Chapter Eight: The Alpha’s Threat

Charlie lay in the middle of the clearing, her body wracked with tremors, her breaths coming out in labored, uneven pants. Every inch of her skin burned as though it were on fire, and her muscles twitched uncontrollably. She dug her fingers into the soft earth beneath her, desperately trying to find something—anything—to hold onto. The pain was unbearable, her bones shifting and snapping inside her, stretching her body in ways it had never been forced to move before.

Raven was there in her mind, her presence strong and reassuring, but even her wolf couldn’t calm the rising tide of panic that threatened to drown them both. ‘Focus,’ Raven urged, her voice tense but steady. ‘We need to stay calm. The first shift always hurts, but we’ll get through it, together.’

Charlie tried to listen, tried to hold on to Raven’s voice, but the agony was overwhelming. Another sharp crack echoed through the clearing, and she cried out, the sound escaping her lips before she could stop it. Her vision blurred, the forest around her spinning as waves of pain rolled over her.

‘Just breathe,’ Raven encouraged, though her own anxiety bled through their shared connection. ‘We are almost there, I can feel it. Just a little longer.’

But the agony didn’t stop. It felt like it never would. And then—through the haze of her pain—Charlie caught the scent of something else. Something dark and familiar.

Her head snapped up, her eyes widening with dread as she caught sight of him—Alpha Greg—standing at the edge of the clearing. The moonlight cast eerie shadows across his face, his dark eyes gleaming with malicious intent. He looked down at her, a predatory smile spreading across his lips.

“Well, well,” Alpha Greg sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. “Looks like the little wolf has finally come out to play.”

Charlie’s heart hammered in her chest, fear cutting through the pain as she struggled to process what was happening. What was he doing here? How had he found her?

He stepped closer, his smile widening as he took in the sight of her writhing on the ground. “I was wondering how much longer I’d have to wait for this moment,” he said, his tone gleeful, almost triumphant.

Another sharp snap of bone tore through her body, and Charlie whimpered involuntarily. The sound only seemed to excite Greg further. His eyes darkened, hunger etched into every line of his face. “The first shift is always the hardest,” he said, taking another step toward her. “And the most painful.”

Charlie tried to scramble backward, but her body refused to cooperate. Her limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated, her shifting form fighting against her every movement. Raven growled in the back of her mind, furious and panicked, but there was little either of them could do. They were stuck—trapped between human and wolf, their bodies in chaos.

Alpha Greg stepped forward and reached her before she could even blink. His booted foot lashed out, striking her squarely in the stomach. The impact sent her sprawling onto her back, the air rushing from her lungs in a painful gasp. She struggled to catch her breath, her head spinning as she tried to process the pain, but Greg was already on her.

He moved faster than she could react, his large frame looming over her as he straddled her hips, pinning her to the ground. His weight was crushing, suffocating, and no matter how hard Charlie tried to buck him off, she couldn’t free herself from his grasp.

“You smell delicious,” Greg growled, leaning down so close that Charlie could feel his hot breath against her neck. His scent made her stomach churn with fear and revulsion.

Raven snarled inside her head, trying desperately to claw her way to the surface, but the pain of the shift kept her locked in place. They were helpless, trapped between forms, unable to fight back. Panic surged through Charlie’s veins like wildfire, and she tried again to buck Greg off, to push him away, but it was useless.

Greg’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head with a bruising grip. He leaned down further, his nose brushing against her neck as he inhaled deeply, his lips curling into a twisted smile. “I knew taking you from that village would pay off someday,” he whispered, his voice low and menacing.

Charlie’s blood ran cold. The village… She didn’t remember anything about it, didn’t know where she had come from before Greg had found her. But the way he spoke about it now—like she was nothing more than a prize he had stolen—it made bile rise in her throat.

Another snap of bone reverberated through her body, pulling a pained whimper from her lips. Greg’s eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure as he watched her writhe beneath him, feeding off her suffering. She could feel it from the bulge that was currently pressing into her from between his legs.

“The first shift really is something special,” Greg mused, dragging his tongue along her neck. “So raw. So pure.” His lips twisted into a sneer as he pressed down harder on her wrists, the weight of him crushing her already bruised bones. His hips pressed more firmly between her legs, shoving his arousal harder against her as he rubbed himself on her.

Charlie struggled beneath him, but the pain of the shift made it impossible to fight him off. Raven was thrashing inside her mind, snarling and snapping, but she couldn’t break free. They were trapped—helpless against the vicious Alpha.

And then, with a sudden burst of violence, Alpha Greg’s hand shot out and struck her across the face. The sharp sting of the blow split her lip, blood spilling down her chin as the metallic taste filled her mouth. Charlie gasped, her vision blurring as pain and fear overwhelmed her. “Quit fighting me!” He shouts, causing spit to fly in her face.

Alpha Greg leaned back slightly, admiring his handiwork, his hand moving up to trail his fingers along her cheek. “We’re only getting started, little wolf,” he said, his voice dripping with cruel promise. His hand moved down, hovering over her throat. His fingers grazed the sensitive skin there, ready to tighten at any moment if she didn’t stop fighting him.

Charlie’s heart raced, her mind screaming with panic. She had to do something—anything—to get away. But her body was still shifting, still contorting painfully beneath his weight. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t fight. Not with him covering her so completely.

Raven’s voice echoed in her mind, filled with rage and fear. ‘We have to get out of here! We have to fight back!’

But Charlie didn’t know how. She had never been strong enough—never fast enough. And now, she was trapped beneath the Alpha who had always loomed over her life like a dark shadow, waiting for the moment to strike.

And now he had her within his grasp, with no escape in sight. She was foolish to go running off into the woods in the middle of the night. Or maybe more foolish for stopping instead of getting further away.

As Charlie’s blood dripped into the dirt, the moonlight casting eerie shadows across the clearing, she realized one terrifying truth: this was far from over.

Greg wasn’t finished with her yet, and she wasn’t sure if she would survive whatever sadistic plans he had for her.