My pulse spiked, vision tunneling. Whoever this Alpha was, their intent wasn't to lead. It was to destroy.
And I'd walked straight into their shadow.
The air outside the village gates was suffocating. Alpha pheromones rolled across the borders like smoke thick, bitter, heavy with hate. I couldn't see anyone, but my chest tightened, every breath shallow as if the very air was poisoned.
My hands shook as I tore through my bag, fingers fumbling over books, fabric, the hard edge of a flask. Where-where is it? The pill bottle clinked faintly, salvation rattling inside. I uncapped it with trembling fingers and swallowed one dry.
The suppressant dulled my scent, enough to keep me hidden. Or so I thought. But when an Alpha's pheromones burned with this much venom, the suppressant only blunted the edge. The rest sank straight into me, coiling through my bones.
The truth was, I could handle ordinary dominance pheromones barely. But rage and hate? They cracked me wide open. Maybe it was because of him. Leonel's voice echoing in childhood, telling me he hated me… Maybe that was why my chest squeezed the way it did now.
I shook my head hard. No. Don't think about him now.
The village lay eerily quiet. People whispered on corners, shops half-open, eyes darting toward the alleys. Fear was everywhere.
Then I saw it.
Blood. A trail dark against the dirt. And at the end of it an Alpha sprawled in agony, one arm gone.
I staggered forward, knees hitting the ground. "Gods!" I ripped the scarf from around my neck, pressing it to the wound, hot blood soaking instantly through. "Stay with me please, just what happened?"
The Alpha's screams drowned my voice. His pain was raw, animalistic.
A girl stepped forward from the crowd, face pale. "It was him. A man silver-white hair, long. His eyes green, cold as ice. He got angry… cut it off in one strike. He's still here."
Silver hair. Green eyes. My stomach twisted, bile rising. That was the Alpha I'd felt.
"Take him to the doctor!" I shouted, forcing steel into my voice even though my hands trembled. Villagers rushed to obey, carrying the injured man away.
I stood, swaying faintly. My palms dripped red, my clothes smeared with his blood. My heart was pounding, too loud, too fast. But I moved anyway. Focus, Aria. Focus.
Focus. The food stores, the conditions of the people that was my task. Not this fear crawling through my veins. I moved through the village, scanning shelves, talking briefly, making notes in my head. The people's eyes darted nervously to the alleys, as if waiting for that white-haired Alpha to reappear.
I couldn't stop myself. I checked the alleys too, one after another. Nothing but shadows and damp stone.
Until...
I slammed into someone.
My shoulder hit solid muscle, and I gasped, stumbling back. Before I could fall, an arm snaked around my waist smooth, unhurried, possessive.
"Well, hello, beautiful~"
The voice was velvet and smoke, sending a chill right through my bones.
My eyes snapped open.
Silver-white hair, long and gleaming like spun moonlight. Pale green eyes, unblinking, locked onto mine with a hunger that wasn't human. His lips curled into a lazy, predatory smile.
And before I could speak, before I could breathe, he leaned in.
His nose brushed the curve of my neck. A sharp inhale.
"Mmm." His voice dropped, dark and indulgent. "You smell sweet." His tongue clicked against his teeth, savoring the words. "Omega."
My blood ran cold. My lungs locked.
His grip tightened on my waist. And his smile only widened.
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