Alpha of her Heart

CHAPTER 18

ONE NIGHT, the storm rolled in without warning. One moment, the sky above the ground was pale gray, and the next, it cracked open with a deafening roar. Thunder boomed across the mountain like a war drum, shaking the walls of the mansion and the ground. Lightning split the horizon in jagged streaks of white, and then the rain came, hammering the roof, drowning the world outside in chaos.

Seris stood frozen by the window. She was draped with a blanket and hugging herself, tightening every thunderclap. She hated storms as far as she remembers. They reminded her too much of the nights when the Poison Witch came for her, the sound of chains, the smell of damp stone and blood in her dress.

“Cassian…”

She was about to turn around to go to Cassian, but she remembered that he wasn’t in the mansion. She didn’t know where he had gone, only that he had left after speaking to Noah in the living room.

Cassian didn’t say if he’d be back tonight. But Seris was hoping he would be back. The silence of his absence weighed on her as the storm screamed outside.

For some reason, Seris realized that she had already become comfortable with Cassian, and sometimes, she looked for him. Even if they don’t talk much because she doesn’t have much to say, Cassian’s presence was already enough.

A shudder ran through her when another thunderbolt cracked into the sky. Instinct drove her from the window and down the hall towards his room. Her bare feet sank into the soft rug as she pushed the door open. She felt like Cassian was his salvation. And when she entered Cassian’s room, it smelled like him.

The scent felt like it was wrapped around her like invisible arms.

Seris shut the door. And without thinking, Seris crossed the room and climbed into the bed—Cassian’s bed. Her fingers gripped the heavy quilt as she pulled it over her trembling frame. The fabric was warm, but more than that—it smelled like Cassian, and that made her calm.

She curled onto her side, clutching the edge of the quilt like a lifeline.

The storm still raged beyond the walls, thunder bellowing, but the pounding in her chest began to steady.

And in that fragile state, Seris let her eyes close, knowing that if he walked in now and saw her like this, she wouldn’t even care because the truth she had found so hard to ignore was becoming undeniable.

She needed him.

AFTER A FEW HOURS, the thunder and lightning had stopped, and only the heavy rain was pouring. But the mansion was in chaos as everyone thought Seris was gone.

As soon as Alpha Cassian arrived and entered the mansion, drenched from the storm, his Beta, Noah, was already waiting with a grim face.

“Alpha,” Noah began with his voice, uneasy, “we can’t find the Luna.”

Cassian stilled. “What did you say?” he asked as his ash-gray eyes hardened.

“Alpha,” Noah swallowed, lowering his head slightly, “we guarded the entrance and exit of the mansion. The mansion was surrounded by our pack warriors. Every path is covered. There’s no way we can let the Luna escape,” he explained.

Cassian growled as his jaw clenched, and his fangs ached to pierce something. “Then where the hell is she, Noah?” he asked, his voice carrying the weight of an Alpha command. “I told you to keep an eye on her. Even if she runs away, just follow her.”

Before Noah could answer, footsteps echoed through the hall. Isla and the maids came into the living room with their faces pale with anxiety.

Isla was nervous. “Alpha, we had searched the entire mansion. Every hallway, every corner, every room, but we didn’t see the Luna.”

Cassian’s heart pounded. His wolf was clawing at the surface, restless and enraged. “What?” he snarled. “You search everywhere?”

Isla hesitated as she looked at her brother. “We did search all the corners of the mansion except for…”

Cassian’s head snapped toward Isla. “What?” his tone dropped, but contained a storm in a single word.

“Except for…” Isla swallowed hard, then whispered, “Your room, Alpha.”

Cassian’s heart pounded. Elena put a restriction on his room—a powerful barrier to contain his silver poison and suppress any trace of scent inside. No one would be able to smell who or what was beyond the door, not even him.

He quickly strode down the hall until he reached his own room. His hand slammed against the door, and with one push, it swung open,

And there she was.

Seris.

Sleeping in his bed, wrapped in his dark quilt. Her breathing was soft and steady, as if she was really comfortable in his room—completely oblivious to the chaos she had caused outside this room. Seeing his mate inside his room eased something wide inside him.

He thought that his mate had really left him.

Cassian smiled and, for a moment, he just stood there, taking in the sight. Behind him, the others hovered in the hallway, holding their breath and afraid to speak.

He turned his head slightly. “You’re dismissed,” he said. His voice was low, yet it carried absolute command.

Noah immediately backed off and gestured to the others to leave. Then he closed the door.

Cassian stood at the edge of the bed for a moment, looking at his mate. Seris’s scent is now mixed into the scent in his room, making him think something wild, but he discarded that thought as it was inappropriate.

His chest tightened with a fierce, unspoken truth, and he hoped he was right… that Seris thought she felt safe with him.

Slowly, Cassian approached his mate until he stood right beside her. He brushed a stray of hair from her face, his fingers barely grazing her skin.

Then he murmured to himself, softly, that only the air could hear. “Mine.”

Cassian removed his wet shirt, and his muscles tautened under the dim light. He sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to wake Seris, but the moment he breathed in, her scent slammed into him like a tidal wave. It was sweet. Intoxicating and wild. His wolf howled inside his chest, clawing, desperate to claim what was his.

His fangs grew, and his eyes settled on Seris’s neck—on the part where his mark would lie. Her veins were popping out, and he was attracted to sink his teeth into her.

He clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened. He could feel the bond pulling together. Every instinct of his was screaming to touch her, kiss her, and pull her against him. He just realized that the full moon was coming; that’s why his urge was becoming stronger now.

“Seris, you looked peaceful right now,” he murmured.

His hand hovered above her hair.

‘One touch won’t hurt.’ His inner wolf said.

But Cassian gritted his teeth and drew his hand back, sinking into the mattress with a deep exhale. His chest burned from restraint, his veins thrumming with need.

Cassian looked at his mate until he couldn’t control himself anymore. He dipped down, inhaling her scent through her hair. He closed his eyes as he wanted to go lower, but he stopped himself and forced himself away.

He just sat there and waited for Seris to wake up.

Later, Seris woke up as the rain outside began to soften. Her lashes fluttered open slowly, and the dim glow of the lamp revealed a familiar silhouette seated at the edge of the bed.

Her heart skipped.

“Cassian?”

Cassian turned his head slightly.

“You’re here,” Seris whispered.

Cassian nodded his head. “Just go back to sleep,” he said, his tone was low and steady, but there was something in his eyes, something that he couldn’t hide, and that was his desire for his mate. But he was not worried that Seris would notice it. After all, Seris was not aware of the intimacy between man and woman.

Seris shifted under her quilt, her fingers clutching the fabric when she saw Cassian standing.

“Don’t leave me,” Seris said, almost begging.

Cassian stilled for a moment. Then his lips curved faintly. He looked at Seris. “I won’t leave you,” he whispered. His words felt like a vow that it was like an oath carved into the stone.

Seris hesitated, then she lifted the quilt slightly. “Then stay. Please.” Her voice was soft, a whisper of vulnerability that pierced straight through Cassian.

Cassian gulped, controlling himself, maintaining his smile. “You want me to lie down beside you?” he asked for assurance.

Seris nodded her head.

Cassian smiled. He slid onto the bed beside her.

Seris curled closer without thinking, resting her head against his shoulder. “Better,” she whispered, eyes already closing again.

Cassian didn’t speak. He just looked at his mate, who was beside her. These past few days, Seris had not distanced herself from him anymore, which made him happy. But the bond between them was thrumming like wildfire under his skin. His arms hovered over her, then he let them settle around Seris, pulling her gently against him as if she were something fragile and precious.

And in the quiet storm of that night, he swore silently to himself, “I will never let you go, Seris.”