The Alpha's Forbidden Claim

around her, wrapping itself around her like the thick, heavy fog that clung to the forest at dawn. It was hard to describe what she was feeling-there were moments o

ned to crush her. The pack watched from a distance, their eyes filled with curiosity, but they gave her space to adjust, to learn. Some days, the wolves would

beyond what she could handle, but each lesson left her feeling more connected to the pack, more connected to the force that fl

dscape before her. She had spent the past few hours in training, her body sore but alive with energy. The air smelled of pine and earth, a reminder of the wildness that surrounded the pack's hom

. She could feel him there, the pull of his energy, his warmth, the strength that seemed to radiate from him. There was somethin

he said, his voice low b

ll, weary smile. "It's

eclan replied. "It's not e

in the wind. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm really meant for this. I feel like I'm stumbling through it, t

need to control it all at once, Asha. Power like this doesn't work that way. It takes

umbled mess. "But what if I make a

n us, between the pack, is strong. You're not alo

like she was a burden, never made her doubt her place in the pack. She didn't know if she was ready for all of this, but with him by her sid

yourself?" she aske

hing in his gaze-something guarded, a shadow of past pain. But it disappeared as quickly as

how we push ourselves forward. If you didn't doubt yourself at all, it would

onsidered before. For so long, she had thought doubt was a sign of weakness, something to be avoid

ust packmates, Asha. They're family. You'll see that soon enough. We pro

ght. There was something in the way he spoke, something in the way he carried himself t

ctively reaching for Declan's side. Her eyes darted toward the source of the sound, her senses

it?" Asha

he scanned the trees. "Som

ck and calculated. The wolves in the clearing had all fallen silent, their attention focused on the sounds coming from the f

rees-a massive wolf, its fur dark as night, its eyes gleaming with an unnatural hu

e," he ordered

es fixed on the two of them, their bodies tense and ready to strike. As

ice filled with a deadly calm. "Outlaws.

had broken the rules of their kind and become a threat to everyone they

eir eyes glowed with an intense yellow light, their teeth bared, but there was no fear in thei

ues. "Stay close," he repeated. "No mat

but she didn't pull away. She trusted Declan

gh her veins, but there was still so much she didn't know, so much she hadn't learned. She didn't know if she was ready for a fight, but Declan's presence beside

e filled with authority. "We'll protect you," he s

gues wanted, but one thing was certain-she was no longer just a bystander. She