I've updated twice today, be sure to read "nine" before this.

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Alpha Asra didn't remove his eyes from my direction. The breeze along my shoulders caused me to shiver, eliciting goosebumps to appear on my skin. He was far away, to the point it was hard to make out his facial features, but I could feel his eyes crawl along my skin and suddenly regretted my choice of clothes. I shifted with unease, my arms groaning with effort the longer that I stood.

I didn't want to be here. Flashes of teeth and fur caused fear to creep upon me and a nausea to settle in my stomach. I felt my breath quicken as wolves growled and snarled, launching at each other along the wide expanse of open field. The alpha remained stoic, stood in the midst of all the chaos surrounding him.

Eve fell silent after she followed my gaze and I noticed her stiffen from beside me. I turned my attention to her fully, to find her hand firmly clasped around my bicep. She didn't move for a moment until she dipped her head with a frown, staring down at the floor.

Why was she so upset all of a sudden?

I felt the air shift before I saw him move.

My hair, once lightly brushing along my jaw was thrown into disarray as a gust came from in front of me. I spluttered, leaning on one crutch to force the hair from my face and mouth. Eve's hand tightened on my bicep and when I opened my eyes, I realised why.

My eyes immediately found a bare chest. Taught, sweaty tattooed skin glistened from the rays of the sun that streaked through the trees. My eyes dropped lower to make sure there were still clothes on his crotch, which there were, but I found more solid muscle that seemed to twitch under my gaze. Trailing my gaze back up, were strong sturdy shoulders and flexing biceps.

This man was... delicious.

Licking my lips at the sight of his skin, I finally looked higher. My breath hitched when I came to find he was staring intensely at me. His eyes, dark as the deepest ocean, stared back at me, a firm line of concentration along his brows and lips. I couldn't look away, finding such intense flutters in my stomach that it took my breath away. One of his eyes twitched, softening the harsh lines on his skin.

I felt everything around me shift, the horrendous sounds of teeth and claws falling to the background. My heart raced in my chest, as though nothing else seemed to matter other than the softening darkness of his eyes. Emotions were swirling in my mind, along with a pool of warmth in my stomach. I felt my own eyebrows furrow, confusion settling in at the disruption of my emotions and lust.

He blinked slowly, looking to Eve, and the brief loss of contact allowed the freakish hold to disappear. I exhaled heavily; my eyes now focused on his strong jawline covered in stubble. Darius was a man who could never grow a beard, but by the light splurges of stubble and hair I found on this man, I knew it wouldn't be a problem.

The lighter highlights in his hair seemed to glow in the sunlight, the darker strands looking like dark chocolate as it shimmered in the sun. It was unruly, but wavy and thick upon his head and short down the sides. Being so close, I saw the small speckles of scarring along his left cheek. Tiny white lines beneath his skin and some more along his left shoulder and neck.

This man, this Alpha, was strong and definitely a fighter. A sudden unease overcame me when I realised, he was the decider of my fate. He was strong, fast and dashingly handsome... not that being so attractive was a weapon... he's a wolf... he's the enemy... It was just a point to make.

Eve cleared her throat, drawing my eyes from the semi-naked man to her. "Ailia, this is Alpha Asra Zenith. He runs the Cardinal Pack."

I noticed her unkept unease and furrowed my eyebrows as I looked back to the mass of man before me. The appreciative gaze and strange sensual hunger I felt before vanished as I scrutinised him under new light. He was a large and imposing man, but he made Eve feel uncomfortable. I thought a leader was supposed to be welcoming and warm, not causing their town, or pack, to feel so uneasy.

"The man who let me live?" I wondered, looking back to Eve.

I noticed he stiffened at my disregard to his introduction.

"Y-yes, I suppose..." Eve stammered.

I hummed, looking back to the Alpha once more. I was used to being an even height with most men in my town, since most were short, so to have such a large figure in front of me unnerved me a little. I was around five feet seven, and only came to Asra's shoulders, so he must be on a type of wolf-giraffe diet.

Eve stiffened again and I noticed the Alpha glaring down at her. I shifted with discomfort, not liking the way he seemed to bunch himself up.

"Are we just going to go to that meadow now?" I wondered, breaking her out of her spell.

"Of course, I'm sure you're in pain and all this standing can't be doing you any good." She shook her head, wrapping her arm around my waist.

I noticed Asra's eyes dropped to where she held me just as a small growl left his lips. We both froze at the noise, and a strange feeling of dread overcame me. The animalistic sound coming from man who looked so human, did not settle well with me. It caused the hairs on my neck to shiver to attention, a dread in my gut that had images of pain and blood flashing across my mind.

Eve noticed me tense because she stepped in front of me to face the Alpha head on. She kept her head bowed but cleared her throat. I avoided looking at the Alpha, in fear he was baring his teeth or about to attack. I'd rather not have more nightmarish thoughts to think about, although the wolves were not as terrifying as some things I have been through.

"Alpha, please, you are scaring her." Eve muttered.

If possible, his growl turned into a louder snarl, causing a small shriek of surprise to escape my mouth. My eyes flew open to catch him glowering at Eve, his teeth on show as his lips pulled back into a vicious scowl. Eve shuddered before me, curling in on herself as the Alpha took a step closer. The small cry of worry that whispered from her lips, was enough for me to grow a nerve and speak up.

"D-Don't hurt her, please." I whispered.

Whatever hold this Alpha had on Eve, affected the other wolves behind him. They had all stopped their fights, fur and human either laid on their stomachs or with their heads bowed. Eve was practically a shaking dog, if she was in wolf skin, I bet her tail would be glued to her stomach.

My words worked though, as the Alpha snapped his head to look up at me. I flinched at the hunger that seemed to live in his scowl and eyes, and he noticed the action. His lips lost the snarl, dropping into a harsh grimace as he ran his eyes along my features. I observed his eyes as they lingered on my mouth, jaw and neck for longer than normal, coming back to the same spot on my throat three times before he took a step closer to me.

My breath hitched at his proximity, the alluring scent of trees and woods hitting my nose. He towered over me, a mere six or so inches between us as Eve was forced to the side. He cocked his head, his nostrils flaring as his eyes closed. I shivered as a lower, soft sound rumbled his chest and his eyes reopened.

I flinched when his hand rose from his side and he reacted by freezing with a growl. My eyes slammed closed as I prepared myself for the onslaught of his large and deadly hands wrapping around my throat. Tears built in my eyes, my chest heaving with heavy breaths. I was injured and unable to run, so to die so suddenly at the hands of this large, and way too handsome man, didn't sound too much of a bad idea...

©️ Copyright 2023 Heather Miller aka XDeafening_SilenceX W A T T P A D©️

Warmth grew closer and I froze when I felt something electrifying touch my skin. It was warmer than the air around me, a hard firmness that stroked my jawline. I felt all my fear slip away at the simple touch of his fingers, the warmth spreading along my body like a wildfire. A damn of pleasure raked my body, a welcoming hum settling in my bones.

My eyes slipped open, blinking softly to find him staring at where his fingers met my skin in awe. They snapped to meet mine once he realised I was watching, a blank expression on his face. But I caught the smaller reactions. The way his lips had parted as he touched me, the way his chest heaved at the contact, only releasing it once my eyes met his.

Did he feel this too?

This warmth, that nothing else could compare to... How could a simple touch have so much control over my emotions?

My surroundings slipped away when his eyes met mine and I watched with fascination as his began to change colour. The blackness slipped away, diluting until a blue began to peak through. He didn't blink, didn't react to the strange colour change even as my own widened with shock. A brilliant, midnight blue was left in the darkness' wake. Blue like the icy water up north, blue like the brilliance of a starry night... I have never seen such an amazing blue before. It made my own blue seem... miniscule.

I blinked once, so feather-light it was as though I never looked away. Locked into this spell, I noticed the darker rim of blue around the outside of his iris, and the small silver specks that surrounded his pupil. My chest heaved as my heart raced in my chest, my body reacting ahead of my mind.

Why was my body reacting like this? Like a starved, horny animal?

This guy was an animal. He was a killer.

He dragged me here... I didn't want to be here.

As if realising I was staring into the eyes of the devil, I blinked and shook my head. His eyebrows furrowed, those perfect lips dropping into a confused frown. I staggered a step backwards, only to fall onto my ass as my leg gave way beneath me.

It wasn't like in the stories, the man before me didn't catch me as I fell the small distance onto my ass into the soft grass. It didn't hurt, but I felt embarrassment cloud my judgement. I was surrounded by the fastest, most agile creatures that could kill me in a heartbeat, and I couldn't event take a step back.

"Ailia..."

My head snapped up at the sound of the voice, to see the Alpha staring at me with a pained expression. His voice... even his voice was hot? God dammit, this is not fair. I cannot grow a weird, wolfy crush on the enemy! Get it together, Ailia. Dad wouldn't have wanted this, he died because of these creatures!

"Ailia, are you okay?"

I looked to Eve, my jaw clenched as chest heaving with breath. I could feel the mild panic settle in, my mind in a fog no thanks to the magical alpha before me. What kind of wolfy powers did this guy have?

"I... I don't want to be here." I shook my head. "Please, please can we go now, back inside."

"Are-are you sure?" She asked, helping me to my feet. "Don't you want to go to the meadow?"

I rapidly shook my head, squeezing my eyes together. "This is too much. I can't... I can't do this."

"Okay, if you are sure."

"Please, Eve. I don't know what's going on in my mind, I just want to lay down for a bit." I breathed.

I wasn't lying. My mind was a confused, jumbled mess of emotions and hormones. Terrifying wolves surrounded this place, a large and imposing magical alpha that had me like putty in his hands. I couldn't be another man's puppet, the fear of their possession was too great. The fear of their teeth, the searing hot pain of their claws and the rapid beating of my heart was enough to send my brain into a spiral. The Alpha's power didn't help, trying to diffuse the fear in my mind, turn it to much in my heart.

"Okay, let's go." Eve softly whispered, the Alpha walking away without another word.

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So Wednesdays and Fridays are looking like the days you'd prefer ! Thought I'd double update ya to make up for it haha!