The Alpha’s forbidden mate

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO.

HUMANS.

~EMMA’S POV~

My eyes remained shut, bracing for the inevitable. But the kill was taking longer than I’d expected. Was the wolf “praying” before it ate me up?

A loud growl cut through the air, making my eyes flutter open.

“Are you okay?” a voice asked behind me.

I flinched in shock, twisting around to see a young woman crouching beside me, her face etched with concern.

“Huh… er, yeah,” I stammered, completely baffled.

What was going on? Where had she even come from? And what was that sound? I wasn’t dead, neither was I dreaming, but the growling noises kept getting louder and more menacing than before.

“Shouldn’t we check on that?” I asked, scrambling to my feet. My heart was still racing. “The wolf… it might be hurting someone.”

She shook her head, her expression calm and almost amused.

“Don’t worry,” she said confidently. “It’s being taken care of. That wolf won’t hurt anyone anymore.” A small, knowing smile spread across her lips.

I blinked, raising an eyebrow. That was... odd. But then again, what wasn’t strange about this creepy town? A place with unsolved murder cases, a killer wolf on the loose—it was a breeding ground for weirdness.

And yet, here I was, still alive.

Thanks to her.

I studied her more closely. She looked young, maybe twenty. Her fiery red hair gave her an air of maturity, but I could tell she was younger than she seemed.

Somehow, she reminded me of myself at that age—bold, rebellious, dying my hair wild colors, while pretending to have it all figured out.

My eyes wandered to the tattoos on her wrist and neck: intricate crescent moons inked in deep black. They looked deliberate, almost symbolic.

She caught me staring at her, and I quickly looked away, flushed with embarrassment.

“Nice tattoo,” I managed to say awkwardly, my voice breaking the silence between us.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “I’m Lyra.”

“Emma,” I replied, forcing a smile in return.

“What were you doing in this part of town? Normally, humans don’t come this far. The town chief always makes sure of that,” Lyra said, her tone curious.

I frowned, confused. *Humans?* What did she mean by that? Wasn’t she human too?

“I was chasing a story,” I responded. “But it ended up being a dead end. A false lead.”

“Ah, I see. It was brave of you to come here alone,” she said. Her eyes seemed to glint under the moonlight when she spoke, almost unnervingly so.

“I wasn’t alone. My good-for-nothing partner bailed on me,” I replied with a sharp edge to my voice. “I hope he’s dead somewhere,” I muttered under my breath.

Lyra raised an eyebrow at my comment, and I quickly waved it off.

“Metaphorically speaking,” I clarified awkwardly.

Lyra smirked slightly but didn’t push further. “I could help you track him if you’re worried about him,” she offered. “All I need is his scent.”

Her words made me freeze. The more she spoke, the stranger she seemed. *Track him? Using his scent?* What was she, some kind of dog?

“Oh, uh, thanks for the offer,” I said quickly, trying to keep my tone polite. “But trust me, it’s better if he stays missing. Or whatever. He’s probably at home, resting.”

Cody would abandon his own shadow if it meant saving his skin, and I doubted he even thought twice about leaving me behind.

I turned my attention toward the growls echoing through the woods. There was no way a sound like that was coming from just one wolf. Were there more of them out there? I wondered.

“Erm… I really think we should get out of here,” I said, glancing around the spot where I had fallen, hoping I hadn’t dropped anything important.

But as I patted my pockets and checked the ground, a sinking feeling hit me. I instinctively reached for my neck.

Oh no.

“My mom’s necklace,” I muttered, panic tightening in my chest.

Lyra watched me, her brows knitting together in concern. “Are you alright?” she asked. Concerned.

“It’s my mom’s necklace,” I said, dropping to my knees. “It must’ve fallen off.”

I combed through the leaves and dirt, my hands trembling. “Oh no, I can’t lose it,” I muttered nervously. it was all I had left of her. She’d given it to me on my sixteenth birthday.

I didn’t grow up with much—just my mom and me, scraping by in Dentmont. My dad had walked out before I could even bond with him.

My mom always told me he left because he wasn’t happy, but even as a kid, I knew better. He’d left her for someone else.

I clenched my teeth, shaking the memory away.

“Focus Emma.” I said to myself rubbing the sides of my head.

“Hey listen, I honestly don’t think you’ll be able to find it,” Lyra’s voice broke through my frantic thoughts. “It’s dark, and who knows? It might’ve fallen somewhere else when you were being chased.”

“I… I just can’t lose that necklace,” I said, my voice cracking as I scoured the ground. “It’s all I have left of her… the only thing she gave me before she died.”

Lyra crouched beside me, her expression softening. When I looked up, she gave me a kind, almost maternal smile.

“Let me help you,” she said gently.

I nodded, my throat tightening as I murmured, “Thanks.”

We searched together, brushing through the damp leaves and dirt. My hands grew numb from the cold ground, but the pit in my stomach only deepened. It wasn’t here.

“What are you two doing?”

The sharp, cold voice cut through the stillness, making me freeze. Lyra shot to her feet as though she’d been caught stealing.

“Kael,” she whispered, her head bowing slightly, almost as if she was embarrassed.

I turned toward the voice, already irritated by his tone.

“Why is she still here?” he demanded. His voice was low but carried an undeniable authority. “She should be crossing the border and out of Ridgehaven by now.”

“I was going to take her,” Lyra explained hesitantly. “But… she lost her necklace. She looked so sad, and—”

“That is not your problem, Lyra,” Kael interrupted coldly, his words razor-sharp.

“Humans are always losing things. It’s nothing new. For all you know, it’s just some diamond ring. She needs to be out of town before sunrise.”

His dismissive tone sent heat rushing to my cheeks. Humans? What was with that? And who did this guy think he was, barking orders like he owned Ridgehaven?

Last I checked, Ridgehaven belonged to no one. The founding family was long dead, their legacy as buried as the rest of the weird secrets of this town.

I stood up, fists clenched, ready to throw a retort his way. But then I saw him.

And froze.

Kael was… breathtaking.

His tall and imposing figure was striking, and the way he carried himself like a king made the air around him heavy with authority.

His dark hair framed a face so striking it was almost painful to look at—sharp angles, flawless features.

But it was his eyes that pinned me in place: icy blue, piercing, and unreadable.

Behind him stood several others, their expressions unreadable but just as intimidating. One of them carried a man, or what was left of one—his bloodied, limp body slumped against their shoulders.

My stomach churned.

Kael’s cold voice broke the silence. “Here is your chaser.”

“That’s… a man,” I managed to say, my voice shaky. “What chased me was a wolf.”

Kael slightly tilted his head, studying me as if I were some strange creature he’d never seen before. Then his lips curved into the faintest smirk, one that didn’t reach his cold, calculating eyes.

And he simply uttered the words, “You are human.” As though he was stating a fact.

“Yes, I’m human,” I blurted out. “What else would I be? A cat? A dog?” I added. My patience barely hanging by a thread.

His smirk deepened, his expression unreadable. There was something about the way he looked at me—half amused, half predatory—that sent a chill down my spine.

And yet, I held his gaze