Bound to the Alpha who hates Me

They say the Blackwood Forest swallows people whole.

I used to think that was just a story adults told to scare children into coming home before dark.

I was wrong.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped past the rusted warning sign was how quiet everything became.

No crickets.

No wind.

No birds.

Just silence.

The kind of silence that feels alive.

I tightened my jacket around me and checked my phone. No signal. Of course. There never was out here. Still, I told myself I wasn’t afraid. I was twenty-one, not some gullible kid chasing ghost stories.

I was here for proof.

Three students from my university had disappeared in the past six months. All last seen near Blackwood Forest. The police called it coincidence. The media called it tragedy.

But the locals?

They called it a curse.

And I needed answers.

The deeper I walked, the heavier the air felt, like the forest itself was watching me. Branches clawed at my sleeves. Twigs snapped under my boots, each crack echoing too loudly in the dark.

Then I heard it.

A growl.

Low.

Animalistic.

Close.

I froze.

My heart slammed against my ribs. Slowly, I turned.

Two golden eyes stared at me from between the trees.

My breath caught.

“Easy…” I whispered, though I had no idea what I was talking to.

The creature stepped forward into a thin slice of moonlight.

It wasn’t just a wolf.

It was massive. Taller than any wolf I had ever seen. Its fur was black as midnight, muscles rippling beneath its coat. Its gaze was intelligent. Calculating.

Predatory.

I stumbled backward.

Another growl sounded behind me.

Then another to my left.

I wasn’t alone.

Before I could run, something slammed into me from the side. I hit the ground hard, the air knocked from my lungs. Dirt filled my mouth. My head spun.

Large paws pinned my shoulders.

Hot breath fanned across my face.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

This is how I die.

But the teeth never came.

Instead, the weight suddenly lifted.

I opened my eyes.

The wolves had retreated several feet away, lowering their heads.

Not to me.

To someone else.

Heavy boots stepped into my field of vision.

I forced myself to look up.

And forgot how to breathe.

He stood tall, broad-shouldered, wrapped in dark clothing that looked too deliberate to be casual. His face was sharp, carved with harsh lines and cold authority. Dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, and his gray eyes—

His gray eyes were locked on me.

And they were burning.

Not with anger.

With something else.

Something raw.

Something dangerous.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

His voice was deep, controlled, but underneath it was something unsteady. Almost strained.

“I—I’m Elena,” I stammered, scrambling to sit up. “I didn’t mean to trespass. I was just—”

“You shouldn’t be here,” he cut in.

The wolves remained still behind him, waiting.

For his command.

And that’s when I realized something impossible.

They weren’t just wolves.

They were listening to him.

The man stepped closer.

The air between us shifted.

My chest tightened suddenly, painfully. A strange warmth spread through my body, starting from my heart and radiating outward. My pulse quickened—not from fear this time.

From awareness.

His expression changed too.

The cold authority cracked.

His jaw tightened.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

“No,” he muttered under his breath.

The word wasn’t meant for me.

It sounded like a denial.

Like a curse.

“What?” I asked, confused.

The wolves behind him began to shift.

And then something happened that shattered my understanding of reality.

Before my eyes, fur rippled. Bones shifted. Massive wolf bodies shrank and twisted—

And men stood where wolves had been.

I gasped.

One of them smirked at my reaction.

But I wasn’t looking at them.

I was looking at him.

The man in front of me.

The one whose presence made my body feel like it was on fire.

“What is this?” I whispered.

His gaze darkened.

“You’re human.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” I breathed.

His nostrils flared slightly, as if scenting the air.

Then his face hardened.

Something ruthless replaced the brief flicker of shock.

“Impossible,” he said.

The word sounded furious.

“Alpha?” one of the men behind him asked carefully.

Alpha.

The word hit me like ice water.

My stomach dropped.

This wasn’t a random group in the forest.

This was something else.

Something older.

Stronger.

More dangerous.

The man—Alpha—looked down at me again.

And when he spoke, his voice carried the weight of authority.

“She is my mate.”

The world stopped.

My mind refused to process the words.

Mate?

“No,” he said immediately after, louder this time. Sharper. “This is wrong.”

His eyes blazed with something that looked almost like betrayal.

But how could I betray someone I had never met?

“I reject her.”

The words sliced through the night.

The air around us seemed to tremble.

My chest tightened violently, like something invisible had snapped inside me.

I didn’t understand what was happening.

But I understood rejection.

And whatever invisible thread had connected us seconds ago—

It hurt when he severed it.

The other wolves shifted uncomfortably.

The Alpha’s gaze remained fixed on me, cold and resolute.

“You will leave this forest,” he said. “And you will forget you ever saw us.”

But the forest had already chosen.

And deep inside my chest, beneath the pain and confusion, something stirred.

Something that did not feel entirely human.

And it was not ready to be rejected.