
I froze when his hand wrapped around my arm, his grip firm but not painful. My heart slammed against my ribs as I stared up at him. The moonlight cut across his face, showing every emotion he was trying to hide. Anger. Confusion. Hurt. Behind him, his beta climbed into my car and drove off toward the pack house, leaving me stranded with the one thing I had spent years avoiding. An alpha.
“Answer me, Sandra… or whatever your real name is,” he said, his voice low. “Why are you running from me?”
I swallowed hard. My wolf, Sal, paced wildly inside me, torn between fight and flight. But there was nowhere left to run. Not anymore. “I don’t know how to stop,” I whispered.
His expression softened for only a second before he crossed his arms over his chest. “You told me your story. You told me how your old alpha treated you, how your family betrayed you, how you nearly killed an alpha to escape. None of that made me want to throw you in a dungeon.”
“You should,” I snapped suddenly, fear turning sharp inside me. “You should hate me. Everyone else does.”
“I don’t even know you well enough to hate you.”
I looked away, blinking back tears. The forest around us was silent except for the chirping of crickets and the distant rustling of leaves. It felt too calm for the storm raging inside me.
“My name is Sammy,” I finally admitted quietly. “Not Sandra.”
He nodded slowly, like he already suspected it.
“And the alpha you attacked…” His jaw tightened. “Did he deserve it?”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “If I told you everything he did to me, you’d wonder why I didn’t kill him.”
Silence stretched between us. For the first time in years, someone wasn’t looking at me like I was broken or dangerous. He was simply listening. That scared me more than anything.
“I stayed here because your pack left me alone,” I continued. “I worked, paid my bills, minded my business. I never wanted trouble.”
“Then why leave tonight?”
I finally looked him in the eyes. “Because every time someone learns who I really am, my life falls apart.”
The hurt in his face deepened. “So you thought I’d turn you in?”
“Yes.”
“And if I wanted to?” he challenged.
I lifted my chin even though my entire body trembled. “Then do it. I’m tired of running.”
The wind blew through the trees, carrying his scent toward me, cedarwood, rain, and something warm that made Sal whine softly inside me. Dangerous. Comforting. Confusing.
The alpha stared at me for a long moment before stepping closer. Not threatening. Not cruel. Just close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him.
“You know what I think?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head. “I think someone spent years teaching you that you only deserve pain.” His voice lowered even more. “And now you run the second someone tries to care.”
My breath caught painfully in my throat. No one had ever said something like that to me before.
“I don’t need caring,” I whispered.
“That’s a lie.”
Sal stilled inside me. The alpha sighed and stepped back slightly, giving me room to breathe again. “You can keep running if you want, Sammy. I won’t cage you.” His eyes locked onto mine. “But if you leave tonight, you’ll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, terrified of shadows.”
I clenched my fists.
“Come back to the pack house,” he continued gently. “No cells. No dungeon. Just one night. Eat something. Sleep. Then if you still want to leave tomorrow, I won’t stop you.”
I searched his face for deception, but all I saw was exhaustion and sincerity. After years of betrayal, I didn’t know which frightened me more. The possibility that he was lying…
Or the possibility that he wasn’t.

