The Alpha’s Claim

Elara's POV

A chill ran through me when he looked. His gaze was hard, like clouds before thunder never wavered. Though his stare bit deep, warmth pulsed from him, steady as breath after running. The air between us pulled tight.

"I asked you a question," Kael said. His voice was low and scary. The servants nearby jumped back in fear. "My second-in-command hears rumours about a mark. Your sister says a stranger shamed you. Is there something you want to tell me, Elara?"

Liam stood frozen, fingers clutching the ragged edge of my dress. Like something inside snapped, his face drained of colour, jaw tight with rage. His voice cracked “Alpha Kael, it happened right there!” A sharp breath. “Seraphina witnessed everything.” Eyes wide now. “That mark on her skin? From a wild wolf. The forest. Three nights passed.”

Beside him, Seraphina had a mean, happy look in her eyes. She stepped forward and put her hand on Liam’s arm. "It’s true, Alpha. My sister has always been desperate. She ran into the woods the night I found my true mate. She came back smelling like trash and hiding a mark from our father."

Heavy quiet filled the air. Eyes from every member of the Silvermoon Pack stayed fixed on me. Pity showed in some faces, though disgust ruled most. My father came forward. A deep, furious purple crept across his skin.

"If she has shamed this pack, Alpha Kael, she is not my daughter anymore," my father spat. He was trying to sound respectful, but his voice shook. "I told her to find a husband or pay the price. If she brought a rogue’s mark into your house, I will kill her myself right here."

A weight settled deep inside when I saw him standing there. My dad the one who taught me how to tie my shoes, is now suggesting something so sharp it stole my breath. Not anger, but a quiet dread, like ice starting in my ribs and spreading without sound.

The sun vanished behind him as Kael moved near. His shadow fell across my face first. Not a glance toward Father. Eyes fixed ahead, never shifting to Liam or Seraphina. The ground seemed to still when he stopped close. A size like that changes the air pressure around you.

"Really?" he said softly. Warm air brushed my ear as he spoke, his face came into view. Tears clouded my sight, yet I held them back. Then shift a pulse deep within. The quiet hollow where my wolf lived began to stir. A faint tremor rose, syncing with Kael’s steady rhythm.

"I was in the forest," I whispered. My voice cracked. "I was attacked. Someone saved me."

"Was there a mark on you?" Kael said. Fingers touched my neck. Where the sign once showed, his hand passed over it.

That jolt ran through me, sharp and sudden. Back then, beneath the crimson sky, everything shifted. Speaking up crossed my mind just blurting it out. The words sat heavy: it had always been you. Fear held tighter though. What if his eyes passed right over mine? Would disgust follow?

"Show it to me," said Kael, his voice firm but quiet.

Without warning, his fingers dug into my scalp, pulling my chin upward. One palm shoved the ragged edge of my shirt away. He moved before I could blink.

A hush fell over the onlookers. Trembling ran through Seraphina’s hands, her eyes fixed ahead. When Kael laid eyes on the mark, a roar was expected, but none came.

That spot on my neck felt his thumb move slowly. Time stretched while he just stood close. A quiet breath came through his nose as he leaned in, gaze sharp now.

He never swung, just stood there. 

A sound rumbled deep in Kael’s chest. Facing the onlookers, he yanked me close, pressing me to him. Breath left my lungs under the force of his grip.

A silence settled before Kael spoke. The words came out sharp, cutting through the open space. "No trace was left," he said. Sound rolled heavy from his chest into the air.

"What?" Seraphina screamed. Her fake sweet face disappeared. "That's impossible! I saw it! It was a deep bite!"

That glare turned sharp, gold cutting through the air. "You think I'm lying?" Kael shot at her, voice tight.

Seraphina jumped back like he had slapped her. Liam stepped in front of her. "Alpha, we aren't calling you a liar. But the girl has no wolf. She can't heal. If there was a mark, it should still be there."

"Unless," Kael said with a mean smile, "she belongs to someone so powerful that his mark heals into the soul instead of the skin."

he glanced down, just for a breath. Suddenly, frost in his stare softened. There it was recognition. It had to be. His grip matched that evening, moment by moment.

"She is mine," Kael declared. "She is the bride I chose. If any of you speak about this again, I will go to war with your pack."

My father’s jaw dropped. "Alpha Kael, you still want her? Even with the rumours?"

"I don't care about rumours," Kael said coldly. "I care about what is mine. And Elara is mine."

Liam's face went pale, as if sickness rose in his throat.  he stood there, staring at the girl he once called nothing now beside the strongest Alpha alive. Regret flickered across his expression, clear enough to see. That moment meant nothing to me.

"One hour. That is when we go," Kael whispered, close enough that his breath barely touched my ear. He said it quietly, like a secret meant for no one else. "Gather what you need," he added, eyes steady on mine.

"Yet the gathering..." 

"I’m done," Kael snapped. "I don't want to stay in a place that treats its own family like trash."

his hand guiding mine. The weight of the fabric tripped me mid-step yet there he was, holding firm. Not loose, not gentle, just sure. That hold spoke louder than words ever could.

A heavy silence fell as we stopped beside a large dark SUV. The door swung open when Kael pulled it wide.  I went inside, pulse rushing through my chest. Close by he took his seat, then came that deep, solid sound of metal shutting tight. Everything familiar had just ended.

Out the window, my gaze went as the car rolled on. The words came Softly: “What made you go through with it?”

Kael kept his eyes away. "What now?"

"Claim me. Everyone says I’m a disgrace."

"I told you," he said. His voice was rough. "I don't care what they say. I saw what I needed to see."

"And what was that?"

At that moment, his eyes met mine. A slow touch landed on my face, and his thumb went across my mouth. Maybe a kiss would happen, I wondered.

"I saw a woman who survived twenty years of pain without becoming mean," he said. "And I found a scent I’ve been hunting for days."

I gasped. "Kael..."

"Don't," he warned. His eyes got dark. "We aren't safe yet. There are rules and traditions. And there is a bond between us that I don't understand yet."

He pulled his hand away. "But remember this: at my home, you are not a servant. You are my wife. I will kill anyone who tries to take you."

Over the bridge, stepping into his land, a warmth pressed against my spine. Heat moved upward, slow and quiet. Inside my head, something lit, just once. Not loud, but there was a murmur slipped through.

Finally...

My breath caught, then I grabbed my belly. Stomach clenching, air rushed out of me.

"Who's there?" Kael said, his palm pressing gently against my shoulder.

"Nothing," I lied. "Just nerves."

Yet that tremor meant something else. At last, my animal stirred inside.

A huge stone fort came into view as the vehicle slowed to a halt. Guards lined up straight ahead, motionless. Once the entrance swung wide, there she stood an aged figure in crimson, perched on the stairs. Her eyes met mine with clear dislike right away.

Kael stepped outside, then reached for my hand. The woman came down, striding fast on the stairs.

"Kael! What is this?" she yelled. "You were supposed to bring home a queen, not a girl from the gutter!"

Kael squeezed my hand. "Hold on, Mother, just wait. That's enough now."

"No!" she hissed. She looked me up and down. "She smells like another man's mark. I can feel it. It’s faint, but it’s there."

Kael moved ahead of me. He spoke firmly: "Halt."

"If you won't do your job, I will," she said. "Guards! Grab her. We will find out who marked her before she ruins our family!"

A pair of towering soldiers moved ahead. Yellow light burned in their gaze.

His fingers slipped from mine. A sharp snap echoed through his arms while fur began to split the skin. "You lay one finger on her," he snarled, "and your breath stops where it stands."

Just as the guards moved closer, sharp agony ripped through my skull. From my chest tore a flash of gold so bright it hurled them off their feet.

Knees hit the ground hard while breath clawed its way out. From somewhere beyond me, a roar ripped through the yard not mine, never mine.

Stillness took hold of Kael. His eyes locked on mine, wide with disbelief.

Out of nowhere, the spot on my neck once unseen began shining, sharp and silver. Then came the voice, speaking straight into my thoughts.

Flee now, small wolf. Hunters draw near our hiding place.