5

ELARA

I was going with the flow, just letting this man drag me to his Alpha. As we neared the big mahogany double doors, my feet suddenly came to a slow halt.

A strange scent hit me, taking over my mind, and making me sniff the air as if I was desperately trying to know where this scent was coming from.

It was a dangerous presence. Cold air, storm rain, burned wood, and something dangerously clean underneath it all.

My skin prickled. The man who was dragging me along opened the doors in front of us.

I kept my gaze cast low as he pushed me inside and then closed the door. He was gone without even saying a word more.

Slowly, I looked up and saw the bare back of a man facing me. My cheeks flushed as I tried to avert my gaze, but found myself interested in the scars that ran down his sides.

Suddenly, the man turned around to face me. I recognized his dark grey eyes, his plump lips, and his straight nose. I couldn’t help but eye his silky, thick black hair and the sheer height and frame of him.

He was huge. And his muscles seemed to be carved from solid rock that moved with every breath of his.

My gaze slid down the length of his torso, taking in every scar that littered across the canvas of his tan skin.

“You are the girl. ” His thick voice sounded in the air.

I looked up, meeting his dark gaze that was already fixed on me. His expression screamed a kind of neutral control that was only seen in an Alpha.

I forced myself to look away first. I would not let him see anything in me. Not interest, not fear, not confusion either.

In my head, I finally reached a dangerous conclusion. His men had caught me in the forest, and I was being kept hostage in his Pack.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost missed it when Alpha Alaric took one slow step forward. Then another.

Each step made the air heavier.

I hated that my heart reacted. I hated that I could feel it beating harder even when I tried to stay calm.

He stopped a few feet away from me, close enough that I could feel his presence fully now. His scent hit me again. It made something inside my chest tighten in a way I did not understand.

My instincts screamed at me to step back, but I did not move at all. If I started stumbling, it would give away the terror I felt inside. The terror of not knowing how much he remembered from what happened in the forest between him and me.

Silence stretched between us.

His gaze narrowed slightly—just a little, as if my silence interested him more than words would have. I clenched my hands into fists, a thousand thoughts running through my mind at the same time.

“ You were in the forest… ” Alpha Alaric uttered, his voice deep and calm. “ and you saved me from dying. ”

Shit!

He remembered it all.

My brows furrowed as I slowly tilted my head back to meet his stare. But I regretted it the moment his eyes switched to a familiar gold color. My guts twisted as I recalled the sparks that had run down the length of my body the moment he drank my blood.

Alpha Alaric took another step forward. “ Are you scared of me? Is that why you refuse to say anything? ”

I lifted my chin slightly. “ N—No.”

I couldn’t help but stumble back, finally. Who asked someone if they were scared while they actively looked like a predator on a hunt?

Was he mad or something?

He caught my lie, and his brows lifted.  His gaze dropped for a moment to my trembling lips. My mouth closed, and my lips pressed into a thin line.

“ That’s good. I don’t plan on hurting you. ” He took another step closer.

I stumbled back and found myself trapped when I hit the closed door. The wood felt cold against my back, but I still clung to it like my life depended on the frame.

“ Why am I here? Why did your men kidnap me? ” I choked on my breath.

Alpha Alaric tilted his head and dragged his gaze back up to meet my wide eyes. A small smirk lit up his lips, making him appear even more deadly.

I started blurting out nervously. “ I did nothing to you, Alpha Alaric. I was in the forest just to collect some herbs and accidentally saw you— ”

“ You know me. ” He cut me off, nodding slightly. “ That’s good. ”

Something in my chest tightened again.

I did not like this feeling. I did not like standing in front of him and feeling like he could see more than I was showing.

“ If you know me, then you must know…I don’t like people who waste my time. ” He said, his smirk turning more malicious than before.

My heart missed a beat. “ I— ”

“ Now then, just tell me how you healed me. How did you manage to activate my healing ability? ” His voice dropped, his eyes narrowing on me.

“ I did nothing! ” I squealed, curling my hands in my dress to hide how they were trembling.

I told a lie again. But this time, his eyes sharpened like he knew it was a lie, and he wouldn’t let me off this time.

The silence that followed was heavier than before. He stepped closer again. This time, I did not move back. I didn’t have any space left.

He was now close enough that I could feel the heat of him, close enough that my senses were overwhelmed by his scent again.

My body betrayed me slightly. My breath hitched in my throat, and my wide eyes wavered.

His gaze dropped briefly to my throat. Then back to my eyes.

“ You have no scent… ” His scorching gaze dropped to my rapidly beating chest. “ What are you really? ”