Chapter 33

Andrew

Of course, I couldn’t stop thinking about what my buddies had said. They’re my Beta and Delta for a reason, after all – smart, loyal, capable of seeing things I sometimes can’t. And right now, I felt like the dum.best Alpha in the history of pack leadership. Maybe she wasn't bad or guilty of plotting betrayal, until proved otherwise.

So... Should I ask her out? A proper date, flowers maybe? A gift, just something small?

No. Stop. Don’t even think about it. She’d take it, roll her eyes, and throw it right back in my face. Or worse… she’d smile that infuriating smirk and say something sarcastic, like I’d just done the dum.best thing in the world.

And asking her out? Forget it. She’d refuse me outright, just to spite me. I can see it now, that sharp tilt of her head, that glare, the little jab in her voice dripping with of course not, not you.

Don’t tell me I’m overthinking. I feel it in my gut. Nothing I do now will work with her. Absolutely nothing.

And yet here I am. Standing behind her door like a total moron. Just knowing she’s on the other side, imagining casually inviting her for a stroll around the pack grounds to show her around, and I can’t make myself knock. Can’t push past the fear of her disgusted face, her biting remarks, her sheer… attitude.

I can hear it in my head already: Now what? or Of course not, I’m not blonde enough to stroll around with you. Or whatever other stupid, venom-laced remark she’d spit at me.

And besides, even if – by some impossible miracle – she actually agreed to go on a date with me, what the hell would we even talk about? Her favorite color? Favorite music? As if I’d actually get anything meaningful from those lame, childish topics. Sure, in theory, I was curious. I wanted to know what made her tick, what made her laugh – or maybe cry. But in reality? Those were the worst conversation starters imaginable when it came to her.

Because it’s her. The girl who could pis.s me off with a single look, whose every smirk set my brain – and apparently my wolf – on fire, whose presence alone made me question my carefully constructed walls. Trying to talk about music or colors with her would feel like spitting into a hurricane: pointless, messy, and utterly futile.

No, any ordinary date with her would be a disaster. And yet… the thought of being near her, seeing her laugh at my bad jokes or even glaring at me with that perfect, infuriatingly gorgeous scowl, made me ache. It was maddening. It was exhausting. It was so wrong and yet undeniably right.

Am I being lame, or… am I being smart?

No matter what I do, every effort, every ounce of niceness, would probably just go down the drain. Straight down. Flushed away.

And still… my wolf claws at me, urging me forward, hungry for connection, for her. Stupid bond, stupid feelings. Why did it have to be like this?

I ran a hand through my hair and groaned quietly, glaring at the ceiling like it owed me answers. If anyone ever told me that my life as an Alpha would involve being completely undone by one infuriatingly stubborn, ridiculously beautiful, and entirely untouchable lone wolf… well, I’d have laughed. But here I was, stuck, overthinking every possibility, every “what if,” every humiliating potential for rejection or even worse – a potential betrayal if she’s hiding some agenda we don’t know about.

And the worst part? I knew I’d still go through with it. Somehow. Somehow I’d find myself standing in front of her, trying not to look like a complete idiot, and praying that she didn’t just laugh in my face.

Because that’s what she did. That’s who she was. And that’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. One knock. Two knocks. My knuckles ached from gripping the doorframe, heart pounding like a drum solo in a bad rock song.

“Prue?” I forced my voice calm, neutral, though it felt like my throat had turned into sandpaper.

No answer. Of course, no answer. She probably rolled her eyes, muttering some sarcastic remark under her breath, imagining me like the idiot I was.

I stepped back, ran a hand through my hair, and muttered under my breath. “Okay, Alpha, just… just don’t screw this up.”

Another knock, a little firmer this time. The door creaked. She peeked out, hair falling over one eye, giving me that look – half skeptical, half curious. That look.

“Yeah?” Her voice was casual, almost bored. I swear my stomach tried to climb up my throat but I couldn't show it.

“Uhmm… have you seen the pack grounds already?” I forced the words out, clunky, like they belonged to someone else. My wolf was screaming at me to stop embarrassing us, my ego was screaming louder, and yet… here I was, sounding like a tour guide with a headache.

Her brow arched, just slightly.

“No.”

“Come. You have to learn what is where.”

I tried to lace the words with authority, to make it sound like an order rather than a plea. Truth was, I half-expected her to laugh in my face, toss me a “no thanks, loser,” and shut the door in my face. My wolf braced for rejection.

Instead, she studied me – too long, too sharp, like she could see the war inside me. And then… she smirked. A tiny, infuriating, you’re-not-entirely-worthless smirk.

“Fine. But only because I need to know where to go and where not to.”

I blinked. Did she just… agree to go with me?

My wolf growled low in my chest, a rumbling vibration that set every nerve on fire. I covered it with a cough and stepped aside, trying not to look like I was about to melt on the spot.

“Good. Let’s go.”

She rolled her eyes but fell into step beside me anyway, hips swaying in those tight yoga pants like she had no idea – or maybe too much of an idea – what it was doing to me. And of course, her scent hit me in waves – sweet, sharp, maddening. My wolf whined in delight, but my mind tried to stay in control.

Stay cool, I told myself. You’re Alpha, not a drooling fanboy.

What do I even talk about now? my brain panicked. No way I was going to pull some Shakespearean crap out of my as.s. Just stick to neutral ground, landmarks, structures. Nothing that’ll get me ripped apart.

“Have you roamed around the packhouse much?” I asked, voice a little too casual.

“A bit.”

I nodded, trying to seem unfazed even though my wolf was clawing at my ribcage to get closer.

“Well, we have a lot of rooms here – for ranked members, guests, and exceptional cases. The first floor also has the kitchen, dining hall, and lounge room, and one wing is left completely for the ballroom with high ceilings, so it actually takes up three floors. You probably noticed that the whole packhouse is shaped like a squared U?

I asked at the end.

She tilted her head, pretending to care. “Yeah, I did, but from the front you don’t actually see that. ”

“True.”

Silence fell. Then she struck.

“So where are the dungeons?”

I blinked. “Those are outside. Hidden from prying eyes. We might pass it by later.” I shared, while wondering if I should’ve said it or not. What if she really was a threat to our pack? Then again, we’d had such peaceful decades that the dungeons were rarely used anymore. It’s not like we were keeping someone down there right now for her to come and rescue.

Her gaze sharpened with curiosity.

“So, not in the packhouse?”

Why is she so fixated on it? Suspicious.

“In old times we used to have it in the basements under the packhouse, but it was moved, so now it’s used as a storage place for old furniture,” I explained.

"Mm, clutter caves," she said.

"Yeah. What’s in it for you?"

She gave me a sarcastic little shrug. “Well, I’m an omega now. Maybe someone will force me to clean it one day.”

“That was your bright idea,” I shot back automatically.

Then I mentally backtracked. I probably shouldn’t push the sarcasm if I didn’t want this whole walk to go straight down the drain. Especially since her being announced as omega not my mate, I didn’t have to fake anything to anyone – nobody was asking questions. Sure, some wolves were suspicious about why she stayed in the packhouse, and the omegas whispered about why she was living right next door. But my dad had shut the gossip down quickly, declaring she was a distant relative from the Luna’s old pack.

Her glare burned hotter than the sunset. My wolf bristled, but I forced myself to backpedal.

“Anyway. You can always go wild uncluttering if it makes you happy.”

She just grunted, unimpressed.

We stepped out into the crisp evening air, and I realized I didn’t think through this idea. Her scent was everywhere, coating my lungs, sliding under my skin, burning straight into my bloodstream. My senses were overloaded with her: the subtle sway of her hips, the way her hair caught the light, even the faint scent of her shampoo mixing with her natural wolf smell. I wanted to roll my eyes at myself, but the damn wolf inside me had already started growling at my restraint.

The bond was a cruel bastard. Every second it whispered: She’s yours. Touch her. Claim her. Pull her close. My brain had to shout back: She’s not. I’m annoyed by her, and she hates me. Keep walking, smartpants.

I clenched my jaw until it hurt. My wolf didn’t care. My wolf was already imagining her pressed against me, those yoga pants abandoned somewhere in the grass–

I nearly tripped on my own feet. Smooth.

She caught me fumbling and smirked. “You alright there, Alpha boy? Or are you going to give me a health and safety lecture about the gravel too?”

I huffed, biting back a growl. “I’ll let you know if the gravel gets dangerous.”

She laughed – actually laughed – and I hated how much my chest tightened at the sound.

We kept walking, me pointing out landmarks like I was giving the field trip tour: the small hospital for pups, injured wolves, pregnant mothers, a cluster of shops, the houses where impactful families lived. I kept my voice neutral, but my wolf wasn’t fooled. It thrashed with every brush of her shoulder near mine, every time her hair flicked close enough for me to imagine burying my face in it.

This wasn’t a walk. This was torture with scenery.

We passed by the communal area where the younger omegas were practicing basic pack drills, the training was about to end already. I felt her eyes on me the entire time. Tracking me. Judging me. And judging me she did… with that little smirk curling her lips.

“Do you guys always yell at each other this much?” she asked suddenly, nodding toward my Beta and Delta, who were standing a few meters away, arms crossed, trying to look neutral but failing miserably.

I could feel my wolf bristle. “They’re not yelling,” I said sharply, because of course I had to defend my guys.

She laughed quietly, a sound that felt like a blade scraping across my chest. “Right… ‘not yelling.’ Sure.”

We reached the edge of the training field, and I tried to show her the different areas – the agility courses, the sparring zones, the communal storage for weapons and gear.

Then she did it. She wiggled slightly as she stepped over a low barrier, brushing past me just enough for her elbow to graze mine. My wolf howled in delight and frustration at the same time. My hands twitched as if I wanted to grab her and pull her closer, but my brain screamed Don’t.

Instead, I muttered, “Careful. That’s not – ” and she cut me off with a grin.

“I know how to take care of myself, thank you very much.”

And just like that, the tension skyrocketed. She was teasing me – playing with my patience – and I didn’t know whether to growl, laugh, or run away. Probably all three at the same time.

I motioned for her to follow me instead as I led her deeper into the woods, stopping a few meters away from the spot I wanted to show her.

“And here are the dungeons,” I said, glancing at her briefly.

She narrowed her eyes, scanning left and right.

“Where?” she finally asked.

“That overgrown bush over there – that’s the entrance,” I pointed, and her gaze followed my hand.

“Oh, wow. That’s hidden well,” she admitted.

“Yes. And to keep it that way, it’s forbidden to get close without a reason, so no visible path is made. And since the last years have been quiet around here, it’s grown over even more,” I explained.

“Mm, I see.” She hummed.

We moved back to the packhouse. She claimed to be thirsty and hungry for some snack so we entered the kitchen, and she started asking questions – innocent enough on the surface, but loaded with a kind of mischief I couldn’t pin down. She took a bottle of cold water and a fruit yogurt out of the fridge. Simple enough, you’d say, right? No, wrong.

Because every gulp as her throat bobbed, every lick of the spoon, every slurp or satisfied hum she made – yeah, I noticed. My wolf noticed. And every damn time he did, my gut clenched, and I had to fight the wild urge to grab her by the wrist, drag her into some secluded corner, and kiss the hell out of her.

But that would be stupid. Because she was still a dangerous, stinking lone wolf until she proved otherwise.

So I did what I always do – clenched my teeth, furrowed my brows, and glared at her like it might burn the bond right out of existence.

“Are you always… brooding?” she asked at one point, eyes glinting with amusement.

I wanted to snap back, “Only around idiots and troublemakers,” but the words got caught somewhere between my teeth and my rapidly beating heart.

Instead, I gritted my jaw and said, “Sometimes.”

She smiled that infuriating smile and leaned slightly closer, and I felt my wolf pulse, growl, and practically vibrate inside me. Every rational thought fled. Every “Alpha” instinct I had screamed at me to maintain control, but the bond – the stupid, impossible, overwhelming bond – was already tugging, clawing at my mind, my senses, my chest.

I needed to get away.

“Well, that’s it with the tour. I’m heading up to my room,” I muttered, shifting sideways with my hands shoved deep in my pockets.

“Yeah, me too.”

She hopped off the kitchen stool and throwing empty packages in the trash. I was surprised, as I’d expected her to be relieved I was disappearing, not eager to tag along. We walked side by side up the stairs in silence, my eyes fixed on the steps. Usually, girls around me filled the air with chatter, giggles, anything – but with her? Nothing, just silence.

“So… did your dad force you to give me the tour?”

Prue’s voice broke the quiet. I glanced at her, catching that mischievous grin tugging at her lips. Yeah, she thought she’d caught me.

“No,” I said flatly, looking straight ahead. Should I explain? What would I even say?

Truth? My wolf prodded.

Yeah right. Feed her ego more than it already is? Not a chance.

“You don’t know anything here, but you should.” I remarked after a beat.

Then, with more bite than charm, I added “I’m a nice guy, you know.”

The sarcasm must’ve dripped off me, because she only grunted in reply. Typical.

We reached our floor. I sped up, determined to get to my door first. This wasn’t a date. I wasn’t supposed to kiss her goodnight or any of that crap. Best to avoid awkwardness altogether before she slapped me for even thinking about leaning in.

“Good night,” I forced out, my lips tight, before slipping into my room and closing the door softly behind me.

I leaned against the wood and let out a slow breath. That was… decent. Kinda. Apart from the bond clawing at me, the attraction, the se.xual tension humming through my veins. Yeah, no. I wasn’t thinking about it.

Even though her scent still clung to my clothes and hair, like smoke that wouldn’t wash off.

Safe in my room, I told myself I could forget. Just breathe. Just sleep.

I glanced at the clock.

“Fu.ck,” I muttered. Not even nine. What was I, a kindergartener being sent to bed early?

Pushing off the door, I grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV, hoping some mindless show could drown out the storm the bond left in the wake.