Chapter 3: Meeting the Alpha

Chapter 3: Meeting the Alpha

(Kael’s POV)

“You’ll marry me… whether you like it or not.”

The words left my mouth with the sharp finality of a blade, cutting through the stagnant air of the orphanage office. I hadn’t meant to sound so harsh at least not entirely but the second I saw her standing there, trembling like a deer in a hunter’s sights, something inside me snapped.

She wasn’t Serena.

And yet… gods, she looked so much like her.

Same almond-shaped eyes, though these held fire instead of honeyed sweetness. Her lips were fuller, bitten raw like she had a habit of punishing them when anxious. Her scent—fresh rain laced with wild jasmine—hit me like a freight train, drowning every rational thought. My wolf roared in recognition, claws raking against the walls of my mind, demanding something I wasn’t ready to name.

Mate.

I shoved the thought aside like it was poison. It wasn’t possible. Serena was 

My jaw tightened, dragging me back before the memories consumed me.

“You can’t just come in here and demand that!” the girl spat, dragging my attention to her again. She stood straighter now, chin tilted in defiance, though her fists trembled at her sides. “I don’t even know you.”

Not Serena. I reminded myself again. And yet… those damn eyes.

“I don’t care if you know me,” I said coldly, closing the distance between us until her back brushed against the worn desk behind her. The guardian—Clarisse—hovered at the doorway, silent as a ghost. Smart woman. She knew better than to interfere when an Alpha spoke. “What matters is that you understand this isn’t a request.”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. “Why? Why me?”

Because you smell like the answer to every question I didn’t want to ask. Because the bond singing in my veins feels like betrayal and temptation all at once.

But I didn’t say that. I couldn’t.

“Because your sister couldn’t keep her promise,” I bit out instead. The flicker of pain that crossed her face made something ugly twist in my chest, but I pushed it down. Sympathy had no place here. “The alliance depends on this marriage. You’ll do your duty, or you’ll watch this orphanage burn.”

Her gasp tore through the room. “You wouldn’t.”

I leaned in, letting my shadow swallow her whole. “Try me.”

For a moment, silence stretched tight between us, humming with a tension that wasn’t just anger. Her scent curled around me like smoke, seeping into my lungs until it was all I could taste. My wolf prowled under my skin, urging me to grab her, mark her, claim what fate had clearly shoved in my path.

I gritted my teeth and stepped back instead, ripping oxygen into my lungs like I’d been drowning.

“What’s your name?” I demanded.

Her brows knit in confusion. “Ariana.”

Ariana. Not Serena. The reminder was a bitter pill.

I turned my head slightly, catching Clarisse’s stiff posture from the corner of my eye. “We’ll discuss the details later,” I said, voice like ice. “Two days. Make her ready.”

“No!” Ariana snapped before the guardian could answer. She darted around me, placing herself between us like a shield. Brave. Or foolish. Maybe both. “You can’t just barge in here and decide my life for me! I’m not some—some thing you can trade for an alliance!”

I pivoted slowly, meeting her glare head-on. Damn, she had fire. Most wolves would’ve bowed by now, but she was holding her ground like a warrior. My wolf growled in approval, the sound rumbling through my chest before I could cage it. Her eyes widened, the sharp scent of fear spiking—but there was something else beneath it. Something warm.

“You think you have a choice?” I asked softly, dangerously. “You don’t. The moment your sister died, you became the bargaining piece. Whether you like it or not, Ariana, you will be mine.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out this time. Her heartbeat thundered in my ears, too loud, too fast. And then—

The scent hit me. Faint, but there. Wrong.

I stilled, nostrils flaring, instincts sharpening like drawn steel. Rogues.

They were close. Too close.

My wolf lunged forward, snapping at the bars of control. Danger. Protect her.

“Ariana.” Her name rolled off my tongue like a growl as I scanned the cracked windows, the hallway shadows, every creak of the old building settling under the weight of night. She startled, pressing back against the desk again. “Stay here.”

“What—why?”

“Do as I say.” The command laced through my voice, Alpha-deep, and I felt it settle over her like an invisible leash. Her pupils blew wide, breath hitching. She hated it. Good. Maybe that would keep her alive.

I strode to the door, signaling my Beta through the mind-link. Leander. Perimeter now. Rogues are circling.

Already on it, came the curt reply.

Before stepping out, I cast one last look over my shoulder. She was watching me, knuckles white where they gripped the desk, chest rising and falling like she’d run miles. She looked fragile, breakable. And yet the spark in her eyes hadn’t dimmed. If anything, it burned brighter, like she was daring me to come back and finish what I’d started.

I’d never wanted to bite something so badly in my life.

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The hallway stank of damp wood and old memories. My boots thudded softly against the worn floorboards as I swept through the orphanage, senses stretched razor-thin. Every whisper of wind, every scrape of a branch outside—it all sounded like a promise of blood.

But the rogues didn’t breach. Not yet. Cowards. They were testing, probing.

And that… worried me.

Because rogues didn’t circle unless they had a reason.

Unless they were hunting.

My jaw locked. First Serena disappears without a trace, leaving nothing but a pool of lies in her wake. Now rogues near an orphanage, the very place her sister lives? Too convenient. Too calculated.

I turned the thought over and over like a blade in my mind as I walked back to the office.

The door creaked as I pushed it open—and froze.

Ariana was still there, but something had changed. She wasn’t trembling anymore. She was standing tall, arms crossed, chin tilted in challenge like she’d had time to build her walls back up. And hell if that didn’t make my blood heat all over again.

“You’re back,” she said flatly.

I stepped inside, closing the door with a click that sounded far too final. “Disappointed?”

“I was hoping you’d change your mind.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “Not a chance.”

She narrowed her eyes, every inch of her radiating defiance. “Why does it have to be me?”

Because fate’s a cruel bastard.

Instead, I stalked toward her, slow and deliberate, until her breath hitched again. I dipped my head, close enough to catch that maddening scent, close enough to watch her pupils flare.

“You’re hiding something,” I murmured, letting the words coil between us like smoke. Her pulse stuttered, and I smiled—a sharp, dangerous thing. “And I will find out.”