Bella's POV
The next morning I woke to the sound of metal on metal—clang, pause, clang again. The noise came from outside, a rhythm steady as a heartbeat.
For a moment I forgot where I was. The ceiling above me wasn't mine; the bed was too wide, the sheets too clean. Then memory rushed back—the woods, the claws, those impossible eyes.
My stomach twisted. The door was still locked.
I pulled at the handle anyway, knowing it was useless. The echo of the clang outside filled the silence that followed. Curiosity—or maybe desperation—pushed me toward the window.
Below, in the open yard, the so-called Alpha was training.
He moved like a blade, fast and controlled, bare-chested, skin slick with sweat. Each strike of his arm sent a wooden dummy cracking in two. He didn't look human.
For a second he glanced up. Our eyes met.
The air seemed to tighten. Then he turned away, expression unreadable, and barked an order at someone nearby. The clang started again.
---
Alpha's POV
The phone call from the night before still burned in my head. Lorenzo's voice, those few words—enough to shift everything.
I couldn't let anyone sense the crack it left inside me, least of all her.
So I drowned it in movement. Every strike, every blow, every command was meant to erase the sound of her voice screaming in the woods, erase the memory of how fragile she'd looked asleep.
Philip hovered at the edge of the field. "Alpha, she's awake."
"I know," I said. My tone came out harsher than I meant. "Make sure she eats. Then bring her to me."
He hesitated. "Should I—"
"Do as I said."
When he left, I pressed my fists against my knees, forcing the wolf inside me to quiet. She didn't deserve the anger that was boiling in me, but I couldn't let her see anything else.
---
Bella's POV
Two guards brought me to him after breakfast.
The place they led me to looked like an outdoor training ground—a wide circle of packed dirt surrounded by trees.
He stood there waiting, eyes cold as stone.
"Since you're here," he said, tossing a wooden staff at my feet, "you'll learn how to defend yourself. This isn't a request."
I stared at the stick. "Why? So I can fight my way out of here?"
A faint smirk touched his lips. "So you don't die before you understand why you're still breathing."
I wanted to throw the staff back at him, but something in his voice made me grip it tighter instead.
"Show me your stance," he ordered.
"I don't even—"
"Show me."
I planted my feet the way I'd seen people do in movies. He circled me once, then with a single movement knocked the staff from my hand.
"Pathetic," he said.
Anger flared up in me. "Maybe I don't want to learn your stupid games!"
He moved closer, his breath grazing my ear. "Then you'll never survive me."
My pulse stuttered. He stepped back, mask of indifference snapping into place again.
"Pick it up. Start again."
---
Alpha's POV
I watched her grip the staff again, her knuckles white, her jaw set in defiance.
The wolf in me stirred—half pride, half ache.
Every time I snapped at her, the guilt twisted deeper. She didn't know what Lorenzo wanted. She couldn't.
The only way to keep her safe was to make her hate me.
"Focus," I said, masking the strain in my voice. "Your stance. Lower."
She mimicked my movements, clumsy but determined.
When the sun began to sink, she dropped the staff, sweat streaking her temple.
"Enough," I said. "Go back to your room."
She hesitated, searching my face for something—mercy maybe, or meaning—but I gave her nothing. She turned and left without a word.
Only when she was gone did I let out the breath I'd been holding.
The mask slipped for a moment.
My hands trembled. My chest burned with a regret I couldn't afford to feel.
Because the voice on the other end of that call had promised one thing—if I failed to harden her, to make her strong—he would take her hiself
Bella's POV
The first week felt like a nightmare I couldn't wake from.
Every morning a guard would appear at my door before sunrise. "Training," he'd say, no expression, no choice.
They marched me to the field where the Alpha waited, arms crossed, eyes colder than the dawn.
He never said good morning.
Just, "Run."
So I ran—through mud, through breath that burned my lungs—until I fell.
"Again," he said.
I forced my legs to move, dirt clinging to my skin, tears mixing with sweat.
When I tripped over a rock one day and hit the ground hard, the pack warriors watching snickered.
He didn't stop them. He only said, loud enough for all to hear, "A wolf would have stayed on her feet."
Their laughter cut deeper than any wound.
I wanted to scream, to curse him, but instead I picked myself up and kept running.
---
The next morning he made me spar with one of his men.
The warrior was twice my size and clearly amused.
"Go easy on her," someone whispered.
"Don't," the Alpha replied.
I barely lasted a minute before I was on the ground again, shoulder throbbing.
He walked over, standing above me. "You're not dead. Get up."
"I can't," I gasped.
His voice turned sharp. "Then die lying down."
Something inside me snapped. I pushed myself up, anger driving my limbs. The next blow I swung actually landed, a weak hit but enough to surprise the man.
The Alpha's eyes flicked with something—approval maybe—but it vanished as quickly as it came.
"Better," he said, turning away.
---
Alpha's POV
Every time she hit the ground, the wolf inside me howled to help her.
Every time I made her bleed, the guilt dug deeper.
But she needed this. She needed to stop breaking at every sharp edge, because soon there'd be sharper ones.
At night I'd watch her from a distance as she sat by the fire, wrapping her own bruises, refusing to ask for help.
Each night she looked a little stronger.
Each night I hated myself a little more.
---
Bella's POV
By the end of the second week, whispers followed me wherever I went. The Alpha's pet human. The weakling.
One afternoon he called for me during the warriors' drills.
I stood there, hands clenched, trying not to show fear.
He circled me slowly. "You all see this girl?" he said to the pack. "She's slower than any of you, weaker than any of you, but she's still standing. Which means she's already better than most of you."
The words hung in the air. Half insult, half something else.
Then, almost casually, he tossed me a dagger.
"Defend yourself."
I didn't even have time to ask from what before he lunged.
I screamed and ducked, his blade grazing my arm. Gasps rippled through the crowd.
He kept coming, strikes fast but controlled, never enough to kill. My instincts took over—I dodged, parried, swung.
When I finally caught his wrist and twisted, he froze.
The warriors around us stared.
He yanked his arm free, voice low. "Not bad." Then, louder for everyone to hear, "Maybe she won't die after all."
He turned and walked away, leaving me shaking but—strangely—alive.
---
Alpha's POV
I could still feel the warmth of her hand where she'd caught my wrist.
The wolf in me was proud. The man in me was terrified.
Because strength made her visible.
And visibility would draw Lorenzo's eyes.
So I kept the mask on.
More drills. More commands. More cruelty.
But when she started standing taller under the pack's gaze, when she started meeting my eyes instead of lowering hers, I knew it was working.
And it killed me that she'd never know why.
Bella's POV
The courtyard was full that afternoon — warriors training, scouts returning, even the omegas pausing in their work. I didn't know why the Alpha had called everyone together until he strode into the center, eyes fixed on me.
"Show them what you've learned," he said.
My stomach tightened. "Right now?"
His tone cut like ice. "Now."
He tossed me a practice sword. It landed at my feet with a thud. The weight of every gaze pressed on my back. I picked it up, hands trembling.
"Fight," he said.
"With who?"
He nodded toward one of his lieutenants — a man built like stone. The laughter that rippled through the crowd stung worse than any insult.
The match lasted less than a minute. I slipped, hit the ground hard. Laughter again. When I tried to rise, the Alpha's voice snapped across the air:
"Pathetic. Even a cub has better balance."
Something in me cracked. The humiliation, the laughter, the ache of missing my father — all of it flooded in. My throat burned as I blinked back tears.
He turned away as if I weren't even worth the trouble. "Get up and clean the mud off my training ground," he said.
That did it. I stood, shaking, voice raw. "Do it yourself, Alpha."
The courtyard went silent.
His head turned slowly. "What did you say?"
"I said clean it yourself." I lifted my chin, though my hands trembled.
He stepped closer until his shadow swallowed mine. "Careful, little wolf. Defiance comes with a price."
"I've already paid enough."
The words were out before I could stop them. Gasps rose from the crowd. For a heartbeat his eyes burned into mine — something fierce, unreadable — then he moved faster than sight. The next thing I knew I was on my back again, the sword knocked away.
"Learn your place," he said, voice low enough that only I could hear. "Or I'll teach it."
He walked off without another word, leaving me sprawled in the dirt.
---
That night I couldn't stop the tears. The walls felt too small, too quiet. I pressed my face into the blanket and whispered, "Dad… I want to go home." My chest ached like something breaking.
The door creaked open. I froze.
The Alpha stood there in the dim light, no armor, no mask of command — just a man, eyes dark and uncertain.
"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice shaking.
He stepped closer, then stopped halfway. "You shouldn't talk to me that way in front of them."
"You shouldn't humiliate me in front of them."
Silence.
His jaw clenched. "You make me forget what I'm supposed to be."
I didn't know what he meant, only that for a second the distance between us vanished. His hands ran across my face and I struggled not to make a sound, coming very close to me looking me straight in the eyes our lips met ,a soft kiss at first then it turned possessive,my body shivered under his command,I began to moan endlessly, taking off my dress letting it fall to the ground but then I felt him retreat he swore under his breath, turned, and left, the door slamming behind him.
The silence that followed was louder than before. I sat there, shaking, torn between anger and something I didn't understand.
Then a soft knock came at the door.
When I opened it, Lorra — Philip's mate — stood there, eyes gentle. "I heard what happened," she said quietly. "You shouldn't have to face him alone."
And for the first time that night, I let someone hold me while I cried.
---