Alpha's Obsession

Draven POV

The bitter night wind whipped across the balcony, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth, but it did nothing to cool the fever burning under my skin. I paced the length of the stone railing, my boots striking the floor in a relentless, restless rhythm. Inside my chest, my wolf, Zevran, clawed at my ribs. He prowled back and forth, matching my physical agitation with a feral frustration of his own. Every second that ticked past on the clock felt like a jagged stone grinding against my nerves. I needed Gideon’s headlights to cut through the darkness of the estate driveway.

Since I saw her last week, Nyx had consumed my thoughts. She haunted every restless hour. I stood at the edge of the balcony, gripping the cold stone, picturing the heavy curtain of her chestnut hair and the piercing sapphire blue of her eyes that had trapped my gaze. I remembered that pale, silk-like skin I wanted to kiss all over, and curves that ignited a territorial need inside me—a fierce urge to hold tight and never let go. But it wasn’t just her physical beauty driving me to the brink of madness. It was the unadulterated disrespect she had thrown in my face. The raw fire and passion in her defiance. That fierce rebellion fueled a dark, primal urge to tame her. To claim her and make her mine.

At one in the morning, twin beams of light swept across the driveway. I bolted from the balcony, taking the grand staircase three steps at a time to meet him at the front door.

"How did it go?" I couldn’t contain myself. The words punched out of my chest the second Gideon opened the heavy oak door.

Gideon stepped over the threshold, his broad shoulders stiff. He wouldn't make eye contact, keeping his gaze firmly locked on the marble floor. I caught the metallic scent of fresh blood radiating from the thick white bandage wrapped tight around his left hand.

"Her friends seem nice," Gideon started, his voice flat, carefully devoid of emotion. "But she was furious. I’m sorry, Alpha King, but she flat-out refused to come."

Before I could process the failure, heavy footsteps sounded from the upper landing. The loud commotion had dragged my Beta, Orion, out of bed. He stood at the top of the stairs, dragging a hand down his face as his sleep-addled brain tried to catch up. "What the hell did you do?"

"Ghostwire found her," I said, unable to keep the raw pride from bleeding into my voice. "So I sent Gideon to make sure she is okay. She’s been living with humans since she was thirteen. Can you believe that?"

Orion descended the bottom steps, the last remnants of sleep vanishing from his face. It contorted into a mask of pure disbelief. "You sent a hunter after a rogue, and you're confused at why she’s pissed at you?" he yelled, his voice echoing off the vaulted ceiling.

When he phrased it like that, it sounded bad. It wasn’t how I intended it to come across. Surely she could see that, considering she wasn’t attacked.

I turned to defend my orders. "You know that’s not what I did. Gideon was under strict orders not to harm her or her friends. Just ask her to meet me." I shot a glare at my enforcer. "And that’s what you did, right?"

Gideon gave a stiff nod, but I could tell by the tick in his jaw that he was leaving something out.

"What else did she say?"

He let out a deep, heavy sigh and avoided my eyes again. "She said she is fine on her own. She said if we ever go near her again, she will vanish into thin air."

My heart dropped. The air in the foyer vanished. Panic, cold and sharp, flooded my veins. Zevran threw his head back inside my mind and let out a deafening howl of despair. I ran my hands through my hair, pacing a tight circle on the marble floor. My breathing turned shallow. My heart hammered against my throat. How did I screw up this badly? I just wanted to see her again.

Orion sensed my dangerous emotional spiral and stepped into my path, his Beta instincts bringing order to the chaos. "Alright. Everyone into the study so we can work out what to do next." He raised a hand and pointed a firm finger directly into my face. "And you. You are not to do anything regarding her before running it past me. This girl is under your and Zevran’s skin, and you’re not thinking rationally. You’re clearly not going to move on without some sort of closure, so for your own sanity, you follow the plan we come up with. Understood?"

Orion was my Beta, but he had always been more of a brother to me. I valued his advice, even when it grated against my instincts. "Fine," I growled back.

The heavy mahogany doors of my study clicked shut. Orion turned to me, a mix of deep concern and confusion on his face. "What exactly is your end goal here?"

The undeniable truth slipped from my lips before I could process their potential reactions. "Zevran says she is my mate, so I want her as part of the pack and to be my Luna Queen."

Dead silence suffocated the room. Horror washed over Orion’s face, draining the color from his cheeks. "Are you insane?" he hissed. "You know the exact danger that poses to every member of this pack. Rogues have a permanent ban from rejoining all packs for a reason."

Gideon instantly agreed, stepping forward. "I get that she’s powerful, but she kicked our asses in the raid and has avoided detection in the human world since she was a pup. And tonight, she managed to slice my arm open with a concealed silver blade in a public setting without a single human noticing. She is lethal. You need to get over this obsession and leave her alone."

My vision instantly went red.

Fueled by a violent eruption of Alpha energy, I charged across the room. My claws unsheathed before my conscious mind could process the movement. I slammed Gideon backward, my hand clamping around his throat, pinning him hard against the wall. My claws dug deep into his flesh. My eyes glowed a lethal gold as I stared down the stark fear in his gaze.

In a low, vicious growl, I sneered at him. "No. She belongs with me."

Footsteps hurried across the floor. Orion moved to my side, projecting a calm, steadying aura. He gently placed his hand on my tense arm, trying to de-escalate the situation. "It’s alright, buddy," Orion murmured softly. "Gideon didn’t mean any disrespect. Let him go, and we can talk about what to do next."

He always called me buddy when he didn’t know if it was me or Zevran who had lost control.

The gold faded from my vision. I released my brutal grip on Gideon’s throat and took a step back, retracting my claws. Gideon slumped against the wall, coughing hard as he scrambled away from me. I turned my back on them and walked over to my office stash. I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured a generous glass, needing the harsh burn to soothe my frayed nerves.

Behind me, I heard Gideon mutter under his breath to Orion, "Could she really be his mate?"

I sculled back the whiskey in one swallow. The liquid fire burned down my throat, settling into the deep, hollow emptiness that had haunted me since I lost her. "Zevran is certain," I stated, my voice raw but laced with unyielding authority. "She’s mine."

Orion shifted on his feet. I could hear the heavy hesitation in his voice as he asked for clarification. "I get that you or Zevran might like her, but I have never known anyone to actually have a true fated mate bond. The stories we were told as pups of the Moon Goddess cursing our kind to take them away was just a fairy tale. Right?"

I didn't care if this old bedtime story was true or not. The agonizing bond pulling me toward her was undeniable. She had survived alone in the shadows for too long, fighting off hunters and hiding her true nature. I couldn't leave her out there to fend for herself anymore.

I set the empty glass down on the desk, my resolve hardening into stone. I want her to come home.