Chapter 3: The Alpha Disguised as a Homeless Man

Third Person POV 

The man sitting by the alley dumpster looked like he had been forgotten by the world.

His hair was long and greasy, tied back with a torn shoelace. A thick beard covered most of his face, hiding the sharp jawline beneath the grime. His clothes were ragged and mismatched. He had on an old coat that didn’t fit, shoes with holes, and jeans stained with dirt. He sat quietly, eyes half-closed, like he hadn’t slept in days.

Dominic Blackwood, Alpha ofthe Ironclaw Pack had chosen this disguise carefully. The smell, the mess, the filth, he wore it all like armor. If people thought he was nothing, they wouldn’t look twice. That was the point.

A group of young men passed by. One of them, tall and cocky, stopped and sneered. “You stink, old man. Get lost.”

Dominic didn’t react.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” The man leaned closer, laughing. “Disgusting.”

Dominic slowly lifted his eyes. They were sharp and piercing, too cold for a man in rags.

The guy backed off a little, unsettled. “Creep,” he muttered before walking away with his friends.

As soon as the alley quieted, footsteps approached from the other end.

“Alpha?” a voice whispered.

Dominic looked up again. Three men stood there, dressed in simple clothes but alert and respectful. The one in front dropped to a knee.

“Beta Cass,” Dominic said, his voice rough from disuse.

“Alpha, we’ve been searching for you for weeks,” Cass said, glancing around nervously. “You’re not safe out here. Let us take you back to the pack.”

Dominic shook his head slightly. “Not yet. I have unfinished business.”

“But—”

Dominic cut him off, “I’ll return when it’s time. You know I always do.”

Cass hesitated, then nodded. “As you wish, Alpha. But please be careful. The council… they think you’re dead.”

Dominic’s lips twitched in the ghost of a smile. “Let them.”

He turned away, pulling the hood of his coat up to hide his face once more. His wolf, restless beneath his skin but he wasn’t ready to go back yet.

Dominic’s eyes narrowed as he spotted the familiar figure walking toward him. She had her hands tucked into her coat pockets, her dark hair tied loosely behind her. Evelyn.

His heart stirred at the sight of her.

She looked and smelled amazing. Even now, she still brought him food without asking too many questions.

His mind went back to the night they first met.

He’d been bleeding out, ribs cracked from a brutal fight with rogues who had caught his scent while he was still on the run. He barely managed to shift into his wolf form and escape, stumbling through back alleys until his legs gave out behind a row of trash bins. Half-dead, soaked in blood, and clinging to consciousness by a thread, he had collapsed behind a small diner.

Soon, the back door creaked open. Footsteps. Soft and unhurried approached.

He remembered her voice, casual and unbothered at first. “Always so much to toss at closing…”

Then she saw him.

A massive silver wolf, covered in blood, teeth bared weakly in warning. Most people would’ve screamed, run and called animal control.

But not her. Evelyn froze, then cautiously approached. Concern etched on her face. 

She knelt slowly, careful not to startle him, her eyes never leaving his. “Easy,” she whispered. “I won’t hurt you.”

And in that moment, something stirred in his chest. Through the haze of pain, through the fog clouding his mind, his wolf—Xander had surged forward, heart thudding wildly.

“Mate.”

The word rang through him like thunder.

Even broken and bleeding, he had felt it in his bones. The way her scent cut through the blood. The way her presence stilled the chaos inside him. She had touched his fur with trembling fingers, and he hadn’t flinched. Instead, his breathing had eased. For the first time in days, he had felt safe.

She had wrapped him in a blanket. Fed him bits of leftover meat with her bare hands. Talked to him.

Evelyn didn’t have her own wolf, so she couldn’t sense that the man she’d saved was her mate, let alone know that he was an Alpha.

And from that night on, Dominic had stayed close.

But as a homeless man hiding behind trash bins and shadows.

She hadn’t known the truth. That the wolf she saved was the same broken man who now sat on a bench outside her work every evening, waiting to see her smile.

Behind him, Beta Cass shifted awkwardly.

“Go,” Dominic said through the mindlink, his voice firm. “Disappear before she asks questions. Under no circumstance should Evelyn know who I am”

“Yes, Alpha,” Cass replied. “But what do I tell the others?”

“That I’m fine. Do you understand?”

“Understood.”

The moment his men melted back into the shadows, Dominic turned his full attention to her. 

One day ago，Evelyn stopped a few feet away, holding out a greasy paper bag with a shy smile. “It’s the same as last time. Bacon cheeseburger. I remembered you liked it.”

Dominic stared at her, his throat tightening. “Thank you,” he said, voice rough on purpose. He took the bag from her with fingers that looked more worn than they were.

Evelyn was watching him closely, her brows slightly furrowed.

“You always sit alone,” she said. “You don’t talk much. But… you’re not like the others. Most people avoid me when I bring food out.”

Dominic took a slow bite of the burger. It was still warm. Just the way he liked it. “Maybe I just don’t mind kindness,” he murmured.

She sat down beside him without hesitation, brushing a bit of dirt away with her hand. “You never told me your name.”

He paused for a second. “Dom,” he said finally.

Not a lie. Just not the whole truth.

“Dom.” She nodded like she’d file that away somewhere. “Well, I’m Evelyn.”

He already knew that. Evelyn Northwood. The Omega daughter of Alpha Aaron Northwood. A girl who was supposed to be quiet, low-ranking, unimportant.

But she had looked into the eyes of a dying Alpha wolf and whispered, “You’ll be okay.” She had touched his fur with trembling hands. She had cried when she saw him bleeding.

“So, Dom…” she said, glancing over at him with a faint smile. “Are you always going to be this mysterious? Or will you ever tell me why you’re always back here, like you’re hiding from the world?”

Dominic let out a low chuckle, eyes dropping to the pavement. “Maybe one day.”

Her smile wavered slightly, the light behind it dimming. “Well… I should get back. My boss doesn’t love it when I take long breaks.”

Dominic nodded. “Thanks for the burger.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said, rising to her feet and brushing her skirt. “Just… don’t disappear, okay? I kind of like knowing you’re around.”

She turned to leave, then paused. She bit her bottom lip, eyes flicking back to him.

“I… wanted to tell you something,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Dominic straightened slightly on the bench, sensing the shift in her tone. “What is it?”

She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I'm getting married tomorrow..”

The words hit harder than they should have. Dominic’s fingers tightened around the burger still in his hand, the warmth of it suddenly forgotten. He blinked, trying to keep his expression neutral.

“Tomorrow?” he croaked.

She nodded, her gaze dropping to the ground. “Yeah. It’s… kind of last-minute, I guess. But it’s happening.”

He swallowed hard, forcing out a small nod. “That’s big news.”

“I thought… maybe you’d want to come. It’s a small thing. Nothing fancy. Just close friends and family,” she added quickly. “But I figured, since you’re sort of my friend too…”

She didn’t finish the sentence. 

Dominic’s heart dropped into his stomach.

Married? To who?

He forced his lips to curl into a smile. “That’s… great. I’m happy for you.”

“Liar.”

His wolf growled inside him, loud and angry.

“She’s ours,” Xander snapped. “That’s our mate.”

Dominic’s jaw clenched. “I know.”

“Stop her. Claim her. Before it’s too late.”

But he couldn’t. Not like this. Not in these rags with secrets piling up between them like a wall he couldn’t climb.

He looked up at her again. She was still smiling, and waiting for him to say something more.

“Thanks for the invite,” he said, voice hoarse. “But I don’t think I’d fit in. Not really a wedding kind of guy.”

She nodded slowly. “I figured you will say that though I would have loved your presence.”

She stepped back. “Well… I should go get ready. Just… take care of yourself, okay?”

Dominic nodded. “You too.”

She hesitated, then turned and walked away. With each step she took, the ache in his chest deepened.

“Mate,” Xander whispered again, voice low and broken this time. “You’re letting her go.”

Dominic closed his eyes. But as he listened to her footsteps fade into the distance, something inside him cracked.

She was his mate. And someone else was putting a ring on her finger tomorrow night.

He’d only gone there hoping to catch a distant glimpse of her, never daring to imagine she would actually walk up to him—and tell him she wanted him to be her husband.

For Alpha Dominic, this moment was both a delightful surprise and a complete shock.

He’d intended to tell her his true identity at the registry office, but Evelyn had said she’d never marry anyone from The Ironclaw Pack. 

The old Alpha of that pack had killed Evelyn’s mother—and though he had nothing to do with that tragedy, now was not the right time to reveal everything. 

So he decided to hide his identity for the moment; when the right opportunity came, he would find her and explain it all.