My Alpha Begged Me Back

Chapter 2: Return to the Den

Chapter 2: Return to the Den

(Scarlett's POV)

The car ride was painfully quiet. The car hummed softly as it sped through the darkened woods, but inside, the silence roared louder than any engine could.

Steven sat beside me, his presence as oppressive as ever. He always had a way of occupying a space completely, even when he wasn’t speaking.

I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. My gaze stayed firmly fixed on the trees flashing past the window, my hands resting stiffly in my lap.

The tension between us was so heavy it made breathing feel like a chore. Evelyn had given up on trying to make conversation. Every word she’d tried earlier had fallen flat, swallowed up by the awkward fissure between Steven and me.

Steven hadn’t so much as glanced my way since I snapped at him earlier in the car. His jaw was set, his eyes glued to the road as though ignoring me could erase my frustration.

But it wouldn’t. Nothing would.

When the car finally stopped in front of the den, relief washed over me. I threw the door open and stepped out before Steven could say anything. Not that I expected him to say much. Words weren’t exactly his forte, especially when it came to us.

The cool night air hit my face, sharp as the tension between us. I took a deep breath for the first time in what felt like hours, hoping to settle the throbbing frustration that hadn’t left my chest since I saw him in that grand hall.

Our den stood tall and imposing against the backdrop of the Greymark woods. Its sleek modern design was meant to reflect status and tradition, but tonight it felt more like a prison—the very thing that chained me to him and to this unbearable silence.

Steven was just a few steps behind me, his presence impossible to miss. I heard the measured sound of his footsteps as he followed closely, but he didn’t rush to catch up. He never rushed, never faltered.

I unlocked the front door quickly, stepping inside. The entrance was immaculate, every surface polished, every corner pristine. Not a speck of dust lingered, thanks to the housekeepers maintaining it in our absence.

Not my absence, though. I hadn’t been here, not really.

“You haven’t been staying here,” Steven commented. His voice was low but firm, with that typical edge he carried in every word.

I turned to look at him, arching an eyebrow. “What gave it away? The fact that this place feels like a museum? Or the complete lack of lived-in anything?”

I knew what I was doing. The bitterness in my voice, the sarcasm—I was trying to provoke him. It wasn’t my proudest moment, but two years of silence had left me with no shortage of unresolved anger.

His expression didn’t change, but I caught the brief flicker of his eyes. Electric blue flashed for the barest moment—a c***k in his icy resolve.

“Watch your words, little mate,” he said quietly, his tone deceptively calm. But there was a warning in it, as sharp as claws slicing through the air.

I let out a short, hollow laugh and turned away, heading up the stairs. “Or what? You’ll leave again for two years? Oh, wait—you already did that.”

I didn’t look back to see his reaction. My heart was pounding in my chest as I ascended the staircase, my hand gripping the polished railing tighter than I realized.

Our private quarters greeted me with an unsettling sense of familiarity. It was exactly the same as I’d left it—neat and untouched, as though time had stood still.

Steven followed me up, his footsteps steady and deliberate. I ignored him and walked toward the closet, already undoing the silver ties of my formal dress. It pooled around my feet, the delicate fabric shimmering in the soft light spilling from the overhead fixtures.

Steven had already started removing his formal attire as well, his movements precise and unhurried. He stepped into the walk-in closet, and I heard him stop.

He was staring at the shelves piled high with tribute gifts—tokens from other packs meant for me. Rare herbs, enchanted stones, intricate jewelry—everything sent to curry favor with the future Alpha King’s mate.

“These are new,” he said after a long pause, picking up a small, ornate box. His fingers grazed the intricate carvings, but his expression remained unreadable.

“They’re bribes,” I said flatly, stepping toward the vanity to pull my hair free from its pins. “Gifts from packs hoping to earn your favor through me. It happens when you leave your mate behind for years—you know, desperate wolves scrambling for attention.”

I didn’t miss the slight furrow in his brow as I spoke. His calm façade was beginning to c***k just a little. He hated how flippant I was being, I could tell.

“You should respect pack traditions,” he said stiffly, setting the box back down without looking at me.

It was such a classic Steven thing to say. Always disciplined, always tied to his sense of duty.

And I’d had enough.

“Much like you respected our mate bond?” The words tumbled out before I could stop them, sharp and biting. I turned to face him now, my chest rising and falling quickly with the force of the emotions I’d tried so hard to hold back all night.

I expected him to snap back, but he didn’t. He just stood there, the sharp angles of his face shrouded in shadow as the tension thickened between us.

“Three days,” I said, my voice trembling with anger. “You’ve been back in the territory for three days, Steven.”

He turned to me now, his expression unreadable but his eyes cold. “I had responsibilities to handle. Plans for the northern territories’ expansion. Meetings with Shadow Valley emissaries—”

I cut him off. “And none of those responsibilities included me? Your mate?” My voice rose in pitch as I spoke, my wolf pacing anxiously within me. “You didn’t think I should be notified first? Or were you too busy drinking with Claire?”

The mention of Claire seemed to strike some kind of nerve. His gaze darkened further, though his jaw remained tightly clenched.

“My duty is to protect this territory,” he said at last, his voice clipped and controlled. “Everything I’ve done—everything I will do—is for the stability of our packs.”

I shook my head, the bitterness consuming me. “And what about me, Steven? Am I just another territorial obligation to you? Another symbol of stability?”

His expression didn’t falter, but there was something in his eyes—something flickering beneath the surface—that belied the steel in his tone.

I didn’t wait for a response. I couldn’t. My heart was hammering too hard, my mind spinning too fast with fractured thoughts.

I grabbed the silk robe waiting at the edge of the bed and moved toward the bathroom. The door slammed with a finality that reverberated through the room.

The bath helped, if only a little. The warm water and lavender-scented oils worked to quiet my racing mind, though they couldn’t banish the blistering frustration that lingered under my skin.

By the time I stepped back into the bedroom, wrapped in my robe, I’d regained a sliver of composure. I avoided Steven’s gaze entirely, focusing only on the moonlight streaming through the tall windows.

The silvery light illuminated the room, casting long shadows across the floor. I felt his gaze on me the moment I stepped out, hot and piercing.

I turned to see him standing near the bookshelf, his shirt removed and his pack tattoos on full display. My breath hitched despite myself.

He had always been striking, his sheer presence undeniable and overwhelming, but now… there was something raw about him. Something dangerously primal.

The mate bond surged suddenly between us, vibrant and alive in a way it hadn’t been for years. The hum of electric energy was impossible to ignore, and I felt my wolf stir beneath my skin, yearning.

Steven’s eyes darkened as they traveled the length of me, stopping where the moonlight caught the faint curve of my collarbone. His pupils, vibrant blue, seemed to flicker with something far more feral than his controlled demeanor usually allowed.

“You’ve been challenging me all evening, Scarlett,” he murmured, stepping closer. His voice was low but rough, like gravel underfoot. “Testing me. Testing my control.”

I swallowed hard, but didn’t move. Every instinct in me screamed to back away, to deflect, but I couldn’t. His presence was magnetic, his wolf’s dominance wrapping around me like a cloak.

“Maybe I have,” I shot back, though my voice wavered slightly. “You seem to do fine ignoring me otherwise.”

That seemed to break something in him. His fingers reached out, tracing the curve of my jaw with maddening slowness. The touch was so light, so reverent, and yet it sent a jolt of electricity spiraling down my spine.

“Be careful, little mate,” he growled softly, his lips curving into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “You forget who you’re teasing.”

His fingers traced the edge of my jaw, sending electricity skittering across my skin. Two years of separation had done nothing to diminish the magnetic pull between us.

The wolf within me yearned to submit to his touch, to reconnect with our mate bond. But the human part of me remembered the pain of his absence, the lonely nights spent wondering if he'd ever return.

We stood frozen in that charged moment, neither willing to be the first to break. The moonlight cast shadows across his sculptured features as his inner battle played out in his eyes - duty warring with desire, control against instinct.