chapter 18

I had been locked in my room for an entire day. Like a prisoner, I was locked inside. What had I gotten myself into?

The hours crawled by in suffocating silence, broken only by my own frantic thoughts. I had tried everything—banging on the door, screaming for help, even throwing a glass against the wall in frustration. Nothing. No one came.

Alaric had just left me here.

I wasn’t sure if it was to keep me safe or to keep me from running. Maybe both.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around what I’d seen. The gunshots. The growling. The monsters. Alaric ripping a man’s heart out with his bare hands.

Then his eyes… glowing in the dark.

A werewolf.

I wanted to laugh, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw the blood, the bodies.

I pressed my hands against my temples, trying to force my mind to make sense of this nightmare. There had to be an explanation—a real one. Maybe I had lost my mind. Maybe they had drugged me. That made more sense than—

The lock clicked.

I shot up from the bed as the door creaked open.

A girl stepped inside, balancing a tray of food in her hands. She was young, maybe around my age, with dark curls and warm brown eyes.

“Finally,” I breathed. “Please—let me out of here.”

She looked nervous, glancing at the door before setting the tray on the small table by the window.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “The Alpha would punish me if I did.”

Alpha.

That word sent a shiver through me.

“Please,” I tried again, stepping closer. “At least tell me what the hell is going on.”

She hesitated.

“I don’t even know your name,” I pushed.

“…Aliah.”

“Aliah, please.” My voice cracked. “Tell me. Was all of that real? Was I hallucinating?”

Her lips parted slightly, her eyes searching mine. She let out a soft breath before nodding.

“It was real.”

I stumbled back, gripping the edge of the bed for support.

No.

No, this couldn’t be happening.

I shook my head. “No. That’s not possible. Werewolves aren’t real. They’re myths. Fairytales.”

Aliah’s expression was filled with something that looked almost like pity.

“They’re real,” she said softly. “And Alaric is one of them.”

I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling my heart hammering like a trapped animal.

“You called him Alpha,” I whispered. “What does that mean?”

Aliah swallowed. “He’s the leader of the Bloodhounds pack.”

A weight dropped into my stomach.

“Pack?” I echoed.

“Werewolves don’t live like humans. They have packs. A hierarchy. An Alpha leads them, an enforcer upholds his orders, and the pack follows. Alaric… he’s the strongest of them all. Some say he’s not just a werewolf—he’s a Lycan.”

The word Lycan sent a bolt of ice through my veins.

“What does that mean?” I asked hoarsely.

She hesitated.

“Werewolves are strong, fast, but Lycans… they’re something else. More powerful. More dangerous. They’re the first of our kind, the closest to the original bloodline. They’re feared for a reason.”

My skin broke out in chills.

“People say the Alpha is one of them,” she continued, voice quiet. “A true Lycan. That’s why other packs fear him. He’s more than just a leader. He’s unstoppable.”

I sank onto the bed, feeling like the world had tilted under my feet.

Alaric. A Lycan.

I was trapped in a house with a monster.

I forced myself to breathe, gripping my arms tightly. “And what about this mate thing?”

Aliah’s eyes widened slightly.

“You know?”

I swallowed, my mouth dry. “He said it. Last night.”

She exhaled slowly, sitting on the edge of the chair near the table.

“A mate is… everything to a werewolf. It’s fate choosing your other half—the one meant for you. Your soul’s match.”

I stared at her.

No. That wasn’t—no.

“That’s ridiculous.” My laugh was hollow. “So, what? I’m supposed to believe that Alaric and I are—are—” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.

She nodded. “It’s rare for an Alpha to have a human mate, but it’s not unheard of.”

I felt my pulse hammering against my skull. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.

I shot to my feet, pacing.

“No,” I muttered. “No, he has Emma. He’s going to get rid of me anyway, so that whole fate thing? It doesn’t matter.”

Aliah frowned. “Emma isn’t his mate.”

I whipped around. “Then why is she here? Why did he want to marry her if she is not his mate?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know everything, but… I think he was trying to save her.”

That didn’t make sense. None of this did.

I clenched my fists.

“I want out.” My voice was firm, desperate. “Help me. Please.”

Aliah’s expression darkened with sorrow.

“I can’t.”

“You can,” I begged. “You can open the door—”

“He’ll find you.”

I froze.

She looked at me sadly. “You don’t understand, Vanessa. Once a wolf finds their mate, there’s no running. No hiding. He’ll always find you.”

A lump formed in my throat.

“Even if I cross the ocean?” I whispered.

She nodded.

Terror coiled around my ribs like a vice.

I was trapped. Not by walls or locked doors. But by him.

I shook my head. “This isn’t fair.”

Aliah sighed. “The Alpha… he might be in denial, but fate doesn’t care. You are his mate, Vanessa. Whether you want to be or not.”

I clenched my jaw.

No.

I refused to be bound by some supernatural bullshit.

I would get out of here.

I had to.

But deep in my chest, where I didn’t want to acknowledge it… I knew Aliah was right.

And that terrified me more than anything else.