"Close the door."
His voice cut through the dark corridor before she even stepped inside.
Zoraide pushed the heavy oak door shut behind her. The click echoed too loud in the quiet night.
Alaric stood near the window, back to her, hands clasped behind him. Moonlight poured over his broad shoulders, silver against black.
"You sent for me, Alpha?" she asked softly.
He turned slowly.
Gold flickered in his eyes.
"I did."
She stayed near the door. Small. Controlled. Omega.
He noticed.
"Come here," he said.
Her pulse betrayed her for half a second before she forced it down. Slow. Even. Weak.
She crossed the room carefully.
"Closer."
She stopped two steps away.
He tilted his head. "Do I look like I bite without permission?"
"You look like you do not need permission."
His mouth curved slightly. Not a smile. Something sharper.
"Interesting answer."
The study smelled like leather and smoke. And him. Thick Alpha dominance that pressed against her lungs.
Her herbal mask pulsed faintly at her throat. Bitterroot. Crushed sage. Dried bark.
Rotten and sharp.
He stepped forward.
Now there was barely space between them.
"You confuse me," he said quietly.
"I am only an Omega."
His jaw flexed.
"Stop saying that."
She blinked up at him innocently. "It is what I am."
His hand moved suddenly.
He grabbed a crystal glass from the desk and squeezed.
It shattered in his grip.
Shards fell to the floor.
Neither of them looked down.
"Your pulse," he said, voice low. "It does not drop when I push."
She swallowed. "I have learned control."
"Omegas do not learn control like that."
"Then perhaps I am unusual."
His nostrils flared.
"You smell wrong."
The words were rough.
"My apologies," she replied lightly. "I can fetch stronger perfume."
"Do not mock me."
His eyes flashed gold.
The mate bond surged hot between them. Her skin tingled. Her wolf stirred under layers of restraint.
He stepped closer.
Now his chest almost brushed hers.
"You wear herbs," he murmured.
"Yes."
"To hide."
"To survive."
His gaze dropped to her throat where the herbal paste rested under fabric.
"From whom?"
"Everyone."
Silence stretched.
He lifted his hand slowly.
She did not move.
His fingers hovered near her collar.
"If I remove it," he said softly, "what will I find?"
She held his gaze. "An Omega."
His lips curved again.
"You lie well."
"And you interrogate poorly."
A low sound rumbled in his chest. Not anger. Something darker. Amused dominance.
"You are bold tonight."
"You summoned me to your den," she said. "What did you expect?"
He leaned down slightly.
"I expected fear."
"You do not scare me."
That was a mistake.
The air changed.
His presence expanded. Thick. Crushing.
Her knees nearly buckled before she forced her wolf down again.
Gold blazed in his eyes.
"You should be afraid," he said quietly.
"And yet," she whispered, meeting his stare, "I am not."
Their breaths mingled.
The mate bond pulsed like a heartbeat between them.
He circled her slowly.
Predator inspecting prey.
She remained still.
"You held your pulse steady during the medical exam," he said behind her.
"I was nervous."
"No." His voice was near her ear now. "You slowed it deliberately."
Her fingers curled.
"Imagination."
"I have ruled this pack for years," he replied. "I know what Omega fear smells like."
He stepped in front of her again.
"You do not smell like fear."
"What do I smell like?" she challenged.
He inhaled sharply.
Confusion flickered across his face.
"Rot," he said first.
She smirked slightly. "The herbs."
"Yes. Medicinal rot." He leaned closer, eyes narrowing. "But beneath it…"
Her heart thudded once.
Slow it down.
Slow it down.
His hand came up to her waist.
Not touching.
Hovering.
"You fight me," he murmured.
"I breathe."
"You resist the bond."
Her throat tightened. "There is no bond."
His jaw clenched.
"You felt it on the mountain."
She said nothing.
"You feel it now."
Her silence answered him.
He leaned even closer.
She could feel the heat of his body. The strength in his shoulders. The control he barely maintained.
"Look at me," he ordered.
She did.
Big mistake.
The gold in his eyes deepened.
"You are not prey," he said quietly.
Her pulse skipped.
"I never claimed to be."
His hand finally touched her waist.
Light.
Testing.
Her wolf surged toward him instinctively before she crushed it down.
He felt it.
His eyes widened slightly.
"There," he whispered. "That."
"I do not know what you mean."
He suddenly caught her wrist.
Firm.
Not painful.
But unyielding.
Her pulse leapt under his fingers.
She forced it to slow again.
His brow furrowed.
"You change it."
"Everyone can calm themselves."
"Not like that."
He released her wrist slowly.
Then he stepped closer.
So close her back almost brushed the desk.
His hand rose again.
This time to her throat.
He did not remove the herbs.
He simply leaned down.
Slow.
Deliberate.
She should step back.
She did not.
The bond roared between them. Hot. Electric. Claiming.
His nose brushed the side of her neck.
Her breath caught.
He inhaled deeply.
Once.
Twice.
His body went still.
Completely still.
Her heart hammered despite her control.
His fingers tightened slightly at her waist.
Another inhale.
Longer.
His eyes darkened.
Confusion. Hunger. Recognition.
"What…" he murmured.
She swallowed.
He leaned even closer.
Lips barely grazing the sensitive skin below her ear.
Her wolf howled inside her chest.
His breath warmed her neck as he drew in her scent again.
And then he froze.
Utterly still.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Why do you smell like medicinal rot and… starlight?"
The word hung between them.
Starlight.
Her control shattered for half a second.
Her pulse spiked violently.
He felt it.
His eyes flashed bright gold.
"Starlight," he repeated, stunned. "That is not Omega scent."
She tried to pull back.
His grip tightened.
"Answer me."
She forced her face calm.
"It is the herbs."
"No." His voice was rough now. Unsteady in a way she had never heard. "The herbs rot. But beneath it… you shine."
Silence filled the study.
The mate bond burned hotter.
His hand slowly slid from her waist to her shoulder.
Reverent now.
Dangerous.
"Only one bloodline in history carried starlight in their scent," he said quietly.
Ice ran down her spine.
She knew that legend.
Every Alpha did.
His eyes locked onto hers.
"You are not an Omega," he breathed.
Her pulse thundered.
"And if I am not?" she asked softly.
His jaw tightened.
"Then you are something this pack has not seen in a century."
A knock slammed against the door.
Both of them turned sharply.
"Alpha," a guard called urgently from outside. "The council is here. They demand your presence."
Alaric did not move.
His gaze remained fixed on Zoraide.
Slowly, his thumb brushed the side of her neck.
"You are not prey," he said again, voice low and certain.
The bond pulsed violently.
Outside, the guard knocked again.
"Alpha, it is urgent."
Alaric's eyes never left hers.
"Starlight," he whispered once more.
And this time, there was no confusion in his voice.
Only recognition.
And something dangerously close to claim.