green eyes though, same stare that made you feel too seen. He froze when he saw me. Just for a second. Then his face went blank again, like nothing touched him. “Kamari.” “Alpha,” I said without thinking, half teasing. His brow twitched. “Don’t.” I smirked, because I couldn’t help it. “What? That’s who you are, right?” He didn’t answer. Just looked at me, and somehow that said everything. The silence stretched. His scent hit me next to smoke, pine, and something darker. My heart started racing for no reason. “You shouldn’t have come back,” he said finally. I folded my arms. “It’s home.” “It was,” he said, voice flat. That stung more than I wanted it to. “Wow. I missed you too.” He brushed past me, the edge of his arm brushing mine. Warm. Solid. That tiny touch sent a shiver straight up my spine. He didn’t look back. “Dinner’s at eight,” he said, walking off. “Don’t be late.” The way he said it calmly, controlled like nothing about me got under his skin. Liar. Rheya sighed beside me. “You see what I mean? He’s impossible.” “He’s still the same,” I muttered. “He just hides better.” Later, when the house got quiet, I went to my old room. The same view, the same window looking out over the forest. The moon hung low, lighting up the trees. I pressed my hand against the glass and exhaled. It was weird being here again. The memories hit hard the night of the attack, my parents’ screams, the way Reis pulled me out of the fire. I owed him everything, but sometimes I wondered if he regretted saving me. The air shifted. I turned. The curtains fluttered even though the windows were shut. My skin prickled. I didn’t see him, but I felt him. He was outside. I stepped out onto the balcony. The cold bit into me, but I barely noticed. Down below, near the trees, stood a tall figure. Silver hair. Shoulders broad enough to block the wind. Reis. He wasn’t looking up, but somehow I knew he knew I was there. His voice came out low, rough, almost carried by the wind. “You shouldn’t look at me like that, Kamari.” My chest tightened. “Like what?” He finally raised his head, eyes glowing faintly green under the moon. “Like you still remember what I used to be.” I opened my mouth to speak, but the sound that came next froze me a howl. Loud, close. Not from the pack. Reis’s head turned sharply toward the woods. I could see it in his posture, the shift, the tension, the beast inside waking up. And then, just like that, he was gone. One second there, the next, nothing but wind and shadows where he’d stood. I gripped the railing, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. From deep in the woods, another howl this one sharper, angrier, closer. And then I heard my name, carried faintly in the wind. “Kamari!” Rheya’s voice. Panicked. Something was wrong. I looked toward the forest, where the shadows moved like they were alive. And for the first time since I came back, I realized… Black Hollow wasn’t quiet tonight. It was awake.