Chapter 4: Locked with the Alpha

I didn’t fight him.

Not because I didn’t want to.

Because I couldn’t.

The bond pulsed faintly with every step I took beside Kael, like a warning… or a leash. My wrist was still in his grip, firm, unyielding, as he led me away from the clearing and deep into the heart of the pack territory.

Into his territory.

The forest grew darker the further we walked, the sounds of the others fading until it was just us… and the heavy silence between us.

I hated it.

I hated him.

And I hated the way my body reacted every time he got too close.

“Slow down,” I muttered, trying to keep up with his long strides.

He didn’t.

Of course he didn’t.

“Can’t keep up?” he said without looking back.

“I’m not the one dragging someone like a prisoner.”

That made him stop.

Abruptly.

I almost crashed into his back.

Before I could step away, he turned—and suddenly I was trapped between him and the nearest tree, his hand braced beside my head, his body too close.

Way too close.

My breath caught.

Again.

“You keep using that word,” Kael said quietly. “Prisoner.”

His eyes searched mine, sharp, intense, like he was trying to peel me apart layer by layer.

“Is that what you think this is?”

“Yes.”

The answer came out instantly.

Because if I hesitated… I’d lose.

Something dark flickered across his face.

Then—

He leaned in slightly.

Not touching.

But close enough that I could feel the heat of his breath.

“You have no idea what I could do if you were truly my prisoner,” he murmured.

A shiver ran down my spine.

Not fear.

Not entirely.

Something else.

Something I didn’t want to name.

I swallowed hard. “Then let go of me.”

For a moment…

I thought he wouldn’t.

Then suddenly—

He released my wrist.

I stepped back immediately, putting space between us, even though the bond protested the distance with a faint ache in my chest.

I ignored it.

“I can walk on my own,” I said.

“Good,” he replied. “Because we’re almost there.”

That didn’t make me feel better.

At all.

The pack house came into view minutes later.

Large.

Imposing.

Built from dark wood and stone, it stood like a silent warning in the middle of the forest.

The Alpha’s home.

I had never been this close before.

And I definitely had never been inside.

“No,” I said immediately, stopping in my tracks. “I’m not going in there.”

Kael didn’t even pause.

“You are.”

“I said no.”

He turned slowly this time, his expression unreadable.

“Do you feel that?” he asked.

I frowned. “Feel what?”

The bond answered for him.

A sharp pull tightened in my chest, sudden and undeniable, forcing me one step forward without my permission.

My breath hitched.

“I—”

“It’s not a suggestion, Aria,” Kael said calmly. “You’re tied to me. Whether you like it or not.”

Anger flared instantly. “Then fix it!”

“I plan to.”

That should have reassured me.

It didn’t.

Because of the way he said it.

Cold.

Controlled.

Like I was a problem.

Or an experiment.

I clenched my fists and walked past him, forcing myself toward the entrance.

“Good choice,” he muttered behind me.

I didn’t respond.

If I did, I might scream.

The moment I stepped inside, I felt it.

Power.

Heavy. Ancient. Pressing into my skin like the walls themselves were alive with it.

This was his space.

His control.

His world.

And I was completely out of place in it.

“Upstairs,” Kael said.

“I’m not staying here.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I have a home.”

“Not tonight.”

I turned to face him, my patience snapping. “You don’t get to decide that!”

“I already did.”

Silence.

Tension.

Then—

“Why?” I demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

For the first time…

He hesitated.

Just for a second.

Then his expression hardened again.

“Because something is wrong with you.”

The words hit harder than I expected.

I laughed bitterly. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re dangerous,” he shot back.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“The ground shook,” he said sharply. “The air changed. The bond didn’t break.”

His eyes locked onto mine, intense and unrelenting.

“That’s not normal.”

I opened my mouth—

Then closed it.

Because I didn’t have an answer.

And he saw that.

Of course he did.

“Exactly,” he said quietly.

Before I could react, he stepped closer again.

Too close.

Always too close.

“You’re staying here,” he said. “Until I figure out what you are.”

“I told you—”

“You’re not just a wolf.”

My heart slammed against my chest.

Because the way he said it…

It wasn’t a guess.

It was certainty.

“No one else will touch you,” he continued, his voice lowering. “No one else will go near you.”

My breath caught.

“That’s not your decision.”

“It is now.”

Something in his tone made my pulse quicken.

Not just authority.

Possession.

Dangerous.

Terrifying.

And confusing in a way I didn’t understand.

“I don’t belong to you,” I said, quieter this time.

He leaned in slightly.

Again.

That same unbearable closeness.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

The bond pulsed.

Hard.

Painfully.

Like it was reacting to his words.

Agreeing with him.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my body betraying me again.

Kael noticed.

Of course he did.

His gaze dropped briefly—to my lips—then back to my eyes.

And something shifted.

The air changed.

Thicker.

Heavier.

More dangerous.

“Get some rest,” he said suddenly, stepping back.

Just like that.

Breaking the moment.

Confusing me even more.

“There’s a room down the hall. You’ll stay there.”

“And if I try to leave?”

A pause.

Then—

“You won’t.”

My stomach tightened.

Because I knew…

He was right.

That night, as I lay in a bed that wasn’t mine, in a place I didn’t belong…

I felt it.

The bond.

Stronger than ever.

Burning under my skin.

Pulling me toward him.

And somewhere in the house…

I knew he felt it too.

The worst part?

It didn’t feel like a curse anymore.

It felt like something waking up.

Something neither of us could control.

Something that was only just beginning.