Chapter 4 - A Dangerous Attraction

I think I fainted again

I regain consciousness at the same time I feel a hand brush mine, but when I open my eyes, Alpha is standing a little far from me, looking as if he is ready to cut off my neck.

He frowns. “You really fainted. You were not pretending. I could taste your fear and confusion.”

Taste my… never mind. We have already concluded that this hot man is cra-cra.

I swallow hard. “Was that real? Of course it was. I saw it happen. But it’s not possible…” I shake my head as if to clear it.

Alpha’s frown deepens. I almost reach out to smooth it away. I must have really hit my head hard. God, I can’t possibly be attracted to this man with unknown, but definitely not good, intentions toward me.

“You came to spy on us blindly without getting complete information or knowing what you’re getting into.” Then he mutters something about not seeing me as a foolish woman.

I refuse to grace him with a reply. I keep telling them I’m not a spy. Seriously, how can they render me unconscious, kidnap me to God knows where, and still have the gut to call me a spy? Guy, you kidnapped me, for Christ’s sake. I don’t want to be here!

He steps closer as if he cannot help himself. “What are you? You’re not human, but I can’t tell what you are.”

I can’t keep quiet any longer. “What I am or who I am? I’m a woman, or do I look like an insect to you? Of course I’m human, you mentally deranged hot kidnapper.”

His mouth twitches, but he never smiles. “You’re good at acting, I will give you that. You even manage to smell like you’re speaking the truth, but you can’t fool me. Don’t make me hand you over to Aiden.”

The room feels too small for both of us.

I don’t know if it’s because of what he is… or what he is doing to me.

I lean back against the wall, forcing my breathing to stay steady, even though my heart refuses to cooperate. It’s not just fear, not entirely. There is something else crawling under my skin, something I don’t understand and definitely don’t trust.

And it’s worse when he looks at me like that.

Like I’m something he’s trying to figure out.

Or something he doesn’t want to believe in.

Tyson.

I don’t know when I stopped calling him “Alpha” in my head, but somehow his name fits him too well. Strong. Dangerous. The kind of man that doesn’t hesitate before ending a life.

He runs a hand through his dark hair, his eyes never leaving me, and I can tell he’s struggling with something.

Good.

Let him struggle.

“You’re unusually calm,” he says finally, his voice low, controlled. Too controlled.

I let out a small scoff. “Yeah? You should see me on a good day. This is me being kidnapped and accused of being a spy. I’m actually holding back.”

His jaw tightens

I expected anger. What I didn’t expect… was the brief flicker of something else.

Amusement?

It disappeared so fast I almost thought I imagined it.

“Watch your mouth,” he warns.

“Or what?” I shoot back immediately. “You’ll choke me again? At least that would be consistent.”

The air shifts, l feel it before I understand it.

Pressure.

Heavy. Thick. Like something invisible just dropped into the room and is pressing down on my chest. My breath stuttered, my fingers twitch slightly, and I hate, hate, that my body reacts to him like this.

So what is I considered him handsome and attractive? He kidnapped me!

What the hell is that?

He notices.

Of course he does.

“You felt that,” he says, quieter now. Not a question.

I hesitate.

That’s all it takes.

His eyes darken.

“Humans don’t react to an Alpha aura like that.”

Humans? What is he, an alien?

Ridiculous. Alpha aura.

Right, because that’s a normal sentence.

I forced a dry laugh. “Maybe your ‘aura’ is just suffocating. Ever thought of that?”

But even as I said it, I know I’m deflecting. Because I did feel it. And not just now.

On the mountain.

That pull.

That weird, nagging feeling that dragged me out of sleep, onto my bike, into the woods like something was calling me.

My stomach tightened.

“What did you do to me?” I ask suddenly, narrowing my eyes at him. “That mountain, something pulled me there. That was you, wasn’t it?”

For the first time since I’ve met him, he hesitates.

“I didn’t call you,” he says.

I let out a humorless laugh. “Of course you didn’t. Why would anything in my life ever have a simple explanation?”

But he’s staring at me again, not like before, not like a threat. But like I’m a problem he can’t solve.

And that unsettles me more than his anger ever did.

“You were on restricted territory,” he continues. “Alone. Armed. And you expect me to believe that’s coincidence?”

I roll my eyes, even though my nerves are on edge. “You think I wanted to end up here? With you? Trust me, if I knew this place came with psychopaths and disappearing wolves, I would’ve stayed in my leaking room.”

He steps closer.

Just one step, but it feels like a lot more. The air tightens again.

I don’t move, I refuse to give him that.

“Then explain why you reacted,” he says. “Why you feel it. Explain how you bypass our security without alerting us”

I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. Because I don’t have an answer. I don’t even know what the hell is going on here.

And damn it, he sees that. His gaze sharpens.

“Who sent you?” he asks again.

Frustration snaps through me. “No one sent me!” I snap. “Why is that so hard for you to believe? You kidnap me!” Oh lord save me from delusional people. How did I even get myself into this? Oh, I was kidnapped.

He moves again, closer.

Too close.

I can hear his breathing now. Feel the heat coming off him. It’s distracting, annoyingly so and I hate myself for even noticing.

Then he reaches for me.

His fingers brush my wrist and everything Stops.