The Alpha's Hybrid Mate

chapter 8

The glass shards crunched loudly under Ace’s heavy leather boots as he stepped over the shattered threshold of the clinic. The sound was like a gunshot in the dead silence of the room. The air became so thick and freezing cold that Rose could see her own breath misting in front of her face. It was the raw, suffocating pressure of his Alpha aura, an invisible weight that slammed into the room and forced everyone to their knees. Tanya didn't even have time to scream. The moment Ace’s golden-ringed eyes flicked toward her, Tanya let out a sharp gasp, her knees buckling completely. She hit the tile floor hard, her long claws instantly retracting back into her fingers as she trembled, her face pressed almost against Rose’s sneakers in pure, unadulterated terror. Ace didn't look at Tanya. He didn't look at the patients bowing their heads, or the desk lady who was shaking so hard she was gripping the wooden counter just to stay upright. His focus was entirely, obsessively locked on Rose. He stepped into the corridor, his massive frame completely blocking out the morning light. Before Rose could even take a step back, his large, warm hand shot out and wrapped firmly around her wrist. The exact millisecond his bare skin touched hers, that violent current of electric heat detonated between them again. It was hotter this time, a sudden, primal fire that rushed straight up her arm and made her breath catch in her throat. Her hidden hybrid blood flared, screaming in response to his touch, but Rose fought it down, forcing her eyes to glare up at him. "Let go of me," she demanded, her voice shaking but her spine remaining as stiff as steel. Ace didn't say a word. His jaw was tensed so hard a muscle leaped in his rugged cheek. With a single, powerful jerk of his arm, he yanked her forward, dragging her straight past Tanya’s shivering form and out through the shattered front doors of the clinic. "Ace, wait! Stop!" Mira’s voice echoed from the back room as she ran out onto the clinic steps, her face completely pale with fear. "She is human, Ace! She doesn't understand the rules! You can't just take her!" Ace stopped at the edge of the gravel road, right beside a sleek, running black car. He turned his head just enough to glance back at Mira, his golden eyes flashing with a dangerous, molten brilliance. "She is coming with me," Ace growled. The words weren't just a statement; they were a dominant, roaring command that vibrated through the air, making Mira freeze instantly on the top step, unable to move another inch against his will. Ace opened the passenger door with his free hand and practically shoved Rose inside. "Get in," he ordered, his low voice tight with a fierce, mounting rage. Rose hit the leather seat, gasping for air as Ace slammed the heavy door shut behind her. Before she could even reach for the handle to escape, he stormed around the front of the car, ripped open the driver’s side door, and slid into the seat beside her. He threw the car into gear, his heavy boot hitting the gas pedal so hard the tires screeched against the gravel, tearing away from the clinic and kicking up a cloud of dust. The car flew down the narrow road, heading straight toward the dark, looming wall of the Nightroot forest. The silence inside the vehicle was completely deafening. The air was thick and suffocating, entirely filled with the overpowering scent of his rain-and-storm aroma. Rose pressed her back against the passenger door, her heart racing like a trapped bird as she watched his hands grid the steering wheel. His knuckles were completely white, his large fingers squeezing the leather wheel so hard it looked like it might snap under his strength. He was driving fast, his chest heaving as his wolf violently paced beneath his skin. He was furious. He was the cold, independent King of the forest, an Alpha who boasted to the entire world that he didn't need a mate and didn't want a weakness. But right now, his own body and his wolf were going completely crazy for a nineteen-year-old human girl sitting right next to him. "Where are you taking me?" Rose demanded, her voice dropping into a sharp, defensive steel. "Turn this car around! I have a shift at the clinic!" Ace kept his eyes fixed on the winding dirt road ahead, the dark pines closing in around the car as they crossed deep into his private territory. "You're done at the clinic," he muttered, his voice a low, gravelly vibration. "You're not going back there." "You don't own me, Ace!" Rose shouted, her anger finally overriding her fear. "I don't care if you're the leader of this town or the king of these woods. You can't just kidnap me in broad daylight!" "I own everything in this valley, Rose," Ace growled low, finally flicking his molten gold eyes toward her for a split second. "And right now, my wolf is refusing to track the borders because your scent is the only thing filling my head. You are a distraction. A weak, human distraction that is ruining my focus." "Then let me go!" she cried out. "If I'm such a distraction, drop me off at the highway and let me leave Nightroot!" "I can't," Ace whispered, his voice dropping into a dark, frustrated tone that sent an icy shiver down her spine. "That's the problem." He jammed his foot on the brake, the car sliding to a sudden, violent halt in front of a massive, dark wooden cabin hidden deep within the thickest part of the pines. The trees here were so dense they blocked out most of the morning sun, wrapping the entire clearing in long, heavy shadows. Ace turned off the engine, the sudden silence in the forest feeling predatory, like something was waiting for them. He got out of the car, walked around to her side, and ripped her door open. Before she could protest, his large hand captured her wrist again, that same blinding spark of electricity detonating between their skin as he dragged her out of the car and up the wooden steps of the cabin. He pushed the heavy front door open, pulled her inside, and slammed it shut, throwing the thick iron deadbolt into place with a loud, definitive click. Rose stumbled backward into the dim, spacious living room, her boots clicking against the dark wood floors. The cabin smelled entirely like him rain, ozone, and a fierce storm. She turned around to face him, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps as she backed away, but Ace was already moving. He closed the distance between them in a single, terrifyingly fluid stride, trapping her against the solid wood of the locked door just like he had done the night before. He leaned down, his massive frame completely dominating her vision, his broad shoulders blocking out the faint light coming through the cabin windows. His chest heaved against hers, the raw heat of his body dizzying her senses. He reached out, his thick fingers wrapping possessively around her jaw, his thumb pressing firmly against the wild, erratic pulse at her throat. The electric heat flared instantly under her skin, a sudden primal fire that made her thighs tremble. Ace let out a low, rough growl deep in his chest, his golden irises flashing with a dark, possessive fascination as he stared down at her wide, defiant eyes. "Look at me," Ace ordered softly, his voice a deep, intoxicating rumble right against her lips. "You are nineteen. You are a human. You have no power, no claws, and no place in my pack. But my wolf wants to tear this entire forest apart just to keep you locked in this room. Tell me what you are doing to me, Rose. Tell me before I let my wolf lose his mind completely.