Chapter 5: When Another Alpha Smells Her
1053 Words
Concrete dust filled the air.
Eva stumbled backward as the wall behind her exploded inward, shards of stone skittering across the floor. Someone shouted her name...Kael or Rowan, she wasn’t sure but the sound was drowned out by a deep, thunderous growl that didn’t belong to anyone she recognized.
Not Kael.
Not anyone from this pack.
The claw withdrew slowly from the shattered wall, curling like it enjoyed the fear it had just caused.
Then the rest of him stepped through.
He was massive...taller even than Kael, broader, built like violence given form. His dark hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, his skin marked with pale scars that told stories of wars won brutally. His eyes glowed amber-gold, sharp and assessing, and when they landed on Eva.
The world tilted.
Her mark flared.
White-hot.
She cried out, clutching her collarbone as the symbol beneath her skin pulsed violently, reacting in a way it never had before.
Kael snarled.
The sound was pure animal rage.
He was in front of her in an instant, one arm thrown out protectively, body angled like a shield. “You don’t get to look at her like that.”
The stranger smiled.
Slow. Knowing.
“So she’s real,” he said, voice deep and smooth. “I was starting to think the rumors were exaggerated.”
Rowan swore under his breath. “It’s him.”
Eva forced her voice steady. “Who is him?”
Kael didn’t take his eyes off the intruder. “Darius Blackbone. Alpha of the Northern Helm.”
Darius inclined his head slightly. “Still remembered. Good.”
Lysa’s composure shattered. “You weren’t invited.”
“I rarely am,” Darius replied calmly. “But Moonblood signatures don’t go unnoticed. Especially not by those of us who still remember what they mean.”
His gaze slid back to Eva.
The mark burned harder.
She gasped, knees weakening.
“Stop it,” Kael growled. “You’re provoking the bond.”
“I’m observing it,” Darius corrected. “Fascinating. Half-formed. Unclaimed.”
His eyes flicked to Kael. “You’ve been very restrained.”
Kael’s voice dropped, dangerous. “Leave.”
Darius laughed quietly. “You don’t command me.”
The air thickened...two Alphas in the same space, dominance clashing like pressure waves. Eva could feel it vibrating through her bones, her heartbeat syncing erratically with something deeper, older.
Rowan stepped closer to her. “Eva, don’t move.”
She swallowed. “Why is my body reacting to him?”
Rowan hesitated.
Darius answered instead.
“Because your blood remembers,” he said. “Moonbloods were never bound to a single pack. They were courted. Claimed by choice or by challenge.”
Eva’s breath hitched. “Challenge?”
Kael turned sharply. “You’re not suggesting...”
“I am,” Darius said. “You’ve delayed too long. The bond is unstable. She’s reacting to multiple Alpha signatures.”
Eva’s heart pounded. “Multiple?”
Lysa stiffened. “That’s impossible.”
Darius’s gaze never left Eva. “Not for her.”
The mark flared again, brighter this time, lines spreading outward like veins of moonlight beneath her skin.
She cried out, collapsing to her knees.
Kael was there instantly, dropping beside her, hands hovering like he was afraid to touch her. “Eva. Look at me.”
She did.
His eyes glowed blue, panic and fury battling beneath the surface.
“Breathe,” he said softly. “Stay with me.”
Darius watched them, expression unreadable. “See?” he murmured. “You ground her. But you also tether her.”
Eva gasped. “I don’t understand.”
Darius crouched a few feet away, meeting her eye level. “Your body is searching for balance. The bond wants completion but not just any completion.”
Kael snapped, “Don’t speak to her.”
Darius ignored him. “You’re not bound to him alone,” he said to Eva. “Not yet.”
Her blood ran cold. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Darius said, “that until the mark seals, your fate is… negotiable.”
Kael surged to his feet, barely restraining himself. “Say another word and I will tear you apart.”
Darius rose slowly, unbothered. “You could try. But you won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re afraid,” Darius said calmly. “Afraid that if you lose control, you’ll finish the bond and condemn her.”
Eva stared at Kael.
The hesitation in his eyes told her everything.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Darius turned back to her. “You have a choice, Moonblood.”
Eva’s voice shook. “Stop calling me that.”
He smiled faintly. “You can remain here, slowly burning as the bond destabilizes. Or...”
“Or?” she whispered.
“You come with me,” Darius said. “I stabilize you. Teach you how to control what’s waking inside you. No cages. No Council.”
Kael exploded. “You want to use her.”
Darius’s gaze sharpened. “Everyone does. Including you.”
The words landed like a blow.
Eva pushed herself to her feet, swaying. “If I go with you… what do you want in return?”
Darius studied her, impressed. “Honesty.”
Kael shook his head. “Eva, don’t...”
Darius continued, “And time. Nothing more.”
The mark pulsed again...less pain this time. More… pull.
Eva looked at Kael. “You said you were the only thing keeping me alive.”
“I am,” he said fiercely.
“Then why does my body feel like it’s tearing itself apart every time I’m near you?”
Silence.
That hurt worse than any answer.
Darius extended his hand not touching her, just close enough that she could feel his presence.
“Come,” he said. “Before the bond chooses for you.”
Eva’s heart thundered.
Kael’s voice dropped, raw. “If you take her, you start a war.”
Darius smiled. “Wars have been started for far less.”
Eva looked between them...two Alphas, two futures, neither safe.
Her mark flared one last time.
And before she could stop herself.
Her hand lifted.
Toward Darius.
Kael’s breath caught.
And the moment her fingers brushed Darius’s.
The mark burned black.
- Writer
