BOUND TO THE MAD ALPHA

The bed was hot beneath her, the sheets twisted around her legs as his hands tightened slowly around her waist. Caelia drew in a shaky breath when he pulled her against him, her back settling firmly against the hard warmth of his chest. He was massive, his body surrounding hers with an overwhelming heat that made the darkness feel even closer. She could feel every measured breath he took against the back of her neck, each one sending a strange shiver through her that she couldn't explain. "Look at me," he commanded. His voice was low and rough, carrying an authority that made something deep inside her instinctively respond. Caelia lifted her chin, her pulse racing as she searched the darkness for his face. She could barely make out the ruthless line of his jaw and the faint gleam of eyes watching her from beneath the shadows. Something was terrifying about him. Something impossibly familiar. He leaned closer, his breath warming the sensitive skin beneath her ear. Caelia's fingers curled into the sheets when his mouth brushed slowly along the side of her neck, lingering just long enough to make her entire body tense. Her breath caught. His grip tightened around her waist, drawing her closer until there was no space left between them. "You think you can run from me?" he murmured against her skin. His lips moved higher, his teeth grazing lightly near her collarbone before he paused, as though savoring the way her pulse jumped beneath his touch. His hand traveled slowly up her spine, possessive but strangely gentle, and Caelia shivered despite herself. "You’re mine," he whispered, the words sinking beneath her skin with frightening certainty. "Blood, soul, and wolf... mine." Caelia should have been afraid. Instead, something inside her recognized him. Her heart raced harder as he tilted her face toward his, forcing her to meet those dark, glowing eyes. The intensity in them stole the breath from her lungs. They weren't simply looking at her. They knew her. As though he'd been searching for her long before she ever dreamed of him. Then his mouth covered hers. The kiss was fierce enough to make her forget how to breathe, yet somehow carried the strange familiarity of something she'd been waiting for without knowing it. Heat rushed through her body, her fingers instinctively curling into the fabric of his shirt as the world around them seemed to disappear. She couldn't see his face. Couldn't hear anything except her own frantic heartbeat. Couldn't understand why being held by a stranger felt terrifyingly like coming home. Caelia bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. Her small attic room was freezing, but her skin was burning. She pressed trembling hands over her face, trying to calm the frantic rise and fall of her chest as pale morning light bled through the cracked window. Not again. It was the same dream. Every single night for months, the same phantom man invaded her sleep. She had no idea who he was, yet every dream left behind the same impossible sensation—the memory of hands she had never felt, a voice she had never heard, and a kiss that somehow felt more real than anything in her waking life. In the low-tier sanctuary of the Moon family estate, no wolf carried a presence that suffocating. It was just a delusion…a cruel trick of her mind while her body broke down from the inside out. Caelia slid her hand down her chest, resting her palm over her ribs. Right beneath her solar plexus, a dull, dark pulse throbbed in her blood. Three years ago, she had walked out of the Forbidden Zone carrying a slow, dark corruption in her core. Everyone in the pack thought she was just a useless, wolfless Omega. But the truth was far worse: her hidden wolf had awakened that night, and the dark energy she absorbed was slowly eating away at her life force day by day. She was eighteen, wolfless to the world, and quietly dying. A loud, mocking laugh echoed from the bottom of the stairs. Caelia frowned. Evelyn was awake. She pulled a worn wool cardigan over her silk nightgown and stepped out of her cramped attic room- the tiny space her parents had banished her to three years ago so Evelyn could take the grand master suite. Her parents had left early for pack council business, so she expected the house to be empty. But as she walked down the dusty stairs toward the front parlor, she heard murmurs, followed by the deep rumble of a man’s voice. Caelia paused, her breath catching. She knew that voice. She stepped closer, peeking through the cracked parlor doorway. Her younger sister, Evelyn, stood near the fireplace in a fine cream dress that should have belonged to Caelia as the eldest daughter. But it wasn't Evelyn's dress that made Caelia’s blood run cold. It was the man standing behind her. Broad shoulders, dark hair, and a proud warrior’s stance. His arms were wrapped tightly around Evelyn’s waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as he whispered something into her ear that made Evelyn giggle. Cassian. Caelia felt like the floor beneath her had vanished. Cold, sickening shock surged through her veins, freezing the air in her lungs. Cassian Colt was her boyfriend. For two years, he had promised her a future, swearing he didn't care about her zero-rank status or the quiet rumors about her past. He had been her only comfort in a home where her own parents treated her like a ghost. "Cassian?" Caelia’s voice rasped out. The two in the parlor froze. Cassian turned slowly, his golden Beta eyes widening in brief surprise before his expression hardened into a cold, indifferent mask. He didn't pull his arms away from Evelyn. Instead, Evelyn smirked, leaning back against his chest with a slow, victorious smile. "Caelia," Cassian said, his tone flat and completely devoid of warmth. "You're awake." Caelia stepped into the parlor, her legs feeling like lead. "What... what are you doing with him, Evelyn?" "Isn't it obvious, sister?" Evelyn purred, running her manicured nails over the lapel of Cassian's coat. "Cassian moved on. You didn't honestly think a high-ranking Beta warrior like him would tie himself to a zero-rank, disgraced Omega forever, did you?" Caelia stared directly at Cassian, her throat tight with betrayal. "Cassian... you told me last week you loved me. You swore—" "That was before I realized you were dragging me down," Cassian interrupted coldly, refusing to look her in the eye. "Your reputation is ruined. You're wolfless, you have no standing, and your own family barely tolerates you. Evelyn has grace, rank, and a real future." A wave of bitter humiliation washed over Caelia, burning the back of her eyes. But she refused to cry. She had stopped crying three years ago. "You're a coward," Caelia said softly, her voice steadying as anger replaced the shock. "You stayed with me when it was easy, and the second my sister offered you a step up the social ladder, you jumped." Cassian’s jaw clenched, and his Beta aura flared aggressively into the room, slamming into Caelia like a physical wall. "Watch your tongue, Omega! You speak to Evelyn with respect, or I'll teach you your place myself!" "Let her vent, darling," Evelyn sneered, stepping up beside Cassian. She wrapped her arm around his before smoothing her fingers down over her own flat stomach. "After all, she’s just bitter. She knows what we have... and she knows I'm carrying his pup." The room went dead silent. Caelia’s heart stopped. She stared at Evelyn’s hand resting over her stomach. A pup. Evelyn hadn't just taken her boyfriend—she had locked him down permanently with an heir. "See?" Evelyn took a step closer to Caelia, her eyes shining with pure malice. "You lost everything three years ago when you abandoned me in the Forbidden Zone. You lost our parents, you lost your standing, and now you lost Cassian. You're empty, Caelia. A zero-rank nothing." Caelia’s hands curled into tight fists. Her fingernails bit into her palms until she felt the metallic tang of her own blood. I didn't abandon you, her soul screamed. I saved your life! I absorbed the dark magic so you could walk away! The urge to unleash the ancient power sleeping in her veins was almost overwhelming. She wanted to force Evelyn to her knees and tear down the lies that had ruined her life. But she forced herself to swallow the fire in her throat. Revealing her ancient wolf would get her executed by the pack elders long before her curse could finish killing her. The heavy front doors swung open, cutting through the heavy silence. Lord and Lady Moon stepped inside, taking off their coats. Their eyes swept over the room, instantly softening with pride when they saw Evelyn and Cassian, before turning ice-cold as they landed on Caelia. "Good. Everyone is here," Lord Moon said briskly, walking into the center of the room. "High Alpha Alaric Kade has issued a supreme mandate. Every major family in the territory is required to send an eligible she-wolf to Astraea Academy for the Royal Mate Selection." Cassian’s eyebrows shot up. "The Selection? For Julian Kade?" "Yes," Lady Moon said, her voice tight with genuine fear. "The Alpha Heir's Blood Madness has worsened. His father is desperate to find a fated match to ground his mind before he loses control completely." Evelyn turned pale, clutching Cassian’s arm. "Julian Kade is a monster! Everyone knows his madness turns him into a violent beast during an episode! Father... you aren't sending me, are you? Cassian and I—" "Of course not, sweetheart," Lady Moon interrupted smoothly, rushing forward to cup Evelyn’s face with deep affection. "We would never risk our precious Evelyn. Not when you carry our family's future heir." Lady Moon turned her head slowly, her distant, cold eyes locking onto Caelia. "Caelia will go."