The Alpha's Hidden Mate

The rain was hitting the tin roof so hard it sounded like someone was throwing stones. I sat on the edge of my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest. I held myself so tight my arms started to ache. The room was pitch black, except for the cold light coming from my phone on the floor.

Mara’s text was still there: “You okay? You disappeared after the shift. Call me if you need to talk.”

I stared at the words but I didn't move. I wasn't okay. I hadn't been okay for three years.

Every time it rained like this, I was back in that cabin. I could still smell the wet forest and the rot of the rogues. I remember my mom’s hands, shaking as she pushed me under the kitchen table. "Stay quiet, baby," she had whispered. My little brother, Toby, was only eight years old. He was clutching his stuffed wolf so hard that the stuffing was coming out.

Then the screaming started. My mom’s scream stopped so fast it felt like a door slamming shut. Then Toby cried out, and then... silence. I sat in the dark and watched the blood crawl across the floor toward my shoes. I heard the claws of the rogues scratching the wood right next to my ear.

I should have shifted. I was a Thorne. My wolf should have come out and torn those monsters apart. But she didn't. She went quiet. She curled up so deep inside me that I thought she had died right there with my family.

When I finally crawled out from under that table, I was alone. I didn't cry. I just ran. I changed my name to Lila and found this small town, Evergreen Hollow. It was right on the edge of the Shadow Moon Pack land, but I stayed with the humans. It was safe as long as I kept my mouth shut and my head down.

I got a job at the diner. I learned how to give fake smiles and take tips from people who didn't know my name. I told myself I was doing fine. I told myself the hurt was going away. It was a lie I told myself every morning to get out of bed.

But tonight, the silence in my apartment felt like a heavy weight. It felt like the air remembered everything I was trying to forget.

Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my phone and threw it. It hit the wall with a loud crack and the screen shattered. I wanted to break everything in the room. I wanted to scream until my throat was raw. I needed air.

I ran out of the apartment and down the stairs. I slipped out the back door and into the dark alley.

The cold rain hit my face, but I didn't care.

Then, I smelled it. It wasn't the smell of the town. It was pine trees and warm leather. It was the smell of thunder before the lightning hit.

My legs went weak. I had to grab the brick wall to stay standing. Deep inside me in that place where I thought everything was dead, I heard a tiny sound. A whimper. It was my wolf. She was waking up, but she was scared. She was shaking like a leaf.

I heard boots splashing in the puddles. A tall man stepped out of the shadows. He was huge, with broad shoulders that seemed to fill the alley. He pulled back his hood, and even in the dark, his eyes caught the light. They were silver-grey and sharp as knives.

"Lila?"

His voice was deep and low. It made my whole body vibrate. It felt like he was taking something from me just by saying my name.

"You have the wrong person," I said, shaking my head. I tried to step back, but my back was against the wall.

He came closer. The scent got stronger, and I felt a pull in my chest like a rope was tied around my heart and he was pulling the other end.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said.

"Then go away!"

He didn't move. He watched me like I was a puzzle he had been trying to solve for a long time. He had dark hair wet from the rain and a thin scar across his cheek. He looked dangerous, the kind of man you run away from.

"I'm Kieran," he said. "Alpha of the Shadow Moon Pack."

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt. Shadow Moon. The pack I had been hiding from for three years.

"Why are you here?" I whispered.

"I felt it tonight," he said, his silver eyes glowing a little. "The mate pulls. It was quiet for years. I thought I would never find her. Then tonight, it woke up. It pointed straight to you."

"You're wrong," I said, and my eyes filled with tears. "I don't have that. My wolf... she’s gone. I'm empty."

"You're lying, Lila."

He was right. I could feel her now, pacing and crying inside me. I hated him for knowing. I hated him for finding me.

"Get away from me!" I shouted. I fumbled for the door handle, but he didn't move. He just stood there, patient, like he could wait a thousand years.

"You're my mate, Lila," he said softly. "And I'm not walking away without you."

I let out a jagged, bitter laugh. "You think I'd follow an Alpha? Where were the packs when my family died? Where were you when nobody came to save us?"

His face changed. The hard look in his eyes softened into real pain. "I didn't know you existed," he said quietly. "If I had known..."

"Stop!" I screamed. I managed to get the door open. "Stay away from me! Or you'll regret ever finding me!"

I slammed the door and locked it. I slid down to the cold floor and pulled my knees to my chest again. My heart wouldn't slow down. My wolf was restless now, angry and confused. The bond was pulling me toward the door, toward the alley, toward everything I had spent three years running from.

And the worst part was, a small part of me didn't want the pull to stop.

I pressed my hands over my eyes, trying to make the world go away. But then, I heard it.

Another howl.

It wasn't Kieran’s. It was rough and loud. It sounded like hunger.

Rogues.

They were coming fast. They were coming to the town. They were coming for me.

Suddenly, my door shook from a hard hit.

Claws began to scrape the wood, making a sound that set my teeth on edge. Then Kieran’s voice came from right outside, urgent and sharp.

"Lila, open the door! Now! Or they will get to you first!"

I froze. My heart was in my throat. The wood was starting to splinter.

The hiding was over. The nightmare had found me again, and this time, I didn't have a kitchen table to hide under.