Chapter 6 6

Minutes later, I was back in the service area. I’d given in and put on the black dress the girls had practically forced me to buy. It was long, made of a heavy fabric that hugged my waist like a second skin, with a side slit that flashed far too much thigh every time I took a step.

The neckline was just suggestive enough to make me feel exposed, though the mirror tried to convince me I looked elegant. I left my hair down, kept the makeup minimal, and prayed I’d go unnoticed—even if my reflection said otherwise.

I leaned against the doorframe, watching the Valentine’s chaos in the square. A heavy sigh escaped me. No sign of Michael or Silas. Good. I could breathe, just for a second.

With that tiny bit of peace, I slipped through the side exit into the alley, aiming for the food tents to check on the next shift.

"Lyra…"

That voice. Deep, heavy, and dripping with an authority I’d spent years trying to forget. I froze. Slowly, I turned to find him standing there. Silas looked infuriatingly perfect in his dark suit, hair slicked back to highlight those sharp, masculine features. Under the dim hum of the streetlamps, the crushed rose petals on the pavement seemed to bleed around his feet.

"Alpha Silas. Can I help you with something?" I kept my voice flat, professional. Cold.

He didn't answer right away. His eyes stripped me bare, wandering over my curves with an intensity that made my skin itch. Then, his jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides in a flash of pure, stifled rage.

"You smell like Alpha Michael," he spat, the words coming out as a low, dangerous growl. "Why is his scent all over you?"

"I don't see how that’s any of your business," I shot back, refused to flinch. I wasn’t that terrified girl from five years ago anymore.

"It became my business the second you set foot on my land," he growled, taking a predatory step toward me. "I’m forbidding it. Stay away from him—and any other man."

A dry, bitter laugh escaped my throat.

"First of all, I’m not part of your pack. Your orders mean nothing to me. And second? I’m not looking for anyone, Silas. I’m just trying to survive being near you."

I didn’t even see him move. Before I could blink, Silas lunged. He slammed me against the stone wall, pinning me with the sheer weight of his body. The heat coming off him was suffocating.

"Did he touch you?" he demanded. His grip on my arm was firm enough to bruise. "Answer me!"

"Let go! You have no right to ask me anything!" I thrashed against him, but it was like trying to move a mountain. I could feel his claws starting to prick through his skin.

"I have every right," he whispered against my ear. His breath was warm, and to my absolute horror, it sent a traitorous shiver down my spine. "As Alpha, I control what belongs to me."

"Control me?" I snapped, my eyes stinging with sudden fury. "Like when you dragged me in front of everyone and called me a traitor? Or when you watched your guards humiliate me before throwing me out for a crime I didn't commit?"

Silas went still, but his breathing was ragged, erratic. His wolf was right under the surface, clawing to get out.

"You and your people threw me to the wolves without a shred of proof. You let them kill the only person who was ever kind to me." My voice cracked—not from fear, but from a five-year-old ache that was finally boiling over.

"I tried to stop it…" he muttered, his gaze flickering. "But my father’s laws—"

"Liar!" I screamed, tears finally blurred my vision. "You loved seeing me fall. You looked me in the eye and told me I was trash. Just leave me alone! You’ve already taken everything!"

For a heartbeat, Silas looked like I’d struck him. But he didn't apologize. Instead, his eyes went pitch black—pure obsession. He grabbed my shoulders, locking me in place, and before I could even gasp, he crashed his mouth against mine.

It wasn't a kiss; it was a claim. Violent, dominant, desperate. I fought him at first, pounding my fists against his chest, but the scent of rain and forest filled my head, blurring my hate with a spark of dresire I loathed myself for feeling. My eyes fluttered shut as his tongue forced its way in, claiming me with a frantic urgency.

A small, broken sound escaped my throat, and right then, a deafening roar ripped through the silence of the alley.

Silas jerked away, gasping for air. His eyes were glowing orbs of gold, filled with bloodlust. He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was staring into the shadows behind me, where a new nightmare had just arrived.

He stood there like an unmovable wall of muscle. He was an Alpha, a force of nature; to him, I was just a pariah. My resistance should have been a joke to him.

Yet, even in the middle of the chaos, my mind betrayed me. I could still taste him—mint and wild pheromones that made my knees feel like water.

But my rage won. This wasn't love; it was a sick joke. A way to mark territory that he’d thrown away years ago. I wasn't the fool who took the blame for others anymore. I gathered every bit of my pride and bit down, hard, on his lower lip.

A guttural, pained growl vibrated in his throat.

"Ah!" he gasped, recoiling just enough. His forehead stayed pressed against mine, his breath coming in hot bursts.

"Lyra!" His voice was a warning, a storm about to break. It turned my blood to ice.

Panic finally hit me. What had I done? I’d just bitten the most feared Alpha in the territory. I braced myself for the blow, or the order for my execution. I started to shake, my head hanging low as the tears finally spilled over.

"Please... Alpha... I..." my voice was a thread. "Just leave me... I’m sorry... I didn't mean to..." I pleaded, certain my time was up.

But when he heard my voice trembling with terror, Silas let go as if my skin had turned to fire. I stumbled back, tripping over the roots in the dirt. A dangerous, electric energy rolled off him. His eyes didn't leave me—they stayed fixed on me with an intensity that felt like he was peeling back my skin.