BOUND TO THE MAD ALPHA

Chapter 2

Caelia took a step back, horror gripping her chest. "No."

"It is not up for debate," Lord Moon snapped coldly. "The mandate requires a daughter of the Moon line. You are wolfless, Caelia. You have no rank, no mate prospects, and no value to this family. Sending you fulfills our blood obligation without risking anything important."

"You are sending me to die!" Caelia said, her voice shaking with raw anguish. "You know what his Blood Madness does! If he snaps during the selection, he'll slaughter anyone near him!"

"Then try not to stand too close," her mother replied, her tone completely flat. "Your carriage leaves for Astraea in an hour. Go pack your things."

Evelyn smirked from behind Cassian, leaning up to kiss his cheek while staring at Caelia. "Have a safe trip, sister. Try not to get torn apart."

An hour later, Caelia sat inside a dark, iron-reinforced carriage as it rattled down the cobblestone road leading away from her home.

She stared out the small window at the dark, misty trees. She hadn't packed much…just a small satchel with a spare dress and her wooden entry token. Cassian and Evelyn were traveling behind in luxury transport as senior academy students, while Caelia was being shipped early like livestock to an altar.

She rested her head against the cold wooden wall, tears finally slipping down her cheeks in the dark.

Months, she reminded herself, clutching her aching chest where the dark corruption pulsed. I only have a few months left anyway.

If Julian Kade's frenzy didn't kill her, the poison in her blood eventually would.

Night had fallen completely by the time the carriage slowed to a crawl, passing through massive wrought-iron gates guarded by heavily armored Alpha warriors.

The main hall of Astraea Academy was a nightmare of noise and color.

Hundreds of she-wolves in glittering silks gathered near the center dais, their laughter bright and shallow beneath the massive crystal chandeliers.

"All candidates for the Royal Selection, form two lines for preliminary constitution evaluation!" an old, sharp-faced Beta healer barked from the center stage, gesturing toward a glowing crystal orb.

Caelia pulled her grey wool hood lower over her forehead, stepping backward into the crowd's shadows.

Panic flared in her chest.

If those scanning crystals touched her skin, they wouldn't just see a zero-rank wolfless girl. They would uncover the black, decaying poison eating away at her chest, or the dormant, extinct power buried beneath it.

When a sudden fight broke out between two high-ranking she-wolves near the main doors, drawing the guards' attention, Caelia slipped behind a heavy velvet curtain into a side hallway.

The chatter vanished instantly.

The corridor was freezing, carved from dark stone and lit only by flickering torches. Caelia walked deeper, looking for anywhere to hide until the evaluations ended.

But the deeper she went, the colder the air became.

The tapestries disappeared, replaced by bare walls and massive iron doors bound with glowing rune locks.

She froze in front of an archway.

Carved deep into the stone was a warning:

RESTRICTED SECTOR — HIGH ALPHA GUARD ONLY.

Caelia turned on her heel to retrace her steps, but a violent shudder slammed through the stone beneath her boots.

BOOM!

The floor shook violently.

Then came a sound that made her blood run cold…a monstrous, agony-laced roar echoing down the hall.

“What the hell was that?” She whispered frighteningly.

But before she could run, the heavy iron doors were blown completely off their hinges with a deafening screech.

Smoke and heavy black dust poured into the corridor, carrying a suffocating scent of scorched cedar, raw copper, and ozone.

Out of the burning dust stepped Julian Kade.

He was in the full, terrifying grip of his Blood Madness.

His dark hair was wild and damp with sweat. His black shirt was half-torn, exposing broad, iron-hard muscle. Violent, glowing red veins webbed across his neck and jawline, pulsing like liquid fire.

His eyes were blood-red, empty of all human reason.

The sheer pressure of his unleashed Alpha aura slammed into Caelia like a physical wall, knocking the air straight out of her lungs.

His crimson eyes locked onto her.

In his manic state, he saw an intruder in his territory while his mind tore itself apart.

With a speed that defied nature, he crossed the hallway.

Caelia couldn't even scream.

His heavy, clawed hand slammed into the wall right beside her ear, shattering stone. He towered over her, his massive frame blocking out the light, his fangs bared as a lethal snarl vibrated through his throat.

"Please..." Caelia choked out, tears of pure terror stinging her eyes as her hands pressed uselessly against his burning chest. "Please... don't kill me. Please!"

He didn't listen.

His jaw unhinged slightly, his sharp teeth hovering inches from her throat.

"Please, I'm nobody! Just let me go!" she sobbed, her knees threatening to give out.

This was it, she thought.

He dipped his head to deliver the fatal strike, his snout dragging along the bare skin of her collarbone.

Then his breath hit her skin.

And her scent hit his senses.

Julian froze.

The lethal teeth hovering over her vein stopped mid-inch. The violent, erratic growl vibrating in his chest suddenly cut off, his frantic heart rate dropping into a deep, steady rhythm.

Slowly, Julian dragged his snout up the side of her neck, inhaling deeply.

A low, raspy groan tore from his throat—not of anger, but of pure, intoxicating relief.

"God..." he rasped, his voice rough and thick with a dark, primal hunger. "What are you...?"

Before Caelia could process the change, his hands moved.

His massive palms slid over her waist, gripping her hard, pulling her hips flush against his towering frame. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling like he was trying to pull her very soul into his lungs.

"You're so intoxicating..." he muttered darkly against her skin.

Caelia gasped as his lips pressed into her neck, hot and desperate. He dragged his tongue up the sensitive column of her neck, kissing the hollow of her collarbone with a wild, possessive hunger that sent a sudden shockwave of heat straight down her spine.

For a horrifying second, under the weight of his hands, Caelia's legs went soft.

She melted against him, completely overwhelmed.

Then reality slammed back into her head like ice water.

He was coming down from a violent high, using her body like a drug—prepping her for a meal or worse.

Panic surged through her blood.

Deep within her chest, her dark corruption flared defensively.

And right beneath that poison, a dormant spark of her ancient wolf answered in pure self-defense.

An invisible shockwave of command rippled out from her skin.

It hit his blood instantly, forcing Julian's High Alpha body into a sudden, three-second paralysis.

Caelia didn't hesitate.

While he was dazed and frozen, she slammed her hands against his chest, shoved him back with everything she had, and sprinted down the corridor toward the main hall without looking back.

The moment the paralysis broke, Julian gasped, his body snapping back into motion.

He lunged forward, but his fingers caught only empty air.

Only the lingering scent of autumn rain and sweet vanilla remained in the cold space.

Julian stood in the quiet corridor, his chest heaving.

For the first time in three long years, there was no screaming in his head.

His mind was entirely, beautifully clear.

He reached up, touching the side of his neck where her soft skin had pressed against him.

The quiet silver eyes. The desperate, begging voice.

The sweet, impossible scent that had brought his madness to its knees.

It was her.

The woman who had haunted his dreams every single night as well.

A slow, possessive breath dragged through his lungs, and a dark, dangerous smile spread across his face.

"Found you."

High above the restricted hallway, standing near the shadows of the upper stone balcony, Cassandra Damon pressed her back against the pillar.

Her fingers dug into the cold stone so hard her painted nails almost cracked.

Her heart was pounding, not with fear, but with venomous rage.

She had followed Julian toward the restricted wing, hoping to position herself as his savior during an episode.

Instead, she had watched the entire scene unfold.

She had seen the feared, untouchable High Alpha Heir drop his fangs.

She had seen him wrap his arms around a worthless, hood-wearing Omega, losing himself in her neck like a starving beast.

Most infuriating of all, she had watched Julian's incurable madness shatter in seconds—all because of her.

Cassandra peeked around the pillar just in time to catch the dark, possessive smile on Julian's face as he whispered into the empty air.

Her jaw clenched, her golden Alpha eyes flashing with lethal hatred.

A nobody. A pathetic, low-tier she-wolf stole my moment.

Cassandra stepped quietly back into the shadows, a cruel, spiteful sneer curling her lips.

"Enjoy your little miracle while it lasts, trash," Cassandra hissed under her breath, turning back toward the main hall. "Because the moment you step onto that selection stage, I'm going to ruin you.”