Alpha's Bond

Chapter 7

The next morning dawned gray and heavy, as though the storm from the night before had seeped into the sky itself. Evelyn stood at the sink, staring blankly at the woods beyond the window while the kettle hissed on the stove. Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

She hadn’t told Lily about the noises, about the blood on Damian’s arm, about the way danger had pressed right against their door. Lily deserved safety, not nightmares. Evelyn would carry those instead.

But no matter how many times she told herself to breathe, she couldn’t shake the memory of him—standing in her doorway, eyes glowing gold, every inch the Alpha she’d sworn to avoid.

You’ll do it under my watch. Or you won’t survive.

The words clung to her like smoke.

“Mommy?” Lily’s small voice pulled her back. She turned to find her daughter padding into the kitchen, wolf toy in hand. “You’re sad again.”

Evelyn knelt, pulling her close. “I’m not sad, sweetheart. Just…thinking.”

Lily tilted her head, far too perceptive for her age. “About the man with the angry eyes?”

Evelyn’s heart lurched. “What do you mean?”

“I saw him.” Lily’s voice was soft, certain. “He was looking at you like he wanted to yell. But then he looked at me different. Like he was…lonely.”

Evelyn’s breath caught. Out of the mouths of children.

Before she could respond, another knock rattled the door softer this time, but just as heavy. Evelyn’s muscles tightened, but she opened it anyway.

Damian stood there again, cleaned up now, no trace of last night’s fight except the cut on his arm, hastily bandaged. His gaze swept over her, then the room, before landing on Lily. For a heartbeat, something gentler flickered in his eyes.

“I came to check the perimeter,” he said, voice low. “It’s clear. For now.”

Evelyn crossed her arms, a shield against the way his presence filled the small space. “And you thought I needed to know that?”

“You do.” His tone sharpened, then softened again. “And you need to know I meant what I said. They’ll come back.”

Lily peeked around Evelyn’s legs, studying him with unabashed curiosity. “Are you a wolf?” she asked.

Damian’s jaw ticked, but he crouched so he was level with her. “Yes.”

Her little face lit up. “Me too. Mommy says I am.”

Heat prickled down Evelyn’s spine. Damian’s eyes cut to hers, sharp and searching, as though she’d just confirmed something he’d already suspected.

“I see,” he murmured. His gaze lingered, and Evelyn felt the bond between them hum like a live wire, pulsing in the air.

She hated that her pulse quickened in answer. Hated more that part of her wanted to let go of the fight, to lean into the pull between them.

Because Damian Hale wasn’t just an Alpha.

He was her Alpha. And denying that truth was growing harder by the day.