The Savage Alpha

Three days later, I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the wolf.

I'd been walking through no-man's land, the unclaimed forest between pack territories where rogues and outcasts wandered. My food had run out yesterday, and my morning sickness made keeping anything down nearly impossible.

The wolf lay beside a stream, blood matting his midnight-black fur. Massive even in injury, he was the largest wolf I'd ever seen. One leg bent at an impossible angle, and deep gashes covered his sides.

My healer instincts overrode my fear. I approached slowly, hands raised.

"Easy," I whispered. "I'm a healer. I can help."

The wolf's eyes snapped open, ice blue, so pale they were almost white. Intelligence sparked there, along with lethal warning.

"I know you can kill me," I said, kneeling just out of reach. "But you'll die without help. That leg is infected. I can smell it from here."

The wolf watched me for a long moment, then his massive head dropped, permission or exhaustion, I wasn't sure.

I worked quickly, my hands steady for the first time in days. Strange—my nausea had vanished the moment I'd started healing. The infection was severe, and someone had used silver weapons. This wasn't a normal fight injury.

"Someone wanted you very dead," I murmured, cleaning the wounds. "Silver-laced weapons, poison on the blade tips—someone knew exactly how to hurt an Alpha."

The wolf tensed. I'd recognized him as an Alpha from his sheer size and the power that radiated even through his injuries.

"I'm not a threat," I said quickly. "I'm packless. Banished. I have no one to tell."

As I worked, I felt something strange happening. My hands grew warm, then hot. Golden light spread from my palms—something that had never happened before. The wolf's wounds began closing faster than normal healing should allow.

"What " I stared at my glowing hands.

Maya, silent for days, suddenly stirred. "Free," she whispered. "The poison is leaving. We're free."

The wolf was watching me intently now, those pale eyes seeing too much.

"I don't understand what's happening," I admitted. "I've never been able to do this before."

I worked through the night, using skills I didn't know I possessed. By dawn, the wolf's wounds had closed, leaving only faint scars. His leg, which should have taken weeks to heal, was nearly normal.

Exhausted, I collapsed beside him. "You'll be fine now. I should go "

A massive paw landed on my leg, holding me in place. The wolf's eyes were commanding.

"I can't stay. If you're an Alpha, your pack will come looking. They won't want a packless wolf here."

The wolf huffed, almost like laughter. Then, between one breath and the next, he shifted.

I scrambled backward, averting my eyes from the very naked, very magnificent man now lying where the wolf had been. But not before I'd seen the intricate tattoos covering his chest, the scars that marked a warrior, and a face so devastatingly beautiful it belonged in legend.

"Look at me."

The command in his voice was absolute. I raised my eyes to find him now wrapped in pants he'd pulled from somewhere, studying me with those impossible ice-blue eyes.

"You're her," he said, voice rough with disuse. "The rejected Luna of Shadow Creek. Aria Winters."

My blood ran cold. "How do you "

"Know?" He stood, and I realized just how large he was—six foot four at least, built like a warrior god. "Because your pathetic ex-mate has been bragging about his new Luna to every Alpha in the region. Broadcasting his stupidity to anyone who'll listen."

"You know Ryker?"

His smile was all predator. "Every Alpha knows me, little healer. I'm Zane Nightshade."

The name hit me like lightning. Zane Nightshade. The Savage Alpha. The King of the Northern Packs. The one who'd killed his own father for the crown and ruled through fear and blood.

"You're... but you're supposed to be"

"A monster?" He moved closer, and I caught his scent—pine, winter storms, and raw power. "I am. But I'm a monster who owes you a life debt now. You saved me when my own pack's betrayers left me for dead."

"Betrayers?"

"My beta. Thought he could take my crown with silver and wolfsbane." His smile was sharp. "He thought wrong. Though he did more damage than expected before I ripped his throat out."

I should have been terrified. Instead, I felt oddly safe.

"Why were you alone? Where was your pack?"

"Handling the other conspirators. I prefer to hunt alone." He tilted his head, studying me. "You're not afraid of me."

"Should I be?"

"Everyone else is."

"Everyone else didn't just spend the night healing you."

He laughed, a rich sound that made my stomach flutter in ways that had nothing to do with morning sickness.

"You're different than I expected. Ryker made you sound weak."

"I was. Am." I stood, brushing dirt from my clothes. "I should go. Your pack will be looking for you."

"Where will you go?"

I had no answer.

"You're pregnant," he said suddenly.

I froze. "How "

"Your scent. It's faint, but unmistakable." His expression darkened. "His?"

I nodded, unable to speak.

"And he rejected you anyway?"

"He didn't know. Still doesn't."

Zane was quiet for a moment, then: "Come with me."

"What?"

"To my pack. You need protection, shelter. I need a healer, my last one died in the betrayal."

"You can't be serious. I'm carrying another Alpha's child"

"And that Alpha threw you away." He stepped closer, and I felt the heat radiating from him. "I pay my debts, Aria Winters. You saved my life. Let me save yours."

"What will your pack say?"

"They'll say nothing unless they want to challenge me." His smile was sharp. "Few are that stupid."

I thought of my alternatives—wandering alone, pregnant, hunted by rogues. At least with Zane, I'd have protection.

"Just as your healer," I said. "Nothing more."

"If that's what you want." But his eyes said he knew better. Could feel the same pull I did—not a mate bond, but something else. Something chosen rather than fated.

"Okay," I whispered.

He shifted back to wolf form, magnificent and terrifying. He lowered himself, clearly expecting me to climb on.

"I can walk"

He growled, and I understood this wasn't negotiable. I climbed onto his back, fingers tangling in his fur.

He ran like shadow given form, and for the first time since my rejection, I felt something other than pain.

I felt free.