FATED TO MY FATHER'S BETA

FORBIDDEN DESIRE

POV: Aria

The river roared beside us, loud enough to drown out my thoughts, yet I heard only Kael’s breathing.

He stood a few steps away from me, shirtless, skin tight with tension, eyes glowing faintly with his wolf’s gold. The early light touched his face. My chest ached so badly I had to press a hand over my heart to ease the pain.

The bond pulled at me like a living thing.

“Don’t come closer,” he said.

I took a step forward just to get close to the man driving me crazy.

His jaw clenched. “Aria.”

“You already hurt me,” I replied. “Standing still won’t make it worse.”

The air between us felt thick. My wolf stirred, restless and needy, pushing me toward him. His scent wrapped around me, pine and rain and something wild that made my knees weak and numb.

“I can feel you,” I whispered. “Every thought. Every fight you’re losing.”

His control cracked for a second. I saw it in the way his hands shook, the way his chest rose sharply.

“You should hate me,” he said.

“I don’t.”

That was all it took. He crossed the space between us in two long strides, hands gripping my arms like he was afraid I might disappear anytime soon. The moment his skin touched mine, the bond exploded like a jiggy.

I gasped as heat surged through me, pure and overwhelming. I could not explain what ran through me. Maybe wetness. I just want to feel him inside of me. My wolf howled in joy. Kael’s breath hitched, his forehead pressing against mine.

“This is wrong,” he breathed.

Then his mouth crashed onto mine.

The kiss was not gentle. It was desperate. Hungry like he has been craving it forever. His lips moved against mine like he had been starving, and maybe he had.

I clutched his shoulders, fingers digging into his skin as the bond sang between us, bright and loud and impossible to ignore.

The world narrowed to heat and breath and the sound of our hearts beating together.

Then he pulled away. He stepped back, eyes dark with guilt, chest heaving. “We cannot do this.”

“Why,” I demanded, tears burning my eyes. “Why does it feel so right if it is wrong?”

He turned away, dragging a hand through his hair. “Because I watched you grow up.”

The words cut deeper than any rejection.

“I am fourteen years older than you,” he continued. “I saw you learn to run. I saw you laugh with scraped knees. I stood guard outside your door when you were sick as a child.”

I swallowed hard. “I am not a child now.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “That is the problem.”

I stepped closer again. “Then why did you kiss me?”

He laughed bitterly. “Because I am weak.”

He looked at me then, really looked at me. “I have felt it for two years.”

My breath caught. “What.”

“Since your sixteenth birthday,” he admitted. “The pull. The awareness. I prayed it would fade. I told myself I was imagining it.”

My heart pounded. “You knew.”

“I suspected,” he said. “And I hated myself for it.”

Pain twisted inside me, sharp and confusing. “You should have told me.”

“No,” he snapped. “I should have left.”

A slow clap echoed from the trees.

“Well,” a smooth female voice said, “this is sweet.”

Kael spun, placing himself in front of me instantly. Selene Nightshade stepped out of the shadows, dark hair falling down her back, eyes glittering with amusement. She was one of the pack’s envoys, known for her sharp tongue and sharper ambition.

“How touching,” she continued. “The Alpha’s precious daughter and his Beta, kissing by the river.”

“Leave,” Kael growled, ready to tear him apart. Selene smiled wider. “I might. Or I might tell.”

My stomach dropped.

“You would not,” I said.

“Oh, little silver wolf,” she replied. “You underestimate how much chaos I enjoy.”

She glanced at Kael. “Especially since Alpha Damien Bloodmoon is searching for a bride.”

The name hit like thunder. Damien Bloodmoon, a ruthless and useless nitwit.

Kael stiffened. “She is not for him.”

Selene laughed softly. “Not for you either, it seems.”

Before either of us could respond, a force slammed through the forest.

Alpha Magnus’s command.

It rolled through the trees, heavy and unavoidable.

“Return. Now.”

Kael flinched. I felt it through the bond, sharp and painful. Selene stepped back, clearly pleased. “Looks like playtime is over.”

+++++++

The walk back to the pack grounds felt like a march to execution. The courtyard was crowded. Wolves stood tense, whispering. At the center stood my father.

And beside him, a stranger.

Alpha Damien Bloodmoon was tall, broad, his presence dark and commanding. His eyes locked onto me immediately, assessing, cold and calculating.

My father’s voice rang out.

“Aria Stormridge,” he announced. “You are betrothed to Alpha Damien Bloodmoon.”

The world shattered into pieces.