The Forbidden Alpha

A few months into the future... He would find me. I could feel him getting closer through our bond. I was lost, but I had been lost since the first time I saw him—my black wolf with those magnetic eyes. My forbidden wolf. The forest closed in around me as I ran. Branches scratched my skin, and my feet throbbed with every step on the leaf- and stone-covered ground. But what really hurt was the tightness in my chest, the bond with the black wolf fraying with each passing second. In that moment, everything felt like a distant dream: the time it took for me to love him, how hard it was to accept our bond, how we ended up together even when our stories were destined to collide. I ignored the signs. I ignored the fact that we were destined to be each other’s end. We were a ticking time bomb. I knew we were doomed from the start, and yet I chose to burn in the flame only he could ignite in me. Now he hated me—saw me as a traitor. The same alpha who saved me when my life was slipping away, who learned to love me and made me burn slowly in a new and irresistible world, was now the man chasing me for revenge. He had never seemed so terrifying as he did in that moment. I felt his fury through our bond, and I couldn’t blame him for hating me. To him, and to all the wolves in the pack that took me in, I was a traitor. My picture was being circulated in every pack across the continent. Along with it, a description painted me as the daughter of one of the most respected families in the Marlon pack. It also raised a big question: who was I in this story? The devoted daughter who had infiltrated the rebel pack as a spy? Or the defector who had joined the rebels to defy her family? This speculation had landed me in a lot of trouble. On one side, the rebel pack that had taken me in over the past few months now hunted me for supposed betrayal. On the other, my family and members of my old pack hunted me for orchestrating a conspiracy. Now both sides were after me in this forest—but only one of them would catch me. I felt it in my bones, in my soul, in the bond that connected me to the black wolf. He would catch me. He was getting closer every second. That’s why I ran even faster—not because I thought I could outrun him, but because I needed to lead him away from the others hunting me. I wouldn’t let them capture him. Not now. The river was my best option. The water would mask my scent, and the current would carry me, giving me some rest. I had been running for too long. My legs begged for relief, my mind threatened to give in at any moment. I just needed to reach the river. The others would lose my trail, and only he would be able to find me—through our bond. I was close enough to see the sunlight reflecting on the water ahead. Just a few hundred more feet… But he found me first. He wasn’t in his fearsome black wolf form, the one that defied traditional clan authorities. He was in his human form, which somehow made his power even more evident—proof of how superior he was to find me first, even though my other hunters were using their faster, shapeshifted forms. My feet skidded on the leaves as I came to an abrupt stop, even though my mind screamed for me to keep running, to reach the river. His gaze burned into me like hot coals, standing among the trees just a few yards away. Every part of me wanted to give up, to succumb and accept the end. But something deep inside me screamed louder, snapping me out of my stupor and making me run toward the river again. The water could still mask my presence, could still keep the others away from us long enough for… for everything to end. I felt—more than heard—his footsteps following me to the riverbank. He could’ve caught me. He was faster. Stronger. But he didn’t. And when I finally stopped at the edge of the river and turned around, he was standing less than ten feet away, watching me with the cold, unrelenting gaze of the fearsome black wolf. “Daniel,” I called him by his name—not Itzal, as the rest of the pack knew him. His body tensed, and for a moment, I thought he’d correct me. He didn’t. Instead, he gave me that cold, threatening look he reserved for defendants on trial—a look that promised death and justice, with no exceptions, no mercy. “You’re accused of betraying the clan. Do you admit to your actions?” His voice was impersonal, distant—something I hadn’t heard in a long time. This was truly my final judgment. I could’ve said I wasn’t guilty, could’ve explained how it was all a setup. But the evidence was stacked against me, and I didn’t have enough time to explain—not if I wanted to get him out of the forest before the others arrived. I tried to admit guilt, but my voice caught in my throat. Finally, I lowered my head as a stubborn tear slipped down my cheek. Daniel’s claws appeared, an instinctive reaction to my silence. “The clan council wants your death,” he declared, his tone as detached as a judge passing sentence. “State the reason for your crime.” I couldn’t speak. I lifted my gaze, searching for the strength to end it all, but it only made me feel smaller, weaker. For the first time since I’d met Daniel, I saw his weapon tremble in his hands. His eyes stayed locked on me, but beneath the coldness of his dark irises, something burned—something raw and conflicted. “What was your motivation?” he repeated, his deep voice sending a shiver down my spine. Instead of answering, I focused on every detail that made him unique—the unruly black hair that defied any attempt at control, the strong lines of his warrior’s body, the tattoos snaking down his arms, disappearing beneath his sleeves. He was drenched in sweat, proof he’d spent the entire day hunting me. Daniel took a few steps forward, and I instinctively backed up until I felt the edge of the riverbank pressing against my heels. “Tell me why you betrayed us, damn it!” he shouted, and my heart skipped a beat. The others would hear him. They’d find us. They’d kill him. I couldn’t let that happen. I would fall, but I wouldn’t take him down with me. I only regretted not having enough time to prove the setup we were caught in—or to show him who the real traitor was. But he wouldn’t believe me. No one would, not after everything that had been exposed about me. “Just shoot and leave,” I said, surprised by the steadiness in my voice—and even more surprised by the tear that slid down his face. “End this already.” “Tell me why you did it, Amelia,” he shouted again, his voice breaking at the edges. “Have the decency to say it while looking me in the eye.” Once more, the urgency to get him out of there before the others arrived surged through me. I lowered my head, unable to bear his gaze any longer—that intense, soul-deep stare that had captivated me from the moment I first saw him. “Be careful with the others,” I murmured, closing my eyes. “Betrayal can come from unexpected places.” I didn’t want it to sound ironic, but I needed to plant the seed of doubt in his mind, hoping he’d investigate the others. He was smart enough to find the real traitor. My downfall wasn’t because of his ignorance—it was the result of a perfect plot executed by someone more powerful than the two of us combined. I heard the click of the gun being c****d. They say you see your life flash before your eyes right before you die. Was it ironic that all my best memories were tied to the man about to kill me? I didn’t care. Deep down, I didn’t regret any of it. If I could go back, I’d make the same choices. I’d still run to him every time, even when I didn’t know it was him my heart was racing toward. I’d still live all those passionate, beautiful, and unforgettable moments by his side. I waited for the shot, clinging to the memories of everything we’d shared. But the bullet never came. Instead, I felt his hand wrap around mine—warm, rough, familiar—his scent flooding my senses, grounding me, even as he cursed under his breath. “They’re coming,” Daniel muttered, his grip tightening. Without another word, he pulled me into his arms, his strength undeniable, and plunged us both into the icy river. Maybe the end wouldn’t be so bad, I thought as the cold water swallowed us whole. Maybe it wasn’t the end after all. Still, I couldn’t stop remembering everything that had led me here…