Alone With The Alpha

**By Athena**

The heavy oak door slammed shut behind me.

The sharp sound echoed through the spacious guest chamber, making my entire body jolt. My breathing hitched instantly, and the room suddenly felt too small.

Too quiet.

Too dangerous.

I didn't dare turn around. My hands instinctively gripped the worn, threadbare fabric of my dress as I kept my eyes fixed strictly on the polished wooden floor beneath my feet.

I could feel him. His overwhelming presence filled every inch of the room, and his scent completely surrounded me.

*Cedar. Rain. Fresh smoke.*

It wrapped around me like an invisible, warm embrace, awakening something deep inside my soul that had been dormant for five grueling years.

In my mind, Nyx stirred restlessly, her spirit reaching outward. *"Mate..."*

My wolf's voice was filled with a painful, desperate longing.

*"He's so close, Athena. He's right there."*

*"Please..."* I whispered inwardly, squeezing my eyes shut. *"Don't make this harder than it already is."*

Silence stretched heavily between us. I stood frozen near the door, counting my own frantic heartbeats.

*One.*

*Two.*

*Three.*

Then—

"Look at me."

His voice was deep, smooth, and laced with absolute authority. It wasn't a casual request. It was an Alpha's command—a subtle thread of power that vibrated straight to my core.

Every instinct inside me screamed to obey.

Slowly, reluctantly, I lifted my head.

Alpha Evan "Buck" Buckley stood only a few feet away. His dark suit jacket was gone, and his broad shoulders were tense beneath a pristine black shirt. His piercing blue eyes searched my face with an intensity so raw it made my knees feel weak.

For several agonizing seconds, neither of us spoke a word.

His gaze traveled meticulously over my face, lingering on the dark bruise blooming along my cheek. Then down to the cut on my lower lip. And finally, down to my bare, trembling hands, where dried crimson stained my skin.

His jaw tightened, a hard muscle ticking near his ear. "Who did this to you?"

The question caught me completely off guard.

"I..." My voice cracked, raspy and thin. "It doesn't matter, Alpha."

"It matters."

The sheer firmness in his tone surprised me.

"No one should look as if they've just been dragged off a battlefield," he said, stepping slightly into my space.

A bitter, quiet smile tugged at the corner of my split lip. "You haven't seen my battlefield, Alpha."

His thick brows drew together in sharp confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I immediately lowered my eyes back to his boots, panic rising in my chest. "I've said too much. Forgive me."

Again... silence.

Buck took another slow, deliberate step closer.

The moment the distance closed, the mate bond flared violently beneath my skin, sending a wave of electric heat rushing through my veins.

Nyx whimpered with pure happiness. *"He came closer..."*

I swallowed hard, my chest rising and falling rapidly. Every nerve ending in my body tingled with a desperate, magnetic pull. If he took just one more step... I wasn't sure I would have the strength to stop myself from reaching out and touching him.

Buck stopped. He was close enough now that I could hear the steady rhythm of his breathing.

"What is your name?"

There it was again. The exact same question my brother had interrupted in the kitchen hours ago.

I hesitated, my heart hammering against my ribs.

*Would my name mean anything to him?*

*Would he recognize who I was?*

"My name is..."

"Athena."

His icy blue eyes widened slightly. "So that is your name."

I blinked, taken aback. "You... you already knew?"

"I heard Damon call you in the courtyard," Buck said, his tone dropping. The way he spoke my brother's name carried a subtle weight I couldn't quite decipher.

Disapproval? Suspicion? Contempt?

He folded his broad arms over his chest, studying me like a complex puzzle. "How long have you served this pack?"

"Five years," I answered quietly.

"Five years?" His surprise was unmistakable. "Were you born into the Silver Moon Pack?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you a servant?"

My chest tightened until I could barely draw air into my lungs.

*Because my brother hates me.*

*Because everyone believes I burned our parents alive.*

*Because I lost my title, my freedom, and my life in a single night.*

Instead of telling him the horrific truth, I forced out the only safe answer I had: "It is where Alpha Damon believes I belong."

Buck studied my posture carefully, taking in the way I held myself despite the rags. "You speak well for a pack servant."

I blinked again, confused. "What?"

"You're educated," he observed softly. "Your diction is refined."

I quickly looked away toward the far corner of the room. "My mother believed every child should learn to read and speak properly."

The words escaped my lips before I could stop them. For one brief, dangerous heartbeat, I had forgotten myself. I had forgotten the invisible chains wrapped around my neck.

Buck noticed the slip instantly. "I was under the impression that servants in this territory were not afforded tutors or education."

"They aren't."

His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Then who were you before you became one?"

A wave of icy panic surged through my stomach. I couldn't answer that. If he discovered I was Damon's sister... if he realized I was the disgraced daughter of Alpha Marcus, the girl accused of patricide... everything would become infinitely worse.

"I..."

*Knock. Knock. Knock.*

Three sharp, precise raps echoed against the heavy door, shattering the suffocating tension in the room.

Buck didn't take his eyes off me for a second. "Enter."

The heavy brass handle turned, and the door swung open.

Ravi stepped inside. The Ironclaw Beta immediately froze in his tracks, his sharp eyes flicking rapidly from Buck... to me... and then back to his Alpha.

"I'm sorry, Alpha," Ravi began, adjusting his dark coat. "You explicitly said not to disturb—"

The words died in his throat as he took in the strange, charged atmosphere of the room. A heavy, awkward silence settled over the three of us.

Ravi had served beside Buck for years, and he had clearly never seen the feared Ironclaw Alpha standing alone in a private room with a bruised, bleeding servant girl.

Buck remained entirely composed, his voice cool and unbothered. "What is it, Ravi?"

Ravi cleared his throat, forcing his professional demeanor back into place. "The Alpha Council is waiting in the high chamber. The preliminary talks are about to begin."

Buck glanced toward the heavy grandfather clock ticking quietly in the corner of the suite. A subtle frown creased his forehead. "I lost track of time."

Ravi's gaze drifted briefly toward my injured hands, where fresh blood had smeared against my dress. A flash of quiet concern flickered across the Beta's sharp features before vanishing just as quickly behind a neutral mask.

"The council meeting begins in five minutes," Ravi added.

Buck gave a single, firm nod. "I'll be there shortly."

Ravi turned as if to leave, but hesitated at the threshold, holding the door open. "There is... one more thing, Alpha."

"Speak."

"Alpha Damon has formally requested that this servant remain available for the duration of tonight's summit duties."

My heart sank straight into my stomach.

*Damon wasn't finished.* Not even close.

Buck's eyes snapped back to me, taking in my pale face, before shifting back to his Beta. "For what purpose?"

Ravi shook his head honestly. "He didn't specify. He merely stated she had specialized tasks assigned by the Silver Moon Beta."

Buck's jaw set into a hard line. "I don't like unanswered questions, Ravi."

"Neither do I," Ravi replied in a low voice. "I'll look into it."

"Do that."

Ravi bowed his head slightly and turned to exit, but paused for a fraction of a second in the doorway. For the briefest moment, his dark eyes locked onto mine.

There was no cruelty in his gaze. No disgust. No hatred. Only a quiet, sharp curiosity.

Then he pulled the door wider and vanished into the stone corridor.

Buck stepped toward the doorway, his tall frame cutting through the light. "You should return to your duties before someone comes searching for you."

I bowed my head low, slipping back into my submissive mask. "Yes, Alpha."

I reached out and placed my hand on the cool brass handle. But before I could pull the door open—

"Athena."

I froze in my tracks. Hearing my name spoken in his deep, resonant voice sent a shiver straight down my spine. It had never sounded like that before.

"Soften your wounds," he murmured quietly.

I looked down at my cut, dirt-stained hands. "I'll manage, Alpha. I always do."

"No."

His voice dropped into a register so quiet it was almost a whisper, yet it possessed a strange, profound weight that made my chest ache.

"You deserve better than this."

The simple words stole the very air from my lungs.

For the first time in five agonizing years... someone had looked at me and seen something other than a monster. Not a servant. Not a murderer. Not a curse.

*A person.*

I didn't trust my voice to respond. I simply opened the heavy door and stepped out into the dim, quiet corridor. The heavy oak door closed softly behind me, cutting off his scent.

I had barely taken two steps down the silent hallway when a pair of rough, powerful hands violently seized my arms from behind, yanking me into the shadows.

I gasped, my heart leaping into my throat.

Beta Lucas's sneering face appeared inches from mine, his dark eyes twisted with pure fury.

"What did you tell him?" he hissed.

"I... I didn't tell him anything!" I choked out, struggling against his crushing grip.

His fingers dug brutally into my bruised skin. "Liar! You were in there far too long!"

Without another word, he dragged me forcefully down a dark, narrow service passageway, away from the safety of the guest wing and deep into the bowels of the manor.

Panic clawed wildly at my chest as I dragged my feet against the stone floor. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?"

Lucas leaned down, his foul, alcohol-laced breath hot against my ear. "The Alpha has changed his plans for you tonight, Athena."

Cold, paralyzing terror settled deep in my stomach. "What plans?"

A cruel, sickening smile spread across Lucas's face, his eyes glinting with malicious triumph in the dim torchlight.

"By sunrise..." he whispered darkly, "...you'll wish you had died in that fire with your parents."