Intimidating Alpha

The walk to the mansion was a silent one. I kept my eyes low, but I couldn't miss the high-definition lenses tucked into the oak branches, their red power-lights blinking like tiny, watchful eyes.

Silverblade didn't just have borders; it had a nervous system of glass and wire. When the pack house finally came into view, it was less a home and more a big mansion of glass and dark stone. It was beautiful, but it was a beauty designed to intimidate.

Inside, the air was pressurized, humming with the silent efficiency of patrolling warriors. We stopped at a door labeled simply OFFICE.

The guard knocked, a heavy sound that seemed to echo in the pit of my stomach, and Gabriel’s voice barked from within.

"Enter."

The guard shoved me inside and vanished, the door clicking shut with an air-tight seal. I was alone with the Alpha.

Gabriel sat behind a massive desk of dark, polished wood, his attention buried in a stack of reports. The office felt like an extension of the man himself—powerful, expensive, and entirely devoid of warmth.

There were no photos of family, no personal trinkets; only artifacts of trinkets and a massive window that overlooked his kingdom like a sniper’s nest.

I stood there, my legs trembling, waiting for him to acknowledge I was even breathing.

Finally, he stood. The powder-blue shirt he wore couldn't hide the lethal bulk of his shoulders as he circled around the desk toward me.

He moved with a predator’s grace, stopping so close I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. His nostrils flared as he drank in my scent, his gaze raking over me with a clinical, mocking slowness.

When his eyes hit my chest, his brow furrowed into a deep, irritated line.

"Hope you had a good night's rest," he taunted, his voice a low, sandpaper growl.

"It was cold, and I didn't sleep a wink," I snapped back, my exhaustion making me bolder than I should have been.

"Are you implying my pack lacks hospitality?" He arched a brow, his eyes dark and tired, yet sharp enough to cut.

"I’m grateful I wasn't killed," I replied, forced a smile that felt like a mask. "But 'hospitable' isn't the word I'd use for a stone floor and no water."

Gabriel reached out, his fingers hooking under my chin to tilt my face up. The contact was like a live wire hitting water.

A jolt of pure, electric heat surged through me, and to my utter betrayal, my body responded instantly. My nipples hardened against the thin fabric of my tank top. Through the bond, I felt a flash of his own sharp attraction before he masked it with a sneer.

"Do you enjoy walking around without a bra?" He asked, his voice harsh. "Or is this another 'rogue' tactic to distract me?"

I gasped, heat rushing to my cheeks as I realized why he’d been frowning. I crossed my arms over my chest, mortified. "They’re uncomfortable. I didn't think I'd be standing in an Alpha’s office today."

He stepped back, leaning against his desk, the silhouette of his power framing him. "What's your name?"

"Elvira Bradford," I said, using my mother’s maiden name. I wasn't about to give him a trail that led back to my stepfather’s territory.

"And your pack?" he pressured, his voice dropping an octave.

"I’d rather not say. I want nothing to do with them."

The snarl that ripped from his throat made me flinch. "You think you’re in a position to make demands? You are a trespasser. I am the Alpha. You will answer every question I ask, or I will ensure your stay here becomes significantly less 'hospitable.'"

He was looming over me, his wolf pushing against the surface of his skin, when his phone shattered the tension. He barked a greeting into the receiver, but as the person on the other end spoke, I watched the color drain from his face, replaced by a murderous, glowing-eyed rage.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his grip on the phone white-knuckled. "Get the tactical teams ready."

He slammed the phone down and turned his gaze back to me, though he looked like he was seeing through me. "I’ll deal with you later," he promised, his voice a promise of future pain. "Don't leave this room."

He vanished through the door, leaving me standing in the silence of his power. My heart slowed down and i released a breath i didn't know i was holding. I was safe for the moment, but the look in his eyes told me that whatever news he'd just received, the peace in Silverblade may be over—and I was still caught in the middle of it.