SIERRA'S POV
The footsteps grew louder and then his scent hit me. My heart stumbled in my chest.
No. Not now.
I turned, but it was too late. He was already there.
Alpha Isaak.
Even in the darkness, he looked carved from something untouchable, broad shoulders tense, jaw hard, silver eyes gleaming like a blade in the stormlight. His presence burned through the night like fire through frost.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The distance between us felt alive, thrumming with power and something darker.
Then he broke it.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His voice cut through with fury barely held in check.
My throat went dry. “Leaving.”
He took a step forward. “You think you can just walk out of my territory?”
“I’m not yours to command,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “You made that very clear last night.”
The words hung there, sharp as claws. His jaw tightened.
Lightning cracked overhead, followed by a small drizzle. For an instant, his eyes looked almost feral, his wolf pushing just beneath the surface.
“You don’t get to play the victim here, omega,” he said, his tone hard but his gaze flickering. “You think running away will fix this? That it’ll make me accept you?”
I laughed, a sound more brittle than amused. “I don't expect you to.”
His eyes darkened. “Watch your tongue.”
“No.” My voice rose, raw and unrestrained. “You don’t get to silence me anymore. You rejected me in front of the entire pack, called me unworthy. And now you follow me here to what? Remind me of my place?”
He flinched. Enough for me to see the crack behind the mask.
But then his face hardened again. “You are a curse,” he said coldly. “A trick from the Goddess meant to humiliate me. She put you in my path to test me, and I won’t fall for Her cruelty.”
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
The rain seemed to stop around us, the world narrowing to his voice.
A curse.
That was what he saw when he looked at me.
Not a woman. Not a mate. Just a punishment.
My chest burned, that invisible thread between us flaring with pain. I took a step toward him, my voice shaking. “You think so little of Her? Of fate?”
He bared his teeth, his control splintering. “Don’t speak of fate. Don’t speak of things you don’t understand.”
“I understand more than you ever will,” I shot back. “You think the Moon would bind us for nothing? You think She made a mistake just because your pride can’t bear the thought of an omega being your equal?”
His nostrils flared. “You think you’re my equal?”
“I think I was meant to be!” I shouted, the words ripping out of me before I could stop them. “But you’re too blind to see it! Too proud, too scared of what it means that the Goddess didn’t choose some perfect Luna with Alpha blood, but me.”
He growled, the sound vibrating through the air. His wolf was close now, I could feel it.
“You don’t know what it means to bear my mark,” he said, stepping closer. The rain beaded on his skin, his breath hot against the cold night air. “You don’t know what it means to carry the weight of a pack, the burden of blood. You wouldn’t survive a day in my place.”
“You would've made sure if that, wouldn't you?” I whispered, meeting his gaze.
The words landed like a strike.
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. The only sound was the storm, wind tearing through the trees, thunder rolling like the heartbeat of something ancient.
And beneath it all, the bond hummed. It pulsed between us. Every emotion he tried to bury, anger, guilt, desire, bled through.
It hurt. Gods, it hurt.
Because even now, I could feel the part of him that still wanted me.
And worse, the part of me that wanted him back.
Lightning split the sky again, throwing our faces into sharp relief. His eyes locked on mine, pupils blown wide. For an instant, the fury cracked, replaced by something hungrier, deeper.
He took another step forward. I should have moved back. I didn’t.
The air between us vibrated. My wolf stirred weakly inside me for the first time in days, her voice trembling but alive.
I swallowed hard. “Why did you come after me, Isaak?”
He didn’t answer right away. The muscles in his jaw worked, his hands flexing at his sides.
Finally, he said, “Because I can’t,” He broke off, eyes flashing as he turned his head away. “Because I can’t let you leave. Not like this.”
My chest tightened. “You mean, not with everyone knowing your Luna ran away.”
His gaze snapped back to me, sharp as a blade. “Don’t twist my words.”
“Then say what you mean,” I demanded. “If I’m a curse, if you don’t want me, then let me go.”
He didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
The silence stretched until I thought I might break from it.
Then he whispered, almost too low to hear, “I tried.”
His emotions crashed through the connection, rage, confusion, desire so fierce it burned. His wolf was howling inside him, and through that echo, I could feel my own stir in answer.
The world tilted. The rain blurred around us.
He took a step closer. Then another. Until the heat of him reached me through the storm, until I could see the rain sliding down his throat, could hear the rough hitch of his breathing.
“Stop,” I whispered. “Don’t do this.”
But he didn’t stop.
His hand came up and brushed my cheek. The touch burned. My breath caught and I leaned into it.
For one wild heartbeat, the bond roared to life, silver fire racing through my veins, every nerve alight. I felt his heart hammering through the connection, the same frantic rhythm as mine.
He leaned closer, voice rough and low. “Tell me to stop.”
I wanted to. Goddess, I wanted to. But the truth was there between us, shimmering in the rain.
“I hate you,” I whispered instead.
The distance between us vanished.
His mouth crashed against mine and for a moment, there was no rain, no border, no pack. Just him. Just us.
And then I broke away, gasping.
The connection snapped like a whip, flooding both of us with pain. He staggered back, his hand still half-raised as if he didn’t understand what he’d done.
I pressed a hand to my chest, the mark beneath my skin pulsing weakly. “I can't do this,” I choked out.
He didn’t answer. He just stood there, drenched, chest heaving, eyes wild with something I couldn’t name.
Finally, I said, “You call me a curse? Maybe you’re right. But if I am, then what are you doing here? Why are you here?”
And before he could speak, before the bond could drag me back toward him again, I turned and continued walking.
Behind me, I thought I heard his voice, maybe even my name, but I didn’t look back, because if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to keep walking.
