Claimed By The Wrong Alpha

4

I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with warm air that smelled of lavender and burning wood.

I snapped my eyes open, blinking disoriented by the soft light streaming through a wooden window.

I was lying in a plush bed, covered in clean linen sheets.

The crushing pain in my ribs had vanished, replaced by a firm bandage around my torso.

"—Easy, girl. You're safe."

I turned my head toward the voice.

Standing beside the bed was a mature man with broad shoulders and brown hair graying at the temples.

His features were painfully familiar; he was the spitting image of my father, but with an infinitely more serene and humane gaze.

Beside him, a woman with blond hair and honeyed eyes smiled warmly at me.

"—Uncle... Benjamin?" I rasped, unable to believe it.

The man stepped closer and wrapped me in a firm yet gentle embrace.

I rested my face against his shoulder, feeling the first true tears of the night escape my chest.

"—Welcome to the Sanctuary of Shadows, Katerine," my uncle whispered, stroking my head. "—Your father notified us. As of today, this is your new home."

I turned my head toward the corner of the room, where an impeccably dressed old man observed me in dead silence.

My Uncle Benjamin and his mate, Sara, remained by his side with their arms crossed.

The stranger wore a dark blue silk cloak adorned with red thread embroidery that draped over his shoulders.

He had a perfectly trimmed gray beard and skin so smooth that his few expression lines contradicted the ancient longevity of his gaze.

High-ranking werewolves usually age slowly, but this man's aura didn't smell entirely like a wolf.

"—I am not, my dear," he said, without me needing to utter a single word. His voice sounded refined, like the chime of a silver bell. "—Through my veins flows the magic of the Old Blood. I could tell you with certainty that I am far older than your mind can comprehend."

The old man took my right hand and gently pressed my palm, observing the lines marked by the previous night's ordeal.

Then, he released my wrist and turned toward my uncle.

"—It is imperative that you keep this a secret, Benjamin. I am certain you already divine the truth: she is an Astral Blood Wolf. One of those chosen by the original moon."

An Astral Wolf? What on earth did that mean?

"—I suspected it when her wolf took control upon arrival," my uncle nodded, his face darkening. "—She was on the verge of frenzy inside this room. We had to reinforce the structure with protective runes so she wouldn't destroy the entire house."

I lowered my eyes, ashamed.

Ever since I woke up in this bed, my wolf had retreated into absolute silence once more.

I could feel her presence deep within my chest, but it was like trying to touch a shadow through a mirror.

"—Alphas and creatures of the night will recognize her instantly if she ever transforms again," the sage warned, locking his gray eyes on me. "—Her aura is a beacon of pure power. If anyone discovers what she is, they will hunt her like a trophy. No one outside this compound must know of her existence."

The tension in the room became suffocating.

"—Her destined mate would have been her natural shield," the old man added, looking at me with a touch of pity, "—but I fear that since the bond was rejected..."

"—Kaelen is nothing to me anymore," I interrupted him, clutching the linen sheets in rage.

The sage offered a slight smile of approval at my response.

"—The wolf dwelling within you arrived long before you were born, Katerine. She had to remain dormant to protect you from the envy of the gods. Let her grieve. The severing of the false bond hurt her just as much as it hurt you."

I heard my uncle escort the sage to the exit.

The heavy oak doors closed, leaving Benjamin and me alone.

"—Well, Katerine," my uncle said, crossing his arms in front of the bed. "—You have two choices: you give yourself a few days to weep over the betrayal of your ex-Alpha and your father's contempt, or you stand up right now and train. If you're going to carry that blood in your veins, you need to learn to defend yourself."

"—I have nothing to cry about," I replied, getting out of bed without hesitation. "—I want to train. I want to be a warrior whom no one will ever try to trample on again."

A proud smile crossed Benjamin's face.

"—That's what I like to hear. The pack of the Sanctuary of Shadows does not raise victims. Get ready."

My uncle's pack was entirely different from the place where I grew up.

Mine had been a rigid, fortified settlement with packed dirt streets and a constant air of oppression.

Here, the streets were paved with polished basalt slabs, and people walked freely.

Young women wore elegant tunics and fitted leather corsets, laughing out in the open without the constant fear of the Alpha's authority.

The next day, I dressed in loose linen pants and a white shirt reinforced with a leather corset around my torso.

I tied my hair up into a high braid and headed to the instruction grounds.

Arriving at the training field, I hesitated for a moment, self-conscious. Several female warriors were engaged in hand-to-hand combat bare-chested or in brief wrappings, displaying impressive agility and muscle.

In my former pack, nudity or physical exertion in women was looked down upon unless you were a servant.

"—Don't just stand there staring!" Benjamin shouted from the center of the courtyard, pointing at me with a wooden staff. "—Today we start with the basics: unarmed defense."

"—When do I get to pick up a sword?" I asked, looking with fascination at a group of men practicing heavy swordsmanship just a few meters away.

"—When you learn to take a hit without breaking your ribs again," my uncle replied sternly. "—On guard!"

Benjamin's first strike came without warning.

His fist struck my forearm with the force of an iron mallet, sending me stumbling back three steps as my arm went completely numb.

"—Focus!" he roared, throwing a second blow straight at my face.

This time, the survival instinct that had awakened in the forest took over.

I tilted my head just in time, dodging his fist by millimeters.

I caught his wrist with both hands, pivoted on my heel, and leveraged upward against his joint, applying the exact pressure needed to force him to his knee.

Benjamin looked up at me from the ground in surprise before bursting into a hearty laugh.

"—Well... you learn fast, girl."

I smiled for the first time in days, feeling a spark of fire ignite in my chest.

For eighteen years, I believed my only destiny was to be Kaelen's ornament, waiting for a man to protect me.

How foolish I had been.

***

POV: The Wolf King, Maddox

The mountain fog blanketed the camp of shadows in dead silence.

Everyone stepped aside in reverence and panic as I passed, pressing their foreheads to the dirt to avoid meeting my gaze.

I strode purposefully toward the main tent, where the tallow candles were on the verge of burning out.

In the center of the space, wrapped in black veils and bone rings, the old shaman awaited me standing.

I stepped into the dim light.

In my right hand, I gripped tightly the silver medallion with three blue stones—the amulet I had ripped from the neck of a rogue Alpha's corpse on the bank of the Black River.

The scent of snow, sandalwood, and ancestral blood was still embedded in the jewel.

"—It seems you have finally found her, my Lord," the witch whispered, her voice raspy like dry leaves.

I didn't answer.

I stroked the silver surface with my thumb, feeling the distant pulse of the magic residing within it.

"—She is not here," the shaman said, reading the shadow on my face. "—Her destiny has not yet brought her to your throne. The Goddess has her own timing."

I clenched my fist around the medallion, feeling the metal creak under my colossal strength.

My silver eyes gleamed in the dark with dangerous intensity…

"—I have waited five hundred years in the shadows for my true mate," I whispered, my voice so deep it rattled the tent posts. "—I can wait a few days more."