Claiming the Alpha's Heart

on coming back to

forests. The fog. The way the town always felt like it was holding its breath, waiting for something unseen to happen. Cre

no version of me that could say no. I heard the effort it took for her to sound calm. I heard the pauses w

drove

he farther I went, pressing in from both sides of the road like silent watchers. The sky remained gray, heavy with clouds that never q

the same way it always had

ough my clothes like it had been waiting for me. It felt deliberate, as though the town itself wanted to remind me that I

d myself and glanced up at the l

g out light and sky alike. The forest had always loomed over Crescent Valley, but standing there aga

was smaller than I remembered, the paint peeling slightly, the porch steps worn down by time and weather. Still, it

ting for me

ulled me into a hug. Her arms felt thinner than before, but

scent of herbs and old books that clung to her sweater. For a mo

ndows were locked despite the mild weather. Heavy curtains were drawn tight, blocking out the pa

t, I slep

s cracked sharply, loud enough to wake me. Wind whispered through the leaves, carrying sounds I couldn't quite place.

om sleep with m

lf it was j

n't bring m

e scanned the yard through the kitchen win

she muttered un

" I asked, fol

ok her head. "Nothing y

t time I noticed

hers littered the ground, scattered in a way that didn't look natural. There were

I went into town, I h

ith anger and something else fear, maybe. A woman at the register mentioned her dog hadn't come home in

explained

estions, conver

iled too tightly, as if pretending hard

wildlife,

't con

nd neat claw marks etched into wood. And it didn't make a

n, I decided

Now, it felt like crossing an invisible line. The closer I got to the trees, the quieter everything

hing half-hidde

ack

they'd been pulled apart by force. I knel

ent

se qui

hear him

uldn't b

ned s

blended too easily with the forest behind him. His presence was unsettling not because

I said, straightening.

the backpack, then back to

e," he said. "You sh

e spoke calm, firm, and u

ke care o

d. "That's what

sharp and uncomfortable, though I couldn't explain why. There was something

steppe

, softer this time.

trees, moving with a smoothness

longer than

I wrote ever

e silence. The backpack

Dra

s family without explaining why. I didn't know who he was, only that th

ing at the ceiling, t

, it soun

ing to Crescent Valley, I stopped t

g was wr

forest wasn't going to