All Chapters of Claimed by the Straight Alpha : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

William’s POVThe morning came slow, reluctant, as if the sun itself hesitated to rise over the city. I had been awake for hours, pacing in my office, letting the weight of my Alpha’s mantle press against my shoulders like chains forged from expectation and instinct. Yet, despite all the structure, all the control I imposed on the Moonlight Pack, there was a part of me I could not govern. Ester.His presence lingered in the room like smoke, a subtle scent in the air that made my wolf stir beneath my skin. I could almost feel his pulse, faint and deliberate, a rhythm that tugged at something primal inside me. The bond hummed, insistent, relentless, and even though I had chosen restraint, even though I had sworn not to cross the line—not yet—it was impossible to ignore.Nut had visited briefly the night before, giving me updates about Hong, his male mate. I had listened carefully, my wolf vibrating beneath my skin, but my thoughts kept straying to Ester. Nut’s bond was a tangible thing n

William's POVThe city slept under a blanket of silver moonlight, oblivious to the dangerous game that played out beyond its streets. From the height of my office, I could see the forest at the city’s edge, the dark treeline humming with life and secrets, and I felt the bond tighten, coiling around my chest like a living thing. Ester was near. Even now, I could sense his presence threading through my wolf, the pull insistent, unrelenting. My body responded before my mind could reason.I rose from the desk, letting my fingers brush against the edge as if the weight of the world could be pushed aside by simple motion. My wolf growled low, a rumble of impatience and hunger. The bond flared, igniting a need that I refused to acknowledge. Not yet. Not fully. Not until the timing was right.But restraint was a fragile thing, easily frayed when a mate lingered in one’s senses so completely.Nut’s voice interrupted the tension, calm but pointed: “Alpha, scouts report a second wave of movement

Ester’s POVThe night air was thick with tension, heavy and sharp, carrying the scent of the forest, the city, and something far more primal that I could feel threading through me, unrelenting. I didn’t know how to name it yet—this pull, this ache in my chest, the hunger that clawed at me with every beat of my heart. But I knew it wasn’t just mine. It belonged to him as much as it belonged to me. William. Alpha. My mate.I sat on the edge of the temporary shelter Nut had prepared for me, legs pulled close to my chest, arms wrapped around them, and breathed in deeply. My lungs felt too small, my chest too tight. Every sound in the forest made my skin prickle. Every shift of the wind made me flinch, and every rustle of the leaves behind me made me spin, ready to flee, ready to hide. But Nut’s presence beside me—steady, unwavering—kept me grounded.“You’re tense,” Nut said softly, voice low, almost a whisper. “I can feel it through the bond.”I exhaled slowly, trying to control the tremor

Ester’s POVThe forest had never felt so alive—or so dangerous. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig, made my heart hammer against my ribs, my senses alert to the slightest disturbance. My white wolf pulsed beneath my skin, coiling and stretching, whispering in a language older than humanity, older than reason. It was awake now. Fully. And it had claimed William in a way that left no doubt.I could feel him even before he arrived—the subtle hum of his presence weaving through the bond, his heartbeat threading into mine, calling, pulling, anchoring me to him. My wolf growled low, impatient, fierce, ready to leap, to defend, to consume. I tried to steady myself, pressed my hands against my knees, inhaling the crisp air that smelled faintly of pine, damp earth, and sunlight filtering through the treetops.But it was no use. The bond flared violently, threading through every nerve in my body, insisting, demanding.He appeared at the edge of the clearing like a shadow becoming subst

Ester’s POVThe city slept beneath a silver blanket of moonlight, but I could not. My mind churned with fragments of yesterday, pieces of William’s presence, the weight of the office, the scent of his cologne, the feel of his touch—light, but lingering, insistent, demanding attention even in his absence. I sat at the edge of my bed, knees drawn close to my chest, staring at the wall across from me, trying to make sense of the storm that had been unleashed the moment I stepped into his office.It wasn’t just attraction. I had known desire before, fleeting and shallow, but this… this was something entirely different. The way my chest ached when he wasn’t near, the way my thoughts returned to him compulsively, the strange, insistent tug at my very core—I had no words for it. And yet, my wolf knew.The bond… it was undeniable.I had felt it the instant our hands brushed over the quarterly reports. A spark, yes, but deeper than that, older than anything I’d experienced in my short life. It