The Alpha Who Found The Girl In The Rain

CHAPTER THREE: THE SCENT HE CANNOT FORGET

The black car moved smoothly through the heavy rain. Inside, it was completely quiet, but the air felt heavy and tense.

Alex Blackthorn leaned his head against the leather seat with his eyes closed. To Jimmy, who was carefully driving through the flooded streets, the Alpha King looked like he was sleeping. But beneath his calm expression, Alex was fighting a battle inside his mind. His inner wolf was wide awake, pacing restlessly and pushing against his control. The wolf wanted to turn the car around. It wanted to search every street until it found that sweet scent of vanilla again.

MINE, the wolf growled inside his head. The sound was low and desperate. Go back. The rain is washing her scent away.

Be quiet, Alex commanded back, his jaw tightening. He had spent three hundred years learning how to control his beast. He had survived brutal wars by using logic, never letting wild instincts rule his choices. He had seen other Alphas ruin their kingdoms because they became obsessed with someone. He refused to let that happen to him especially not for a strange girl in the human world.

But no matter how hard he tried to forget it, the scent of fresh vanilla and rain stayed in his mind.

"Alpha," Jimmy said quietly, breaking the silence as he looked at Alex through the rearview mirror. "We are close to the pack border. I called the guards and everything is clear. But... your energy is spiking. The dashboard lights are flickering. If we walk into the Packhouse with you looking this angry, the Elders will definitely notice."

Alex opened his eyes. In the dark backseat, they flashed a bright gold for a second before turning back to hazel. "Let them notice. The Elders are there to give advice, Jimmy, not to question me. Tell the tech team to hack the human traffic cameras at that bus stop. I want the license plate and face of everyone who passed by there tonight."

"What if the human police notice the data breach?" Jimmy asked with concern.

"Then buy the company that runs their servers," Alex replied coldly. "I want a name by six o'clock tomorrow morning."

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Six miles away, in her small, dark room, Luna sat on the edge of her bed.

The building's heater had turned off an hour ago, leaving the room freezing. Her hands were cold, but the silver pendant around her neck felt strangely hot against her skin. It left a warm, tingling feeling right above her heart.

When she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep, her tiny apartment disappeared.

In her dream, she was running through a deep forest. The air smelled like pine trees and fresh winter mint. Behind her, a massive wolf with midnight-black fur and golden eyes was running through the trees. Its heavy paws made the ground shake, but Luna did not feel afraid. Instead, her heart raced with a strange excitement, as if she had been waiting for this wolf her entire life.

The forest suddenly opened up into a wide, beautiful field lit by a large silver moon. Standing in the center of the light was a woman. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and her hair looked like it was made of pure starlight. The woman stepped forward and placed a glowing finger gently over Luna's heart.

“The old secrets are waking up, little one,” the woman’s voice echoed inside Luna’s mind like a sweet melody. “The storm has brought the king to you. Do not run away from him.”

Luna gasped and her eyes snapped open.

She sat straight up in bed, breathing hard in the pitch-black darkness. The dream vanished instantly, leaving her alone in her room. She was covered in cold sweat, but her fingers shook as she reached up to touch the pendant.

The silver metal was freezing cold again, but it had left a small, red mark on her skin.

She stared toward her desk where her heavy nursing books sat wrapped in a plastic grocery bag. Her ordinary life, her early alarm, her long classes, and the classmates who looked down on her suddenly felt very distant. Luna felt a strange chill in her bones. It felt like her simple, predictable world was about to change forever, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.