Chapter 5: Chase

Alpha Dexter

A few weeks before the invasion

Sleep has become a war I keep losing. Every night I lie in the massive bed that once belonged to my father, staring at the ceiling, my wolf pacing restlessly, And every night, the same image burns in my brain, Nina.

I’ve wanted her for months even longer, if I’m honest. Since the day she first stepped into this pack as our new doctor, all cool and professional with her curves and clothes wrapped around her body that could start wars. She’s playing hard to get, and damn if it doesn’t make the chase sweeter and more infuriating. 

I’m Alpha and a Respectable  Leader of the strongest pack in three territories I don’t beg. I don’t force but goddess, she’s testing every shred of restraint I have left

.

No one compares to her. Not the lithe warriors who throw themselves at me after every victory or the elegant wolves who bat lashes and bare throats in submission for me to claim and mark them. When Nina walks through the compound everyone turns to look at her. 

Strong Men begin to stutter, Women narrow their eyes in envy. And me? I watch from the shadows of the pack house trying so hard to hold back and fighting the urge to drag her into the nearest dark corner and show her exactly what her scent does to me.

Her hair is usually trapped in that ridiculous, tight bun that falls loose only on the rarest occasions. When it does, dark waves cascade down her back like midnight silk, and my fingers itch to fist in it, to yank her head back and claim her mouth until she forgets how to say no. Everything she wears clings to her like it was painted on. Scrubs that hug the swell of her hips. That white lab coat she shrugs on over is professional and somehow the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. It parts just enough when she moves to reveal the dip of her waist, the generous curve of her breasts pressing against fabric that should be innocent but isn’t.

It started innocently enough Or as innocent as anything involving her can be.

She was treating one of our scouts after a border fight when a young pup of ours cracked his ribs and was bleeding from a rogue’s claws. I walked into the clinic unannounced, needing a report. And there she was, bent over him, that ridiculous dress she’d worn to some human town errand earlier still on beneath the open coat. The fabric stretched tight across her ass as she leaned forward, thighs thick and toned from years of running patrols even though she refused to fight as a warrior. Her scent hit me like a punch of wild jasmine and warm honey, with the sharp metallic tang of blood and antiseptic. My cock hardened so fast it hurt, straining against my jeans while I stood frozen in the doorway like some untried boy.

I left before she noticed, but the image branded itself into my brain. Since then, I’ve spent too many nights imagining her naked beneath me those thighs wrapped around my head, her fingers tangled in my hair as she arches and gasps my name. I want to spread her on the exam table, part those legs, and feast until she’s trembling, until she admits what we both know: she’s mine.

Do I love her? The word feels too small, too human. My wolf howls yet every time she’s near. I want her with a hunger that borders on madness. From the first moment our eyes met across the clearing, something primal snapped into place. She’s strong stronger than most of the so-called warriors who strut around like they own the place. She could take any female in this pack in a fair fight, claws out, teeth bared. So why the hell did she choose the clinic over the front lines? Why bury that fire under stethoscopes and bandages when she could be standing beside me, ruling, fighting, fucking like the queen she was born to be?

Jessica nags constantly whining about becoming Luna, about jewels and territory expansions and how I never give her enough attention and money. Her voice grates like nails on stone. She’s convenient, nothing more. A warm body to bury myself in when the frustration builds too high. But even then, it’s Nina I picture. Nina’s moans I hear in my head. Nina’s thighs I imagine clenching around me.

Today, the need is unbearable. The scouts report strange movements along the northern border scents that don’t belong, shadows moving too deliberately. War is coming, and I need to see her. Just once. To feed the obsession so I can function.

I grab my beta, Marcus, and head for the clinic. “Make it quick,” I mutter. “I have patrols to check.”

He smirks but says nothing. He knows.

The clinic door creaks as I shove it open. The place smells of herbs, antiseptic, and her. Always her. I make a mental note the walls need fresh paint, more shelves, another healer or two. Requests have piled up on my desk for weeks. But anything that doesn’t bring in revenue or strengthen our defenses gets shoved to the bottom. Survival first. Always.

She’s there, bent over a patient one of the men wounded in the last raid. Her lab coat hangs open, sleeves rolled to her elbows, exposing the smooth, toned forearms I want to pin above her head. She doesn’t look up immediately, focused on stitching a gash across the warrior’s shoulder.

Then she does.

“Alpha Dexter,” she says, voice calm, professional, with just the faintest edge of surprise. “What brings you here?”

I never come to the clinic. My wolf heals faster than anyone in the pack bones knit, flesh seals, blood replenishes in minutes. I have no need for bandages or salves.

But I have a need for her.

I step closer, letting the door swing shut behind me. The air thickens. Her scent wraps around me, intoxicating, and my wolf surges forward, claws pricking beneath my nails.

“Just checking on my people,” I lie smoothly, eyes raking over her. The way her pulse jumps at the base of her throat. The slight flush creeping up her neck when she meets my gaze for a second too long. “And perhaps… on you.”

Her lips twitch just the barest hint of a smirk. “Your people are healing fine. And I’m not the one who needs taking care of.”

The challenge in her tone sends heat straight to my groin.

I lean against the counter, arms crossed, letting my gaze drag slowly down her body. The lab coat does nothing to hide the way her clothes hug her hips, the generous curve of her breasts, the strength in her thighs.

“You sure about that, Doc?” My voice drops low, intimate. “Looks like you’ve been working yourself to the bone. Maybe you need someone to… relieve some pressure.”

Her eyes narrow. Gold flecks spark in the brown.

“I relieve my own pressure just fine, Alpha. And I don’t need help from anyone who thinks a title gives him the right to proposition me while I’m trying to save lives.”

Fuck. That mouth.

I smile. “Careful, Nina. Keep talking like that and I might start thinking you like the fight.”

She straightens, tossing the bloody gauze into the bin without breaking eye contact.

“I don’t like fights I didn’t pick. And I definitely don’t pick them with men who only want what they can’t have.”

The air between us is thick.

My wolf rises, pressing against my skin, wanting to pin her to the nearest wall and prove her wrong. I forced him back Barely.

“For now,” I murmur, stepping even closer so only she can hear. “But we both know how this ends.”

Her lips part  a little but it’s enough. Enough to make my blood roar. I have so much to do. But right now, all I can think about is how she’ll look when she finally stops running… and lets me catch her.