BOUND TO BILLIONAIRE ALPHA
741 Words
Chapter 1 — Part 3: Teeth in the Dark
The hours after the encounter passed in a haze. Amelia lay awake in the healer’s tent, staring at the pale seam where the leather walls met the ground. Every creak of the camp, every shift of the wind felt magnified, as if the forest pressed closer with each heartbeat.
Kael had left after pulling her back inside, but not before giving her a look—something sharp and unspoken, a warning and a promise in one.
The camp began to stir before dawn. A pale gray light filtered through the flap, carrying the scent of woodsmoke and something spicy—like pepper crushed between stones. Amelia stepped out into the chill morning, hugging the rough wool blanket around her shoulders.
Eldoria’s camp was unlike anything she’d seen: circular, with fires set in low stone pits, tents of stitched hide and woven reed. Armored figures—men and women alike—moved with a quiet efficiency, their weapons curved in ways that seemed both ceremonial and lethal. A group of children sat cross-legged around an older man, listening as he traced constellations in the dirt with a stick.
“You shouldn’t wander alone,” Kael’s voice cut through the hum of the camp.
She turned to find him striding toward her, his dark hair damp from the morning air, a short blade strapped to his thigh.
“I wasn’t wandering,” she said, but her voice lacked conviction.
His gaze swept over the camp before settling on her again. “Last night wasn’t a dream. What you saw at the treeline—it’s called a Skathian. They don’t usually come this close to the Moon Guard.”
Moon Guard. The words sparked a faint recognition, though she couldn’t place why. “It knew me,” she said quietly.
“That,” Kael replied, his jaw tightening, “is the part I don’t like.”
They walked together toward a larger pavilion at the camp’s center. Inside, long tables were set with bowls of steaming grains and roasted roots. Kael handed her a wooden cup of hot, bitter tea.
“It will keep the cold from settling in your bones,” he said.
She took it, their fingers brushing for the briefest moment—just enough for her to notice the heat of his skin, the way his eyes darkened slightly before he looked away.
At the far end of the pavilion, two guards murmured to each other in Eldorian. She caught only fragments—wolf’s scent, bridge, Alpha’s choice.
Kael noticed her listening and shifted to block their view of her. “Eat,” he ordered, though his voice was gentler this time.
They had barely begun when the horn sounded—a deep, rolling note that vibrated in Amelia’s chest. The camp erupted into motion. Warriors grabbed weapons, healers began packing supplies.
Kael stood instantly, his hand on her arm. “Inside the healer’s tent. Do not leave until I return.”
“What’s happening?”
He didn’t answer. Outside, the wolf-cry came again—so close now it seemed to circle the camp. This time, there was no mistaking it: the voice was layered with words. “Give her to us.”
Amelia’s blood ran cold.
She tried to obey, retreating into the healer’s tent, but curiosity clawed at her. Lifting the flap just enough to see, she spotted them—three Skathians at the treeline, their forms flickering between human and beast as if caught between worlds. Their silver eyes locked on her instantly.
One of them stepped forward, lifting a clawed hand in a gesture almost like a greeting. The air shimmered faintly around its wrist—a bracelet of the same strange black metal she’d seen on the man who had shoved her in Blackthorne Tower.
Before she could gasp, Kael was there—between her and the Skathian, sword drawn, a ripple of energy sparking across the steel. His voice was low but fierce.
“She is under my protection.”
The lead Skathian’s lip curled. “Then you claim the bridge as yours, Alpha?”
The title hung in the air like a challenge.
Kael didn’t answer with words. He stepped forward, and the forest itself seemed to recoil.
The Skathians melted back into the shadows, but not before the leader gave her one last look—slow, deliberate, and full of promise.
This isn’t over.
- Writer
