The Hybrid Alpha's Mate

I don’t know how many wolves are chasing me. I only know one thing: If I stop, I won’t survive. My breath comes in ragged gasps. The cold night air slices through my long blonde wavy hair. I stumble over a fallen branch, catch myself, and push harder. I can hear them now. Low growls, too close, too hungry. “Come on,” I whisper to myself. “Just have to keep going” But my body is giving out. My vision blurs. My legs feel like they’re made of sand. A howl rips through the trees, so close it vibrates in my bones. My foot catches on a root. I pitch forward- And slam into something solid. Not a tree. Not a rock. A chest. A very warm, very unmoving chest. I open my mouth to scream, but a hand covers it gently. Not rough, not forceful, just firm enough to silence me. “Shhh,” a voice breathes against my ear. Deep. Low. Calm in a way that makes no sense. My heart hammers wildly as he pulls me behind a thick pine trunk. I don’t fight, I can’t. My body is too exhausted, too close to collapsing. Fear and adrenaline tangle in my veins, but something about his touch… steadies me. He crouches with me, keeping me tucked against him, his hand still over my mouth. I can feel his breath on my cheek, steady and controlled, like he isn’t afraid at all. The wolves burst into the clearing I had just fled from. My pulse spikes. I try to pull back, but the stranger’s arm tightens around my waist, protective, not restraining. Then he steps out from behind the tree. “No!” I whisper, reaching out instinctively, but he’s already moving. What happens next is fast, too fast for me to fully understand. A blur of motion. A snarl cut short. A thud. Another. Silence. When the forest finally stills, the wolves lie motionless on the ground. A head separated from a body. Blood smeared across the killer's mouth. I stare, wide‑eyed, my heart pounding so hard it hurts. The stranger turns back toward me. He isn’t breathing hard. He isn’t shaken. He looks… calm. Too calm. I stumble back a step. “What- what are you?” He doesn’t answer. He just studies me with eyes that glow faintly in the moonlight. Not human, not wolf, something I can’t name. “You’re safe now,” he says, as he wipes the blood from his mouth onto his sleeve. Safe. I don’t feel safe. Not with him. Not with whatever he is. “Let’s go.” He says as he extends his hand towards me. “I don’t- I don’t want to go anywhere with you,” I manage, my voice shaking. His expression doesn’t change. “You’re lost.” “I can find my way.” “Can you?” he asks softly. I look around. Every tree looks the same. Every direction feels wrong. The forest stretches endlessly, dark and unfamiliar. My legs are shaking so badly I’m not sure that I can walk, let alone run. The stranger steps closer, but slowly, like he doesn’t want to scare me. “More wolves will come. They always do.” I swallow hard. I don’t want to trust him. I don’t want to follow him. But I also don’t want to die alone in the dark. “Come with me,” he says. “Just until you’re safe.” I hesitate, fear twisting in my stomach, but I place my hand in his. His fingers close around mine, warm and steady. “Good,” he murmurs. “Stay close.” As he leads me deeper into the forest, I can’t shake the feeling that I haven’t just been rescued. I’ve been claimed.