Chapter 4 - Locked In With the Alpha

Every male in the yard stared at me like I had become fired.

And fire was dangerous because everyone wanted to touch it.

“Get inside. Now.”

Silas’s growl cut through the night like a blade.

My legs moved before my mind did.

I ran for the bar doors, hearing snarls erupt behind me as Kael laughed.

“Run all you want, Mira! You still belong to me!”

I almost tripped from rage alone.

The blonde bartender grabbed my wrist the second I crossed inside and yanked me down a hallway.

“This way.”

“What is happening to me?” I gasped.

“You’re asking at the worst possible time.”

She shoved open a heavy steel door and pushed me into a small room with a couch, sink, and barred window.

“Stay here.”

I caught the door before she could shut it.

“No. Explain.”

Her blue eyes softened for the first time.

“Stress can trigger an omega cycle early. Fear, danger, scent fights, territorial aggression. Your body thinks it needs protection.”

“My body is stupid.”

She snorted.

“On that, we agree.”

I tightened my grip.

“If Kael is right about pack law—”

“He’s right that they use it,” she snapped. “Not that it’s moral.”

Voices thundered outside.

The furniture crashed.

A male roar shook the walls.

My pulse jumped.

“Silas.”

She noticed.

Then gave me a look I hated because it understood too much.

“He’ll either win or kill someone trying.”

“Why does he care?”

She pried my fingers off the door.

“Ask him when he stops bleeding.”

The door slammed shut.

A bolt locked from outside.

I stood alone.

No.

Not alone.

My own scent filled the room now, warm and sweet and unfamiliar. It made my skin feel too tight. My breaths came shallow. Every nerve felt exposed.

I hated it.

I hated that my body could betray me.

I hated that Kael knew laws designed to trap women like me.

I hated that part of me wanted the only man outside who had looked at me like I was a person.

Minutes dragged.

Then the lock snapped open.

I stepped back, grabbing the small blade Jaxon had given me.

The door opened.

Silas entered.

He shut it behind him.

And slid the bolt.

My heartbeat became violent.

He was bleeding from his side, chest, lip, and shoulder.

He was also somehow more dangerous than before.

His eyes burned bright gold.

The room shrank around him.

“Where is Kael?”

“Outside,” he said.

“Alive?”

“For now.”

He leaned against the door like he needed distance from me.

I noticed his hands were clenched so hard blood dripped from one knuckle.

“You should get that treated.”

“You should stop smelling like this.”

Heat rushed into my face.

“I can’t control it.”

“I know.”

His voice was rough.

That somehow made it worse.

I lifted the blade higher.

“Why are you here?”

“To keep every other wolf out.”

“Then why lock the door?”

He stared at me.

“To keep me in.”

Silence crashed between us.

My fingers trembled around the knife.

He noticed.

“Put it down before you cut yourself.”

“Or what?”

His jaw flexed.

“Or I’ll take it from you.”

The challenge slipped out before fear could stop it.

“Try.”

He crossed the room in two steps.

I barely raised the blade before his hand wrapped my wrist. Warm. Strong. Absolute.

The knife clattered to the floor.

He pinned my wrist lightly against the wall, breathing hard.

I should have struggled.

Instead I froze.

His face was inches from mine.

“You provoke badly for someone untrained,” he murmured.

“You control badly for someone pretending to be restrained.”

A dark sound left him.

Not laughter.

Something lower.

His gaze dropped to my mouth and stayed there too long.

Then he released me like I burned.

I hated how disappointed I felt.

He turned away, dragging a hand through his hair.

“This is why omegas should never be forced into ignorant households.”

My anger flared.

“Ignorant?”

“You didn’t even know what was happening to your body.”

“No one taught me anything except obedience.”

The words came sharper than intended.

Silas went still.

I saw regret flicker across his face.

He faced me again, slower this time.

“What else did they deny you?”

I laughed bitterly.

“Choice. Education. Safety. Dignity. Should I continue?”

His eyes darkened.

“Did Kael ever touch you?”

The question stunned me.

“No.”

His shoulders loosened so slightly most would miss it.

“But he made sure I knew he could whenever he wished.”

Silas looked like murder.

I folded my arms.

“Why do you care?”

He took a long step closer.

“Because I hate men who mistake power for permission.”

The words landed deep.

Too deep.

I looked away first.

Bad idea.

The movement exposed the brand on my shoulder.

His gaze locked onto it.

“May I see it?”

No man had ever asked before touching me.

My throat tightened.

“Yes.”

I turned slowly.

He stepped behind me.

I felt his heat before his fingers ever reached me.

When they did, they did not grab.

They hovered.

Then brushed the scarred edges so lightly my knees nearly gave out.

I bit back a sound.

His breath touched the back of my neck.

“This was done badly,” he said quietly.

“It hurt.”

“I know.”

“How?”

His hand stilled.

“Because I was there.”

I spun around.

Shock hit so hard I forgot to breathe.

“You—what?”

His face hardened.

“Years ago. I was passing through Silver Ridge with my father. I heard a child screaming.”

Memory flashed—pain, smoke, strange voices beyond tears.

“You saw me?”

“I tried to stop it.”

My chest tightened.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because I was seventeen and my father dragged me out before I could start a war.”

His voice was full of old hatred.

“I never forgot that sound.”

I stared at him.

All these years, someone had heard.

Someone had cared.

Something inside me cracked open in a new way.

“You remember me?”

“I remember being useless.”

Our eyes held.

The air between us became unbearable.

He lifted a hand slowly, giving me time to refuse.

When I didn’t, he cupped my jaw.

Large hands.

Gentle touch.

No demand for it.

Just heat.

“You are not property,” he said.

No one had ever said those words to me.

My eyes burned.

“I don’t know what I am.”

His thumb brushed my cheek.

“You’re about to find out.”

A pounding slam hit the door.

Both of us jerked apart.

Jaxon’s voice thundered from outside.

“Silas! Open up now.”

Silas cursed under his breath and yanked the door open.

Jaxon stood there, face grim.

“You need to come outside.”

Silas’s body tensed.

“What happened?”

Jaxon looked past him to me.

Then back.

“Silver Ridge sent Mira’s mother.”

My blood turned to ice.

Jaxon’s next words hit even harder.

“She says if Mira doesn’t return tonight, Alpha Darius will execute her before sunrise.”