The Alpha woke snarling.
Not from a dream—from the bond.
It ripped him out of sleep like a blade between his ribs, sharp enough that his claws punched through the stone wall beside his bed before he could stop himself. The impact echoed through the chamber, dust raining down as his chest heaved.
His wolf paced violently beneath his skin.
Too many.
That was the first thought that slammed into his mind.
Too many scents.Too many presences.Too many male instincts brushing against what was—
His.
He pressed a hand to his chest, breath shallow, jaw locked so tight it ached.
Impossible.
He had rejected her.
He had spoken the words clearly, publicly, irrevocably. The bond should have dulled into something manageable—painful, yes, but contained.
Instead, it burned hotter than it ever had.
And worse—
It shifted.
The Alpha staggered forward, bracing himself against the edge of the table as another wave hit him. Not pain this time.
Awareness.
A brush of attention that was not his own.
Male.
Close.
His vision darkened.
"WHO?" he snarled, voice tearing free in the empty chamber.
The bond answered—not with words, but sensation.
A flash of cold forest air.The scent of firestone and pine.A presence that did not bow.
His wolf slammed into the walls of his control.
ROGUE.
The realization sent rage flooding through him, hot and blinding. His claws extended again, carving furrows into the wood beneath his palms.
A rogue had found her.
Touched her space.
Seen her weakness.
"No," he growled. "She's not—"
Another pulse hit him.
Different.
This one was calmer. Controlled. Calculating.
Older.
His wolf recoiled—not in fear, but in wary recognition.
Threat.
The Alpha sucked in a harsh breath as the bond flared again, harder, wider—
And then it happened.
Three.
Three distinct impressions layered over one another, overlapping near her presence like a challenge thrown directly at his throat.
His knees bent involuntarily.
This had never happened before.
The bond was not meant to stretch like this. It was forged for one. Singular. Absolute.
The room seemed too small. The air too thin.
Someone knocked sharply at the chamber door.
"My Alpha?" the Beta's voice called. "You summoned us?"
He hadn't.
But now—
"Yes," he snapped. "Inside."
The door opened quickly. The Beta entered first, followed by two elders and the pack healer. All of them stiffened the moment they took in the damage to the chamber.
"The bond," the healer said quietly. "It's flaring."
"Don't state the obvious," the Alpha growled.
The Beta frowned. "It shouldn't be this volatile. Not after a rejection."
The Alpha's eyes flashed. "Unless something has changed."
Silence fell.
One of the elders shifted uneasily. "That would be… unprecedented."
"So was rejecting a true mate in front of the entire pack," the Alpha shot back.
The words tasted bitter.
He turned away, pacing like a caged beast. Every movement scraped raw nerves as the bond pulsed again—not pain, but something worse.
Awareness of her awareness.
She was awake.
Not alone.
The Alpha's control wavered.
"I feel them," he said lowly.
The Beta stiffened. "Them?"
The Alpha stopped.
Slowly, he turned.
"Three," he said. "At least."
Shock rippled through the room.
"That's not possible," one elder said immediately. "A mate bond does not—"
"Don't lecture me on what I feel," the Alpha snapped. "They're near her. Watching her. Wanting—"
His voice cut off as another surge rolled through him.
This one sharp.
This one provoked.
Someone had stepped too close to her.
His vision flashed red.
The Beta moved without thinking, placing himself half a step closer. "Alpha. Breathe."
The Alpha rounded on him, eyes glowing. "Do not tell me what to do."
The healer raised a cautious hand. "The bond is reacting to perceived threats. If you lose control—"
"I won't," he said coldly.
But even as he spoke, his wolf laughed inside him.
LIAR.
He closed his eyes, trying to isolate the sensations, to map them.
The first presence—raw, volatile, disrespectful. A rogue who moved without permission and dared to provoke.
The second—light, irreverent, circling like a blade hidden behind a smile.
The third—
The Alpha's jaw clenched.
That one was the worst.
Because it wasn't aggressive.
It was confident.
It didn't challenge.
It assumed.
And his wolf hated that more than anything.
"He's handsome," the Alpha muttered before he could stop himself.
The room froze.
The Beta stared. "What?"
The Alpha snarled, realizing what he'd revealed.
"Nothing."
But the bond pulsed again—slow, deliberate—and the truth settled into his bones like poison.
She was being seen.
Not as weak.
Not as disposable.
But as something worth noticing.
Something worth approaching carefully.
Something worth wanting.
His chest tightened painfully.
"She's cold," he said suddenly.
The healer blinked. "What?"
"She's cold," the Alpha repeated, certainty slicing through him. "Someone gave her a cloak."
Rage flared so violently it made the torches flicker.
The Beta swore under his breath.
"This is escalating," the elder said grimly. "If the bond keeps reacting like this—"
"She shouldn't be reacting at all," the Alpha snapped. "I rejected her."
"But you didn't sever the bond," the healer said softly. "You chose power. Not release."
The words struck deeper than claws.
The Alpha's hands trembled.
Through the bond, he felt it—her steadiness. Her spine straightening. Her voice, quiet but unyielding, pushing back against someone else's dominance.
Not his.
Never his.
And yet—
It reached him.
Clear as if she were standing in front of him.
I decide.
The Alpha sucked in a breath so sharp it hurt.
"She's changing," he said.
No one argued.
The Beta's voice was careful. "Do you want us to retrieve her?"
The Alpha opened his mouth—
And stopped.
The bond pulsed again.
Not with fear.
Not with submission.
With something dangerous.
Choice.
"She won't come back," the Alpha said slowly.
The admission burned.
"And if I force her?" he continued, more to himself than anyone else.
The healer met his gaze evenly. "Then she will never forgive you."
Silence swallowed the room.
The Alpha turned toward the window, staring out at the forest beyond pack borders.
Somewhere out there, she stood surrounded.
Not protected.
Not owned.
But wanted.
And the worst part?
The bond no longer screamed at the idea.
It trembled.
Uncertain.
Curious.
Threatened.
The Alpha curled his fingers slowly, deliberately.
"Prepare a search party," he said at last. "Quietly."
The Beta hesitated. "Alpha—"
"I said quietly," he snapped. "I don't want them to know I'm looking."
Because if they knew—
If the men circling her realized just how deeply the bond still cut him—
They would push harder.
And the Alpha was no longer sure he could stop himself from tearing the forest apart to prove a point.