Chapter 3 The Pull Of Power

• The sleek black car purrs to a stop just beyond the training field. The moment it arrives, tension coils through the pack like a snake waking from slumber. People murmur, shift uneasily. The older warriors stiffen. The pups run to their mothers.
• Then he steps out.
• And the world stops.
• Tall. Unmoving. Dressed in black like he’s come to bury us.
• He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t smile. Just lets his blood-red eyes glide over the crowd like he owns the air we breathe.
• Alpha Kieran Danes.
• The man who conquered kingdoms, broke bloodlines, and made Alphas kneel.
• Now he’s here. And Arrow Heart Pack… is his.
• I shouldn’t look at him. Omegas aren’t allowed to stare.
• But something in me—deep and unfamiliar—defies reason. A pull. An ache. My wolf, Mia, stirs so suddenly I nearly stumble. She hasn’t made a sound in ten years, and now her presence feels like a hurricane trapped in my chest.
• “Him…” she breathes. “He’s the one.”
• No. I can’t. I won’t.
• I rip my gaze away, heart pounding. Whatever that was, I don’t want it.
• I retreat to the hallway near the conference room, where no one pays attention to shadows like me. I need space to breathe. To think. To forget those eyes.
• But fate never lets me breathe for long.
• The door slams open.
• I jump up, head down, ready to move. But I move too fast—
• And crash into someone solid.
• A hand grabs my arm like iron, steadying me before I fall.
• Then the world tilts.
• It’s him.
• The Alpha.
• His skin is fire against mine. His grip tightens just enough to remind me he could snap my bones if he wanted.
• His eyes lock on mine, and something violently ancient pulls between us. Not soft. Not sweet.
• Raw. Primal. Dangerous.
• “Who are you?” he growls—low and confused, like his instincts are shouting at him.
• My throat closes.
• Before I can speak, a sharp crack shatters the moment.
• A hand slaps across my cheek, hard enough to spin my head.
• Lily.
• Of course.
• “Don’t touch her,” she snaps, stepping in front of him, her voice sugary and sharp like a poisoned blade. “She’s just the help. Stupid little omega doesn’t know her place.”
• My cheek stings. My fists clench. But I don’t bow. Not this time.
• For the first time in years, I stand my ground—even as the heat of Kieran’s gaze sears through me like wildfire.
• His eyes narrow. He says nothing. But he doesn’t look away.
• Not even as I slip out of the hallway, back straight, trembling from the inside out.
• He felt it.
• I know he did.
• And worse…
• So did I.
• Two Days Later
• The whispers haven’t stopped.
• “She flinched like he was going to mark her.”
• “I bet she’ll beg to be his whore next.”
• “She should thank Luna Lily for saving her.”
• Let them talk. I’ve endured worse than gossip.
• But Kieran hasn’t left.
• He’s still here. And the longer he stays, the more I feel my world tilt off balance.
• Today, the pack gathers to witness what we all knew was coming.
• A duel. One Alpha against another.
• A show of dominance.
• I stay in the back, where omegas belong.
• Until he steps into the arena.
• Alpha Kieran doesn’t posture. Doesn’t roar. His presence alone sends the warriors to silence.
• He’s dressed for war—black vest, combat pants, bare arms inked with symbols I can’t read. But it’s his stillness that chills me.
• He doesn’t look like a man about to fight.
• He looks like a man about to execute.
• Alpha Alex stands opposite him, pale, sweating. Already broken.
• The rules are announced: no shifting, no magic, first to submit loses. If Alex loses, the pack bends the knee. Permanently.
• The fight doesn’t last a minute.
• Kieran dodges every strike like it’s beneath him. Then he moves—one hit to the ribs, a twist, and Alex is flat on the mat, wheezing under his boot.
• “I submit!” Alex gasps.
• Kieran doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink.
• He leans down, cold fury behind his eyes. “You’re lucky I need your allegiance more than I want your blood.”
• The crowd stays dead silent.
• Because it’s done.
• We belong to him now.
• I slip into the kitchen to avoid the victory celebration. I just want quiet. But as I pass the storage room, I hear voices.
• Low. Heated.
• “We can’t let him get too close,” Lily hisses. “Especially with her still alive.”
• My blood runs cold.
• “Don’t remind me,” Alex growls. “I killed the Alpha for this pack. I buried her whole damn family. If that girl remembers anything—”
• He stops. A sound—bone cracking.
• My knees weaken.
• It was him.
• He murdered my parents. He destroyed my brother. He left me for dead.
• My breath catches. My chest starts to glow faintly—barely visible, but real.
• Then I feel it.
• Not just power.
• Awakening.
• Panic claws through me.
• And then—
• He appears.
• Kieran. At the doorway. Watching. Sensing.
• He stares at the light flickering from my skin. His expression darkens—but it isn’t anger.
• It’s recognition.
• “Your power…” he murmurs.
• I back away, heart hammering.
• But it’s too late.
• He saw.
• And now everything is about to change.