Chapter 4 – Beneath the Alpha’s Gaze
692 Words
The air hung heavy in the forest as Aria stood at the edge of the riverbank, her boots sinking into the damp earth. The moonlight shimmered across the water’s surface, casting a silver glow on her tear-stained cheeks. Her thoughts swirled like a storm — memories of the three alphas, each encounter burning into her skin, her mind, her soul.
She couldn’t escape them. The intense stare of Alpha Kael. The protective touch of Alpha Darius. The teasing smirk of Alpha Lucien. But it was the mark that now bloomed faintly on her skin — the one only she could feel pulsing beneath her collarbone — that haunted her most. One of them had marked her. Fated her. But which one?
Her hands trembled as she knelt by the water, trying to catch her breath. The emotions building inside her were too much. Too many truths left unsaid. Too many eyes watching her every move.
Suddenly, the wind shifted.
She didn’t need to turn around to know who was behind her. The scent of cedar and smoke filled her senses. Alpha Kael.
“Why are you out here alone?” he asked, voice low and rough like gravel.
Aria didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her throat was too tight, her heart too loud.
He stepped closer, and she felt the air thicken between them.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said.
She stood, fists clenched by her sides. “Wouldn’t you? You treat me like a burden one moment and then act like I matter the next.”
His jaw tensed. “You do matter.”
Her laugh was bitter. “To who, Kael? To which of you? You all circle me like wolves, but none of you say what you really want.”
Kael moved swiftly, grabbing her hand. She flinched, but he didn’t let go.
“I can’t speak for Lucien or Darius,” he said, voice shaking slightly, “but I know what I feel.”
“Then say it,” she whispered.
He pulled her closer, forehead resting against hers. “I feel like I’m losing my mind. Every time I see you, I feel like I’m standing at the edge of something I can’t come back from. I feel like I’ll tear this whole forest apart just to keep you safe.”
Aria’s eyes shimmered with tears. “Then why do you look at me like I’m a curse?”
He cupped her cheek, gently brushing away a tear with his thumb. “Because you are. A beautiful, haunting, inescapable curse.”
The honesty in his voice cracked her open, but before she could say another word, a sound in the trees made them both stiffen.
A figure emerged — tall, confident, with a cocky grin and eyes that held secrets. Lucien.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?” he said, arms crossed over his chest. “Should I give you two some privacy or remind you she’s not yours alone?”
Kael growled, his body already shifting slightly, his wolf not far beneath the surface.
Aria stepped between them. “Stop it. Both of you. I’m not a prize to be won.”
Lucien raised a brow. “No, sweetheart. You’re a mystery to be unraveled.”
Her breath caught. These men — they pulled at her like gravity, each in a different way. She was starting to lose her grip on where her own heart truly belonged.
“I need air,” she said, voice tight, brushing past them.
Kael let her go, but not without a pained look. Lucien watched her walk away, the usual smugness fading from his eyes.
And in the shadows, someone else watched too.
Darius.
Silent. Brooding. Hurting.
He clenched his fists as he turned away, heart aching at the sight of Aria torn between them. He wanted her — more than anything. But he also wanted her to choose freely. Not from pressure, not from fear. From love.
As Aria walked deeper into the woods, alone once more, her heart beat with a rhythm she couldn’t understand.
One of them had marked her.
But her soul… it was still choosing.
- Writer
