Claimed By An Alpha

Chapter 2: The Alpha's House Rule

The ride to Blackthorn Pack House was silent.

Damon drove like he was racing the moon. One hand on the wheel, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the road. The other hand gripped the center console so hard his knuckles were white.

Lila sat in the passenger seat, hugging herself. The leather smelled like him. Cedar and snow and something wild she couldn’t name.

She kept sneaking glances at him. The cut of his jaw. The wolf tattoo disappearing under his shirt collar. The way his throat bobbed when he swallowed.

_Mate._ The word was still ringing in her head.

It didn’t make sense. She was human. Plain. Broke. The girl who got rejected once already.

And he was Alpha Damon Blackthorn. The most feared wolf in the Eastern Territory. The man who lost his mate and burned half a forest looking for the rogues who did it.

“You can ask,” Damon said suddenly. His voice was rough, like he hadn’t used it in days.

Lila jumped. “Ask what?”

“Whatever you’re thinking.” He didn’t look at her. “Get it over with.”

She swallowed. “Why me?”

That got his attention. His silver eyes flicked to her for half a second before returning to the road.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “The bond doesn’t care who you are. Or what you’ve been through. It just… is.”

Lila nodded. She knew how that felt.

They pulled through massive iron gates. The Blackthorn Pack House rose in front of them — three stories of dark stone and glass, surrounded by pine trees. Wolves patrolled the perimeter. Two at the gate snapped to attention when they saw Damon’s car.

“Alpha,” one of them said, bowing his head.

Damon just nodded and drove through.

The house was bigger on the inside. Cold marble floors. High ceilings. No photos. No warmth. Just black, gray, and silver everywhere. Like a museum. Or a tomb.

“This is the guest room,” Damon said, stopping at a door on the second floor. He pushed it open.

It was huge. King bed. White sheets. Big window overlooking the woods. A bathroom attached. And it smelled clean. Like lemon and nothing else.

“Your stuff will be brought up,” he said. “Food is served at 7 in the dining hall. Curfew is 10PM. You don’t leave the property without me or a guard. You don’t talk to pack members unless they talk to you first. You don’t go into the west wing. Ever.”

Lila blinked. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” He turned to leave, then paused in the doorway. “And Lila.”

She looked up.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

Then he was gone. Door clicking shut behind him.

Lila sank onto the bed. It was soft. Too soft.

Three months. That’s all this was. Three months until he rejected her publicly and she could go back to her crappy apartment and her crappy job.

She should be relieved. This was the best-case scenario.

So why did her chest hurt?

A knock made her sit up.

A young she-wolf, maybe 19, stood in the hallway with a stack of clothes and toiletries. “Alpha said to bring these for you,” she said quietly. Not meeting Lila’s eyes. “I’m Maya. I’m... I work here.”

“Thank you, Maya,” Lila said, taking the clothes. “Can I ask you something?”

Maya hesitated. “About Alpha?”

“About his... first mate.”

The girl flinched. “You shouldn’t— I’m not supposed to—”

“It’s okay,” Lila said quickly. “Never mind.”

Maya looked relieved. “Dinner’s at 7. Don’t be late. The pack notices things like that.” She hurried away.

At 6:55, Lila made her way downstairs.

The dining hall was long and dark. A massive table that could seat 50. But only 8 wolves were there, including Damon at the head.

He looked up when she entered.

His expression didn’t change. But his nostrils flared slightly. Like he was scenting her.

The other wolves stared. Whispered.

“That’s her?”

“Human?”

“Alpha’s really bringing a human into the house?”

Lila kept her head down and took the empty seat at the far end of the table. As far from Damon as possible.

No one spoke to her. Food was passed. Roast. Potatoes. Bread.

Halfway through the meal, the doors slammed open.

Three male wolves walked in. Young. Late 20s. Expensive jackets. Smirks.

“Alpha,” the one in front said. He had blond hair and cruel eyes. “Heard you brought home a pet.”

Damon didn’t look up from his plate. “Leave, Kade.”

Kade grinned and turned to Lila. “So you’re the new toy. What’s your name, human?”

Lila didn’t answer. Rule #1: Don’t make eye contact.

Kade laughed and leaned on the table, right across from her. “Cat got your tongue? Or are you just used to being silent while Alphas use you and throw you away?”

The room went dead silent.

Damon’s fork hit his plate with a _clang_.

“Kade,” he said softly. Too softly. “I said leave.”

Kade held up his hands. “Just being friendly, Alpha. Didn’t know you cared.” He looked at Lila again. “See you around, sweetheart.”

They left. But not before Kade brushed his hand against Lila’s shoulder as he passed.

She flinched.

When she looked up, Damon was watching her. His eyes were dark. Angry.

But not at her.

“Eat,” he said. Then went back to his food.

After dinner, Lila went straight to her room. Locked the door.

She didn’t cry. She was done crying over wolves.

At 2AM, she woke up to scratching at her window.

Her heart stopped.

She crept to the window and pulled back the curtain.

Nothing. Just trees and moonlight.

Then a shadow moved.

Kade was standing in the yard below, looking up at her window. Smiling.

He raised a hand and mouthed: _Soon._

Lila dropped the curtain and backed away, breathing hard.

The next morning, Damon was waiting in the hallway outside her room.

“You look tired,” he said.

“I’m fine.”

“Kade was at your window last night.”

It wasn’t a question.

Lila’s eyes widened. “How did you—”

“I’m the Alpha,” he cut her off. “I know everything that happens on my land.” He stepped closer. She could smell him again. “He won’t try that again.”

“Why do you care?” The words slipped out before she could stop them. “You said you wouldn’t touch me. That this was just for 3 months.”

Damon’s jaw ticked.

“Because you’re under my protection now,” he said. “And no one touches what’s under Blackthorn protection. Not even me.”

The way he said _me_ made Lila’s stomach flip.

“Come on,” he said. “You’re coming with me today.”

“Where?”

“Territory run. You need to learn the borders. In case...” He didn’t finish.

In case he rejected her.

They drove for an hour in silence. He showed her the river, the north fence, the training grounds.

At one point they stopped by a lake. Damon got out and walked to the edge. Lila stayed in the car.

She watched him. The way the wind moved his hair. The way his shoulders were tense.

He looked lonely.

“Lila,” he called without turning around.

She got out.

“Do you believe in mates?” he asked.

The question caught her off guard.

“I did,” she said quietly. “Once.”

Damon nodded. “Me too.”

They stood there for a long time. Not touching. Not talking.

Just two people who’d been broken by the same thing.

On the drive back, Lila’s phone buzzed. Unknown number.

_Heard you’re staying with the Alpha. That didn’t take long. -T_

T. Tyler. The Alpha who rejected her 5 years ago.

Her blood went cold.

Damon glanced at her. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly, shoving the phone in her pocket.

But Damon had already seen her face. And his eyes narrowed.

That night, Lila couldn’t sleep.

At 3AM she heard footsteps in the hall. Then a door opening. Then closing.

The west wing.

The place Damon told her never to go.

Curiosity burned in her chest.

She slipped out of bed, opened her door a crack, and peered out.

The hallway was empty.

Lila made a decision she would regret.

She crept down the hall, past the stairs, toward the west wing.

The door was heavy oak. Unlocked.

She pushed it open.

Inside was a room frozen in time.

White dress on a mannequin. Books on a nightstand. A brush on the vanity with long dark hair still in it.

And on the wall — photos.

A beautiful she-wolf with silver eyes. Laughing. Hugging Damon. Kissing him.

Lila’s breath caught.

That was her. His first mate.

Footsteps behind her.

Lila spun around.

Damon stood in the doorway. But he didn’t look angry.

He looked devastated.

“You weren’t supposed to see this,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry, I—”

“Get out.”

Lila nodded and hurried past him.

Back in her room, she sat on the bed and stared at her hands.

She was a replacement. A stand-in. Living in a dead woman’s house.

The bond between her and Damon felt like a chain.

And in the room across the hall, Damon sat on the floor of the west wing and pressed his forehead to the cold wall, breathing in the scent of a ghost.

Three months.

It was going to be hell.