Elara’s feet pumped into the ground, stomping into puddles of water and splashing them up as she ran into the main house. She was soaked from head to toe,  her sneakers were probably spoiled but that was the least of her concern.

The pain in her chest and the hurt she felt was nothing compared to the ruin of her favorite pair of shoes. 

Sean has been lying to her all these while. How could he? She thought. Why did he string her along this long knowing he was going to marry another lady? And he kept her waiting this long only to break up with her in the middle of the night.

Her tears kept streaming down and she swiped them off desperately. She was crying for a man that ruined her.

How pathetic! 

Elara’s feet pleaded for her to stop, but she paid the pain no mind as she continued up the long driveway to the main house, she was almost there. She wouldn’t stop till she got there. Until she retreated into the safety of her old yet comforting bed.

Water dripped Elara’s clothes as she stopped on the front porch trying to catch her breath giving way for her tears to consume her. She allowed her tears to flow and they mixed with the rain on her face as she angrily wiped them off. These stupid tears she was shedding wouldn’t do her any good. 

Elara noticed something odd just as she stopped at the porch, the front door was ajar.

It was something unusual in the house, especially by this time of the night. The door had no reason to be open.

Pushing the door open, she made her way into the house, the light in the living room was turned off but the one in the dining hall was still on… weird.

The house was eerily quiet save for a few whimpers that sounded in a distance. Hastening her feet, she walked into the dining hall.

“Mother,” Elara called as she saw her mother lying face down on the floor next to her Father and her brother, Julian. “Anthony, what is going on? Why are you guys on the floor?” She combed back her dripping wet hair with her fingers and crouched down in front of Anthony, her Father.

“Good of you to join the party,” A thick voice from the shadows spoke, sending shivers down Elara’s spine. Her head jerked up and she squinted her eyes into the shadows. Any normal wolf would have had clear sight of who it was but being the wolfless omega she was, her sight failed her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had another family member?”

Elara opened her mouth to speak, “she is not important,” her mother blurted and she clamped her mouth shut. It was not the first time she was hearing such words and she was certain it wouldn’t be the last.

Elara shoved away her mother’s words and assumed her full height. “Who are you and what do you want with my family? Show your face, you coward.”

“Elara, shut up!” Valerie, her mother, yelled at her, her face threatening terror. “Don’t mind this silly child, she can be very stupid at times. Doing things nobody asked of her.” Valerie said to the man in the shadows.

“You cannot come into a person’s house and intimidate them, show yourself or I will be forced to harm you.” Elara clenched and unclenched her fist, she was all talk and no bite. She knew, was the man to start a fight, she would have no way to defend herself but she would rather be killed than go down without a fight.

The man in the shadow stood up from where he sat and slowly walked into the light. 

Elara gasped at the sight of him and took some steps back. She knew who he was, she had seen his face in the tabloids and the realm magazines carried news about him, news about his conversion and killings, news about his ruthlessness.

But what was he doing in her home?

“Alpha Kael,” she gaped at him. “Lo…long live the… the king.” She greeted with an awkward bow that reduced her size by half but it didn’t matter when she stood up because Kael towered over her.

Elara had never seen anyone as huge as Kael. He stood tall, his presence commanding fear and consuming all the space in the house even though the house was a big one. Maybe because he was an Alpha. His face was hard, jaw clenched so tight as he peered down at Elara as if examining her. He inched closer and Elara took a step back, they continued in that rhythm till her back was flat against the wall.

Elara swallowed thickly. “What do you want?” Kael’s orange eyes were boring holes into hers and she fought to keep her eyes on him. She had never seen eyes that color, she wanted to look away afraid she may catch something but she didn’t want to back down from the staring contest. “My family has done nothing to warrant you to travel through two kingdoms to this place.”

“What is your name?” Kael asked. Elara looked away briefly to look at her family. Valerie was glaring at her, Anthony looked at her with pity in his eyes and Julian looked like he would piss his pants.

Elara turned her eyes back to Kael, “Elara.” The name felt like velvet against Kael’s ears. It was a name he never thought he’d pronounce in his lifetime, a name that belonged to him.

“Elara.” He called.  

Elara shuddered visibly at the way her name rolled out of his tongue. She has never heard anyone pronounce her name with such softness,with care added to each letter. She wasn’t used to that and she wasn’t sure when she’d hear it again either so she closed her eyes and let the timbre of his voice soak into her soul.

 “Your parents are thieves.” He said harshly.

Her eyes flew open and she saw Kael glaring at her only now he stood in front of her family leaving alone by the wall.

“No. No, you must be mistaken.” She rushed to stand by her family. My parents aren’t thieves, look around they are wealthy as it is.”

Kael looked around and took in the large house with high ceilings. The expensive furniture in the dining room and the expensive carpeted floor. He nodded and turned to Elara.

“And how do you think they fund their pockets, Elara?  By stealing from other people. By stealing from me.” He answered for her.

“No, no, you have it all wro-” Kael raised a hand stopping Elara’s rambling.

“Seven point two million dollars, that’s what you owe me from everything you stole in the gallery, the numbers you forged and the percentage you kept to yourself, oh and let’s not forget; the items from my place you pawned.”

“Mother, Anthony, please tell me it’s a lie. You told me you don’t know this man, that you have never seen him in your life. How then is he saying you owe him? Anthony, say something.”

“Oh, for fuck sake’s, Elara keep your mouth shut and allow me to think.” Anthony snapped.

“You lied to me?” Elara’s already broken heart dropped to her ankles and shattered on the floor. “You swore you don’t know him. You swore you’d never have anything to do with him.” Fresh tears clouded Elara’s eyes as she looked between her parents. 

Her chest contracted and refused to expand. How could she deal with this? How could she handle another betrayal on the same night?

Kael held a bad reputation from when he was still a young boy, stories from his ruthless hunts made the news and travelled across kingdoms. And with Valerie and Anthony being royal workers, Elara, as a little girl, made her parents swear they’d never work for him and they promised they never would. 

“How did you think this house came to be, you dumb bitch? You live off our generosity all these years, sleep in a comfortable bed and think you can police how we make our money? You think that cloth on your back fell from the sky? Everything you have enjoyed, how do you think they came to be?”

“Enjoyed?” Elara blinked back the tears forming in her eyes as the pain from Sean’s words earlier and her Father’s words took over her senses. 

“I worked everyday in exchange for my stay in this house, you made that very clear to me. I scrubbed every inch of this house in exchange for shelter, I made food for the education and wack privileges I received, never asking for anything and you say I ‘enjoyed’ them.”

“Since you are such a hard worker, why don’t you go work off seven point two million dollars, that I am asking of you.”

“Yes,” Valerie hurriedly got up from where she laid and knelt before Kael. “Yes, she can work off the debt, Alpha Kael. She will work for everything we have taken from you, everything we owe till her hands are weak and her hair gray.”

“What?” Elara said softly, disappointment laced in her voice. “You don’t mean that. Anthony, tell her she can’t mean that.”

Anthony remained silent as he slowly turned his eyes away from her.

“Is this how you wish to pay your debt? You give her to me in exchange for your debt, you know what that means?”

“Yes.” Anthony and Valerie said in unison. 

“What you owe is far more expensive than what you have offered but I promise you I will make her work off every single dime you have taken from me and if something happens along the way, best believe I will be back for more and by then, I wouldn’t be this merciful.”

“No, no, no.” Elara rushed to her parents and crouched before them. “Please, don’t let him take me. I am sorry for yelling at you but please, don’t let him take me. I will find jobs and make sure I pay off everything you owe even if it means working till the day I die but please don’t let me go with him.”

Tears rolled down her face but neither responded to her. Valerie kept her face on the wall above Kael’s head and Anthony kept his eyes on the floor. “Mother, please.”

“From this day on,” Valerie said, her voice and face void of any emotion. “ You are a property of Alpha Kael Croft of the Amarok Hegemony and banned from this household. If you are found anywhere near this house, you will have a stake through your heart.”

Kael turned to the shadow where he formerly sat. “Take her.” Two men as huge as Kael emerged from the shadows and took Elara by her arms.

“Let me go!” She shook herself in their hold, trying to free herself. Her legs were planted firmly on the floor resisting their strength but they scooped her off the floor and carried her light weight on their shoulders, one on each side. “Mother! Please don’t let them take me. Anthony! Anthony!”

Thunder roared through the sky as the men crossed the threshold. The air thickened. 

Kael stumbled suddenly as pain rose under his ribs. A chilling breeze passed Elara’s spine. Kael stopped briefly and pressed his hand against his chest. 

For a heartbeat, their eyes locked; tension passing through them. 

And just as quickly as the feeling came, it vanished.

KAEL’s POV

Heat prickled his skin the minute he set foot inside the large house. His nose scrunched as it picked up a scent. It was familiar, like something he was accustomed to but he couldn’t seem to recognize it. Shaking his head, he shoved the scent off his mind and followed two of his men farther into the house.

He had not planned on making that journey that night but the latest information he learned at the last minute of the Bouchier couple theft, snapped at his last restraint causing him to travel through two kingdoms, through the storm down to the Bouchier resident.

And now that he was here, he vowed to make the most of it, he will make them scapegoats so that nobody would ever think of crossing him again.

“Search the whole house and drag out any living thing you see. Man, woman, baby and pets, I want all of them here at my feet.” He said in a low commanding tone. The two men nodded and began searching the house. 

A few minutes later, the men appeared with Valerie, Anthony and a sobbing Julian. The guards pushed them to their knees and shoved their faces down until they were kissing the floor.

“These are the only people we found in the house.” One of the men spoke and walked into the dark area of the living room where Kael sat. He had a low buzz cut and a slit on his left eyebrow. 

Kael nodded. “I believe you are well aware why we are having this discussion today, Valerie and Anthony Butcher.”

“Al…Alpha Croft?” Anthony spluttered as he exchanged nervous glances with his wife. 

“Hmm,” Kael hummed as he unsheathed his small knife and began examining the shiny object. “I am glad you recognize my voice, honored even, that you didn’t brush me off your mind after stealing from me.”

“We will never forget you, Alpha. Legends like you could never be forgotten.”

“Seven point two million dollars. It is a legend too, no? I’m sure you haven’t forgotten about that either.”

“Seven…seven point…we don’t seem to understand what you are talking about, Alpha.”

The guard still in the light tossed a thick document to Anthony and it fell on the carpeted floor with a muffled thud before walking into the shadows to stand with Kael and his other friend. 

Anthony grabbed the book and quickly flipped through the pages. The pages contained pictures of him and Valerie stealing from Alpha Kael’s house, pictures of their bank account history and their shady forgery at the art gallery. 

Anthony's face fell as he realized he had been caught, slowly, he passed the document to Valerie.

“I am sure that refreshed your memory well enough.” Kael’s nose twitched again. The scent was getting stronger. Leoric, his wolf, stirred awake in him and Kael clenched his jaw to keep him down. 

Why was this happening to him? He has never experienced his wolf trying to take over him, he has always been in control of Leoric. Always.

“We can explain this, Alpha Kael. We…we.” Valerie began to speak. 

The front door loudly creaked open and they all fell silent. Anthony and Valerie exchanged glances. From the dining room, the soft squelch of shoes against the tiled floor was heard.

“You have a guest by this time?” Alpha Kael asked.

“No we’re not-” A strong, intoxicating scent filled Kael’s nostrils immediately clouding his brain. His head spun wildly, making him dizzy. Kael ran his fingers over and over through his hair as he shook his head to clear his mind from the scent fogging his brain.

‘Are you okay, Alpha?’ One of the men, with full hair which he packed in a bun, asked Kael through their mind link. He was Harry, the Alpha’s Beta.

Before Kael could answer, Leoric growled restlessly trying to take over Kael’s body. Harry exchanged glances with the other man as Kael shook his head vigorously. 

He wouldn’t lose control in this house, not when he was about to exert dominance.

“Mother.” Kael raised his head to the soft voice that rang throughout the dimly lit dining room. “Anthony, what is going on? Why are you guys on the floor?” His eyes remained on her as she combed back her dripping wet hair with her fingers and crouched down in front of Anthony.

Just as the strong brain fogging scent came, it disappeared. And its place was a faint sweet scent, so faint, it could be easily missed. Kael closed his eyes and dragged in a deep breath, taking in the scent; Jasmine and roses. 

The scent  felt familiar, but save from a few seconds ago, Kael was sure he had never encountered them before. 

He had never had a cause to pick up such scents.

But why now? He thought to himself as he watched the lady interact with Anthony and Valerie. Why was the scent strong when she was far away but faint now that she is near?

‘Do you smell that?’ Kael asked Harry through their mind link.

‘Yeah. Fear, it’s pathetic. The boy is old enough to  father children yet he looks like he would shit his pants.’

Hmm, Harry doesn’t smell that.

“You cannot come into a person’s house and intimidate them, show yourself or I will be forced to harm you.” The lady’s voice pulled him out of his reverie and he turned his attention back to the issue on ground. Her voice was unusually soft but it had backbone though faint, but it was there.

Kael stood up from where he sat and cautiously walked to the lady. His eyes flickered between orange and green as his wolf sought for dominance. 

‘This is she, Kael?’ Leoric growled.

Kael took in the lady before him. This close, the scent completely vanished and she smelled like every other person he had come in contact with; weak. 

What is it with this lady? 

Her brown eyes kept their gaze on Kael’s face, not wanting to lose their supposed staring contest. Her wet hair fell loosely over the side of her face, the curls slightly visible in them. Her small nose flared and she bit her lower lip to keep her temper, no… fear, she bit her lower lip to keep her fear down.

‘Talk to her, Kael,’ Leoric said. Kael could feel his excitement as he jumped up and down in him. Excitement Kael couldn’t seem to place. ‘Ask for her name.’

“What is your name?”

“Elara.” Jasmine, roses. The name carried the scent and wafted through Kael’s senses. He felt Leoric settle down for the first time since they arrived at the house.

Kael nodded once. “Elara.” The name rolled off his tongue just as Leoric howled.

‘Mate!’