Chapter 2 – The Alpha's Claim
Elvis's breath came in ragged gasps. Her vision blurred at the edges as warmth bloomed from the place where his teeth had pierced her shoulder. It wasn't just pain—it was heat, light, and something ancient winding itself around her soul.
She stumbled, but before she could hit the forest floor, a pair of strong arms caught her.
"Easy," came the voice, low and rough like gravel dipped in honey. "Your body's trying to adjust to the bond."
The bond.
Her eyes flew open.
Alpha Alexander Blackthorn.
He was breathtaking in the worst way. Sharp jaw, silver-streaked raven hair, and eyes that burned with the same glow as the full moon above them. His presence was commanding, undeniable—like gravity had shifted and made him the center of everything.
"Let go of me," she whispered.
But her voice trembled, and not just from the cold.
Alexander's hold on her eased, but he didn't step back. "I saved your life. That curse would've consumed you within the hour."
"And your answer was biting me?" she snapped.
He tilted his head. "Claiming you was the only way to break it."
Her heart pounded in her ears. She could still feel the phantom bite, the pull of his energy in her veins. Her wolf—silent for so long—stirred beneath her skin, restless and alert.
"What curse?" she asked.
Alexander's expression darkened. "You don't know?"
She shook her head. "I was raised in the human cities. My mother—she never told me anything about a curse."
A pause.
Then he said quietly, "Your bloodline is rare. Ancient. Powerful enough to bind even the most broken of wolves. But it comes with a price. Every female born into it bears a soul curse—doomed to die before their first shift unless claimed by their fated mate under a full moon."
Elvis blinked. "So I was just… going to die?"
He nodded once. "You would've burned from the inside out. I felt your call in my bones, even before I knew who you were."
The wind howled through the trees. Elvis wrapped her arms around herself, though it wasn't the cold that made her shiver—it was him. His nearness. His truth.
"So now what?" she asked. "You've bitten me. Claimed me. Do I belong to you now?"
Something flickered in his eyes. Not triumph. Not desire.
Guilt.
"I don't want to own you, Elvis," he said. "I just want you to live."
The softness in his tone stunned her.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered.
"I didn't either." He looked up at the moon. "The bond chooses. Not us."
The bond.
The very words pulled at her chest, tugging threads of something too big to name. She could feel him—his breath, his heartbeat, even the tension in his body. As if some invisible string now connected them.
"I need air," she muttered and stepped back.
Alexander didn't stop her. He simply watched as she paced, her fingers brushing over the bite mark. It had stopped bleeding but now pulsed faintly with silver light.
"This isn't fair," she said.
"No," he agreed. "It isn't."
The forest was still. No birds. No rustling leaves. Just the wind and moonlight.
"I was finally starting to feel free," she said bitterly. "Living on my own. Away from the orphanage. Now this?"
Alexander walked to the base of an old tree and leaned against it. "Freedom and fate don't always agree."
She glanced at him. "Do you always talk like that?"
He smirked. "Only when I'm trying not to scare someone."
"You're doing a bad job," she muttered.
A low chuckle escaped him, deep and warm. "You've got fire, little wolf."
She glared. "Don't call me that."
"Why not?" He stepped toward her again, slow and measured. "That's what you are, isn't it? A wolf. Mine."
Her body betrayed her—shivering at the word.
Mine.
"No," she said, standing taller. "You don't own me. I don't care what fate says."
Alexander's eyes softened. "You'll fight it. I expected that. But the bond doesn't need your permission. It's already there."
She turned away. "I want to go home."
"You can't."
Elvis spun on him. "Excuse me?"
"There are others who will feel the bond. Blood wolves. Hunters. You've lit a flare in the supernatural world just by being claimed. They'll want to destroy you—or worse, use you."
Her mouth went dry. "Why?"
"Because you're not just mine," he said slowly. "You're the cure."
The words struck like a drumbeat. "What does that mean?"
Alexander hesitated. Then: "There's an ancient blood feud. Your bloodline is part of a prophecy. If you survive long enough, if our bond is sealed completely, the curse that's plagued my entire pack will break."
"So I'm a tool," she whispered. "A means to an end."
He stepped closer. "You're everything, Elvis. You just don't know it yet."
Her head ached. Her heart thudded painfully against her chest. "I don't want any of this."
"I know."
She looked up at him. "Then let me go."
"I can't." His voice cracked. "Because if you die, I die too."
Her breath caught. "What?"
"The bond is life-linked. If your heart stops, so does mine."
Silence.
The moon overhead pulsed brighter, casting silver beams down onto the clearing.
Elvis sank to her knees, suddenly overwhelmed. "This is too much."
Alexander crouched beside her. "Then let me carry the weight. Just for tonight."
She didn't answer. But she didn't push him away either.
---
An hour passed before either of them moved. The forest seemed to hum with ancient magic, and though she didn't understand any of it, Elvis felt the truth deep in her bones: something had shifted. Forever.
Back in the village she'd left behind, they'd warned her about the monsters in the woods. They'd whispered about wolves and moon curses and dark eyes that could steal your soul.
But they'd never told her the monster might save her life.
They'd never told her the monster might look at her like she was his salvation.
---
Later that night, as she dozed in the warmth of the fire Alexander had built, he watched her silently.
She didn't know the full truth yet.
Didn't know that the curse had killed every mate he'd ever tried to claim before her.
Didn't know that he'd given up on love, on bonds, on fate—until her scent had shattered his resolve.
Elvis James wasn't just his mate.
She was his last chance.
And if anything happened to her, he would burn the world down.