The Forsaken and the Alpha

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B. E. Harmel

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1,5M

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highlight_author

B. E. Harmel

highlight_reads

1,5M

highlight_chapters

💕 Romance 🐺 Werewolves & Shifters 💘 Fated Mates 🎭 Drama 👩‍❤️‍👨 True Mate 💪🏻 Protector 🧙‍♂️ Paranormal & Fantasy 💪🏻 Alpha Males 🧛🏻 Paranormal

Chapter 1

Alice

It’s been seven years since I ran away from my pack.

Seven years since I left my family, my friends, my future.

Seven years since Joseph—my mate, my fiancé—had his throat ripped out by rogues from Lunas Mortis and was beheaded right in front of me.

Seven years since they chewed through my leg like it was raw meat and left me for dead. That the mate mark was vanished from my skin because of his death.

A werewolf can’t survive after their mate dies.

I did.

No one knows why. Sometimes I wish I didn’t either.

I healed from the wounds.

But I never healed from the guilt.

I couldn’t stay after that. Everything in the pack was soaked in memories—of Joseph, of who I used to be. So I ran.

I finished college, got a job in the city, and buried my wolf so deep I forgot what her voice even sounded like.

We don’t see wolves outside the packs, so I dated humans.

Humans were easier—until they weren’t.

It’s been a couple of months since I ended things with Raphael. He got possessive fast, couldn’t handle my boundaries, and I was done being owned.

Tonight, I agreed to meet Bethany for drinks. She’s my best friend, and we work together. Apparently, she met some incredibly hot guy at the office and wanted me to come out and meet him.

I wasn’t interested.

But I came anyway.

The moment I stepped inside the bar, I regretted the dress I wore—it was too short, too tight, and my legs were freezing.

I ran a hand through my blond waves and spotted Bethany at a high table near the back.

And that’s when it hit me.

Not her. Not the dress. Not the crowd.

The scent.

Pine. Leather. Earth. Wild.

So strong it punched through the stench of beer and fried food like it owned the place.

“Ugh, what is that smell?” I asked, wrinkling my nose as I slid onto the stool beside Bethany. “Did they start pumping cologne into the air vents?”

“What are you talking about?” Bethany laughed. “It smells like beer and heartbreak in here. You okay?”

I opened my mouth to answer—

“Brad’s getting drinks,” she added, eyes flicking toward the bar. “You’ll like him.”

Brad.

The name hit me like a warning.

My heart kicked into overdrive before I even saw him.

Bethany pointed behind me.

I turned—

And saw him.

A mountain of a man moved through the bar with two glasses in his hands and every eye following him.

He was tall.

Strong.

His black shirt stretched across his chest and arms like it could barely contain him.

His jaw was squared, beard-trimmed, dark blonde hair, and blue eyes like cold oceans—and locked directly on me.

My body went ice cold, then fire hot.

Because I knew what he was.

Brad was a wolf.

A fucking wolf.

And my wolf—dormant for seven years—snapped awake like she’d just been thrown into a full moon.

My hands clenched into fists against my thighs.

My nails bit into my palms.

Brad reached our table.

“Brad, this is my friend Alice that I told you about,” Bethany chirped.

But Brad didn’t even glance at her.

His eyes were on me.

Like he was reading my soul.

Like he recognized me.

“Nice to meet you, Alice,” he said, his voice low and rough. He held out his hand.

I shouldn’t have taken it.

But I did.

The moment our skin touched, my body went nova.

Fireworks. Lightning.

Every nerve ending lit up—and the heat pulsed straight between my legs.

Goddess help me.

My panties were soaked. I was so wet I could feel it sliding down my thighs.

Brad inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring.

I yanked my hand back like it had burned me.

“You okay?” Bethany asked, staring at me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I—I just need the bathroom.”

I didn’t wait for her response. I fled.

I slammed the door to the bar’s tiny restroom.

My hands gripped the edge of the sink.

My reflection stared back—face flushed, blue eyes wide, lips trembling.

And then—

My pupils shimmered gold.

Bright. Wild.

My wolf was at the surface.

I hadn’t felt her in years.

I’d buried her. Silenced her. Pretended she didn’t exist.

But one scent… one man… one touch…

Had shattered all of that.

She was trying to get out.

But I couldn’t let her out.

My wolf was proof that everything I’d built in the human world was a lie—just a mask to pretend my past didn’t exist.

Because remembering… remembering hurt.

It hurt like hell.

The bathroom door creaked open behind me.

I gasped, startled. My heart slammed against my ribs.

I spun, ready to duck into a stall—

Then I heard the click of the lock.

And the scent of pine filled the room like a crashing wave.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” I hissed, eyes narrowing.

Brad stepped inside, slow and calm. Like he had all the time in the world. Like he belonged here.

His reflection joined mine in the mirror—tall, broad, composed. Every line of his body screamed control. Power.

“Control your wolf,” he said, voice low.

Not a suggestion. An order.

My jaw clenched. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I have her under control,” I snapped, even though I already knew I was lying.

“That’s not what it looks like.”

He inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. “What did you do?”

“What did I do?” I barked out a laugh. “Nothing. I didn’t do anything—except walk into a bar and smell you.”

I lowered my gaze, breath shallow.

“I haven’t seen another wolf since I left my pack. Seven years.”

My voice cracked.

“She’s been buried. Caged. I didn’t even realize how deep… until now.”

I looked up again, locking eyes with him.

“This won’t happen again,” I lied. “I can handle it.”

He stared, brow furrowing. “Seven years without shifting? Without running?”

“Yes.”

Something shifted in his expression—less anger, more disbelief.

“That’s not just dangerous,” he said. “That’s unnatural.”

I bristled. “Why do you care?”

“Because your wolf isn’t just angry, Alice. She’s starving.”

He took a step forward, heat radiating off him.

“And mine can smell it.”

I swallowed hard. His words hit something deep in me—something raw and shameful.

“So you work with humans. Live like them,” he murmured. “But you are not a human, and haven’t been touched by a wolf in seven years…”

His voice dipped lower, turned liquid. “No wonder your instincts are on fire.”

My skin prickled. I took a step back and hit the sink. He followed, slow and measured.

“You need to sort this out.”

“You don’t know me,” I said. “You don’t get to tell me what I need.”

He didn’t argue.

Instead, he reached out—gentle, intentional—and turned me to face him.

His presence pressed against mine, a solid wall of heat and tension.

My heart hammered. My legs wobbled.

He didn’t touch me again. He just looked.

“I see,” he murmured.

I didn’t know what he saw—but I felt like I’d been seen. Like no one had looked at me in seven years and suddenly someone finally had.

Then he knelt.

“Brad…” My breath caught. “What are you—”

His fingers circled my ankle. Then his nose skimmed up the inside of my calf, deliberate and slow.

My wolf surged against my skin.

“Smell,” he said, inhaling. “You’re soaked.”

I gasped, hands gripping the edge of the sink. I couldn’t hide it. Not from him. Not from myself.

His tongue flicked once, hot against my inner thigh. Just a taste. Just enough to make my knees buckle.

Brad rose, his eyes blazing.

One hand slid to my waist. The other pressed gently between my thighs, over my soaked panties.

He didn’t move. Just… held.

His voice dropped to a whisper.

“This isn’t just arousal. This is instinct. Your wolf wants out. You think it’s about sex, but it’s not. Not only.”

His fingers curled slightly.

“You feel that?”

“You’ve been denying her for so long, she doesn’t know where to put this hunger. You’re reacting to me because I’m a wolf. Because I’m dominant. Because I’m real.”

I could barely breathe.

“I can help you,” he whispered, lips brushing my ear.

A pause. A heartbeat.

“If you ask nicely. Say please.”

“You’re so damn presumptuous,” I snapped, dragging in a breath and trying to stitch myself back together.

I turned back to the mirror, smoothing my hair with shaky fingers.

“What are you even doing here in the human city?”

Brad stepped beside me, not crowding—but close enough to feel.

“I’m just in town for business. I’ll be back with my pack soon.”

His voice dropped.

“But a wolf can’t stay away from their pack for long. You’ll understand why… soon.”

Then he turned, unlocked the door, and walked out like nothing had happened.

I stayed behind, staring at my reflection—flushed cheeks, glowing eyes, trembling lips. My neck clear, with no mate mark, because mine was gone years ago.

My wolf growled softly in my chest.

Run, she whispered.

Run and let me out.

I stayed behind, staring at my reflection—flushed cheeks, glowing eyes, trembling lips.

I cleaned myself up, forced a few deep breaths, and finally rejoined the others.

Brad sat at the table like nothing had happened. But his eyes never stopped tracking me. Like he was memorizing every breath I took.

“Got you that margarita,” Bethany said, sliding a glass toward me.

I reached out—my hand trembling slightly.

Brad’s gaze dropped to my fingers. His eyes narrowed.

“Is that the Hill family ring?”

My heart froze.

I looked at the ring—gold, with two rubies and the family crest. I hadn’t taken it off, even after I left the pack.