The alpha’s claim

The memory hit like a slap.

Flames.  

Pain.  

Silver eyes watching me burn.

I staggered back, clutching my chest, but the image faded as fast as it came. I blinked, gasping for air, heart slamming against my ribs.

What was that?

Kael didn’t move. His gaze pinned me in place, a storm swirling behind his silver irises. Anger. Confusion. Something deeper.

“Alpha,” our pack leader finally stepped forward, clearing his throat. “You’re most welcome in Ashridge. May I introduce ........”

“Later,” Kael cut him off, eyes still locked on me. “Who is she?”

I froze.

Harlan scowled. “Just an omega, my Alpha. No wolf. Useless, really.”

Kael’s jaw clenched.

He stepped closer to me. The air crackled around us. “Your name?”

“Lyra,” I breathed.

The way he looked at me… it wasn’t how people looked at omegas. It wasn’t pity or disgust. It was something else. Possession. Conflict. Heat.

My skin tingled as the bond shimmered between us, thick and undeniable.

“This girl,” Kael said, turning to my Alpha, “comes with me.”

Whispers erupted.

“What?”  

“She’s not even pack!”  

“Is he claiming her?”  

“That omega?”

My Alpha’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Surely, you jest. She’s not… she’s not mate worthy. No wolf. No status. She sleeps in the servant’s hall!”

Kael’s voice dropped to a growl. “She comes. With. Me.”

I took a shaky step back. “I don’t understand, why me?”

Kael didn’t answer. Instead, he reached forward like he meant to touch me then stopped. His fingers hovered inches from my cheek before curling into a fist and dropping to his side.

“You’ll be under my protection now,” he said coldly.

Cold. Not caring. Like it wasn’t his idea at all.

Something about his words twisted inside me. I wasn’t being chosen. I was being claimed.Like a problem that needed to be kept close. Watched.

Controlled.

“I didn’t ask for your protection,” I whispered.

He blinked slowly. “No. But you need it.”

And with that, he turned to leave.

Hours later, I was packed and sitting in the back seat of one of the Moonfang SUVs, staring out the window as the trees blurred past.

I didn’t get to say goodbye. Not that anyone would’ve cared.

They shoved a bag of my things into my arms, told me I was lucky, and slammed the door behind me like they couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.

Now, I was in enemy territory.

Kael hadn’t spoken to me since we left. He sat up front, silent, tense, arms folded. His Beta drove, a tall, dark-haired man with sharp eyes and even sharper glares.

“You sure about this, Alpha?” the Beta asked at one point. “Bringing in a cursed omega with no wolf? Feels risky.”

Kael didn’t answer.

He didn’t have to. The heat radiating off him was answer enough.

The silence stretched until we rolled through massive black gates and entered the Moonfang territory. It was bigger. Cleaner. Guarded like a fortress.

The SUV stopped in front of a towering stone manor, three stories high, lit by moonlight and torches.

I stepped out cautiously.

And immediately, I felt it again.

That tug in my chest. The bond.

Kael was watching me. Always watching.

“Come,” he said.

Not “please.” Not “follow me.” Just a command.

I clenched my jaw but obeyed.

Inside, the manor was all stone and firelight. Warriors lined the halls. Every one of them looked at me like I didn’t belong.

They weren’t wrong.

Kael led me down a corridor and opened a heavy wooden door.

“This will be your room.”

It was… huge. Too huge. A fireplace, a bed with dark silk sheets, a carved dresser. Nicer than anything I’d ever touched before.

I hovered near the door. “Why are you doing this?”

Kael leaned against the doorframe. “Because I have to.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He studied me, eyes unreadable. “There’s something in you. Something dangerous. Until I know what it is, I need you where I can see you.”

“So you’re not protecting me,” I said softly. “You’re caging me.”

A pause. “If I wanted to cage you, Lyra… this room wouldn’t have a door.”

That wasn’t comforting.

I turned away from him, heart thudding. “What did you mean earlier… when you said I was supposed to die?”

Another pause.

“You’ll remember,” he said quietly. “Soon.”

And then he was gone.

The door clicked shut behind him.

And I was alone.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring into the fire.

That memory… it wasn’t a dream. It felt real. The flames. The screams. The betrayal.

Was I really someone else… before this life?

And if so…

Who was Alpha Kael to me back then?