TALIA'S POV

I just stood there, frozen, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Ramon's voice was calm as he gave instructions to Ingrid, as though my world hadn't just been torn apart and reshaped without my consent.

"Have her ready," he said. "She'll meet the elders and a few important members of the clan."

Clan.

The word alone made my knees feel weak.

"These people are very close to me," he added, turning his gaze to me. "I'd like for you to meet them."

I nodded numbly, though none of it made sense. My body felt distant, disconnected, as though I were watching everything unfold from outside myself. I felt weak from my head to my toes. None of these made sense. I kept pinching myself in the hope that I'd wake up.

Nothing changed.

Another woman entered shortly after-quiet, respectful. She didn't look at me the way Ingrid did. Ingrid's gaze held curiosity, assessment... understanding.

The woman led me to the bathroom, where warm water steamed gently in a large tub. I washed mechanically, my thoughts spiraling as I scrubbed away the dirt, the mud, the fear. When I emerged, a gown lay waiting-soft fabric, deep in color, nothing like the clothes I owned.

It felt like a costume.

"You should eat something, Miss," Ingrid said gently when I returned.

Food?

I almost laughed.

That was the last thing on my mind. I didn't trust this place, didn't trust the people, and certainly didn't trust the man who had decided my fate without asking.

I sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

When Ramon returned, the air in the room shifted.

He was dressed in a black suit-tailored, regal, unmistakably powerful. The fabric hugged his broad frame, and for a moment, my anger faltered beneath something treacherous and unwanted.

He looked devastatingly handsome.

"Come," he said. "It's a long drive."

That was when I knew.

If I didn't try now, I never would.

Outside, the car waited. The gates were open.

Opportunity stood right in front of me.

Ramon unlocked the door for me, then turned to his side of the car.

I didn't hesitate.

I bolted.

The world blurred as I ran, adrenaline screaming through my veins. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. Anywhere was better than here.

My lungs burned. My legs ached. And then-

I tripped.

I fell hard into something wet and cold. Mud. Thick and clinging. As I pushed myself up, humiliation burning hotter than fear, I felt it.

Eyes.

Watching.

I froze.

Three-no, four figures stood a few feet away. Wolves. Shifters. Whatever they were, their gazes raked over me with open curiosity... and disdain.

And Ramon stood among them.

Arms crossed. A slow, infuriating smirk on his face.

"Who is she?" one of them asked.

"She's not from around here."

"I haven't seen her before."

Another wrinkled his nose. "She smells like human blood."

I wished the ground would open and swallow me whole.

Ramon stepped forward and yanked me roughly to my feet.

"Alpha Ramon," one of them said cautiously. "Do you know her?"

"Yes," he replied coolly. "She's my guest.

I'm taking her back."

There was a pause.

"No trouble, then," another muttered.

"Carry on," Ramon said.

His grip tightened as he dragged me away, pulling me like a lamb about to be slaughtered.

***

I sat on the floor while he tended to my cuts, his movements efficient but not gentle.

"Why did you run?" he snapped. "What the hell was going through your thick skull?"

I flinched.

"Do you want to get yourself killed?" he continued. "Those rogues are still out there. You are no match for them."

That broke me.

"Who are they?" I demanded, tears spilling over. "What do they want from you? Why were they attacking you?"

My voice cracked. "If you weren't wounded, I wouldn't have even come close to you."

Silence fell.

Then he spoke.

"They're rogues. Former members of my pack."

I let out a weary breath. "There we go again."

"They want my position," he continued.

"My title. The Alpha."

None of it made sense.

"So what does that have to do with me?" I asked. "Why can't you just let me go?"

I looked up at him. "What do you mean when you say I'm bound to you?"

He met my gaze fully this time.

"Don't you feel it?" he asked quietly. "The pull. The spark."

My heart betrayed me by pounding harder.

"Your pulse quickens near me," he continued. "Your blood responds. When you touched my blood last night, my wolf connected to you."

His voice dropped.

"There's heat. Intensity. A need to claim what's mine."

My breath hitched.

"Tell me you don't feel it," he murmured. "Tell me it doesn't feel like fire under your bones."

I couldn't lie.

The air between us thickened, heavy with awareness. My body reacted before my mind could catch up-heat curling low in my belly, breath shallow, pulse racing.

Then his lips were on mine.

Not gentle.

Not tentative.

The kiss was consuming, stealing my balance and my reason. My hands clenched in his clothing as the world narrowed to heat and sensation.

Everything inside me responded.

The more his lips crushed mine, the more I hungered for something more and then his lips journeyed from my lips to my neck,I let out a soft cry.

I wanted him, all of him.

His hand found its way into my clothes and cupped my breast and I arched my body closer to him.

His mouth settled on my breast, so hot and demanding like it had been his even before now.

His lips circled my breast, teasing, stroking just driving me crazy and when I felt like I was going to explode he stopped and drew himself away.

He stopped.

Abruptly.

I reached out to draw him back to me but he held my hands.

He pulled away, holding my wrists firmly.

"Luna," he said softly. "We can't."

I stared at him, dazed and furious. "Why not?"

"You're not ready."

Anger flared. "I didn't stop you."

"I can't just make love to you now when you haven't even given yourself fully to me." He responded.

"What the fuck do you mean by that, I didn't protest, did I?"

A humorless smile touched his lips.

"When I claim you," he said, stepping back, "it will be because you choose me, because you want me. Not because fate cornered you."

He turned away.

"Ingrid will attend to you."

And just like that, he was gone-leaving me breathless, shaken, and painfully aware of what he'd awakened inside me.

Ramon's POV

I didn't leave because I wanted to. Hell, I wanted her so badly.

I left because if I stayed another moment longer, I would have claimed her-and once that line was crossed, there would be no undoing it.

The door closed behind me with a quiet finality, and for the first time in years, I allowed myself to pause. I leaned my forehead briefly against the cool stone wall, drawing in a slow breath, forcing my heart to steady.

My wolf raged beneath my skin.

Mine.

The word echoed like a drumbeat in my veins, loud and insistent. It had been there since the forest-since her hands, trembling but determined, had touched my wound. Since her scent had mingled with my blood and sealed something ancient and irreversible.

A mate.

A human mate.

Fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor.

I straightened, bringing my expression back into the calm, unreadable mask my pack expected of me. Weakness had no place here. Doubt even less. I moved down the corridor with measured strides, the echo of my shoes ringing softly against stone.

I entered the car and drove alone to the pack, she wasn't ready to meet them like I had assumed.

Wolves stepped aside as I got there and entered. Some lowered their heads in submission. Others watched with open curiosity. They felt it-the shift in my aura, the subtle but unmistakable change in the bond that tied me to the pack.

The Alpha had found his mate.

And the pack knew.

I entered the council chamber without announcement. Stone walls enclosed the long table where the elders sat waiting, their expressions grim, their eyes sharp.

These were wolves who had watched me grow from an impulsive young warrior into the Alpha of the Sincarra Claw Pack. They had seen me bleed, fight, win, and rule.

Silence fell the instant I stepped inside.

"She ran," Elder Karl said calmly, breaking the quiet.

My jaw tightened. "She was retrieved."

"And you brought her back yourself,"

another elder noted.

"Yes."

Murmurs rippled through the chamber, low and uneasy.

"She's human," one of them said bluntly.

"You know what that means."

"I know exactly what it means," I replied, my voice cold and steady.

"It means vulnerability," another snapped.

"It means weakness. Enemies will use her against you-and against us."

"They already are," I said.

That earned their full attention.

I stepped forward and placed my hands flat on the table. "Those rogues attacked me in the forest and she was there. She witnessed everything and now they won't stop until they get her. "

The chamber went utterly silent.

"And now?" Karl asked quietly.

"Now they know,they know she's my mate and now it's up to me to protect her."

"Protect her? That would mean more harm to the clan," I heard someone say.

A younger council member scoffed. "Then sever the bond. Humans can be released."

My wolf snarled violently, slamming against my control.

Before I could stop myself, I drove my fist into the table. The sound cracked through the room as wood splintered beneath the impact.

"No."

Every eye snapped to me.

"I will not kill my mate to make this pack comfortable," I growled. "She is under my protection. Anyone who touches her answers to me."

Karl studied me for a long moment.

"You're not thinking clearly."

"I've never been more clear in my life."

"She doesn't even know our world," another elder argued. "She hasn't accepted the bond."

"Which is precisely why she's still alive," I replied. "And why I haven't claimed her."

That gave them pause.

"You're restraining yourself?" Karl asked, genuine surprise in his voice.

"Yes."

The word tasted like iron.

"The bond will grow stronger," he warned. "It will hurt her. And it will hurt you."

"I know."

"And when it becomes unbearable?"

I exhaled slowly. "Then we face it."

There was no approval, no blessing-only reluctant acceptance. As Alpha, my word was law, but law didn't erase fear.

The meeting ended in strained silence.

I left the chamber with tension coiled tightly in my chest.

Night had fully fallen by the time I stepped outside. The estate glowed softly under moonlight, guards patrolling the perimeter, warriors rotating shifts. I could feel the rogues lingering just beyond our territory like vultures waiting for weakness.

They were patient.

And they were not my only problem.

I drove back home and my feet carried me instinctively toward the wing where Ingrid would be tending to Talia. I stopped several paces away from her door.

I didn't enter.

Instead, I stood in the shadows, listening.

She was quiet.

Too quiet.

The bond tugged at me sharply, an ache deep in my chest that made my wolf restless. Every instinct screamed to go to her-to reassure her, to calm her fear, to pull her into my arms and mark her as mine.

I clenched my fists.

If I touched her now-if I claimed her before she understood, before she chose-it would break her. Turn her into something dependent. Afraid.

I would not become that Alpha.

"She fears you," my wolf murmured.

"Yes," I agreed. "And she should."

"And yet she wants you."

I remembered the way her pulse had leapt beneath my fingers. The way her breath had caught when I pulled away. The fire in her eyes when she thought I was leaving her behind.

Mine.

"She will run again," my wolf said.

"Yes," I answered quietly. "And I'll let her."

The realization settled heavy in my chest.

She had to fight the bond.

She had to choose.

I turned away from her door and headed toward the training grounds, where I trained young warriors. The sound of clashing steel filled the night air. Warriors sparred under torchlight, sweat and blood mixing with discipline and control.

I joined them.

Steel rang against steel as I fought harder than necessary, pouring my frustration into every strike. My thoughts refused to leave her-Talia Shire. Healer. Human. My mate.

Fate had bound us, but fate didn't understand the cost.

The rogues would strike again. The elders would test her. The pack would watch her every move, waiting for weakness.

And if she broke-

I would tear the world apart to protect what was mine.

Talia's POV

Morning came quietly.

No alarms. No rush. Just soft light creeping through the tall windows and the distant sound of movement outside, footsteps, voices, life continuing without me.

For a long moment, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering how this life had become my reality.

I wasn't supposed to be here.

I was supposed to be back home, waking up early, grinding herbs, checking on the old woman down the hill with the bad lungs, brewing tonics for feverish children.

That was my life. It was simple. I made an honest living.

Instead, I was in the den of wolves.

A knock came at the door, gentle and polite.

"Miss Talia?" Ingrid's voice followed. "Are you awake?"

I sat up. "Yes."

She entered with a soft smile, carrying folded clothes in her arms. Her presence was calming in a way I couldn't explain. Maybe because she didn't look at me like I was strange or dangerous or precious.

She just looked... kind.

"We'll go outside today," she said casually, setting the clothes on the bed. "It will help."

I frowned. "Help with what?"

She met my eyes. "With understanding who we are and how we live."

I didn't respond immediately.

The truth was, Ingrid and I had talked long into the night. I had ranted, complained, accused, and nearly cried. She had listened to everything without interrupting me once.

She told me stories about the pack. About Ramon.

"Ramon is the kindest and best wolf I've ever known," she had said softly. "Being an Alpha never made him proud. It only made him careful."

That sentence still rang in my head.

Careful.

I laughed bitterly when she said it.

"I have a life," I told her then. "I take care of sick people back home. People depend on me. So how does he expect me to throw all that away just because of what? Fate, a stupid bond?"

She didn't argue.

"I don't even know him," I continued. "You say he's not proud, but I've never met a more arrogant person in my life."

Ingrid had only smiled.

"Walk with me tomorrow," she said. "Then decide."

And now tomorrow is here.

I dressed quietly, my hands shaking just a little. The clothes Ingrid brought were simple,soft trousers and a loose top.

Nothing royal. Nothing ceremonial. That alone eased my nerves a bit.

When we stepped outside, the air was cool and fresh. The scent of pine and earth filled my lungs, grounding me.

Then I saw them.

The pack.

They were everywhere.

Men and women moving through the open grounds, some carrying baskets, some training, others talking in small groups. At first glance, they looked... ordinary. Like humans going about their day.

But then I felt it.

Their eyes on me.

They looked at me.

Like I wasn't supposed to be here.

Every step I took beside Ingrid felt heavier than the last. Whispers didn't follow me, but awareness did. A shift in wolf's posture. A pause in conversation. A glance held a second too long.

I swallowed.

"They know," I murmured.

Ingrid nodded calmly. "Of course they do."

"That I'm... his?"

"Yes."

My stomach tightened.

I hugged my arms around myself as we walked deeper into the pack grounds. Buildings surrounded us, stone and wood, strong and old. This place had history.

And I didn't belong.

A woman passed us, her gaze sharp and curious. A man bowed his head slightly when Ingrid greeted him. Another stared openly until Ingrid shot him a warning look.

"They're watching," I whispered.

"They always do," Ingrid replied. "It's not cruelty. It's instinct."

Instinct.

I hated that word.

A group of children ran past us, laughing loudly. One of them, a small girl with wild curls, stopped abruptly when she saw me.

She tilted her head. "You smell different."

I froze.

Ingrid crouched beside her. "That's not polite."

The child shrugged. "She smells warm."

I didn't know whether to laugh or panic.

The girl stepped closer and reached for my hand before I could react. Her grip was small and confident.

"Are you Alpha Ramon's mate?" she asked bluntly.

My heart nearly stopped.

"I..." I glanced at Ingrid, helpless.

Ingrid smiled gently. "That's not for you to worry about."

The girl nodded as if that satisfied her completely. "Okay." Then she grinned at me. "You're pretty."

And just like that, she ran off.

I stood there, stunned.

The children weren't afraid of me.

That... unsettled me more than hostility would have.

As we continued walking, I began to notice things.

No one shouted orders. No one bowed deeply or groveled. People greeted each other with respect. Warriors trained hard, but elders watched and corrected patiently.

Food was shared freely.

And then I saw him.

Not Ramon.

But his influence.

A young man stumbled during training, dropping his weapon. Instead of being mocked, another warrior helped him up and corrected his stance.

"Alpha says strength without discipline is useless," someone muttered nearby.

I stopped walking.

"What did he say?" I asked quietly.

Ingrid looked at me carefully. "Ramon."

I looked away.

I didn't want to see him differently. I didn't want my anger softened by small observations.

He stole my life, my feelings weren't going to change.

We passed a woman sitting on a bench, her leg wrapped in cloth. Ramon knelt beside her, speaking softly, his expression soft, not commanding.

I watched from afar.

He laughed quietly at something she said. Then he helped her stand.

My chest tightened painfully.

This wasn't the arrogant man I know .

This wasn't the man who told me I was bound to him.

And that scared me more than anything else.

As we moved on, someone stepped into our path.

She was beautiful. Tall. Dark-haired. Her smile was warm and welcoming.

"You must be Talia," she said.

I stiffened.

"Yes."

"I'm Selene," she replied. "I've been hoping to meet you."

Her voice was gentle.

"I know this must be difficult," she continued softly. "Being dragged into our world without choice."

Dragged.

That word wrapped itself around my heart.

"I'm sorry," I said, surprised by how honest my voice sounded.

She shook her head. "You don't need to apologize. I would've run too."

I blinked. "You would?"

She smiled sadly. "Ramon forgets that not everyone is born into strength."

Something about her felt... comforting.

Like an anchor.

As Ingrid excused herself briefly, Selene walked beside me.

"If you ever need someone to talk to," she said quietly, "someone who understands how heavy this place can feel, I'm here."

I nodded slowly.

For the first time since I arrived, I felt less alone.

But as she walked away, I noticed something strange.

She didn't bow to Ramon when she passed him.

And Ramon watched her leave with a look I couldn't read.

A chill ran down my spine.

As Ingrid returned, I exhaled shakily.

"They don't hate me," I said.

"No," Ingrid replied. "They fear change."

"And you?" I asked softly. "Do you fear me?"

She stopped walking and looked at me fully.

"No," she said. "I fear what will happen if you don't survive long enough to choose. Everyone is waiting"

That night, as I lay in bed again, one truth settled heavily in my chest.

This pack wasn't waiting to see if I belonged.

They were waiting to see if I would break.

And somewhere among them...

Not all eyes watching me wished me well.