All Chapters of Alpha's Hidden Chains: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

*** Nailo’s POVTheir voices drift to me, muffled and distant, like echoes through a fog. The pain that once consumed me has dulled, leaving only a numbness that creeps across my body. The only sensation I can still feel is the hair crawling on my skin, a faint prickle of awareness as my subconscious mind registers that they’re talking about me. It's a primal instinct, the last vestige of survival kicking in, though I know it’s futile. This is the end. I should let go, welcome the darkness that’s waiting to swallow me whole, but something inside me clings to the sound of their voices, trying to stay tethered to the world, even if only for a moment longer.I strain to listen, to pull their words from the murky depths of my consciousness, though I’m not sure why. There's nothing they could say that would change the inevitable. Maybe it’s just the stubbornness of life itself, refusing to be snuffed out without a fight, or maybe it's the last flicker of hope that they’ll simply walk away a

*** Nailo’s POVI slam into the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of me instantly. The cold, unyielding earth rises to meet me with an unforgiving force, jarring every nerve in my body. Before I can even register the pain, I’m tumbling, rolling down an embankment, the world spinning around me in a blur of dark shadows and cold, damp soil. Every bump, every jolt sends a shockwave of agony through my body, my mind screaming at me to stop, but there’s no stopping gravity. I have to keep going, have to fight through the disorientation, the pain. The wolfsbane is coursing through my veins, dragging me closer to unconsciousness with every passing moment, and I know—if I give in now, it’s over.When I finally come to a stop at the bottom of the embankment, my body sprawled awkwardly across the forest floor, I’m gasping for breath, each inhale like shards of ice ripping through my lungs. The cold air burns, but it’s nothing compared to the searing pain that radiates from every part of m

*** Nailo’s POVHow could I be so lucky to find a river so close—a shallow one at that? I nearly fell into it, crawling out into the water with the last of my strength. I flipped onto my side, lying fully in the shallow stream. With a trembling hand, I skimmed through the pebbles along the bottom. Lovely colors glistened up at me from the water—quartz, jasper, pyrite—all so beautiful, but none nearly as precious as the deep black hematite stones that came up in my first handful. Thank the goddess.Yelling in the distance— I could hear it. Not wasting a moment, I swallowed the whole handful of pebbles I’d scooped up. I wasn’t sure how much hematite I needed to counter the wolfsbane, but hopefully, this would do.I didn’t have the strength left to get back up, but I did have the strength to crawl and float. As quietly as I could, I scooched farther out into the stream and started making my way on my belly downstream. After a short distance, the water began to get deeper quickly, and the

*** Alpha Eamon's POVI mind-linked my trackers a little after sunup, telling them to give up the hunt. She was good—very good—and they weren’t even close to finding her trail. The only trace she left behind was a pile of rocks that smelled pungent of bile.I also sent a quick update to my Beta and Gamma, letting them know what I was up to. Occasionally, they’d send me updates on other goings-on, but my focus was entirely on the scene unfolding before me.It was astounding how far she had traveled on foot. We were well outside the regional kingdom now, moving south at an impressive pace. I knew that in my wolf form, I could make it back to the war pack in less than a day, but she had managed to cover this distance in such a short time without any aid. It spoke volumes about her determination and resilience.The she-wolf sat beneath a Pinus strobus, facing the trunk in a submissive prayer pose. I watched her closely, noticing a faint ripple across her neck, and then, slowly, a growl beg

*** AlphaWatcher's POVI sit in my study, the distant hum of the city filtering through the open window. The soft glow of the screen reflects off my face, illuminating the room with a faint, steady light. My fingers hover above the keyboard, the weight of my next message heavy with significance. This isn’t about dominance, at least not in the way most understand it. I am a Guide, and that distinction matters, even if I do demand obedience.My mind is sharp, calculating. I haven’t seen enough of Liliana to fully understand her yet, but the way she approached writing that ad suggests she’s new to this dynamic. There’s potential there—potential that needs to be nurtured, not controlled.I type the first message, my words deliberate.……… >> AlphaWatcher: “It’s important you understand the difference between what one might expect and what I offer. My role is to Guide you. You, as the Follower, will learn to trust in that guidance, to find strength in it. This is a process.”I pause, my thou