Alpha Talia's POV

The opulent cabin's wooden frame had a strong lingering scent. The Shadow Pack, whoever they were, appeared to be a wealthy pack where Hugo would feel secure. I sat beside his bed in the chair and watched him sleep. He was no longer experiencing pain and the bruising on his shoulder had dissipated, which delighted me that my healing capabilities were still potent.

I was confident that I could remain hidden in this vicinity for some time longer thanks to my concealed body and camouflaged scent. But as my wolf detected Izzy standing behind his door, I let out a growl.

At three in the morning, what could she possible want?

I cast a spell to mute the knock just as her hand was about to strike the wooden door. My gaze moved to Hugo, who was still dozing away. I knew in my heart that I shouldn't interfere with whatever Izzy and Hugo had going on between them. But there was one reason someone would knock on a man's door this late at night, if I knew any better.

She desired him.

Well, too bad, he's mine. I muted Izzy's three attempts at knocking. In the end, she gave up and set sail.

Hugo tossed and turned in his sleep. His face conveyed extreme anguish as sweat beaded on his forehead and his breathing became more rapid.

"No, please" While gripping his fingers on the duvet, he whimpered in his sleep.

What are you dreaming about, little claws? I wondered as I placed my hand in his and closed my eyes. Entering dreams was a special skill I acquired when I became a full hybrid. But with my last life gone, Frieda had requested me not to push past my limit. My magic powers were still strong but not as strong as they were before.

As I clung onto him, I cast the spell. I was suddenly whisked far into the woods. I could feel the fear he was experiencing. Running towards the wilderness, his breath grew increasingly frantic, but as he came across a large, beast-like form, he stopped dead in his tracks.

At first I couldn't tell what it was because of the fading light and foggy atmosphere, but once the mist lifted I gasped at the revealed shadow.

It was me. In rage and hunger, the beast snarled at him while piercing into his sight. Hugo bore scars, stumbling in his steps as if each stride were painful, and his only emotion was fear. He was afraid of me.

As Hugo whimpered, I released my hand from his in disbelief. "You're afraid of . . me" The words came out of my mouth as I yearned to grab hold of him and pull him from his incapacitated purgatory.

However, I was unable to do so due to the persistent knocking at the door. I was cognizant that I needed to shield myself before Izzy walked through the door. As the magical hues shone, I surrendered in to the veil, feeling completely ostracized by Hugo's depiction of me.

Izzy stormed through the door as I stood helpless and peered on. Hugo began to shake as his breathing rose more intensity. Tears clouded my eyes, and I covered my lips with my palms.

"Hugo, hey hey it's okay, just breath" Izzy made an effort to calm him. He was experiencing a panic attack. I took a few steps back, powerless since I couldn't help him. Hurt, because that's what he truly thought of me as. A monster.

He was jerked back to reality by Izzy's pull. Hugo wept, finally waking, as Izzy placed her arms around him. "It's okay, you're okay." She rocked him back and forth. The mere sight of them together made me feel sick to my stomach. In contrast to what one might anticipate, jealousy does not wear a disguise that made it invisible. Unable hold onto my concealed self, I decided to teleport back home but not before running a quick errand.

He didn't deserve me, certainly not someone he was terrified of and certainly not someone who only had a few weeks to live. I would never harm him, but I will destroy anyone who is capable of harming him. I was aware that among the cities that encircled Falcon Valley, I was referred to as the beast. So a beast I shall be.

Anger rose like fire against my skin, I transformed into the beast as my paws kissed the forest floor. Using my scent, I tracked it back to a den of ten wolves that were not aware of their unfortunate fate.

After the errand, I harnessed what little strength I possessed in my body to jump back to the mansion. Despite my success, my legs slid along the smooth varnish of the wooden floor, giving way to the floor, and I fell to the ground.

"Holy shit Tal! What did you do?!" Frieda shrieked at the sight of me. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My body was completely drenched in blood. The red had seeped into my hair as well. Now that's what a beast should look like, I thought to myself.

"I had to make sure he was safe" I said, clinging to the chair as I gingerly stood up. Meanwhile Frieda threw me a brand-new towel from a cabinet.

"You simply cannot spend too much of your power like this or else you're going to end up powerless during the last full moon, Tal" Despite Frieda's reminder, I was unconcerned. I did what needed to be done, and I don't regret making myself numb as I ripped through the full pack. One by one. If protecting him meant using all of my powers, I was willing to do that with no questions asked.

"I don't care" I grinded my teeth, trying to hold back tears.

"What's wrong?" Frieda asked.

"Nothing, I just realized you were right when you said I shouldn't cloak myself and hang around Hugo during the short amount of time that's left" I sighed as I wiped the blood off my face.

"What happened?"

"He . . is still afraid of me. He thinks of me as some monster that's going to hurt him." I chuckled at the thought. Although it hurt, I wondered how Hugo would react if he knew how I felt about him, truly.

"I'm sure that's not true." Frieda always responds with positive sentiments. Despite being a year younger than me, she exemplifies the qualities of a good caregiver by considering others' feelings and encouraging intuition over reason.

"But it is. I'm always going to be the beast that captured him." I concluded.

"That's because he hasn't gotten to fully meet you yet. You've never had a normal conversation with each other. He has so many questions that's unanswered. And whenever you two are together, all you do is each other" I rolled my eyes in response to Frieda's devious smile.

"If that's not intimate enough, I don't know what is" I muttered.

"Tal, he's a sensitive guy. I bet his concept of intimacy is being vulnerable to one another by talking. Getting to know each other." Frieda stressed her words.

"So you think this wolf girl Izzy can give him that?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I did a flashback spell like you suggested and he's been in love with her for over two years. She rejected him the night he got captured by you. So there's gotta be some history between the both of them" Frieda replied. I wasn't going to pretend that it didn't sting to think that he might be in love with someone else, but I managed to keep my composure.

"So . . I should back off?" I grit my teeth because I didn't want her to agree yet remaining aware of the inevitable response.

"If you don't want to hurt him, yes. Why confuse him more? Don't you think he'll suffer more after getting even more attached to you when you're gone?" Frieda reasoned.

"I should let him . .go"

"I'm sorry, Tal. If you don't want him to join you for the ritual, then you must. I checked out the Shadow Pack and they are pretty strong couple of wolves. No bad track records. He'd actually be safe with them." If only Frieda would stop trying to be reasonable, I could allow myself to be reckless and selfish when all I wanted to do was to teleport him back to the mansion and spend the rest of my days by his side.

"But I . . he's mine" I protested.

"Tal . ."

"Fine, I won't check on him anymore. How's the reverse spell for the ritual coming along?" I wanted to change the subject before I succumbed to the urge of having him around.

"Well maybe the hundredth time is the charm. Maybe something would change this time around. We just have to maintain hope" Frieda replied.

"Maybe"