A wounded Alpha

The door opened, and a maid stood there, her uniform slightly rumpled. She looked breathless and tired. And she smelled like... sex?

Lucia’s face twisted in shock and disgust, while Ellis scrunched up his nose, hiding further behind her.

"Um... who are you?" the maid asked, her voice hoarse and shaky.

"I’m Lucia, Ellis’ teacher. He was left at school for three hours, and when no one came for him, I decided to bring him home myself." Lucia's voice held a sharp edge of anger. Not only had they left the boy stranded, but there seemed to be no one even preparing to get him. She wondered how long he would’ve been left there if she hadn’t intervened.

"Oh... um, thank you, young Master," the maid muttered, reaching a hand toward Ellis.

"NO!" Ellis yelled, retreating further behind Lucia.

"I would like to speak to his father," Lucia said firmly. She noticed the maid flinch at the mention of the Alpha, her face betraying both fear and, oddly, a flicker of arousal.

"T-The Alpha can’t see anyone right now," the maid stammered, fidgeting nervously with her hands.

"I want to speak to him," Lucia repeated, her voice resolute. "I’m not leaving, and Ellis is not going inside until I do."

The maid shifted uncomfortably before nodding and retreating into the house, leaving Lucia and a trembling Ellis waiting outside.

---

**Lucia's POV**

I waited for what felt like ages before the maid returned, her head bowed.

"You can’t see him, Miss," she muttered.

My patience snapped. "Then Ellis is coming with me because I will *not* leave a child alone, and I refuse to ignore neglect!" I said, my voice sharp and unwavering.

"You tell her, babygirl," Alexandria cheered in my mind.

I held Ellis’s hand and started walking away from the door.

"Wait! You can’t take him!" the maid called out, hobbling after us, her limp suggesting she'd been engaged in some activity—*not my business*.

"Come on, Ellis," I said, marching back to the cab. Ellis followed without protest.

"Wait, Miss!" The maid’s voice was filled with panic, but I didn’t slow down.

Just as we neared the cab, I heard the mansion door slam shut, the sound echoing ominously.

I stopped in my tracks, sensing Ellis flinch beside me. I already knew who it was. Steeling myself, I turned around.

There he stood—a wounded man.

Not physically, though. His casual clothes were fine, and while he was upset, there were no visible injuries. But I could see it—the pain, the inner turmoil. He was bleeding internally, emotionally. His anguish was palpable, and it explained the oppressive sadness surrounding this place.

Alexandria whimpered in my mind, recognizing his wolf’s pain. We knew it all too well.

For a brief second, my gaze softened, until he spoke.

"How dare you try to take my son away?" he growled, anger coursing through his veins, his eyes cold and cruel.

I quickly composed myself, standing tall. "How dare *you* neglect him? Leaving him at school for three hours? He’d still be there if I hadn’t brought him home!" I countered, locking eyes with him.

The maid gasped, clearly unused to anyone speaking to the Alpha in this way. Well, too bad—what he did was wrong.

He growled low and stormed toward me, his pheromones thick in the air. But I stood firm, unshaken.

He loomed over me, his breath hot against my face, but I didn’t flinch. I wasn’t as tall as him, but I wasn’t backing down.

"You lowly wol—" he began, but I cut him off.

"My name is *Lucia*!" I barked back.

Alexandria snarled within me, equally defiant.

"And I don’t care if you’re the Alpha! I won’t tolerate neglect! YOU left this child, *this baby*, alone in school for hours. I had to bring him back myself! And now you’re trying to intimidate me for doing the right thing?"

His eyes narrowed, and I matched his glare.

"Ellis, come here," he commanded.

Ellis whimpered and clung tighter to me.

"He doesn’t want to!" I retorted, my hand resting protectively on the boy.

"ELLIS!" the Alpha bellowed, his eyes going pitch black as his wolf took over.

Alexandria surged forward, her presence rising within me. My own eyes flashed silver.

"*If you yell at him again, I will slit your throat—even if it’s the last thing I do, you beast!*"