Chapter 2 The Stranger in the Woods

Alyssa’s POV

Levi.

Finally, he's here.

Here to save me.

To tell me that everything happening has been nothing but a bad dream.

Alpha Conan stills.

His grip loosens.

He moves fast, his long strides carrying him toward us, his face a mask of unreadable emotion. But his hands—his hands are clenched into fists.

"What are you doing?" Levi demands, his voice sharp, almost breathless.

Alpha Conan exhales slowly. "You're interrupting."

Levi’s jaw tightens. “She’s not—” He hesitates, his throat working as if the words won’t come.

I wait.

Wait for him to defend me.

To tell his father to back off.

To say anything.

But he doesn’t.

Coward.

Instead, Alpha Conan smirks. “You’re married now, Levi. Your little friend and I were merely discussing her punishment.”

Punishment.

For daring to love his son.

For existing.

Alpha Conan turns back to me, his voice casual, almost amused. “You have twenty-four hours to make your decision, omega.”

Then he casually walks away.

As if he was not about to ravage me.

I am truly nothing.

Silence follows.

It stretches between me and Levi.

My breath is shaky, my hands trembling as I lift my head, slowly, painfully.

There he stands.

My love. Ha, the vicious comedy.

Levi Conan.

The man who has shattered me.

I search his face for something, an explanation maybe.

But all I see is pity and hesitation.

Weakness.

My hands tremble, my entire body numb with shock, with shame, with anger so deep it burns.

I turn before he can speak before he can try to make me understand.

And I run.

His voice calls out after me, desperate, but I don’t stop.

Because nothing he says will erase what’s been done.

Nothing will change the fact that tonight, I lost everything.

Nothing he can say can fix this.

Nothing at all.

So I run.

The grand hall fades behind me, its laughter and music dissolving into the night like a cruel echo of what I have lost.

My feet barely touch the ground as I push forward, my breath ragged, my dress catching on branches and thorns.

Did Alpha Conan just give me an ultimatum?

Tonight.

The same night my heart was shredded, trampled beneath Levi's oath to another.

The air is sharp and cold, but I don’t feel it.

I don’t feel anything but the storm inside me.

The moon is at its peak, casting pale silver light over the dark woods, but I don’t notice.

My eyes are blurred with tears, my mind lost in all the chaos.

I should have known better.

Known my place.

Stayed in my lane.

This is what I get.

For being an abandoned child.

For being an omega with no name, no ancestors, no wolf history to call my own.

I push harder, the wind howling through the trees, whipping against my skin like invisible claws.

The rush of my movement cuts through the thick silence of the forest, but nothing can silence the scream that builds inside me.

I finally stop.

My legs give out beneath me, and I collapse to the ground, dirt and leaves clinging to my dress.

My body trembles as I dig my fingers into the earth, grounding myself, but it does nothing to steady the storm raging in my chest.

Then—I let it out.

A howl.

Raw. Broken.

The sound rips from my throat, piercing the night, carrying all the pain I have buried inside.

I gasp for breath, my fingers curling around the cold metal chain around my neck—the one Levi gave me.

"You promised," I whisper, my voice shaking.

I press my fingers against the pendant, a token of his love—or what I thought was love.

"You promised me a name, Levi.” My voice is barely breathing. “You promised me a place in this world.”

You lied.

The tears come hot and fast, my body trembling with the force of my grief.

I remember everything.

The stolen moments. The whispered words. The way he made me feel like the most beautiful, most cherished person in existence.

And Mira.

Mira, who always treats me with kindness.

Who swore she saw Levi as nothing more than a brother.

A lie.

A beautiful, well-crafted lie.

Levi didn’t even dare to tell me.

I had to find out like everyone else. Through a pack announcement.

A sharp sob rips through me, my mother’s warning ringing in my ears.

"Never forget who you are, Alyssa. Omegas do not get the prince."

I curl into myself, pulling my knees to my chest, my body rocking as I let the pain consume me.

I did this to myself.

I was foolish enough to believe I could be different.

That I could be more than an omega.

That I could be his.

The moonlight spills through the trees, bathing me in its glow, but instead of comfort, it fuels the fire inside me.

The grief shifts.

Morphing.

Growing into something darker.

Anger.

A slow, burning rage, unlike anything I have ever felt.

I will never let this happen to me again.

I will not be Alpha Conan’s little toy.

I will not be used.

Not by him.

Not by Levi.

Not by anyone.

I wipe the tears from my face, my breathing slowing, my body still trembling—but not from pain.

From fury.

The hairs on my hands spike. My instincts shifting.

A sound.

A rattle.

My head snaps up.

The air around me shifting.

I am not alone.

My body stiffens as I scramble to my feet, my eyes darting through the shadows.

A presence.

Another Werewolf.

I don’t recognize the scent.

Maybe a rouge.

Close.

Watching.

The woods are never silent. But right now?

Right now, they are deathly still.

"Why are you so sad, little wolf?"

The deep voice slithers through the darkness like a whisper of danger, curling around me like the cold wind.

My breath catches.

I whirl around, my pulse thudding in my ears.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" I shout, my voice sharper than I feel.

The shadows shift. Something—or someone—moves too fast for my eyes to track.

A blur in the dark.

My heart slams against my ribs.

He must be a rogue.

I don’t recognize this place. I don’t even know how far I’ve run.

"Afraid?" The voice sneers, taunting.

"Stay back!" I command, even though I don’t know what I’d do if he doesn’t listen.

Then suddenly, he steps into the moonlight.

Tall. Broad. Rugged.

His eyes gleam as they catch the light—golden, almost feral, reflecting the moon like a predator watching its prey.

His chiseled jaw is shadowed with stubble, his dark hair tousled, wild. A black turtleneck clings to his sculpted body, revealing the strength beneath.

He looks like trouble.

"Who are you?" I demand fists clenched.

"A rogue, like you," he says smoothly. "What are you doing here? This is dangerous territory."

"Then why are you here?" I snap, backing up.

I’ve heard the stories.

Rogues have no rules. No loyalties.

They do as they please.

Most of them are exiles, banished from their packs for reasons I don’t even want to imagine. Some have escaped from the prison planet.

This stranger might be here to kill me.

He tilts his head, watching me.

"I saw you running. I thought you were in danger. You are fast by the way."

I don’t believe a word he says.

I won’t believe him.

He takes a step closer.

Even from a distance, he towers over me, his presence commanding.

His muscles flex beneath his shirt, the faintest hint of amusement tugging at his lips.

I step back again.

"Don’t be scared," he murmurs. "I don’t bite."

A devilish grin flashes across his face, half-hidden by the shadows.

"You know my pack will find me," I say, trying to sound strong, trying to make him think I matter to them.

But it’s a lie.

And I think he knows it.

I try to move past him, but before I can, his hand grips my wrist.

Wrong move.