His Land. His Rules.

I don’t remember falling.

I do remember running, losing my breath as branches tore at my skin.

I remember tripping over a root hidden beneath the leaves, my body pushed forward, the pain on me crashing to the ground and then darkness.

When I regain much consciousness, the first thing I feel is restraint.

A rope.

Did Julian get me?

If he did then he’s going to put me in the black hole till dawn.

My wrists are bound behind me and this time they’re tight enough to make my fingers tingle.

I’m on the ground, but I don’t feel leaves around me, I’m inside a tent, and it’s warm.

Panic slammed into me with full force.

We don’t have tents in iron claw, and if I’m in a tent it means I wasn’t taken by Julian.

That’s worse.

Who took me in here? Who tied me up so tightly?

I sucked in a breath and jerked hard, the ropes bit into my skin and I winced.

“Don’t,” a voice advised calmly.

My eyes flew open and my heart stopped immediately.

“Whmso tgeere(who’s there?)” I tried to speak but a cloth was tied around my mouth.

My vision cleared and I saw a firelight flicker around me.

Wolves are standing in a loose circle, their gaze is guarded and fixed on me.

These wolves are different, they’re more rough like they were built for battle.

Their scents are also different.

These aren’t my pack members.

I whimpered. “Pleagse lebm merg gugh(please let me go.)” 

No one moved, they just stared.

That’s when I finally saw him.

He’s seated beside me, his legs spread casually with one arm resting on his knee as if this was nothing more than entertainment to him.

His dark eyes bore holes into my light ones, his hard mouth stayed flat but the corners rose as if he was holding back a grin.

His hair was rough but it looked like it’ll be soft against one’s palm.

His skin was fair, which contradicted the scars that littered themselves all over his face. Some even stretched from his neck to back.

He had this kind of overwhelming power radiating off him. It’s so thick that it presses against my chest forcing me to submit and bow even though I was already tied to the ground.

His profile fits every description.

The Alpha king. Malachi Frost.

If I was scared before, that was an understatement. 

My spine went cold immediately recognition dawned on me.

I’ve heard numerous stories, every single pack in this realm has.

Malachi is ruthless, unforgiving and a menace.

He’s a ruler who doesn’t negotiate, he takes.

My throat burned as his gaze dragged over me slowly, so slow and deliberate like he was trying to strip away more than my clothes.

My body reacts on its own.

I shaked my head as my breathing became fast. “Pluhss(please),” I chocked out.

A corner of his mouth lifted.

He reached for the cloth in my mouth and yanked it out.

“What is your name—“

I don’t let him finish before I start rambling. “Please, I didn’t mean to trespass, I don’t know why I’m here.”

“You collapsed on my land,” he replied, as calm as ever. “And that makes you my problem.”

Something stirred inside of me. It’s an unfamiliar feeling but it clawed at him so eagerly. 

It’s as if my body just gained some kind of awareness all of a sudden.

I looked away from him immediately, forcing my body to still.

I warn myself to not react, to not quiver under his gaze but my skin prickled nonetheless.

Heat began to pull at my lower belly despite the dread I felt in my ribs.

Why do I feel this way?

What is he doing to me?

Am I drawn to him because I’m naturally meant to be submissive to the Alpha king or was it something else.

He leaned in dangerously close, his elbows were propped on his knees as he spoke. “You’re shaking.”

“Because I’m scared,” I managed to say, although my voice was already cracked. “You’re the alpha king, anyone in my shoes would be.”

He chuckled softly, finally tearing his gaze off me. “I can smell your fear, and it’s amazing, it shows your honesty.”

His own scent hit me then. It’s dominant, something wild and overwhelming.

But there’s something else lingering underneath it. Heat.

My breath stuttered against my will. I hated how my body responded to it.

I hated the way my pulse spiked and the way this new unfamiliar feeling inside of me is taking rise.

I struggled against the ropes again as the rest of the wolves began to scatter and retire to their camps.

Although none of them tried to ridicule me or jab insults at me, I felt like they were planning something worse.

“Let me go.” I demanded. Which was bold, considering I was talking to the Alpha king. Someone who could kill me with just the slash of a claw.

He tilted his head slightly, watching me as I struggled with the ropes. “You’re useful to me as of this moment.”

My heart slammed against my chest violently. “For what?”

His eyes darkened at that moment.

I could feel the air around us thicken and I could sense that his own breathing had changed.

“I’m in rut,” he said calmly, but the fire in his eyes raged. “And sadly the last she-wolf I was with couldn’t last.”

The words dawned on me like a death sentence. 

“I don’t understand….”

He grabbed my chin and examined my face like he wasn’t already eating me up with his eyes.

“You’ll do well.” 

“You can’t take me,” I whispered as I shook my head. “I already belong to….”

“To an Alpha who clearly didn’t want you anymore,” he cuts in sharply. “Hence you were running away crying in the woods.”

“I-” I tried to speak but I couldn’t form any meaningful words. 

“I am the Alpha king, what makes you think anything would stop me from having who or what I want?”

He stood up, towering over me now.

Tears began to burn my eyes as I felt the wave of his pheromones hit me.

“Please. I won’t survive this…I’m not strong enough.”

My senses began to tingle, it felt like I’m discovering new parts of myself I had never discovered before.

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting him, fighting the pull I’m feeling, fighting my own body.

“I won’t give you what you want.” I whispered through clenched teeth.

His thumb brushed my jaw, almost in a thoughtful way.

“We’ll see.”

As his grip tightened and he dragged me into his tent, that unfamiliar feeling in the back of my head began to swell until all I could hear was a voice speaking to me, whispering and telling me to open up.

It wasn’t until he had me pinned to the bed did I realize that my wolf had awakened.