Chapter 73: Alpha’s Claim (I)

Words : 1058 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 73: Alpha’s Claim (I)Evaline: His touch was barely there. But it seared through my skin like wildfire, sinking into the hollow of my chest where his name had carved itself the moment we first met and the mate bond flickered to life between us. I didn’t mean to lean in. But I did. I let my forehead rest against his. My breath was trembling between us, catching on every flicker of heat that licked up my spine. His hand on my waist wasn’t firm, wasn’t pulling, but it grounded me. Anchored me to him in a way I had sworn never to allow. And still, I didn’t move. Because I couldn’t. Because the bond between us had stopped being a whisper. It was a scream now. A hurricane inside me, shaking me from the inside out. His thumb brushed my waist, slow and unsteady. "You should hate me," he said. "You should want nothing to do with me." "Maybe I do," I said quietly. "But my heart stopped listening the moment you looked at me like I was yours." He exhaled, sharp and shaky. "I never meant to." "I know." His nose brushed mine again, and it made my knees threaten to give out. I could smell the fire on his skin and my body responded before my brain could. My hands lifted, unthinking, and I curled my fingers around the edge of his bare shoulders. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t step back. Didn’t say my name like a curse or spit out the truth of my bloodline like it was poison on his tongue. He just stood there, letting me touch him. Letting me close. And for someone like him, someone like me, that meant everything. "I’m not supposed to want you," he said again. "You are the daughter of the man who slaughtered my pack. My parents. Me and my brothers lost everything because of your father." "I’m not my father." "No," he admitted. "But when I look at you... I see him." My grip on his shoulders tightened and I felt my lungs squeezing painfully as I asked, "Then why are you still here?" His eyes, dark and stormy, locked on mine. "Because when I look longer... I see you." My heart cracked wide open. The truth shimmered between us... sharp and dangerous. His brothers hated me. Especially River. The eldest Rogue Alpha who stared at me like I was a ticking time bomb every time we crossed paths. And maybe I was. But right now? It was just us. Just the bond. The full moon. And the raw ache of wanting something we couldn’t have but needed anyway. His fingers flexed against my waist. His head dropped lower, and my breath caught when his lips hovered over mine. He didn’t kiss me. Not yet. But it was so close I could taste the decision breaking inside him. "I used the full moon as an excuse," he admitted. "Said it was my wolf’s fault. That I couldn’t help it." My pulse thundered. "And now?" His lips brushed mine. It wasn’t a kiss, just a cruel, beautiful tease. "Now I just don’t want to fight anymore." I gasped, and that single breath was all it took. He closed the distance... and I shattered. His mouth crashed against mine with weeks of buried longing. Of fury and guilt and confusion and need. His lips moved like they had been starving, and mine answered like they were just as desperate. There was no softness in the kiss. No hesitation. Just heat and hunger and the bond roaring between us like a tidal wave. His hand slid from my waist to the small of my back, pulling me flush against his very bare chest. Heat to heat. Every inch of him was fire, and I was burning for him. My fingers found his hair and tugged at those soft strands. He groaned into my mouth. The sound was rough and low and devastating. The lounge chair was behind me, and he walked us back without breaking the kiss, guiding me until the back of my knees hit the cushion. He paused only long enough to stare at me again, like he wasn’t sure I was real. "Tell me to stop," he rasped. "If you do, I will." I didn’t. Because my body had betrayed me long ago. Because my heart never stood a chance. And because the part of me that should have told him to stop? That part was gone. Buried under every moment he had looked at me like he didn’t want me... when deep down, I knew he did. "I won’t," I whispered, my voice breaking. "I won’t tell you to stop." His lips returned to mine with a force that shook me. We fell onto the chair, tangled and breathless, and his mouth never left mine. His hands mapped every inch of me, trembling like this was the first time he had touched something he couldn’t destroy. And maybe it was. Maybe I was the first thing he didn’t want to ruin. His wolf was close now. I could feel it, just beneath the surface, clawing at him, clawing at me, not out of rage but out of longing. I felt it when he scented me again, when he buried his face in my neck and let out a growl so low it vibrated through my bones. "Mine," he whispered like a confession. And Moon Goddess help me... I wanted to be. I pulled him closer. My breath catching when his hand slid beneath my uniform shirt that was no longer tucked in my skirt. The moment his calloused fingers came in contact with the bare skin of my waist, tingles erupted all over me. But something else struck me in that moment as well - realization. I realized just how aroused he was as his erection was pressing against my inner thigh. And I also realized that no matter how much we wanted it, I wanted him, we couldn’t continue. I was still in my second month of pregnancy and I couldn’t take any risks. The reminder of my pregnancy was like a bucket of ice cold water, making all my need and desire fading away in seconds. And right before his hand could have moved any up, I pushed him away...!

Chapter 73: Alpha’s Claim (I)

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