"Oh God— what the hell was that dream…"

I grabbed my phone immediately and checked the time.

Still shaking.

The dream clung to me like sweat.

The wolves.

The growling.

The pounding paws behind me.

I dragged a hand down my face and forced myself to breathe slower.

Half an hour.

I'd only slept thirty minutes.

And somehow felt worse.

I rolled onto my side again, trying to ignore the strange vibration still running through the bed.

It kept going.

Again.

Again.

My heart started climbing into my throat before I finally looked down at my leg.

The vibration came from my pocket.

Right.

I was an idiot.

I yanked the phone out quickly.

Silent mode.

Of course.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Don't say my name out loud!"

Alina's voice nearly exploded through the phone.

"Wolves. Hearing. Remember?"

"Oh— right." I immediately glanced toward the bedroom door. "Sorry."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." I lowered my voice more. "Did you make it out?"

"Yes." Relief slipped into her tone. "Everything went exactly like we planned."

Lucky her.

"What did they decide?"

I flopped back against the pillows dramatically.

"No clue. They threw me in a room and forgot I exist."

"What?" Alina sounded genuinely confused. "They brought you to Vaelor, didn't they?"

"Oh, they did."

I snorted softly.

"He looked at me once, broke a desk in half, then stormed out to go brood in the woods somewhere."

A pause.

"Yeah," Alina said quietly. "That sounds like him."

"Don't worry about it." I rolled onto my stomach. "Nobody can force you into this."

The bedroom door exploded open.

My phone vanished out of my hand instantly.

"ALINA."

Vaelor's voice cut through the room sharp and cold.

"Care to explain what exactly you think you're doing?"

"Oh, you arrogant asshole—"

The words flew out before I could stop them.

"That was private!"

I jumped off the bed immediately and reached for my phone.

Vaelor ignored me completely.

Which somehow made it worse.

"Give it back!" I snapped, trying to grab it from his hand.

Absolutely impossible.

The man was huge.

Broad chest.

Long arms.

Built like violence.

Meanwhile I was basically climbing him like an angry raccoon.

"I can do whatever I want," he said flatly.

"Oh my God, I hate you."

His head turned slowly toward me.

Yellow flickered briefly through his green eyes.

Not fully wolf.

Just enough.

My pulse stumbled hard in my chest.

Right.

Maybe provoking the giant Alpha wasn't the smartest choice.

"My Alpha," Alina cut in quickly from the phone, "I'm doing this for the pack."

Vaelor laughed once.

Cold.

"You really believe that?"

"Yes."

Her voice shook slightly now.

"If the Alpha isn't happy beside his mate, how is he supposed to lead properly?"

Vaelor's jaw tightened instantly.

"We both know we are not fated mates."

"It's pack law that matters right now," he growled.

"And that's exactly why I did what you never could."

Silence.

Heavy silence.

"You needed time," Alina whispered. "Now you have it."

"The only solution was the one already chosen."

"No." Her voice steadied again. "It wasn't."

Then softer—

"Please take care of Claire. She only wanted to help me."

"ALINA." Vaelor's voice cracked through the room. "Do not hang up on me."

"Good luck."

The call disconnected immediately.

Vaelor stared at the phone in disbelief.

"She hung up."

Honestly?

That part was a little funny.

"Maybe because this whole thing is insane," I muttered.

Vaelor turned slowly toward me.

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Hotter.

Dangerous.

I crossed my arms anyway and blocked the doorway.

He looked me over once.

Messy hair.

Bare feet.

Oversized shirt.

Annoyed expression.

Something strange flickered across his face before disappearing.

"Move."

The word came out rough.

Almost animal.

I swallowed once.

Still didn't move.

"I wanted to talk to Kaelen."

"No."

My eyebrows lifted immediately.

"No?"

"Whatever you want from Kaelen, you get from me."

Vaelor leaned one shoulder against the broken doorway, studying me openly now.

His gaze dropped briefly toward my mouth.

Then lower.

Heat rushed straight into my face.

God.

This man was unbearable.

"I need something to do," I said quickly. "I'm a veterinarian. I can help around here."

"No."

"You didn't even think about it."

"I did."

I glared at him.

"You're impossible."

"You're just a guest here."

I barked out a laugh.

"A guest?" I pointed toward the locked door behind him. "You mean prisoner."

A slow smile pulled at his mouth.

Dangerous.

Infuriating.

"You're free to leave whenever you want."

We both knew that was bullshit.

"I'm not leaving until Alina's free."

The smile vanished instantly.

His expression hardened again.

"Then," he said quietly, "you remain a guest."

God.

I wanted to throw something at him.

"Before I lose my patience, Claire— go to sleep."

"Fine."

I shoved past him hard enough to hit his shoulder.

Didn't move him even a little.

Of course not.

I stormed downstairs instead, furious enough to shake.

"Arrogant asshole." I muttered while descending the porch steps too fast.

My foot slipped slightly.

I caught myself at the last second.

Great.

Now the terrifying Alpha probably thought I was an idiot too.

Worse—

my body still reacted every time he looked at me.

Which was deeply humiliating.

I clenched my jaw hard.

Fine.

If Alpha Vaelor Thorne wanted a fight—

he was getting one.