BETRAYED BY HOCKEY STAR: LOVED BY ALPHA KING

Chapter 6: NOT SO HOMELESS

Elara’s POV

The park was nearly empty. The air bit at my skin, sharp and cold. I sat there on the bench, hugging my blanket like it could protect me from everything falling apart inside.

I’d been staring at my phone, waiting for the little dot on the map to move to show he was coming. My chest tightened with every second that passed.

Then I heard it.

A growl. Then the eyes.

At first, I thought it was the wind. Then another one joined sharper this time, followed by the sound of shuffling feet and bones snapping back into shape.

I turned slowly.

Three of them stood by the trees their forms half-shifted, faces twisted, clothes torn. I gasp, Rogues. Homeless wolves. The kind who’d been banished from their packs for crimes too cruel to forgive.

And the smellblood. It smelled Fresh, I couldn't shift or run fast but my sense of smell was still active.

One of them grinned, teeth stained red. “Well, what do we have here?”

My pulse jumped. I stood up, backing away. “Stay away from me.”

They laughed. “A little runt alone at night. Where’s your pack, sweetheart?”

“Maybe she doesn’t have one,” another mocked, eyes gleaming.

“Oh, this is rich,” the third said, stepping closer. “No pack. No scent. Easy meal.”

I could barely breathe. My throat closed up, heart slamming against my ribs. I wanted to run, to scream, to shift, harsh reality made me realize I couldn't but there was nothing.

No wolf. No strength, just me.

Finding he courage I spoke, “looks who's talking, at least I don't have to kill people to eat. Like dogs.”

If there was anything wolves hated more than silver was being called dogs and maybe I should have said that. f**k me.

The first one lunged

And before I could even react, something blurred past me.

A dark shadow crashed into the first rogue, sending him flying across the park bench. The second barely had time to move before a fist connected with his jaw, the sound of bone cracking echoed through the night.

Draven.

He moved like death itself quiet, and terrifying I didn't even sense him. Each strike was precise and ruthless. He wasn’t fighting to warn them. He was fighting to end them.

The last wolf tried to crawl away, muttering something about “the Alpha,” but Draven grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground. “You don’t touch what’s mine.”

The growl that came from him wasn’t human. It vibrated through the air, deep and primal.

The rogues stumbled away, broken and bleeding, vanishing into the dark like the cowards they were.

I stood there frozen, my breath catching in short, uneven gasps.

Then he turned to me.

His eyes glowed faintly golden, but when they met mine, the fury melted away. He walked toward me slowly, took off his jacket, and draped it over my shoulders.

The moment his hand brushed my arm, everything stopped.

A spark sharp and electric shot through me. My body reacted before my brain could. My heart tripped over itself, my wolf—what was left of her—stirred weakly deep inside me.

He felt it too. I saw it in the way his jaw tightened, in the way his eyes softened for a split second before he looked away.

But I refused to believe it.

No. Not him. Not after everything.

“Come on,” he said quietly, voice low but steady. “You’re safe now.”

I followed him numbly to the car. The world outside blurred into streaks of light and shadow as we drove. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t push. He just kept his eyes on the road, one hand gripping the wheel, the other resting on the armrest close enough that I could feel his warmth even without touching him. How I want to cry my heart out but I just feel numb, maybe I'd be happy if they killed me.

When we reached his house, I couldn’t speak. The place was massive, cold and sleek, built like a fortress. But when he opened the door for me, I realized something strange. It didn’t feel unwelcoming.

“Bathroom’s down the hall,” he said softly. “There are towels and clothes inside. Take your time.”

I nodded and went straight in.

The hot water hit my skin and for the first time in days, I felt clean but also exposed. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying that moment in the park the sparks I felt.

The way he moved for me. The way it felt when he touched me.

It terrified me more than the rogues did.

When I came out, he was sitting by the fireplace, a mug of coffee in his hand. He looked up, eyes scanning me briefly not in a predatory way, but like he was assessing damage.

“You should’ve shifted,” he said quietly. “Why didn’t you?”

I sat down across from him, clutching the blanket tighter. “I… I couldn’t. I was caught off guard. I haven’t been able to shift for a while.”

He nodded slowly, gaze lowering to the fire. “You don't seem weak, Elara. You just forgot what it feels like to fight.”

That hit deeper than I expected.

Silence lingered for a moment. The crackle of the fire filled the space between us. Then, his voice dropped. “Maddox won’t get away with what he did. None of them will.”

I looked up at him. “You talk like revenge is the only thing keeping you alive.”

He smirked faintly. “Maybe it is.”

Something about the way he said it almost resigned made my chest ache.

I didn’t know why, but I wanted to understand him. To know what he meant, did Maddox do something to him?

I stood to grab the mug he’d left on the edge of the table, but as I reached for it, the blanket around me slipped, catching on the edge of the chair.

Before it could fall, he moved fast his hand catching the fabric and pulling it back around me. But his hand brushed the back of my neck in the process, and that same electric charge surged between us again.

This time, neither of us moved.

He stared down at me, eyes dark, unreadable. I felt my pulse racing, my breath uneven. For a moment, the air between us was heavy, too heavy, filled with something I couldn’t name but felt deep in my bones.

Then he growled, his wolf was trying to surface, I heard about how mates react to the scent of their significant other. I reached out to brush the hair out of his face and he leaned into my hands, his eyes closed.

Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back.

“Get some sleep,” he said quietly. “Tomorrow, we go public. Prepare yourself.”

I nodded, but when I turned away, I could still feel where his fingers had grazed my skin and still hear the way his wolf had growled.

The Goddess does answer prayers, I have a mate but he can't know I'm wolfless.

Hopefully tomorrow would be better than today.