Chapter 5 When Alphas Collide

The knock echoed again.

Slow.

Taunting.

Confident.

Aiden's body went rigid with a fury Maya could almost feel radiating from him like heat. His wolf was pushing against his skin, begging to be released.

Maya clutched his arm. "Aiden... don't open it."

He didn't look at her, but his fingers covered hers, squeezing-an unspoken promise.

"I won't let him touch you," he murmured.

Another knock.

This one sharper.

Aiden pulled her gently behind him and stepped toward the door.

Maya's heart pounded so hard she felt dizzy. She grabbed the back of his shirt without realizing it. Aiden froze for a second-softening-before his jaw tightened again.

"Lucian," Aiden called, voice low and lethal, "take one step inside this house and I'll rip your heart out."

A smooth, dark laugh drifted through the door.

"Well, well," the stranger drawled. "You must truly value this human if you're throwing threats so early."

Maya's stomach twisted.

She didn't know Lucian's face, but his voice... she would never forget it.

Men like him didn't need to be seen to be terrifying.

You could feel them.

Aiden's breathing deepened.

"Leave," he growled.

"You know I can't," Lucian replied calmly. "You've finally shown a weakness, Aiden. I came to see it for myself."

Aiden's muscles twitched violently.

He wanted to shift.

He wanted blood.

Maya tugged his shirt again. "Please don't open the door."

Aiden turned his head slightly. Not fully-just enough for her to feel his gaze settle on her.

"Maya," he whispered, gentle despite the storm inside him, "I need you to stay back. No matter what happens."

Her throat tightened.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

He let out a breath that wasn't quite human.

"Too late for that."

Another knock-harder this time-made the walls tremble.

Aiden snapped.

He grabbed the door handle, yanked it open-

-and the world changed in an instant.

Rain poured down like a curtain.

Cold wind blasted into the house.

And standing just outside the door was a man who didn't look like he belonged to earth at all.

Tall.

Sharp jaw.

Black hair slicked by rain.

Eyes pale as ice-unsettling, cruel.

Lucian Grey.

He smiled slowly when he saw Maya.

"So this is her," he murmured, voice silky and poisonous. "The little human."

Aiden moved so fast Maya didn't even see it.

One moment he was beside her-

the next, he was in front of Lucian, blocking his view completely.

"If you look at her again," Aiden growled, "I will tear your eyes from your skull."

Lucian laughed softly. "Such devotion. How touching."

Maya felt herself shaking.

Lucian's gaze slid around Aiden for a split second-just long enough to catch her eyes.

She froze.

His eyes weren't normal.

They weren't wolf.

They weren't human.

They were... hungry.

Aiden roared-actual roar-stepping closer, chest heaving.

Lucian lifted a brow. "Protective. Predictable. And foolish."

"Leave," Aiden snarled. "Before I forget the rules."

Lucian smirked. "You forget them every time you breathe."

They stared at each other, tension crackling like static, two Alphas inches from tearing the world apart.

Then Lucian's gaze shifted again-not to Maya this time, but to Aiden's chest, where dried blood still streaked his skin.

"You're injured," Lucian noted. "Weak."

A slow smile. "Easy to break."

Aiden lunged.

Maya gasped, stepping forward, panic slamming through her ribs.

Aiden's fist collided with Lucian's jaw-

Lucian staggered back with a laugh, wiping blood from his lip.

"Good," Lucian said softly. "I hoped you'd fight."

Aiden's wolf surged. Bones cracked. His shoulders broadened, muscles tearing and reforming. Not a full shift-just enough to make him monstrous.

Maya's breath caught.

She should've been terrified.

Instead... she felt something else.

Connected.

Bound.

As if her heartbeat had synced with his.

Lucian noticed.

His eyes narrowed.

"Ah," he murmured. "She feels it too."

Aiden roared and launched forward again.

Lucian dodged easily, almost amused.

"Temper, temper," he said, stepping just out of reach. "You should worry less about me and more about the others who are watching."

Maya stiffened.

Others?

Aiden froze for half a second-just long enough for Lucian to step back toward the dark forest.

"Oh, yes," Lucian said cheerfully. "You didn't think I came alone, did you?"

Aiden's chest rose and fell rapidly. "If you touch her-"

"I won't," Lucian said with an easy shrug. "Tonight is not for killing."

He smiled wickedly.

"It's for warning."

He began to walk backward, his silhouette fading into the night.

"This is only the beginning, Alpha. The moon has shifted. Fate is no longer on your side."

Aiden took a step after him-

"Aiden," Maya whispered, barely breathing, "don't go. Please."

He stopped instantly.

Lucian's smile widened. "Ah. So she is your weakness."

Aiden's jaw clenched so hard Maya thought his teeth might crack.

Lucian disappeared into the darkness.

Wind swirled.

The forest swallowed him whole.

Then silence.

Aiden shut the door slowly.

When he turned around, Maya saw it-

the turbulent fear beneath his fury.

He walked toward her slowly, chest heaving, eyes fading from gold back to silver.

"Maya..." His voice cracked-raw, vulnerable. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, throat tight. "Are you?"

He tried to speak, but emotion clawed at his voice. He lifted a trembling hand and cupped her cheek gently.

"You called me back," he whispered. "You stopped me from chasing him."

"I didn't want you to die," she murmured. "Does that make me stupid?"

Aiden shook his head slowly.

"No," he breathed.

"It makes you mine."

Her breath caught.

His forehead pressed to hers.

His body shaking from adrenaline... and something deeper.

"You're safer with me," he whispered.

"But tonight proved something."

She swallowed. "What?"

Aiden met her eyes, something dark and determined igniting in him.

"I can't leave you here anymore."

Her pulse stilled.

"Maya... you're coming with me."