Chapter 3:The Alpha’s Watch
826 Words
She didn’t sleep that night.
She tried. She closed her eyes, curled into the farthest corner of her bed, even pulled the blanket over her head like she used to when she was five and thought that could keep the monsters out.
But the monster wasn’t under her bed.
He was outside.
And he’d said her name like it belonged to him.
The next morning was quieter than usual.
Aunt Maris didn’t speak during breakfast. Just moved like someone bracing for impact, hands shaking slightly as she poured coffee, eyes darting to the windows every few seconds like she expected someone — something — to appear.
“Elara,” she finally said, voice tight, “don’t go anywhere alone today.”
“Why?”
“Just… don’t.”
Elara said nothing. She only nodded. But inside, she already knew she was going to break that promise.
The school hallway felt too bright.
Too loud. Too fake.
Her footsteps echoed in her head, and every face she passed looked like a mask. Everyone had eyes but no one saw her — not really. Not like he had.
She didn’t see him at first.
Not in the halls. Not at lunch. Not even outside by the trees where he’d been just days ago.
And for a second, she let herself believe he was gone.
That maybe it was all a dream — the mark, the voice in the night, the way he’d said her name like it had weight.
But then fifth period hit.
And there he was.
Leaning against the locker next to hers, hands tucked in the pockets of a dark jacket, head bowed slightly like he was deep in thought — or deep in something else.
She stopped walking.
He looked up.
And it was instant. That pull in her chest. That burn beneath her ribs. Her body recognized him before her mind could make sense of anything.
“Elara,” he said again, softer this time.
“Stop saying my name like you own it.”
He tilted his head. “I don’t. Yet.”
She rolled her eyes and opened her locker, pretending her hands weren’t shaking. “What do you want?”
“To keep you alive.”
“Well, I’m doing fine so far.”
“No, you’re not.”
She froze.
Kael stepped closer. Not enough for anyone else to notice — just enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him. He wasn’t just warm. He burned. Like he carried the sun inside his bones.
“They’re watching you now,” he said. “More of them. Rogues. They picked up your scent the night the mark appeared.”
“You make it sound like I’m prey.”
“Not prey,” he said quietly. “A prize.”
Elara turned to face him fully. “Then what are you?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Just studied her, his eyes full of something ancient. Something wild.
“I’m the only one who can help you survive what’s coming.”
“And why would I trust you?”
“Because no one else will tell you the truth.”
A beat of silence passed.
Then he handed her something — a folded note, worn at the edges.
She opened it slowly.
Inside was a map. Of the forest behind her house. Three red Xs marked along the trail.
“What is this?”
“Places where the rogues left marks.”
Her heart skipped.
“You’ve been watching me,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.
He didn’t deny it.
“I had to,” he said. “The night you got the mark… I felt it too. From miles away. I knew who you were the second I saw you.”
Elara looked at him, everything in her screaming that this was crazy, that she needed to walk away.
But she didn’t.
Because somewhere, deep down, something in her recognized him too.
Not with her head.
With her bones.
With the mark.
That night, she stood at her window again.
Same moon. Same silence.
And then, like clockwork—
“Elara,” he called.
This time she didn’t flinch.
She opened the window.
“What do you want from me?”
Kael looked up. “Not want. Need.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re her.”
“Who?”
“The girl the Moon marked. The one who changes everything.”
Elara’s heart raced.
“Come with me,” he said.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You will,” he said gently. “Soon. Because they’re coming. And when they do… if you’re not ready, they’ll rip you apart.”
She swallowed hard.
And why should I believe you? she said…
Because they killed your parents…
Elara, the rogues killed your parents.
And in that moment, beneath the full moon and his burning gaze, something shifted.
Not in the world.
In her.
- Writer
