THE ALPHA'S CLAIM

CHAPTER 4

The Enigmatic Alpha

It had been two weeks since I arrived from the Silver-Fang Pack to the NorthRidge Pack. They fed me well and provided comfort—too much comfort. I wondered if it was a final kindness before my death or simply their way with newcomers.

Beta Xavier had informed me that the Alpha was away on a mission and would return today. I tried not to dwell on what he might want with me. After all, he had paid for me—paid my father, no less.

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As I sat waiting for him, an unsettling dread crept over me. Was he as cruel as people said? Did he look as monstrous as they’d claimed? My heart pounded as footsteps drew closer. I steeled myself, feeling like a prisoner awaiting judgment.

The door creaked open. Maids filed in, followed by Beta Xavier. They stood silently, as if holding their breath. Then he entered—a tall, powerful figure, his face shadowed by the dim light. Even in the half-dark, his muscular frame and chiseled jaw were unmistakable, almost mesmerizing.

He moved with a silent, commanding grace that stole my breath. This was the Alpha.

As he took three slow steps toward me, his piercing hazel eyes locked onto mine. They were mesmerizing, sharp, and almost otherworldly. How could this man, with such striking features, be the cruel tyrant everyone feared?

The room fell silent, every breath held. And then he was standing right before me. His gaze was so intense, I felt it in my bones.

This was Alpha Logan, my new owner.

For a moment, his captivating presence made me forget my pain. But as he leaned close, the icy look on his face jolted me back to reality.

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“She’s the Omega, Alpha Logan,” Xavier said, head bowed in respect.

Logan. So that was his name.

Alpha Logan tilted his head, his gaze flicking over me. Then, he looked back at Xavier, waiting for him to continue.

“She’s been checked by the nurse, Alpha. She’ll be fine within the week.”

Without a word, he nodded, his eyes drifting back to me, scrutinizing, lingering. I felt both mesmerized and terrified, his aura overwhelming.

“Look at me,” he commanded, his deep voice cutting through the silence. It held a warning, daring me to disobey.

I tried to keep my head down, but his growl made everyone flinch. Trembling, I forced myself to look up, The warm light from the setting sun cast a soft glow on his face, revealing a beauty both cold and unreachable. He seemed almost celestial, yet there was something haunting about him.

He stepped closer, his fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from my face. I instinctively recoiled, bracing myself. His expression faltered, a flash of something like confusion crossing his face.

For years, I had been hurt, abused, flinching at any raised hand. I expected him to strike, as my father and others had done.

But instead, he inspected a bruise on my neck, his fingers gently brushing the spot. A strange sensation washed over me, unlike anything I’d ever felt—something almost soothing. His eyes narrowed, noticing the marks, and a crease appeared on his brow.

“What happened to you?” he demanded, his voice colder than ever.

Beta Xavier spoke up. “Her stepbrother did that, Alpha. But I’ve handled the matter.”

Alpha Logan’s gaze hardened, and I knew that Xavier’s explanation hadn’t fully satisfied him. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to speak. But there was something inside me that couldn’t stay silent.

“Alpha Logan…” I began, feeling every pair of eyes turn toward me in shock. But I needed to know. “What is my purpose here? I’ve been here for two weeks, and no one has told me why.”

He looked down at me, a flicker of something indecipherable in his gaze.

“Didn’t your father tell you?” he asked, his tone deceptively calm.

I shook my head, feeling dread twist in my stomach. “No, he didn’t.”

He stepped closer, his face inches from mine, his cologne filling my senses and making my heart race. In a near whisper, he said, “I paid a fortune for you.”

A fortune? For me? I stared at him, unable to comprehend.

Before I could ask more, Xavier’s voice broke the silence, soft but deadly. “Your father… used you to pay off his debt. He traded you to the Alpha to save himself.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. My father had sold me, just like that. The room spun as the truth sank in.

“My father… sold me?” My voice trembled with horror and betrayal.

Xavier’s solemn nod confirmed it, and tears pricked in my eyes. I stumbled back, needing space, needing air. My father—the one person who should have protected me—had given me away, a pawn in his own game.

“Why?” I choked, anger rising in my voice. “Why would he do that?”

Xavier hesitated, and the silence was thick with tension.

“To bear me an heir.” Alpha Logan’s voice cut through, cold and unfeeling. “I bought you to be my breeder, to bear my pups.”

The air left my lungs in a rush. His words, stark and brutal, left me reeling.

“B-Breeder?” I managed to stammer.

He nodded, his gaze fixed on mine, as if daring me to protest. “You will bear my children and secure the future of this pack.”

I felt hollow, as if he had stripped me down to a vessel for his desires, a tool for his legacy.

I'm

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief.

His eyes darkened. “You don’t have a choice. You’re mine now.”

A chill gripped me as he closed the distance between us. I wanted to scream, to escape, but my body betrayed me, frozen in fear.

Just then, Xavier stepped forward, an unspoken challenge in his stance.

“Alpha, perhaps—”

“Silence, Beta,” Logan growled, his gaze cutting through him. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Xavier’s eyes met mine, a silent message passing between us. In that moment, I knew he was the only one who could understand my plight, the only one who might help me.

The room spun, the walls closing in as my father’s betrayal, Logan’s claim, and the weight of my fate crashed down on me. I couldn’t hold back the tears as they spilled over, my last hope of escape slipping away.