The moment I stepped across the line, a sharp pull hit me in the chest.
I froze.
The pain. The heat. The strange electric grip around my heart.
I should have turned back.
But I didn't.
I stood there like a fool with two guards watching me, and the pull only grew stronger, like someone invisible had just grabbed my soul and dragged it forward.
I tried to breathe. I failed.
Something, no, someone was waiting for me inside Crescent land.
And my body already knew it.
"Keep walking," the guard on my right said. His tone was soft. Almost sorry. "The Alpha wants you escorted straight to the Hall."
"Does he?" I forced the words out. "Or does he simply want to get this over with?"
The guards shared a look.
That was enough to answer.
I was here as a political pawn, the extra daughter of a broken pack, sent like a peace gift. Every step felt like a reminder of that.
But the pull in my chest was something else.
Something I couldn't ignore.
I touched my chest without thinking.
The guard noticed. "You okay?"
"I don't know," I whispered.
Which was the truth.
My body felt wired, tight, as if an unseen thread was coiled inside me and tightening with every step toward the main building.
A shiver ran through me.
Someone was close.
Someone who should not matter… but already did.
The doors opened with a heavy bang. I stepped inside and everything in me stopped.
He stood at the far end of the room.
Tall. Broad. Cold.
Alpha Axel.
His presence hit me like a blow. My breath left my lungs. My knees almost buckled. I didn't know why. I didn't understand it. But the pull in my chest snapped, locked, and surged all at once.
My wolf shook.
Axel turned his head slowly, his eyes landing on me.
Blue. Sharp. Frozen.
He didn't move.
Neither did I.
The air between us burned without fire. His stare went straight through me, cutting, searching, hurting. My heart slammed against my ribs like it wanted to get to him.
His jaw clenched once.
Then again, harder.
He looked away first.
A shudder ran up his arm as if he'd been hit. He breathed sharply, and the sound wasn't steady. It wasn't calm. It was strained, torn, almost painful.
Then he took a step back.
Then another.
He wasn't approaching me.
He was fleeing.
Why?
He turned his face away, his hand going to his neck like he couldn't breathe.
And then he walked out the back door without a word.
The guards shifted awkwardly.
I stood there, shocked, heart beating like it was breaking for someone I didn't even know.
What was that? Why did he look at me like that? Why did I feel… pulled?
I knew the stories about the Crescent Alpha. Cold. Dominant. Unmoved by anything. A man who didn't show fear.
But the moment he saw me, something cracked in him. Something raw. Something dangerous.
And something inside me answered.
I swallowed. My hands were sweating. I hated the way my body responded, but I couldn't stop it. I felt… united. Wired to him. And it scared me.
I whispered to myself, "No. No. Not him."
The guard by the door cleared his throat. "You weren't supposed to look at him directly."
I blinked. "Why?"
"Because it… sets him off."
"Sets him off?" I snapped. "He looked like I hurt him."
The guard lowered his voice. "He feels things too strongly. The Alpha said you must not go near him."
My heart twisted.
"He said that?" I asked.
The guard paused. "Yes."
My chest stiffened again, painful and hot.
Why would he say that?
Why would he respond like that?
Why would he walk away as if I had ruined the air he breathed?
The pull in my heart gave a strong throb.
Something wasn't right.
A second guard stepped closer. "There's more."
I looked at him. "Say it."
"The Alpha also said… you must not speak to him directly unless ordered."
I let out a bitter laugh. "He thinks I want to speak to him?"
The guard looked down. "We're just following orders."
Orders.
Rules.
Boundaries.
All because he looked at me once.
My voice shook as I said, "What is he afraid of?"
The guards didn't answer.
Before I could say more, the pull in my chest tightened again, sharp and sudden. I turned toward the large windows automatically.
Something moved in the treeline.
A shadow.
A shadow.
Still. Watching.
A cold swept over me.
My voice dropped. "There's someone out there."
One guard stepped to the glass. "No one should be in that area."
The shadow stayed. Silent. Unmoving.
I whispered, "It has eyes. I can feel them."
The guard unsheathed a blade. "We'll check it."
"Don't," I said quickly, shocking myself. "Something about it feels… wrong."
The guard turned anyway. "I'll inform Beta Cal."
The shadow vanished.
Not by walking. Not by running.
It was simply gone.
My skin prickled.
What did I just see?
The door behind me opened with force. I jumped.
Axel walked back in.
His face was cut from stone. But beneath that cold mask… something wild flickered. Something unsettled.
And I felt it.
It felt like a shock in my bones.
He didn't look at me right away.
When he did, my breath broke again.
His voice was low, raw, like he was fighting himself. "Why is she still here?"
The guard stepped forward. "Alpha, she just arrived"
"I know what she did," Axel snapped.
I looked at him. "What did I do?"
His gaze slammed into mine. "You walked into my territory."
I let out a shaky breath. "I didn't come here by choice."
"Doesn't matter," he said. His voice was cold, but his hands were clenched at his sides like he was holding back something fierce. "You should not be near me."
My chest ached at those words, terribly and quickly. "I don't want to be near you."
His eyes darkened. "Liar."
My breath caught.
He stepped closer. I stepped back.
He growled, low and frustrated, "Stop moving."
"I'm not your toy," I whispered.
"Then stop acting like you can run."
"I'm not running from you," I said. "I just don't want"
"You do want," he cut in sharply. "I can smell it. I can feel it. And that is exactly the problem."
I swallowed hard. "You feel it too?"
Silence fell.
A thick, dangerous silence.
He didn't answer. But his jaw tightened. His breathing changed. His chest rose and fell too fast. His eyes flicked to my throat, then away, like he hated himself for looking.
I asked, "What are you afraid of, Alpha?"
He closed his eyes for one second, as if the question physically hurt him.
Then he opened them and the cold was back.
"You don't get to ask me that."
The guard stepped forward. "Alpha, with respect, she's supposed to meet the Council"
Axel shut him down. "Remove her."
The guard froze. "Now?"
"Now."
I felt the order ripple through the room. It wasn't directed at me but I still felt the force of it like a slap.
My voice shook. "Why do you want me gone?"
Axel's face didn't move. "Because you shouldn't be here. And I don't want to" He stopped himself, breathing sharply. "Just get her out."
My heart beat. "You don't even know me."
He glared at me, eyes burning. "That's the problem. I don't need to know you."
I took a step toward him before I could stop myself. "Then look at me and say you feel nothing."
His entire body went still.
His chest rose.
Paused. Fell.
"My feelings," he said softly, dangerously, "are none of your concern."
"But you have them," I breathed.
His pupils widened. He clenched his jaw. His hand curled into a fist like he wanted to break something.
For a moment, he looked like he was going to say something real.
Something raw.
Something true.
Instead, he turned away.
As he walked toward the doors, he spoke in a low voice. A voice he must have thought I wouldn't hear.
But I heard every word.
"Remove her. Now."
My blood ran cold.
Because beneath his charge, beneath the ice in his tone…
I heard something else.
Fear.
And fear from an Alpha meant only one thing
He already knew what I was to him.
He knew before he ever told me.
And he was afraid of it.
I whispered, shaking, "Alpha… what are you running from?"
He didn't turn back.
But his shoulders tensed.
And the pull in my chest twisted so hard I could barely breathe.
The guard reached for my arm.
Axel's voice rang through the hall again.
Hard. Cold. Final.
"Take her away."
And then the door slammed behind him.