Chapter 2:The Alpha’s Claim

Aria

My vision came and went in pieces, the gleam of gold eyes, the sound of rain hitting metal, the feel of strong arms carrying me somewhere dark. Every time I tried to move, heat flared in my ribs and dragged me back under.

When I finally woke for real, the world smelled of pine and smoke. A single lamp threw soft light across rough-hewn walls. I lay on a couch wrapped in a blanket far too heavy to be mine. My throat was raw. My heart, still racing, didn’t understand we were safe now.

The door creaked.

He stepped in.

The man from the alley. The one who shouldn’t exist.

“Don’t move too fast,” he said quietly. His voice had that same low rumble I remembered from the fight, command disguised as calm. “You lost some blood.”

I pushed myself up on one elbow. “Where… where am I?”

“Outside the city. My territory.” He knelt by the small table, wringing out a towel in a bowl of water. “You’re safe.”

His territory. The word felt ancient. “You mean your property?”

A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. “Something like that.”

He pressed the cool towel to my shoulder. The sting made me flinch, but I didn’t pull away. His touch was careful, deliberate, almost too gentle for someone who could break me without trying. I stared at his hands, long fingers, veins visible beneath skin marked with faint scars.

“You were attacked,” he said. “A rogue, one of ours gone feral.”

“Ours?”

His eyes flicked up. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“It matters to me,” I said, sharper than I meant. “I saw it. That thing, it wasn’t human.”

He held my gaze for a long moment, then looked away. “No. It wasn’t.”

The honesty in his voice scared me more than denial would have.

“What are you?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer, only rose and crossed to the window. Rain beat softly against the glass. “Sleep,” he said. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“I don’t even know your name.”

He hesitated. “Kael.”

The word settled somewhere deep in my chest. “Kael,” I repeated, testing the sound.

Something flickered in his eyes, hunger, pain, maybe both. Then he was gone, the door closing behind him like a final decision.

~~~~~~

Kael

I waited outside until her breathing evened out again. My wolf paced beneath my skin, restless and satisfied all at once. I’d done what instinct demanded, saved her, but the craving hadn’t faded. If anything, it had sharpened.

Mate.

The word rolled through my head like thunder. I shut my eyes and leaned against the doorframe.

No. She couldn’t be. The Blood Moon wasn’t for another month. The prophecy spoke of a union that would end the curse, not start it early. And yet the scent of her blood still pulled at every feral part of me.

Ronan’s footsteps broke the silence. “You brought a human here,” he said instead of hello.

“She was bleeding out,” I muttered. “I couldn’t leave her.”

“Lucien’s already complaining. He says the pack can smell her from the ridge.”

“I’ll handle Lucien.”

Ronan folded his arms. “You always do. Doesn’t mean you should.”

I turned toward the dark forest outside the cabin. “She’s different, Ronan. Her scent—”

“—matches the Blood Moon prophecy,” he finished for me. “Yeah. Lucian told me. You think fate finally caught up?”

“I don’t believe in fate,” I said. “I believe in control. And right now, I’m losing it.”

Ronan studied me for a long second. “If she’s really the one, you won’t be able to fight it forever. The bond doesn’t care about control.”

I didn’t answer. I was already walking into the trees before he could say more.

~~~~~~

Aria

When dawn came, I tried to convince myself I’d dreamed everything, the glowing eyes, the strength that shouldn’t be possible. But the bandages and the strange house were too real.

The kitchen smelled of coffee. My stomach growled. Someone had left clothes folded on a chair, a plain shirt and sweatpants, obviously not mine. I changed quickly, ignoring the faint blush that rose when I realized they fit almost perfectly.

A knock sounded at the door. I jumped.

It wasn’t Kael. The man who entered had lighter hair, bright eyes, and a grin that didn’t reach them. “You must be Aria,” he said. “I’m Lucien. Kael’s brother.”

Brother. Somehow that didn’t surprise me. They shared the same sharp bone structure and quiet intensity, though Lucien’s energy burned hotter, faster.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“Hiding from his problems, as usual.” Lucien set a tray of food on the table. “You’re lucky he found you before the rogue did worse.”

My hands stilled on the cup of coffee. “Rogue?”

Lucien’s smile faltered. “That’s what we call them, wolves who lose control.”

I almost laughed. “Wolves. Right.”

He didn’t laugh back. “You think last night was normal?”

I looked down. The memory of claws and snarls still made my skin crawl. “No.”

“Then maybe keep an open mind,” he said gently. “Kael doesn’t save people. You’re… different.”

Different. The word sat heavy in the room. Before I could ask what he meant, Lucien nodded toward the back door. “Eat something. Then maybe go outside. The air here helps clear the head.”

When he left, the silence returned, thick, watchful.

Outside, the morning fog clung to the trees. I stepped onto the porch, breathing in damp earth and pine. For the first time, I realized how far from home I really was.

Something moved at the edge of the forest. A shadow, tall, broad. Kael.

He was shirtless, sweat glistening across his chest, his hands clenched at his sides as if he was trying not to tear the world apart. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second. His shoulders tensed. Then he turned and disappeared into the trees.

My heart wouldn’t slow down for a long time after that.

~~~~~

Kael

The training field behind the ridge had seen better days. Half the wooden posts were splintered from Lucien’s temper; the rest from mine. I hit another until the wood cracked clean through.

Lucien’s voice drifted from behind me. “Breaking furniture won’t change what she is.”

“Then what is she, little brother?” I growled. “Tell me.”

He came closer, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. “She’s the one. You feel it. I feel it.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s meant to live in our world.”

“She already does,” he said quietly. “You marked her, Kael. Maybe not on purpose, but you did.”

I froze. “That’s impossible.”

“Check her shoulder.”

The image flashed in my head, the place I’d pressed my hand when she was bleeding. My blood on hers. A spark of gold light before she passed out.

No.

I turned away, but Lucien’s next words chased me. “You know what the prophecy says. The Blood Moon’s mate carries the mark of the Alpha.”

“I didn’t choose this,” I said.

“Neither did she.”

~~~~~~

Aria

By afternoon, restlessness won. I wandered down the dirt path behind the cabin. The woods were alive with sound, birds, rushing water, wind through leaves. But beneath it all was something heavier, like the world itself was holding its breath.

A low growl snapped me still.

“Don’t move.” Kael’s voice, sudden and close, came from behind a tree. He stepped out, eyes dark but not glowing. “You shouldn’t be out here.”

“I needed air.”

He looked past me, scanning the trees. “You’re still bleeding. The scent carries.”

“The scent—? Are you serious right now?”

He closed the distance between us in two strides. “You have no idea what walks in these woods.”

“Then explain it,” I shot back. “Because everyone keeps pretending this is normal.”

His jaw flexed. For a heartbeat, I thought he might actually tell me the truth. Then he said, “You don’t belong here, Aria.”

Something inside me twisted. “Then take me home.”

His hand rose before he could stop it, fingers brushing my cheek. The contact sent a shiver through both of us. His pupils dilated; his breath caught.

“I can’t,” he whispered. “Not yet.”

“Why?”

“Because if I let you go now…” He stepped back, forcing distance. “I won’t be able to find you again.”

I stared at him, trying to understand. “Kael, what are you?”

He hesitated, then let the answer slip. “A wolf.”

I laughed once, shaky. “You mean like—”

Before I could finish, he moved faster than any human should. In the blink of an eye, his irises blazed gold. For a moment, his skin rippled, the shape beneath threatening to break free. Then he forced it down and turned away, shoulders trembling with the effort.

“I told you to stay inside,” he said hoarsely.

Fear and fascination tangled in my chest. “You saved me. Why?”

“Because you’re mine,” he said, barely audible.

The words hung between us, raw and unreal.

When I looked again, he was gone, only the echo of his scent and the pounding of my heart left behind.

~~~~~~

Kael

From the shadows, I watched her run back to the cabin. My wolf was silent now, satisfied. Claim made. The bond sealed deeper than before.

Ronan’s voice came through the link a moment later. You told her, didn’t you?

She needed to know.

And when she runs from you?

She won’t get far.

Because fate had already chosen.

And the Blood Moon had begun to rise.