Chapter 5
Leah went rigid.
Her heart shot into her throat.
From the hollow behind her came a gut-wrenching sound of bones cracking and shifting.
She spun around in terror.
In the moonlight, the massive silver-gray werewolf was gone.
Standing in his place was a tall, imposing man.
He was bare-chested, his muscles carved like ancient Greek sculpture—perfect and explosive with power. His broad shoulders were still streaked with blood that hadn't dried.
Those eyes burned with a savage green light in the darkness, locking onto Leah like a predator zeroing in on its prey.
"You—"
Leah barely got a syllable out before the man lunged forward.
The world spun.
She didn't even have time to cry out before an irresistible force yanked her to the ground.
The next second, a burning, heavy body came down on her like a mountain, pinning her firmly against the muddy earth.
The man's hands easily locked her struggling wrists above her head.
"Let me go! Mmph—"
He gave her no chance to call for help.
He lowered his head, his rough breath washing over the vulnerable hollow of her neck, carrying the raw, predatory scent that belonged only to beasts.
He greedily breathed in the faint sweet fragrance of Omega rising from her skin, the green glow in his eyes growing more frenzied.
Leah stared up in despair as the man's burning lips found the most vulnerable spot on her nape—her Omega gland.
No gentle prelude.
No trace of tenderness.
He opened his mouth. Sharp fangs pierced her delicate skin without mercy, biting deep into her neck.
The instant those fangs broke through her gland, sharp pain tore a whimper from Leah's throat.
But the savage tearing she braced for never came.
Those sharp fangs, after piercing the outer layer of her tender skin, somehow pulled back their force.
What followed was the man's burning lips and tongue, and an overwhelmingly dominant Alpha pheromone—richer than anything she'd ever felt—surging through her bloodstream like wildfire.
It was an intense scent, carrying rain-soaked forest and some unnameable wild musk, instantly swallowing and wrapping around Leah's faint Omega sweetness.
"Mmph…"
Leah shuddered from head to toe, her mind going completely blank.
By nature, Omegas had no defense against the submission instinct triggered by high-ranking Alpha pheromones.
And the one pressing down on her now was a werewolf on the edge of frenzy, just dragged back from the brink of death.
The man's breathing was rough as bellows, his green eyes blazing with dangerous light in the darkness.
His large hands locked her wrists in an iron grip, as if the slightest struggle would snap them clean.
But when his lips moved to her ear, her cheek, her collarbone—that savage pressure somehow held an unbelievable trace of careful tenderness.
He was handling her like a fragile treasure he had miraculously gotten back.
His rough thumb gently traced the tear tracks at the corner of her eye.
A hoarse, low growl rumbled in his throat—like reassurance, like longing.
"Don't be afraid…"
That voice was so deep it seemed to resonate inside her chest, carrying a tenderness close to reverence.
Leah's tears broke through again.
Just hours ago, she had walked into a trap with her whole heart, only to be publicly humiliated and crushed by Blake—the Alpha she had loved for three years.
That noble, gentle Alpha she had believed in couldn't even stand the sight of her.
But now, this unknown, blood-soaked beast was holding back his instincts in the middle of losing all control, terrified of hurting her.
The man's movements grew deeper.
His burning body heat threatened to melt her entirely.
His broad chest pressed tight against her, each movement carrying unyielding dominance, yet at its deepest point giving her the most lingering tenderness.
Leah's rigid body gradually went soft.
She couldn't think anymore.
She could only drift along in this storm of possession.
The werewolf's pheromones fully woke the Omega instinct that had been sleeping inside her.
Unfamiliar pleasure surged through her like electric current, pushing her toward one dizzying peak after another.
The night wind was still cold, but in this desolate hollow, Leah had never felt so warm.
She clung tightly to the man's broad shoulders, her nails unconsciously leaving marks across his hard back muscles.
In the last moment before she lost consciousness completely, she dimly felt the man gently kiss away the blood at the corner of her lips, then pull her protectively into that wide, burning embrace.
The next morning, harsh sunlight cut through the tree canopy and fell directly onto Leah's face.
She winced, slowly opening her eyes.
Every bone in her body felt like it had been crushed and put back together.
Even moving a finger took effort.
The gland at her nape throbbed with a numb, swollen ache—undeniable proof that she had been thoroughly marked.
