The Pull of Power

Zoey

The sleek black car purrs to a stop just beyond the training field. The moment it arrives, tension coils through the pack like a snake waking from slumber. People murmur, shift uneasily. The older warriors stiffen. The pups run to their mothers.

Then he steps out.

And the world stops.

Tall. Unmoving. Dressed in black like he’s come to bury us.

He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t smile. Just lets his blood-red eyes glide over the crowd like he owns the air we breathe.

Alpha Kieran Danes.

The man who conquered kingdoms, broke bloodlines, and made Alphas kneel.

Now he’s here. And Arrow Heart Pack… is his.

I shouldn’t look at him. Omegas aren’t allowed to stare.

But something in me—deep and unfamiliar—defies reason. A pull. An ache. My wolf, Mia, stirs so suddenly I nearly stumble. She hasn’t made a sound in ten years, and now her presence feels like a hurricane trapped in my chest.

“Him…” she breathes. “He’s the one.”

No. I can’t. I won’t.

I rip my gaze away, heart pounding. Whatever that was, I don’t want it.

I retreat to the hallway near the conference room, where no one pays attention to shadows like me. I need space to breathe. To think. To forget those eyes.

But fate never lets me breathe for long.

The door slams open.

I jump up, head down, ready to move. But I move too fast—

And crash into someone solid.

A hand grabs my arm like iron, steadying me before I fall.

Then the world tilts.

It’s him.

The Alpha.

His skin is fire against mine. His grip tightens just enough to remind me he could snap my bones if he wanted.

His eyes lock on mine, and something violently ancient pulls between us. Not soft. Not sweet.

Raw. Primal. Dangerous.

“Who are you?” he growls—low and confused, like his instincts are shouting at him.

My throat closes.

Before I can speak, a sharp crack shatters the moment.

A hand slaps across my cheek, hard enough to spin my head.

Lily.

Of course.

“Don’t touch her,” she snaps, stepping in front of him, her voice sugary and sharp like a poisoned blade. “She’s just the help. Stupid little omega doesn’t know her place.”

My cheek stings. My fists clench. But I don’t bow. Not this time.

For the first time in years, I stand my ground—even as the heat of Kieran’s gaze sears through me like wildfire.

His eyes narrow. He says nothing. But he doesn’t look away.

Not even as I slip out of the hallway, back straight, trembling from the inside out.

He felt it.

I know he did.

And worse…

So did I.

Two Days Later

The whispers haven’t stopped.

“She flinched like he was going to mark her.”

“I bet she’ll beg to be his whore next.”

“She should thank Luna Lily for saving her.”

Let them talk. I’ve endured worse than gossip.

But Kieran hasn’t left.

He’s still here. And the longer he stays, the more I feel my world tilt off balance.

Today, the pack gathers to witness what we all knew was coming.

A duel. One Alpha against another.

A show of dominance.

I stay in the back, where omegas belong.

Until he steps into the arena.

Alpha Kieran doesn’t posture. Doesn’t roar. His presence alone sends the warriors to silence.

He’s dressed for war—black vest, combat pants, bare arms inked with symbols I can’t read. But it’s his stillness that chills me.

He doesn’t look like a man about to fight.

He looks like a man about to execute.

Alpha Alex stands opposite him, pale, sweating. Already broken.

The rules are announced: no shifting, no magic, first to submit loses. If Alex loses, the pack bends the knee. Permanently.

The fight doesn’t last a minute.

Kieran dodges every strike like it’s beneath him. Then he moves—one hit to the ribs, a twist, and Alex is flat on the mat, wheezing under his boot.

“I submit!” Alex gasps.

Kieran doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink.

He leans down, cold fury behind his eyes. “You’re lucky I need your allegiance more than I want your blood.”

The crowd stays dead silent.

Because it’s done.

We belong to him now.

I slip into the kitchen to avoid the victory celebration. I just want quiet. But as I pass the storage room, I hear voices.

Low. Heated.

“We can’t let him get too close,” Lily hisses. “Especially with her still alive.”

My blood runs cold.

“Don’t remind me,” Alex growls. “I killed the Alpha for this pack. I buried her whole damn family. If that girl remembers anything—”

He stops. A sound—bone cracking.

My knees weaken.

It was him.

He murdered my parents. He destroyed my brother. He left me for dead.

My breath catches. My chest starts to glow faintly—barely visible, but real.

Then I feel it.

Not just power.

Awakening.

Panic claws through me.

And then—

He appears.

Kieran. At the doorway. Watching. Sensing.

He stares at the light flickering from my skin. His expression darkens—but it isn’t anger.

It’s recognition.

“Your power…” he murmurs.

I back away, heart hammering.

But it’s too late.

He saw.

And now everything is about to change.