Claimed by the Alpha

Kept by the Alpha

he room they put me in was too quiet.

It was a medium-sized room with stone walls. There was a wide bed and one small window that was too high. It wasn’t a dungeon, it wasn’t a cage with bars but somehow, that made it worse.

I sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to breath slowly and calmly. Every sound made me tense, every footstep outside. Guards. Always guards.

Kept.

That was the word that kept ringing in my head.

Not rescued. Not protected.

My pack should be looking for me. I held on to that thought for a small comfort. Surely they’d notice I was gone. Surely they’d come.

But the truth settled in quickly. They hadn’t looked for me when my mother vanished.

My mother was the former queen of the pack. She disappeared one night, without a scream, without a trace. Just…gone. After her disappearance, I became the constant reminder that no one wanted. The daughter of a mystery.

‘’They won’t come,’’ I whispered.

My wolf stirred inside me, restless.

They never did before, she said softly.

I closed my eyes. ‘’I know.’’

That hurt more than being locked in this room, more than Kael’s cold voice, more than the guards at my door.

I had never belonged anywhere.

The thought of being owned twisted my stomach. I didn’t want an Alpha claiming me, deciding where I slept, who I spoke to or what I became.

I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to calm the panic that was building up there. ‘’I don’t want this,’’ I whispered. ‘’I don’t want him.’’

You felt it, my wolf replied. The bond.

‘’I felt fear,’’ I snapped. ‘’And confusion.’’

You felt him, she said gently.

I stood up, pacing the room. ‘’He scares me.’’

He scares me too, she admitted. But he would burn the world before letting anyone hurt us.

‘’That doesn’t make it better.’’ I said. ‘’That makes it worse.’’

Power like that never came without a price.

I stopped by the window, looking out at the dark forest. Somewhere out there was a life I used to live—quiet and lonely. Could I ever go back to that life?

A soft knock came at the door. I froze.

No one entered. The knock was more like a warning, like a reminder that I wasn’t alone. That I was being watched.

I went back to the bed and sat down again, hugging my knees. My wolf curled tighter inside me, uneasy.

He’s coming, she murmured.

My heart jumped. ‘’How do you know?’’

I can feel him.

There was a change in the atmosphere before the door opened. The same heavy pressure filled the room, making it hard to breathe.

Kael stepped inside.

His presence pressed down on me, giving the familiar feeling of submission.

‘’Stand up,’’’ he ordered.

My body obeyed before my mind could process. I hated that.

His gaze dropped to my neck, then back to my face.

‘’You’ve been thinking about running,’’ he said.

My throat went dry.

He took one step closer.

‘’Don’t,’’ he said softly.

And the way he said it made me realize—

Whatever this was turning into, I had a feeling there was no way out.