The Alpha I should Hate

Chapter 3

I needed a distraction. Anything to take my mind off the upcoming ceremony, off the suffocating truth that tomorrow I would be bound to him in front of the pack, and that there would be no escape after.

I pushed open the door to the study, hoping the books would offer some respite. But of course, it was empty except for the damn mark. The constant reminder of what awaited me.

A quiet knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I didn’t need to be told who it was. My heartbeat quickened, but I kept my face impassive as I turned toward the door.

“Come in.”

Leon’s figure filled the doorway, tall and imposing. He stood there for a moment, watching me with that inscrutable look. “We need to talk,” he said, his voice low and controlled.

My heart raced despite myself. “About what?”

His eyes narrowed, his jaw tensing as if he was suppressing some deeper emotion. But his voice remained cool, measured. “About you. About us.”

I swallowed the knot in my throat. “There is no ‘us.’”

He didn’t flinch. Instead, he took a slow step forward, his eyes never leaving mine. “We both know that’s not true.” His voice softened, but the sharp edge remained. “We’re already bound, Ivy. Whether you admit it or not.”

I recoiled, a surge of fury washing over me. “You don’t get to claim me. Not like this.”

His face darkened, the anger in his eyes growing more intense. “I didn’t want this either, Ivy. But I’m not going to apologize for doing what I had to.” His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “And you will never escape me. You’re mine.”

It was a threat, but also an undeniable truth. My stomach churned at the thought, but there was something else in his eyes. Something that wasn’t just cold calculation. It was something darker, more possessive.

I forced myself to stand tall, glaring at him. “I don’t need your pity, Leon. I don’t need anything from you.”

His lips curled into a mocking smile. “You’ll change your mind. You’ll see what happens when the bond fully takes hold. You’ll want me.”

The words sent a jolt through me, a mixture of anger and… something else. I refused to acknowledge it. “I’d rather die than ever want you,” I spat, my voice dripping with venom.

His gaze darkened further, but there was a flicker of something behind it. A flash of pain, maybe, but it was quickly hidden, replaced by that ruthless Alpha stare.

“You don’t get to decide that, Ivy,” he said, stepping closer, his presence suffocating. “You’re mine now. Whether you want to admit it or not.”

The words hung in the air, too heavy to ignore. I wanted to yell, to scream, to make him understand that this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. But he was right. I couldn’t fight it anymore.

I couldn’t fight him.

Before I could respond, he reached out, gripping my chin with his fingers, forcing me to look up at him. His eyes were unreadable, the silence between us thick with tension. “Tomorrow, Ivy,” he whispered, “you’ll be mine. And there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

His grip on my chin was unrelenting, and for a moment, I thought I might choke on my own breath. The way his fingers dug into my skin, possessive and unforgiving, left me no room to breathe, no room to escape.

I wanted to slap his hand away, to scream in his face and tell him I’d never be his. But as his eyes bore into mine, that cold, calculating look never leaving his face, a terrifying realization settled in.

I had no choice.

“You’ll regret this,” I said, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady. “You’ll regret forcing me into this.”

Leon’s lips twisted into a smirk, the arrogance in his smile seeping into every word. “Regret? I don’t regret anything, Ivy. Not when I know it’s necessary. Not when it’s for the survival of my pack.”

I was nothing more than a pawn to him. A tool for his gain, an obstacle to his control, but nothing more. The bond, the ceremony, it was all part of his plan. His need for power. His need to claim what he thought belonged to him.

I yanked my face out of his grip, glaring up at him, fury burning in my chest. “Don’t you dare pretend you care about anything other than yourself.”

“I care about survival,” he replied, his voice low and steady, like I wasn’t even worth the effort of an argument. “I’m doing what I need to do. For me. For my pack. And for you.”

The last word hit me like a punch in the gut. “For me?” I repeated, incredulous. “You think you’re doing this for me?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze softened for just a brief moment, and there it was—the smallest flicker of something resembling guilt, or maybe it was just the weight of responsibility. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by that impenetrable wall of ice.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” he said flatly, his voice returning to its usual coldness. “But you will. Eventually.”

The certainty in his words made my blood run cold. Because deep down, I knew he was right.

No matter how much I hated him, no matter how much I fought, the bond would pull me back. The ceremony was tomorrow, and there would be no turning back.

I tried to steady my breathing, refusing to let him see just how terrified I was. I would not break. Not in front of him. Not in front of the monster who had destroyed my life and expected me to thank him for it.

“I’ll never forgive you,” I whispered, though the words felt hollow, like a promise I couldn’t keep.

Leon stepped closer, his towering frame engulfing me. “Forgiveness is irrelevant,” he said, his voice dangerously soft. “What matters is what happens next. What happens tomorrow.”

The weight of his words hit me like a freight train. The ceremony. The bond. The mark. It was all coming, and there was nothing I could do to stop it

For a moment, we stood there, the silence between us thick and suffocating. I couldn’t look at him anymore. Not when the truth was right in front of me. No matter how much I hated him, no matter how much I tried to resist, I was already his.

I was already bound to him.

I turned away from him, feeling his eyes on my back, watching me, as though he could see every inch of my soul, every crack in my defenses. It was unbearable.

I couldn’t stay in this room with him. Not when the suffocating pressure of his presence was making it harder to breathe.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I muttered, barely audible.

Leon didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. His footsteps followed me as I left the study, the sound echoing in my ears, reminding me of the inevitable. No matter how much I fought, I was already his.

The door slammed shut behind me, and I was left standing in the hallway, my heart racing, my pulse hammering in my ears. I knew what awaited me. And there was no escape. The bond. The mark. The Alpha.

Tomorrow would change everything.