Chapter 7: Alpha Lula.

(Haisley’s point of view)

The voice was sharp, commanding yet undeniably feminine. I froze in place, my back still pressed against the chamber door as a chill ran down my spine.

I turned slowly towards the source of the voice, catching my breath as my eyes met her—Alpha Lula, the current and reigning she-Alpha of the Gemstone pack.

I watched her, and she watched me—her emerald-green eyes were just as familiar and piercing as her brother’s, but where his carried some sort of mischievous warmth in them, hers was cold and calculating, always watching and scrutinizing.

Like a blade honed to perfection.

“A-alpha,” I stammered out, finally finding my voice.

She smiled, stretching her hands further apart. She was leaning ever so casually against the bedpost, her arms crossed, and an arched brow raised in amusement. Her silver hair, which was normally loose, was tied into a rough bun, giving it a soft glow under the moonlight, blending perfectly. She was clad in an elegant yet practical black robe.

“You’re late, Haisley!” She spoke, her voice carrying over the room.

I bowed immediately, my eyes facing my feet as they berated me. “I-I’m so sorry, alpha. I ran out of time and got intercepted—“

“By my brother, I guess,” she caught me off, causing me to nod.

“Yes, Alpha.”

There was silence in the chamber as I felt her eyes ever so watching, piercing me deeper than any claws could ever dig. I stilled my breath, trying to appear calm, despite the turmoil I felt within.

“You know how much I hate lateness. It is almost time to rest, and I have yet to take a bath. What do you say, slave?” Her voice came out sharper than I thought it to be. Her presence filled the room like a storm waiting to strike.

I kept quiet, unable to utter a single word.

“Lost your tongue, Haisley?” she asked, her voice smooth, but with an edge that demanded respect.

I tried to swallow against my patched throat, hoping I could mask the unease that threatened to spill over.

I took a deep breath, straightened my posture. “My apologies for the inconvenience, I’ll get your bath ready,” I made a move to prepare her hot path, but she stopped with a raised hand.

“Wait,” she said, as she scrutinized me with a narrowed gaze, staring at me from head to toe as if sizing me up, as if studying a predator. “You’ve been acting…quite peculiar tonight. Care to explain?”

I shook my head in refusal, keeping my gaze averted and never daring to meet hers. “It’s nothing, Alpha. Just a long day.”

“Liar,” she said, her voice cutting through the air like a whip. It wasn’t a question.

I flinched from the harshness of her voice, the small defense I had managed to build crumbling under her scrutiny. How could both siblings see through me so easily?

It’s like they have radio eyes.

Suddenly, she stood up from her bed and came closer, her movements graceful and as fluid as they were deliberate. “What do you think of me, Haisley? Do you think I’m blind?”

“That I can’t see the cracks in that barely covered and fragile mask of yours?”

I shook, clenching my fist as my nails dug into my palms. “With all due respect, Alpha, my thoughts and feelings are my own. They do not concern the pack.”

I heard her chuckle, a low humorless sound, but for some reason, hers seemed to lack humor. “You misunderstand. Dear Haisley. And you forget my position. Everything within my pack concerns me. That includes you.”

“You are my property.”

Her words sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn’t a threat, but it wasn’t a kindness either.

“I know not what you speak of,” I replied, trying to regain control and dominance over the conversation.

I raised my head just in time to see her head tilted to the side, her silver hair catching the small moonlight that entered through the window. “Don’t you? Then let’s make this simple, shall we?”

“My brother has taken an…interest in you. Weird as that might be. That alone is enough to put you under my watch.”

I gritted my teeth, feeling my wolf stir inside of me. Control yourself, Haisley. She saved your life.

“With all due respect,” I began, my voice low, “I didn’t ask for his attention. Nor do I want it. I want nothing to do with it,”

“But yet you have it,” Alpha Lula countered smoothly. “And that makes you either a potential asset—“she paused as if wanting the tension of her words to sink deep. “Or a liability.” The coldness in her tone made my stomach churn. I knew better than to argue further.

She stepped closer to me, her face barely an inch away from mine. “You’re a mystery to even me, though you’ve stayed in my pack for two months. Why is that, Haisley? What secrets are you hiding?”

I shook my head, my voice trembling slightly. “I’m not hiding anything.”

She smirked. “You are a terrible liar.”

I wanted to be out of this. I wanted none of this, to be trapped, caught between the two alphas who seemed to see right through me like I was an open book.

“As your alpha, I command you to tell me the truth. What is it about your past that you keep hiding?”

I felt her compulsion sink deep, wanting me to submit to her words, but I held on.

Lula turned abruptly, her robe swirling around her as she moved toward the window. She looked over the pack grounds, the evening air blowing her hair like a fiery flame, her back to me. “I don’t trust you, Haisley. But my brother does, for some unfathomable reason. So, for now, you’ll remain under my protection.”

I blinked, surprised by her words. “Protection?”

“Yes. Don’t mistake it as a favor from me. If you ever prove to be a threat—to him or this pack—then I shall remove you myself. Do you understand me?” She said, turning her head slightly towards me, just enough for me to catch the edge of her sharp profile.