Chapter 5 Alpha's Claim

Irene’s Point of View

I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly I felt someone staring at me so intensely that it made me uncomfortable. When I finally looked up, I saw one of the men in the stall looking directly at me. His presence was overwhelming, and his dark eyes felt like deep pits, intense and unyielding.

He had to be a lycan. His build was different from a werewolf’s, and I had never seen this man before.

For the first time in a week, I snapped out of my daze, my heart pounding so fast I could barely breathe. I was scared of this man. I had never encountered anyone who radiated such raw power, not even Alpha Dave, and definitely not Eugene.

Who was this man?

I looked around, desperate to avoid his gaze, but no matter how hard I tried, his eyes stayed locked on mine. It felt suffocating.

Eventually, feeling very uneasy, I thought about leaving. I reached into my pocket to grab the money for my drink, but my hand froze. Frustration hit me hard as I realized I didn’t have any money on me. I had been so out of it when I left that I didn’t think to bring any.

A grimace crossed my face as I stared at the old man at the corner, waiting for another customer.

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement, and I froze. The scary lycan was actually standing up and walking toward me.

I couldn’t help it. I stared at him, openly now. His body was massive! When he finally stopped in front of me, it felt like I was staring at a wall.

How could someone be so big? No wonder werewolves had such a hard time with them. One lycan could easily fight at least five of their kind.

I shrank back when he sat down in front of me, my body instinctively hunching as if I could make myself smaller to avoid being near him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked, my voice shaking as I cowered in my seat.

"You are Irene? The rumored Irene?" The man’s voice was dark and heavy, sending a chill down my spine as he locked eyes with me. His gaze was so intense that I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at him. Instead, I focused on his large hand resting on the table, too scared to meet his eyes.

"What rumors?" I asked in a small, timid voice, my discomfort growing with each passing second. I wanted to escape, to get away from the pressure he was putting on me, but I felt like all my courage had vanished. How could someone be so overwhelming?

"The rumors about the rejected mate of the future alpha of this pack," he said calmly, his words hitting me like a jolt, making my heart race.

"What?" My head jerked up to look at him, but the fear was too much. I quickly lowered my gaze again, unable to hold his stare. I was shocked, but I couldn’t bring myself to challenge him, not with the way he was looking at me.

"I don’t know about those rumors," I mumbled quietly, my voice barely audible.

Was he an alpha? Was he the Lycan Alpha?

"W- who are you?" Curiosity got the best of me, and I lifted my head, staring at his chin. I couldn’t meet his eyes, but I noticed the blue veins popping out on his neck and his muscles so large that I wondered if a wooden stick would even break against them if I tried.

The man didn’t answer right away. He just stared at me for a moment, his gaze intense, like he was deep in thought. After what felt like forever, he finally spoke.

"Arnold."

Arnold. The name echoed in my mind, but I couldn’t figure out where I had heard it before.

I couldn’t help but think of Alpha Dave and Luna Lorraine, waiting for their son. Eugene, who had led the pack into battle with the other leaders of the five packs, fighting against the lycans. They didn’t win, and the war ended with a peace treaty after Eugene killed the Lycan Alpha. Even after the war, Eugene was still the pride of the Hellfire pack.

But the peace treaty, signed by the next in line for the Lycan Alpha, Arnold.

He was the son of the previous Lycan Alpha, the one Eugene had killed. What did he want from me now? Revenge? Was he here because Eugene had killed his father?

"Wh-what do you want from me?" I stammered, my voice trembling with fear. Was he going to kill me?

Just then, the door to the stall opened, and a familiar scent hit me hard. I didn’t even think; my body reacted instinctively, and I turned my head toward the source of the scent.

My heart skipped a beat. There he was. Eugene.

I hadn’t seen him in a week, not since the last time we spoke in the hallway. The sight of him, so close yet so far, made my heart race uncontrollably.

"Irene," Eugene called my name, and somehow, I found it ridiculous how I still liked the way it sounded coming from him. The mate bond was so strong, but apparently not strong enough for Eugene to remain faithful to me.

"I am glad to see you here," Eugene said softly, acting like everything that happened a week ago meant nothing. Why would he smile at me like that, looking so relieved to see me again? Did he really think everything was fine between us?

I didn’t respond. I stood up from my seat, not even caring about paying for my drink. I could always find the old man later and pay him back. Right now, my mind was consumed with one thing, or rather, one person. I just needed to escape Eugene, to get away from him.

"Irene," Eugene called my name again, and the longing in his voice dug into the raw wound he had left. "Let’s talk somewhere, okay?"

Before I could even answer, Arnold, the Lycan Alpha, stood up. He casually grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side.

Standing next to him like this, I couldn’t help but feel so small. The Lycan Alpha’s presence towered over me, and for a moment, that fact distracted me from everything else.

"I am going to talk with her first," Arnold said, his voice deep and commanding, filled with authority. "You can find another day for your business."

With just a few words, he dismissed Eugene, and I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of relief. The tension between Eugene and me, the unspoken hurt, it all seemed to fade, if only for a moment. Arnold was putting distance between us, and that felt like a small, much-needed break.