Chapter 2 Alpha Of Shadows

• The last time I was carried like this, it was to be thrown out.
• Now, Ronan Vale’s arms held me—not with cruelty, but with something colder. Calculated. Controlled.
• The wind whispered through the trees as he moved swiftly beneath the branches, silent as the wolf he truly was. My head rested against his chest, and I could feel the steady thrum of his heart. Not gentle. Not wild. Just steady, like it had never known fear.
• Mine, on the other hand, beat like a caged bird.
• What is he going to do with us? Mira asked, her voice still soft and unsure.
• I don’t know, I answered truthfully. But he could’ve let us die.
• Instead, he’d saved me. And now, I was being carried by the Alpha I was raised to fear more than death itself.
• I risked a glance upward. The line of Ronan’s jaw was sharp in the moonlight, his expression unreadable. His scent was complex, like smoke, cedar, and something colder beneath. Something ancient. A scent that made Mira twitch with confusion.
• He didn’t look at me as he spoke.
• “You’re injured.”
• “Nothing I can’t handle.”
• “Your ankle’s swelling. You won’t be able to shift.”
• “Are you always this observant, or am I just lucky?”
• His lip quirked almost into a smirk. But it vanished quickly.
• “I don’t believe in luck.”
• We emerged from the forest into a wide clearing, surrounded by stone buildings carved from the mountain itself. Torches burned in sconces. The air shifted. I felt eyes on us from the shadows.
• Wolves.
• Dozens of them.
• They watched us with guarded curiosity, whispering behind stone pillars and rooftops. Some stepped forward; others stepped back.
• Not one dared approach him.
• “Alpha,” a woman called from a stone archway. She wore dark armor, her blonde hair braided back from her face. “We caught a rogue scent at the border—”
• Her voice halted the moment she saw me.
• Her eyes narrowed. “What is she?”
• Ronan didn’t stop walking. “A Crescent castoff. I found her in rogue territory. She’s not a threat.”
• The woman stepped closer, lips tight. “She reeks of rejection.”
• My cheeks burned.
• “Get Niko,” Ronan ordered. “Tell him I need a healing salve and water.”
• “But Alpha—”
• “Now, Eira.”
• The woman paused, jaw tight, then nodded and vanished.
• We entered what looked like a fortress carved into the mountain itself. A place of shadows and silence. The Nightfang den.
• Ronan carried me into a private chamber. A fire flickered in a stone hearth, and the room smelled of cedarwood and clean leather. He laid me gently on a long cot covered in dark pelts.
• “You can rest here tonight.”
• “Why?” I croaked, voice hoarse. “Why are you helping me?”
• He stood tall and sharp in the firelight. His eyes studied me, unreadable.
• “You’re not what I expected,” he said finally. “You should’ve been dead by now. But you weren’t. That means something.”
• I stared at him. “I’m not a prophecy. I’m not a threat. I’m not anything, Alpha.”
• “Don’t lie to me,” he said softly. “I saw what’s inside you. Even if you don’t understand it yet.”
• Before I could answer, the door opened, and a younger man stepped in. He had tan skin, sharp features, and a satchel slung over one shoulder.
• “Niko,” Ronan said. “She needs her ankle wrapped and her ribs checked.”
• “Of course.” Niko gave me a polite nod before kneeling by my side.
• “I’m Lupita,” I whispered.
• Niko glanced at Ronan with raised brows. “She talks.”
• “I’m not mute. Just tired of being spoken for.”
• Ronan didn’t smile, but something in his expression softened just a flicker. Then he nodded once and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
• Niko worked in silence, applying a thick balm to my ankle that cooled the swelling. He wrapped it with careful hands, and when he checked my ribs, he winced.
• “You’ve got bruising and at least one cracked rib,” he said. “You’ll need rest. No shifting.”
• “That’s fine. I’m in no rush to be a wolf again.”
• He paused, eyes meeting mine. “You know, not everyone in this pack is a monster. Just most of us.”
• I smiled faintly. “I’ve been among the worst.”
• “I doubt that.”
• I didn’t argue.
• When he was finished, Niko left me with water and a warm blanket. As soon as the door closed, I sat up and stared into the fire.
• My mind was still reeling.
• Ronan Vale—Alpha of the Nightfangs. The wolf who tore rogues apart with his bare hands. The one who never took a mate, who ruled by fear and power and reputation.
• He’d carried me here like I mattered.
• But that didn’t make him safe.
• Why do I feel… drawn to him? I asked Mira.
• Because something in him calls to something in us.
• That’s not possible. The moon wouldn’t bond us twice.
• Mira was quiet for a long moment.
• What if the Moon never got it wrong? She whispered, What if the first one did?
• I curled up tighter on the cot, pulling the blanket to my chin. I didn’t want to think about Kai. About the rejection. About the way his eyes went cold as he turned his back on me.
• I didn’t want to remember what it felt like to fall—and hit the ground alone.
• So instead, I focused on the fire. On the scent of Ronan that still lingered on my skin. On the silence of the Nightfang den and the way Mira no longer whimpered inside my head.
• And I wondered just for a heartbeat. If this place, this Alpha, this darkness… might be the beginning of something new.
• Something stronger.
• Something dangerous.
• I was banished by a coward. But I had been found by a monster. And somehow, that terrified me less.