Chapter 8

The air in the Midnight Fang Pack was thick with tension, an invisible current of unease that pressed against my skin. Ever since the confrontation with the rival Alpha, things had been on edge.

I shouldn't have been out here alone.

But I needed a moment. A moment to think. A moment to breathe.

The moon hung high in the sky, casting its pale glow over the dense forest surrounding the Midnight Fang Pack's territory. I stepped carefully, my boots barely making a sound against the soft earth. The cold night air nipped at my skin, but I barely noticed.

I had spent my entire life learning how to survive in a world ruled by Alphas. Being a Beta meant knowing when to fight and when to submit. It meant walking a thin line between strength and restraint. And now, caught between two dangerously powerful Alphas, I was realizing just how fragile that line really was.

A rustling in the shadows made me freeze.

Someone was watching me.

My instincts screamed at me to turn back, but I had never been the type to run.

Slowly, I reached for the dagger strapped to my thigh.

"You shouldn't be out here alone, little Beta."

The voice was deep, smooth, and laced with something dangerous.

My grip tightened on the dagger as I turned.

And there he was.

Lucian.

The Alpha of the Midnight Fang Pack.

The man who claimed I was his.

He stepped out from the shadows, the moonlight illuminating his chiseled features. His dark hair was slightly tousled, his golden eyes glowing with an intensity that sent a shiver through me. He was bare-chested, his powerful muscles flexing as he moved, his presence so commanding that the very air seemed to bow to him.

"I needed air," I said evenly.

Lucian tilted his head, watching me with that unreadable expression of his. "Is that what you needed? Or were you thinking of running?"

I held his gaze, refusing to flinch. "If I was running, I wouldn't have stopped."

A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "That's what I like about you. You don't scare easily."

I swallowed hard, my pulse betraying me as it pounded against my ribs.

Lucian took a step closer, closing the distance between us. "But tell me, little Beta—what exactly are you running from?"

I exhaled sharply. "From Alphas who think they own me."

His smirk vanished, replaced by something darker. "You think I see you as a possession?"

"What else would I be?" I challenged. "You claim me, you hunt me, you refuse to let me go. That doesn't sound like freedom, Lucian."

He was silent for a moment, his eyes searching mine. Then, in a blur of movement, he was in front of me, so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Freedom?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Is that what you want?"

I swallowed hard. "Yes."

Lucian exhaled slowly, his golden eyes flickering with something unreadable. "Then tell me, little Beta—if freedom is what you want, why do I see fire in your eyes every time I touch you?"

My breath hitched.

He was too close. His scent, intoxicating and wild, curled around me like a drug.

I wanted to shove him away.

I wanted to pull him closer.

And that terrified me.

"It doesn't matter," I whispered. "I will never belong to you."

Lucian's expression darkened, his fingers brushing against my jaw. "We'll see about that."

Then, before I could react, he was gone—melting into the shadows like he had never been there.

I exhaled shakily, my entire body on edge.

Because the worst part wasn't the fact that he had found me.

It was the fact that a part of me wanted him.