Chapter 5

The last customer's footsteps faded into the evening. I moved slowly through the ailes, gathering stray books and straightening chairs. This was usually the part of the day I dreaded most. The others always found reasons to leave early… errands, aching feet, sudden obligations… until the closing work quietly became mine alone. 

I didn't complain. Complaining wouldn't keep a roof over my head. Standing on my toes, I reached for a book shoved haphazardly onto the highest shelf. My fingers brushed the spine but failed to grip it properly. I tried again, breath hitching as my back protested.

“Just a little more,” I murmured to myself.

Then—

A sudden prickle swept down my spine.

Not fear. Not alarm.

Recognition.

My wolf surged forward so fast it stole the air from my lungs. The world seemed to sharpen…the scent of paper, wood, and dust suddenly overwhelmed by something deeper, stronger. Pine smoke. Iron. Home.

Strong hands reached past me, steady and sure, lifting the book from the shelf with ease.

“I’ve got it,” a man’s voice said quietly.

For a heartbeat, I didn’t move. My first thought was Federic.

But the prickle didn’t belong to him. My wolf had never reacted to Federic, never stirred, never acknowledged his presence as anything more than human.

This was different.

This was—

My pulse thundered in my ears as I slowly turned.The man standing behind me was taller than I remembered… or perhaps I had grown smaller. Broad shoulders filled the narrow aisle, dark hair falling just enough to his shoulder, familiar eyes.

My mate.

The Alpha of Ashbornes.

The bond snapped tight between us like a drawn bowstring.

I staggered back a step, one hand flying to my stomach as if to shield it. Six months of distance, of running, of convincing myself I was free

.

His eyes widened.

Not in anger.

In shock.

“You-” he breathed, 

“You’re—” He stopped, gaze dropping, finally noticing the curve beneath my loose dress. His face went still, color draining as understanding struck. “You’re pregnant.”

My throat burned. “Six months.”

Silence swallowed the aisle.

His wolf roared beneath the surface, I could feel it…confusion, disbelief, regret crashing together. He took a half-step toward me before stopping himself, jaw tightening.

“I didn’t know,” he said hoarsely. “You disappeared. The pack searched for weeks.”

“I didn’t want to be found,” I replied, voice steady despite the storm inside me. “And I didn’t think you’d care.”

His eyes snapped back to mine. “You’re my mate.”

The word hurt more than it should have.

“An omega remember? You didn’t claim me,” I said quietly. “You didn’t choose me. So I chose myself.”

His hands curled into fists at his sides. “You left before I could.”

“Before you would,” I corrected.

The bond pulsed painfully between us, old memories bleeding through, heat, closeness, the reckless night that had changed everything. A fling, he had called it.

Not to me.

He looked at me then, really looked, at the tired shadows under my eyes, the way I stood protectively over my belly, the strain I tried so hard to hide.

“You shouldn’t be doing this alone,” he said.

“I have been,” I answered. “And I will continue to.”

Footsteps echoed faintly near the front of the store. I stepped back, creating distance between them, even as the bond screamed in protest.

“If you’re here to drag me back,” I said softly, “you’re wasting your time.”

His gaze softened flicking down to my nametag. “I’m here for a busi-”

I swallowed. I heard everything he wanted to say. He wasn't here for me. 

“I can’t,” I whispered, backing away from him. “I can’t do this.”

“Amaris—”

I didn’t let him finish. I turned and ran.

The bell above the door rang sharply as I burst out of the bookstore, cool night air slicing into my lungs. My heart pounded, my wolf urging me to move, to put distance between myself and the pain I’d buried for six months.

I didn’t make it far.

The alley beside the store was dark, the streetlamps flickering weakly overhead. That was when the scent hit me…rot, blood, and hunger.

Rogues.

My wolf snarled, rising instinctively, but fear followed close behind. I was slower now. Heavier. Protecting more than just myself.

A shape lunged from the shadows.

I screamed as rough hands grabbed me, slamming my back against the brick wall. Pain flared through my shoulder as claws tore at my skin.

“Easy,” a voice growled. “You’ll fetch a good price.”

 A sharp blow knocked the breath from my lungs, and I crumpled, curling instinctively around my stomach.

A roar split the night.

Not human.

Not tame.

The Alpha hit them like a storm.

Bone cracked. Blood splattered. The alley filled with snarls and screams as he tore through the rogues with terrifying precision. It was over in seconds…bodies fleeing or lying still, the air thick with the scent of dominance.

I barely registered it before strong arms lifted me off the ground.

“Don’t touch me,” I rasped, struggling weakly.

“Enough,” he said sharply. “You’re hurt.”

He carried me out of the alley, his grip firm but careful, his body radiating fury and relief in equal measure.

I shoved against his chest once he set me down under a streetlight. “I told you I don’t want you. I don’t want Ashbornes.”

His jaw clenched. “That stopped being an option the moment I scented the pup.”

My blood ran cold. “You have no right.”

“I have every right,” he snapped. “You’re my mate, and that child is mine.”

“I survived without you,” i said, tears burning my eyes. “After you rejected me, I learned how.”

His expression flickered, guilt, regret, something raw. “I was wrong.”

“That doesn’t erase it.”

Silence stretched, heavy and brittle.

“You’re coming back to the pack,” he said finally, voice low and unyielding. “Tonight.”

“No,” I said immediately. “I won’t be caged again.”

His eyes darkened, Alpha dominance rolling off him. “Whether you like it or not, Amaris, you’re coming with me.”

I shook my head, backing away. “I’d rather die than be dragged back.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You almost did. Out here, alone.”

My wolf whimpered despite myself.

“I will protect you,” he continued. “I will protect the baby. Even if you hate me for it.”

“I don’t need you,” I whispered.

“You do,” he replied quietly. “And so does our child.”

I knew then that running again would be impossible.

Fate had found me.

And it wasn’t letting go.