Meeting The Alpha.

Ophelia's POV 

I barely kept my balance as I stumbled out of the hotel's elevator into the freezing night.

Snow hit my face, sharp and unforgiving, melting against my skin and mixing with the fresh and dried tears already streaking down my cheeks.

I collapsed into the driver's seat and caught myself with trembling hands before pulling the door shut. My chest burned with a pain so fierce it felt as though Amare was clawing against my ribs.

I didn't even remember the drive. All I could hear was Morris's voice—cold, detached, and merciless.

"Morgana is the woman I love. She's elegant… refined… the kind of woman people admire.”

In the span of five hours, I had gone from fixing my hair for our fifth wedding anniversary, smiling at my reflection like a fool and convincing myself tonight would save us, to leaving the hotel in tears and humiliation on Christmas Eve.

My fingers locked around the steering wheel while my mind drowned beneath waves of pain and disbelief. 

By the time I finally pulled to a stop, I didn’t even realize where I was. I stepped out slowly, looked around, and my heart sank.

I was at the abandoned lake house, the same place where everything had begun five years ago.

I had just turned eighteen when Morgana dragged me to the abandoned lake house for my birthday. We stole a cake from the pack kitchens and laughed like fools beneath the moonlight. Then a scent crashed into me—cedar smoke, and rain. 

Moments later, Morris walked through the door. 

Morgana had seen him too, but I didn't grasp the knowing look they both exchanged when they thought I wasn't looking.

Goddess, I was so stupid.

Not long after Morris and I mated, the Council outlawed rejecting a fated mate for another wolf without just cause was a crime punishable by the Council.

I never knew Morris had loved Morgana long before me. Rejecting me would have broken pack law, so they used me instead. 

I clenched my fists as the truth settled deeper inside me.

"Stop right there!”

I froze instinctively, my heart lurching as fear snapped me back into reality.

Before I could turn, heavy boots crunched around me, then three men appeared out of nowhere. One of them held a silver-lined weapon aimed directly at me. 

The dim border lights cast long shadows across the snow, making the scene even more intimidating. 

Reality crashed over me at that point realizing they were border guards, while panic flooded me as one of them tightened his grip on his weapon.

“What are you doing out here all alone?” he asked, suspicion hardening in his voice.

"I—I don't know," I stammered.

"I was just walking. I didn't realize how far I'd come.”

Another guard glanced toward the darkness behind me before returning his attention to me. “Do you know where you are?”

I looked back, and my stomach dropped.

The river lay ahead of me, barely visible beneath the snow. Below it stood the border markers, and in that instant, realization flooded through me, chasing away the numbness that had consumed me earlier.

“I just realize that now,” I whispered, nodding my head. “Please. I did not mean to cross. I swear I did not.”

Fear wrapped around me completely as my hands trembled so badly I had to press them against my thighs to steady them.

“This is restricted land,” the first guard said, his tone no longer questioning. “You’ve just crossed the pack border.”

"I swear... I didn't know I had reached the restricted area.” I said quickly, desperation clawing up my throat. “I was so lost in thought. Please, I will go back right now.”

One of them exhaled slowly, like he had heard this excuse too many times. 

“Everyone knows the rule, Omega.”

Shame burned through me at the dismissive edge in his voice.

“Please,” I begged, my voice breaking despite my effort to stay calm. “I am a citizen of Stormridge pack. I am not a threat. I just—please.”

“Ma’am,” the guard said, already reaching for his weapon, “you broke pack law, so you have to come with us.”

The soft click of him uncorking the weapon made my chest tighten out of fear. I took a small step back without thinking until a voice echoed.

“Enough!”

The command rolled through the night with unmistakable Alpha authority. Every instinct inside me reacted at once.

Even the man holding the silver weapon lowered it immediately, and all three of them bowed their heads and said in unison,

“Alpha.”

I hadn't seen him yet, but his presence pressed against my senses like a physical force.

Slow footsteps approached across the snow. I lifted my head as a tall man stepped into the border light. 

He wore a black jacket and dark pants, with a hat pulled low enough that I couldn't see his face, but I felt his gaze settle on me—heavy, unwavering, impossible to escape.

The scent of warm cinnamon, calming lavender, and something uniquely Alpha drifted toward me.

Amare immediately went still, while my knees buckled and before I could stop myself, I sank into the snow as Amare bowed to the Alpha's dominance, even while my human side fought the humiliation.

“Please,” I said quickly, my voice rough from crying. "I didn't mean to break pack law.”

“I swear I’ll go back right now.”

For a moment, no one spoke. 

When he finally spoke, his voice was low, calm, and impossible to ignore.

“Who are you?”