Hiding her scent

My mouth instantly dropped open, the moment my eyes took him in.

He was leaning against a boulder, his form half-lit by the moonlight. Broad shoulders, towering height, and an aura that made the very air feel more heavier. His eyes lifted as I was dragged into the clearing, and when they locked on mine, my heart stopped.

Cold. That was the only word for them. Cold, sharp, endless, like looking into the eyes of something that wasn’t quite wolf, wasn’t quite man. Something worse.

The warriors threw me to the ground before him, and I landed hard on my knees, dirt clinging to my skin. I couldn’t look away from him, even as fear gnawed at every part of me.

The Alpha didn’t speak at first. He just stared, silent, unblinking, as though peeling me apart piece by piece with nothing but his gaze. Finally, his lips curved not into a smile, but into something far more dangerous.

“So,” he finally said, his voice deep and rough, laced with quiet menace. “A little rogue thought she could trespass into my land.” He added but every word rolled over me like a blade.

One of the warriors stepped forward, the one who had been leading them in the hunt. His chest was still rising and falling from the chase, his skin glistening faintly under the moonlight as though the bloodshed hadn’t yet cooled on his hands.

“She gave us a hard time capturing her,” he said, his tone edged with both irritation and respect. “We killed all the others, but this one—” he paused, glaring down at me, “she fought like a cornered animal. Wouldn’t stop running.”

The Alpha’s gaze lingered on me, cold and unyielding. Then, without shifting his stare, he raised one hand lazily in the air, a simple gesture, but his warriors responded instantly.

“Kill her too.”

The command struck me harder than any blow could. My chest tightened, panic clawing up my throat as claws and fangs bared around me. One of the warriors stepped forward, his lips already curling in anticipation of tearing into my flesh.

But before they could move closer, the Alpha’s hand shot up again, halting them.

“Wait.”

The single word was a growl, deep and edged with something feral. His eyes narrowed, sharpening on me as though I had offended him merely by existing. In a blur, he pushed away from the boulder and crossed the distance between us.

I barely had time to flinch before his presence was towering over me. His shadow swallowed mine whole, and the sheer pressure of him made my wolf cower inside me. My breath hitched when he crouched low, his face level with mine.

He inhaled deeply. Once. Twice. His nostrils flared, his wolf surfacing behind his gaze, gold bleeding into the icy abyss of his irises.

“Why,” he snarled, voice guttural, “Don’t you have a scent?”

The air around him rippled with power, a dangerous hum that raised every hair on my skin. His wolf was close to the surface, restless and suspicious. His head tilted, gaze burning into me like he could peel away my skin and uncover the truth beneath.

My pulse thundered. He couldn’t know. He couldn’t find out. If he discovered what I had done as a rogue, he would end me on the spot.

“I…” My voice cracked, but I bit down hard, forcing steel into my trembling throat. “I don’t know what you mean.”

His jaw tightened. A low growl rumbled from his chest, vibrating through the night like a threat made flesh. He leaned closer until his lips brushed the shell of my ear, his breath hot and wild against my skin.

“Do not lie to me, little rogue,” he whispered, deadly calm. “I will tear the truth out of you.”

My fingers curled into the dirt. I knew the truth. The medicine , I had taken it for weeks, bitter and burning down my throat, masking what little trace of a wolf I had left. It was the only thing that had kept me hidden all this time. If he found out…

I stayed silent.

His patience snapped. In a blur of motion, he grabbed my chin, forcing my face up so I was trapped under his piercing gaze. His claws pricked against my jawline, sharp enough to draw thin beads of blood.

“You think your silence protects you?” His voice dropped lower, colder. “It doesn’t. It condemns you.”

Then, louder, to his men: “Throw her in the cells.”

My stomach lurched.

The warriors obeyed instantly, seizing my arms and dragging me up despite my struggles. The Alpha rose to his full height, his eyes never leaving me, watching as though he could already taste the death he promised.

“Defy me again,” he said, voice cutting through the night like a blade, “and I will make sure your death is merciless. Slow. Unforgiving.”

My heart slammed against my ribs, fear and defiance tangling inside me as they hauled me away.

I knew one thing as the dark stone walls of the cells swallowed me whole: I was going to be tortured, regret the day I was born then later, I will be killed.

In brief it was better to be killed right now and immediately.

With that thought in my mind, I kicked, twisted, even sank my teeth into one warrior’s arm, tasting his blood. He snarled and slammed me hard against the wall, the impact knocking the air from my lungs.

“Defiant little bitch,” he spat, shaking me like a ragdoll before shoving me forward again. “The Alpha should’ve let us tear you apart out there.”

My wolf whimpered inside me, too weak to fight, but I refused to give them the satisfaction. I tried but this time, they only pushed me forcefully in the cell.

before I could gather myself, one of them pulled out a small glass vial and a syringe gleaming faintly in the torchlight. My chest went cold.

“What is that?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, laced with fear I tried to mask.

The warrior holding it grinned, cruel and unbothered. “Orders. Alpha doesn’t want you shifting. Doesn’t want you trying to claw your way out. This will make sure you stay exactly where we put you.”