In The Alpha’s Bed Of Desire

“M–Mate?” Claudia’s voice trembled, her words breaking as her eyes flickered in dread.

Claudia’s chest tightened, her pulse raced in disbelief at the sight before her.

The one man Claudia feared most stood in front of her. The mate bond pulled at her, raw and undeniable, yet Claudia felt like if she was in some kind of dream. A cruel dream that she desperately felt the urge to snap back to reality because the person in front of her felt so unreal.

But still, Claudia needed to confirm. To confirm if this was truly a dream or if the moon goddess was playing some kind of sick games with her.

“Mate?” Claudia whispered again, as though saying it twice might shatter the cruel dream.

Derrick, Alpha of the Silvercrest Pack, rolled his eyes and scoffed, the sound cutting sharper than claws.

His lips curved into a sly smirk as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I, Alpha Derrick of Silvercrest, reject you, Claudia Kendal. You will never be my mate or my Luna.” He seethed with rage and his words fell like blades, each syllable laced with disgust.

The announcement of Alpha Derrick abruptly halted the music playing in the background.

Silence swept through the pack house as every gaze turned toward Claudia.

She froze, tears streaming down from har eyes as her throat tightening under the weight of their scornful, mocking and hateful glare.

For a heartbeat, Claudia stared at the ember brown eyes of the pack's Alpha, allowing more beads of tears to fall freely from her eyes.

Tears blurred Claudia’s vision that all she could do was question herself.

Why? Why me?

“Get out of my way, Claudia. You’re filthy. I will never tolerate a wolfless wolf like you.” Alpha Derrick spat as his voice struck like a whip.

Nyx, Claudia’s wolf, whimpered painfully inside her. Don’t accept it. Fight back! But Claudia’s knees buckled, as though invisible threads had been cut.

She could see her life disintegrating right before her eyes, but she couldn't do anything. Claudia was completely powerless.

She hadn't anticipated this. She never anticipated that the mate she had longed for would turn her down.

It felt like being burnt alive.

The ground appeared to be about to rip open and consume Claudia as the room began to spin.

The more Claudia looked around, the more she realized that the pack members were all staring at her with scorn as their whispers of hatred swelled around her.

“Such a pathetic wolfless thing.”

“She’s cursed. Good thing Alpha Derrick rejected her ”

“Does she think that he would accept her as his Luna? What a joke.”

“She’s so shameless.”

The pack members were all howling insult at Claudia with their whispers and glaring at her like if she doesn’t deserve to live.

Claudia’s legs began to shake and before she realized what was happening, and she immediately fell to the ground.

*Earlier That Day… hours ago*

Late that evening, had been a hectic day for Claudia. She had scrubbed, cooked, and cleaned until her arms ached, working tirelessly in her aunt’s kitchen.

Claudia Kendal had been an orphan since childhood. Her parents had died in a car crash that should have claimed her life as well, yet she alone was the only survivor from the accident who didn’t sustain any scar.

To the pack, that car accident was proof that Claudia was cursed while to Aunt Susan, it was an opportunity to treat Claudia as little more than a servant.

Claudia, however, knew the story was not as simple as they made it seem. She had always remembered that she wasn’t the only child in the car that night.

Her stepbrother had been with them too, but when the wreckage was pulled apart, his body was nowhere to be found.

Even as Claudia’s memories blurred with time, she remained certain of one thing that her stepbrother had vanished without a trace.

Because of his disappearance, whispers grew louder in the Silvercrest Pack.

To many, Claudia wasn’t just a cursed child but her entire family was believed to be marked by misfortune.

“Claudia!” Susan’s sharp voice snapped Claudia from her trails of thoughts. “I need you to head over to the market for vegetables. I’m expecting guests tonight, so don’t stand there idling!”

Claudia had lived with her aunt for over ten years, yet she still struggled to accept Aunt Susan’s cold and merciless nature.

She’s at it again, Claudia thought, pinching her lower lip as she avoided her aunt’s piercing gaze.

“Aunt Susan, I’m not quite finished preparing dinner, and it’s already getti—”

Before Claudia could finish her statement, Aunt Susan’s hand lashed across her cheek, the sting spreading hotly through Claudia’s skin.

“You repulsive wolfless thing,” Aunt Susan sneered, her eyes bloodshot with fury. “Haven’t you learned that talking back to me will only bring you pain?”

Her aunt’s face twisted with such hatred that for a fleeting moment, Claudia feared she might actually tear her apart.

Yes! Claudia was wolfless, unable to transform into the wolf form that should have defined her place in the pack.

The only reason she hadn’t been cast out of the Silvercrest Pack was the faint trace of wolf blood that still ran through her veins.

But to them, she was nothing more than a curse. A girl whispered to be the reason her parents were dead.

Years ago, Claudia’s aunt and cousins had waited eagerly for Claudia eighteenth birthday, expecting her to shift into her wolf and find her fated mate. But the day had brought nothing.

No transformation. No mate. Only shame.

Now, years later, Claudia still had no wolf form, no bond, no place where she belonged.

At times, she could only wonder if the moon goddess had cursed her.

The pack certainly believed it. And in Claudia’s darkest hours… she almost believed it too.

To them, Claudia was both wolfless, mateless and an abomination that might as well have been human.

Currently, Claudia was only hoping and wishing on having a mate because she believes that having a loving and caring mate would make her escape her aunt’s cruelty.

“Go get the vegetables because I won’t repeat myself again,” Aunt Susan spat, her voice sharp as broken glass. She threw a few crumpled bills at Claudia’s feet.

Claudia bent down, gathered the money, and pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling.

Her clothes reeked of sweat and smoke from the kitchen because she had been cooking since morning, helping Aunt Susan prepare meals for the week. Yet her work was never enough.

By the time Claudia stepped out into the night, the sky had darkened.

A chill breeze swept over her bare arms, making her shiver in her thin sleeveless dress.

Hugging herself, Claudia walked quickly toward the pack market.

When she reached the vegetable stall, she pointed to the pile her aunt wanted. “This one, please.”

The young vendor nodded and began packing the vegetables into a leather bag. Claudia reached out to pay, but then…

She froze.

A strange warmth rippled through her chest, curling deep in her stomach. Her heart stumbled, then raced, as the night air shifted.

A scent which was rich, intoxicating and utterly consuming wrapped around Claudia. It was unlike anything she had ever known, tugging at her very soul.

Claudia’s breath hitched. The leather bag slipped from her hands.

And then she heard a voice.

“Claudia,” A trembling, feminine voice echoed inside her mind for the first time. “I’m here.”

Claudia staggered, clutching her chest. “W–who’s there?” she whispered, panicked.

“Your wolf,” the voice soothed, soft yet powerful. “I am Nyx.”

Instantly, tears blurred Claudia’s vision.

For years she had believed she was wolfless, cursed, broken and even abandoned by the Moon Goddess.

But now… Claudia’s wolf was real. She wasn’t alone.

Claudia’s legs moved of their own accord, following the pull of the scent through the crowded streets. Her pulse thundered in her ears, her body trembling as Nyx’s presence swelled within her.

“Do you feel it?” Nyx’s voice quivered with joy. “Our mate… he’s here.”

Before Claudia realized it, she was standing inside the pack house.

Music boomed, laughter echoed, and wolves danced wildly, but Claudia barely noticed. Her entire being was locked on the scent that drew her deeper into the crowd.

“Finally,” Claudia thought, tears stinging her eyes. “It’s finally my turn.”

And then Claudia saw him. The man who was destined to be her forever.

He was tall, striking and his eyes locked on hers the instant they met. For some split seconds Claudia forgot how to breath because of the handsome figure whose presence was making her heart skipped a bit.

The world around her fell silent, and the mate bond surged between them like wildfire.

Nyx whimpered with delight. Ours.

Claudia’s breath caught as tears spilled down her cheeks. After years of torment, of believing she was nothing, she had finally found him.

Her mate.

Her salvation.

Or so she thought.

Because the joy swelling in her chest was destined to shatter. He was going to reject her.