The Alpha I meant to kill is my mate.

Chapter4

The clearing had now fallen silent, the last whispers of firelight dancing over the faces of the Crimson Fang Pack. Dominick’s voice sliced through the quiet, calm and absolute.

“Everyone return to your homes. The ceremony is over.”

Gasps and murmurs ran through the pack, but no one dared question him. The authority in his stance, the steel in his gaze, made obedience instinctive.

Before the pack could disperse, his mother stepped forward, poised and sharp. Her eyes narrowed slightly as they rested on me. “Dominick,” she asked, voice measured, cold, “why end the ceremony early?”

Dominick didn’t flinch. “Everyone else has found their mate,” he said, steady, commanding. “It’s time my mate was claimed. I told you, Mum… I’ve been searching for her for years. Now I’ve found her.”

Her gaze flicked toward Ciara, favoring her, lingering on the familiar. Then, when her eyes returned to me, I could feel the judgment disapproval wrapped in expectation, a quiet hostility that made my skin crawl. She didn’t like me. She preferred Ciara. She didn't hide it . And yet Dominick remained unshaken.

He gestured toward a sleek black motorbike parked just beyond the trees. “Come,” he said. “We’re leaving.”

My heart thudded in my chest. Leave? Now? Where?

“You’ll be safe,” he said, voice low, reassuring. “But you need to ride with me.”

I followed without question as he led me toward a waiting motorcycle. He mounted first and held a hand out. My hands trembled as I took it, and he helped me up behind him.

“Put your hands around my waist,” he instructed, his voice steady, confident. “Hold on tight. I won’t let you fall.”

I did as he said, curling my arms around him. The warmth radiating from his body, the strength beneath my hands, sent a strange thrill through me. I felt safer than I ever had in my life, yet more exposed than ever before.

“You’ll be okay,” he murmured, as if sensing my thoughts, my fear. “I’ll protect you. I swear it.”

I swallowed, my throat dry, and finally heard the one question that terrified and excited me at the same time.

“What… is your name?” he asked.

I blinked, heart tightening. I didn’t know. I couldn’t remember. All I had ever been called was “slave,” a shadow among shadows. My lips trembled. “I… I don’t… I can’t remember.”

Dominick’s strong hand lightly rested over mine on his waist. His eyes, steel-gray and unreadable, softened just for me. “Then you shall have one,” he said, as if declaring it to the world. “Hazel. Hazel, like your eyes.”

The name, strange yet fitting, a tether to an identity I had never had

“Hold on tight,” he said, low and protective.

The motorbike roared beneath us, its vibration thrumming through me. I clung to him, every nerve alive, as the forest blurred around us. Behind us, a car moved silently, keeping pace. I knew without looking that his mother and Ciara followed, their presence a reminder that my welcome was far from assured.

The house came into view, modern, sleek, with glass and stone walls that reflected the moonlight. Dominick came down first and helped me down, steadying me with firm, warm hands.

“Stay close,” he instructed. “You’ll meet everyone soon, but you’ll be safe with me.”

Inside, the house was open and commanding, yet comfortable clean lines, polished wood, warm light spilling from tall windows. Dominick led me to a sitting area where the family had gathered.

His Beta, Kael greeted me with polite curiosity, measuring me with his eyes but not hostile. His sister,karen smiled faintly, tilting her head, as if evaluating whether I belonged. She seemed neutral but welcoming enough.

Then came the two who froze my heart: my father, Beta to Dominick’s father and my mother, Beta to Dominick’s mother. Their eyes narrowed as they scanned me, taking in my unfamiliar face and ragged presence. There was recognition buried beneath their expressions, but it twisted into hostility. Cold, accusing, like I had trespassed into their world. My chest tightened as I realized their judgment mirrored Ciara’s: they saw me not as their daughter, but as an intruder, a shadow that didn’t belong.

Dominick’s gaze swept over all of them, unwavering. “Hazel is mine,” he declared, voice low but carrying absolute authority. “She is my Luna. No one harms her. This is final.”

Ciara approached then, her voice sharp, trembling with warning. She grabbed my arm gently but firmly. “Hazel… go back. Leave. Stay away from him,” she whispered, her gray eyes flashing with urgency.

My stomach lurched. My sister, my blood, yet her words cut sharper than any blade. Could I reveal myself? Should I? My mind whirled, the fear of rejection clashing with the instinct to survive.

The room fell into silence. Dominick’s mother finally spoke, her voice slicing through the tension. “Hazel… how did you get here? Who are you?”

My throat tightened. I could feel all eyes on me, Dominick’s steady, protective gaze; Ciara’s cold, warning stare; my parents’ judging and hostility. My voice faltered, caught in the chaos of fear and disbelief.

I opened my mouth, tried to speak, but no words came. How could I explain that the woman they didn’t recognize, the girl they thought lost or worthless, was their own daughter? That I was the slave they never named, the shadow they had discarded?

My heart is hammering. Dominick’s hand rested lightly on mine at his side, a reminder that someone saw me, claimed me, and would not let me fall.

My father glared, lips pressed in a thin line, arms crossed, hostility radiating from him as though I had stolen something sacred. My mother mirrored the same cold stare, her hands clenched at her sides, eyes sharp as daggers. Their disapproval was palpable, suffocating.

Ciara’s warning echoed in my mind. Stay away. Leave. But Dominick’s hand on mine grounded me, his presence a shield against their judgments. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t decide what to do.

All I knew was that my life had shifted irreversibly. Every look, every whisper, every judgment, made the weight of my new existence undeniable.

And then his mother’s voice came again, cutting through my panic: “Hazel… how did you get here? Who are you?”

I swallowed, but the words refused to form. I didn’t know what to say. Could I reveal the truth? Could I even lie? The answers tangled in my chest, heavy and impossible.