Chapter 21: The Alpha's Decision
1460 Words
Dahlia's POV
*Dark Moon's Pack Hall*
I heard his voice before I even saw him.
It carried through the stone corridors of the pack hall. It was low, and sharp with restraint, edged with something that sounded dangerously close to frustration. I paused outside the doorway, my pulse quickening as the words sank in.
“If she is truly my mate,” Dante said, “why can’t I feel her wolf?”
Silence followed. Heavy. Weighted.
I gulped.
Mate.
The word landed in my chest and stayed there, stuck between fear and something I refused to name. I pressed my fingers into my palm, steadying myself as Ramiel's voice answered him.
“Because she doesn’t have one,” the Beta said carefully. “Or because whatever she is… isn’t what we understand.”
“That... Is not an answer,” Dante snapped.
“It is the only honest one.”
I leaned closer to the door, my breath shallow.
“I felt something,” Dante continued. “Not a bond. Not like it should be. But my wolf reacted. It growled. Took notice.”
Ramiel hesitated. “And does that unsettle you?”
“Yes,” Dante said flatly. “It should.”
My chest tightened.
I had not meant to eavesdrop. I had not planned to hear any of this. But now that I had, it was impossible to pull away. Every word felt like it was being carved into me.
“If she is a trick,” Dante went on, “she is a dangerous one.”
“I don’t think she is lying,” Ramiel replied. “Fear like that can not be faked.”
Fear.
That part was true.
I took a slow breath and straightened up. Whatever they thought of me, whatever Dante suspected, I couldn’t stay hidden, locked away like something shameful and unseen.
I lifted my hand and knocked.
The voices stopped instantly.
For one terrifying second, I considered turning around and fleeing down the corridor. My legs trembled, but I forced myself to stay.
“Enter,” Dante called.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The Dark Moon pack hall was vast and imposing, but I barely registered it. All I could see was Dante standing near the center of the room, Ramiel a few steps behind him.
Dante turned toward me.
His expression was unreadable.
My stomach churned.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said quietly, though my voice shook. “But… I needed to speak with you.”
Ramiel glanced between us, then gave Dante a subtle nod. “I will be outside.”
He left without another word, the door closing behind him with a muted thud.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
Dante studied me in that unnerving way of his, as if he could peel back my skin and see every fear I carried.
“You shouldn’t be out of the infirmary,” he said.
“I’m fine,” I replied quickly. “I needed to...”
“To what?” he interrupted. “Convince me you are harmless?”
The bluntness made me flinch.
“No,” I said softly. “I needed to make you an offer.”
His brow lifted slightly. “An offer?”
I nodded, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. “You saved my life.”
“Barely,” he replied. “And against my better judgment.”
“I know,” I said. “That’s why I don’t expect charity.”
Something flickered in his eyes at that.
I took a step forward, then stopped, unsure how close was too close. “I don’t want to be a burden. I don’t want to be locked away or whispered about like a curse.”
“You already are,” he said coolly.
The words stung, but I swallowed the hurt and continued to press on.
“So let me work,” I said. “Let me earn what you gave me.”
Dante stared at me.
“Do I need to remind you that you are injured,” he said. “And wolfless.”
“True, but I am not useless,” I replied, a crack of emotion slipping through. “I have cleaned floors, cooked meals, tended wounds, carried water until my hands bled. I know how to work.”
“That doesn’t change what you are.”
“No,” I whispered. “But it is all I have.”
My throat tightened. I forced myself to meet his gaze.
“I’ll do anything,” I said. “Whatever you need. Just… don’t treat me like I don’t deserve to breathe.”
The room felt too quiet.
Dante exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. “You think offering yourself into servitude will make this simpler?”
“I think it will make it fair,” I said. “You didn’t have to save me. You did. Let me repay that debt.”
He turned away abruptly, pacing a short distance as if the walls themselves were frustrating him. “You don’t understand what you are asking.”
“Then explain it to me,” I said. “Because all I understand is that if I leave, I will die. And if I stay without purpose, I will cause trouble.”
He stopped.
He turned back to me slowly.
“You already cause trouble,” he said quietly.
Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “I know.”
For a long moment, he said nothing.
I waited, my hands trembling at my sides as my heart lodged painfully in my throat. Every second stretched thin with dread.
Finally, Dante spoke.
“You are not my responsibility.”
“I don’t want to be,” I replied. “Just let me stay.”
His eyes hardened. “You want protection?”
“I want survival,” I said honestly. “Protection is just… part of that.”
He laughed softly, without humor. “You sure are bold.”
“I’m desperate,” I corrected.
"Very desperate."
Another silence fell.
Then Dante moved closer.
Not threatening. Not gentle. Just close enough that I felt the weight of him again, the way my body reacted instinctively to his presence despite everything I tried to suppress.
His gaze dropped briefly to my face, and my throat, my hands clenched tight like I was holding myself together by force alone.
“You don’t feel like a liar,” he said quietly.
I let out a shaky breath. “I’m not.”
“And yet,” he continued, “my wolf reacted to you.”
Fear twisted sharply in my stomach. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s what worries me.”
I hugged my arms around myself. “I don’t understand it either.”
Dante studied me for a long moment, something unreadable passing through his eyes.
Then he stepped back.
“Alright," he started off. "You will stay,” he finally said.
Relief crashed through me so suddenly my knees almost gave out.
“But,” he continued, his voice turning cold, “you are no guest.”
The relief froze.
“You will work,” he said. “Harder than you think you can. You will answer to my Beta and follow our laws. You will be watched.”
“I understand,” I said quickly. “Thank you.”
“You won’t thank me,” he replied. “Not when you realize what staying here means.”
I lifted my chin despite the fear curling in my chest. “I had rather face that than die alone.”
His gaze lingered on me again, searching, calculating.
“You belong to Dark Moon while you are under my roof,” he said. “That means no secrets. No wandering. And no leaving without permission.”
My heart clenched at the last part.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Dante nodded once, sharp and final. “Good.”
He turned away, already dismissing me.
“Ramiel will assign you work,” he added. “And Dahlia?”
I paused at the door.
“If you prove to be a threat,” he said without looking at me, “I won’t hesitate to end this.”
My breath caught.
“I know,” I said quietly.
I stepped out into the corridor, my legs shaking, my heart racing with a mix of relief and dread I could not untangle.
I had stayed.
But I wasn’t safe.
And as Dante’s words echoed in my head, "you’re no guest," I knew one thing with chilling certainty:
Surviving Dark Moon would cost me far more than I was ready to pay.
- Writer
