Chapter 2
1215 Words
Ethan
The tiny human’s hand struck me.
The sharp c***k of the impact still echoed in my mind. It caused no pain whatsoever, yet it was completely unprecedented.
No one did that. No one dared touch me like that — especially not inside my territory.
And yet, even after completely disrespecting the Alpha that I am, I did not kill her.
I remained still in my wolf form, staring at her.
Gabriela…
Her name would be carved into my memory.
Her scent was wrong.
Human… but not entirely.
There was something mixed into it. Something ancient. Something that made my wolf stir beneath my skin — restless, alert, entirely possessive.
She should have reeked only of fear. Humans always do when I’m shifted. Their terror saturates the air, spreading a foul scent everywhere.
But her aroma came in layers.
Fear, yes — almost tangible.
Anger, definitely — like a sharp undertone.
And something else.
Something that left both me and my wolf unsettled.
Recognition.
My wolf growled low inside me, as if warning me of something crucial.
Mine.
The thought came raw, tearing through my chest with primitive instinct.
Impossible.
She is human. A small, fragile human who trembled the moment she laid eyes on me.
This is completely impossible.
I shifted back without warning. Bones snapped and rearranged, muscles contracted, skin replaced fur. The sound is uncomfortable to humans — I have seen grown men vomit just hearing it — yet her gaze remained locked on me.
Gabriela did not lower her eyes for a single second.
Silence spread across the garden. The guards — wolves who had appeared the moment my paws touched the grass — lowered their gazes. I saw Valeria stiffen.
Even as Gabriela’s fear intensified in the air, her pulse racing wildly — clearly audible to my heightened senses — she looked at me as if I were the problem.
Interesting.
“You just struck your Alpha,” I said, controlling my tone, letting the roughness of my voice fill the space.
Her chin lifted slightly, nose tilting upward.
“You invaded my personal space,” she shot back, as if she had every right.
A growl rippled through the wolves around us.
I raised a hand. Silence was immediate.
She was trembling with fear — but she did not step back.
Brave…
Or reckless?
“I could kill you,” I declared, a crooked smile forming at the corner of my mouth.
Her jaw tightened. I watched her swallow.
“But you didn’t,” she replied again, keeping her eyes on mine while deliberately avoiding looking at my naked body.
There was no plea in her voice.
Only certainty.
My gaze dropped to her arm.
The scar caught my attention.
I felt it before I saw it. A pressure in my chest. An invisible pull tugging at something inside me.
It was burning.
The scar was revealing its power — even if the woman herself did not realize it.
I could feel it.
“Who marked you?” I asked, lowering my voice.
Confusion crossed her eyes, followed by caution.
“No one owns me,” she said firmly, without hesitation.
Wrong answer.
That mark was not ordinary. There was energy there. Remnants of pack power. Of an Alpha.
And mixed into it…
Victor’s scent.
Very faint — but unmistakably present.
My wolf surged violently, trying to take control and shift again, but I restrained him. I dictated the rules — not my feral side.
“You will not walk alone in the forest again,” I ordered.
“I don’t take orders from a rude wolf.”
Valeria inhaled sharply.
“Gabriela…”
“It’s fine,” I interrupted.
I stepped closer.
She held her ground.
The air between us grew heavy. Dense. Too warm.
Even her stubbornness felt like temptation to a male like me. Taming and dominating a defiant female had always stirred something primal in me.
I inhaled again, drawing in her fear mixed with anger — a true aphrodisiac.
I don’t know why, but my body felt like it was on fire. And everyone could clearly see my arousal since I was completely naked.
That was when a sharp thought cut through me, preventing a very obvious reaction in front of everyone:
Mating season.
Damn.
The timing could not be worse.
My pack was already unstable. Borders under pressure. Rival Alphas testing limits ever since my Luna died.
And now this human appears carrying a scar that reacts to my presence.
“Victor’s fever dropped tonight,” Valeria said carefully.
My gaze snapped to her.
“What?”
“He calmed down after she held him.”
I looked back at Gabriela.
My son had been weakening for weeks. Useless doctors. Confused healers who couldn’t understand how an Alpha’s heir could fall ill.
And to make matters worse, Vic barely accepted my presence.
But with her…
Something changed.
“What did you do to him?” I demanded.
Confusion flashed in her eyes.
“I held him. That’s all.”
It wasn’t just that. I was certain. My instincts screamed.
The bond between an Alpha heir and his pack is deep, territorial, instinctive.
Victor should reject humans.
Unless…
I forced the thought away before it fully formed.
“Look at me,” I ordered.
“I already am,” she shot back, intensity blazing. She was truly angry.
To demonstrate my power — to bring Gabriela to her knees — I let some of my authority seep into my voice.
The Alpha command.
The air vibrated around us.
Humans drop instantly under that pressure. They are easy prey.
She staggered immediately. Her knees nearly buckled.
But her fingers dug into her palms. Her breathing turned uneven.
And the small, fragile human did not kneel.
A dense silence consumed the garden.
Impossible.
A human cannot resist an Alpha command.
My wolf became sharply alert.
Gabriela cannot be fully human.
Or not entirely…
Valeria stepped closer to me.
“Ethan… perhaps we should discuss this inside.”
She was right.
If the pack sensed hesitation, they would question. And I could not allow that. Not now.
“Return to your quarters,” I ordered Gabriela.
“And if I don’t?” The challenge was clear, even though I could hear the tremor in her voice.
A dangerous spark ran down my spine.
“Then I will carry you there myself.” My voice came out rougher, my wolf slipping through.
The air shifted again.
It was not fear in her eyes now.
It was something else.
Something hot.
Something my mating season recognized.
My wolf pressed against my skin, growling internally, urging me:
Claim her.
I silenced him forcefully.
Not yet.
Not until I understand what she is.
Not until I know what that powerful mark means.
She stepped back.
Just one step.
Then turned and walked toward the mansion, spine straight, refusing to show weakness.
I watched every step.
Every breath.
Every sway of her wide hips.
And I knew with absolute certainty:
Gabriela did not enter my territory by accident.
If she is connected to what is making my son sick…
I will either turn her into the greatest ally I have ever had.
Or I will be the one who ends her myself.
- Writer
