Fated By Moonlight

Tyler POV

The knock came again. Harder this time.

Three sharp pounds that rattled through the flat and sliced through the charged silence between us. Erica was on the edge of the couch, arms wrapped around herself, eyes wide and unfocused, part heat, part fear.

I stood between her and the door without thinking. Instinct. That deep, primal alpha drive I'd spent years burying snapped to attention like it had just been waiting for a reason to come alive.

"Erica, go to the bedroom. Lock the door."

"What? No"

"Now."

She flinched at my tone, but I softened immediately. "Please. Just do it."

She hesitated only a second longer, then disappeared down the hallway. The click of the door locking behind her didn't make me feel better. Not even a little.

The knock came again, but this time it wasn't a knock. It was a fist slamming into the wood.

I growled.

Who the hell "I yanked the door open."

And froze.

"Haskin?"

He stood there, half in shadow, soaked from the rain that had started sometime after we got home. His jacket was unzipped, revealing a Polar Blades hoodie beneath, and his expression wasn't just hostile it was smug.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked.

He pushed past me without permission, dripping water onto my floors.

I shut the door behind him, fists clenched. "You've got three seconds to explain before I make you regret ever showing up."

He turned, wiping his wet hands on my couch like a goddamn animal. "Relax, Wood. I'm not here to fight."

I stepped forward. "You show up unannounced at my place, during an omega's heat, and you're not here to fight?"

His eyes flicked toward the hallway. "So it's true."

I didn't blink. "What's true?"

"You and the girl. The one from the game. The one you fell on." He smirked. "Didn't think you'd go for a student, man. Bit beneath your usual type, don't you think?"

I lunged.

He stumbled back into the kitchen counter, grunting when his spine hit the edge. I slammed my arm across his chest, pinning him there. My scent flared, sharp and furious.

"Watch your mouth."

He didn't look scared. That made it worse.

"I came to warn you," he said, voice low. "Management's sniffing around. You're in trouble."

I pulled back a fraction. "What?"

"They think you're unstable. Too aggressive. You've got a record, Wood. The second they smell scandal, they'll use it. And word's already circulating that you've got an omega tucked away. One who wasn't vetted. You know what that looks like."

I cursed under my breath and shoved off him, pacing to the far side of the kitchen.

He adjusted his hoodie and smirked. "You can't afford this kind of attention."

"I didn't plan for this to happen."

"Doesn't matter. It's happened. And now they're watching. You've got two choices: break it off or get dragged down when they yank your contract."

I laughed bitterly. "You think I give a damn about the contract?"

"You should. Because this girl? She might be sweet, but she's trouble. You're not bonded yet. You can still walk away."

I turned slowly, every bone in my body on fire. "Get out."

"Tyler"

"Now."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but finally finally he walked to the door.

Before he left, he glanced back once. "You're not the only alpha interested, you know. Omegas like her? They don't stay unclaimed for long."

I slammed the door so hard the frame shuddered.

I leaned against the wall, breathing hard, trying to calm the rage bubbling under my skin.

He wasn't wrong.

I was already under scrutiny. Already skating on the thinnest ice. The league wanted reasons to drop me, and this... this thing with Erica? It was like handing them ammunition.

But I couldn't walk away. Wouldn't.

I rubbed my hands over my face and moved down the hallway.

I knocked gently on the bedroom door. "Erica. It's me."

She opened it a crack, then wider when she saw my face.

Her eyes searched mine. "Who was that?"

"Trouble. But it's handled."

She frowned. "I heard yelling."

I exhaled, stepping inside. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't." She walked back toward the bed and sat, tugging her sleeves over her hands. "I just... I didn't expect someone to show up. Especially not during-" She waved vaguely at the air.

"Your heat," I finished for her.

She nodded.

"Do you want me to leave?"

She blinked. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't want to be alone right now."

That was all I needed.

I walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and took her hand gently. "I meant what I said before. I won't touch you unless you ask me to."

"I know." Her voice was quiet. "That's why I feel safe."

Something loosened in my chest.

We sat like that for a while quiet, the air heavy with scent and tension. Her heat was rising slowly, not full-force yet, but enough to make her cheeks flush and her breath quicken.

"I don't understand why this is happening," she whispered. "We barely know each other."

"I know." I looked down at her hand in mine. "But it's not nothing. I felt it the second I hit you. The bond might not be complete, but something's there."

She leaned her head on my shoulder. "I'm scared."

"I am too."

I reached for the blanket and draped it over us both.

"If you need anything," I murmured, "wake me."

"I will."

But I didn't sleep. I couldn't. My mind was racing.

Not just with the bond. Not just with her scent and the way she trembled beside me.

But with what Haskin had said.

"You're not the only alpha interested."

I had no idea who else was watching her.

And that terrified me more than anything.

Sometime around 4 a.m., Erica stirred.

I opened my eyes to find her staring at the ceiling, tears clinging to her lashes.

"Erica?"

She blinked, startled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't." I sat up, brushing hair from her face. "What's wrong?"

"I had a dream. You were gone. Everyone was."

I held her tighter. "I'm not going anywhere."

She looked at me, eyes red. "Promise?"

"I promise."

She curled into my chest, and I held her there until her breathing slowed again.

But I didn't relax.

Because outside the window, across the street, a figure leaned against a lamppost, smoking.

Watching my building.

They didn't move when I stood and looked out.

They just stood there.

Watching.

And I knew in my gut,Haskin wasn't bluffing.

Erica wasn't safe anymore.

Not unless I found out who was after her.

Not unless I protected her like she was already mine.

Even if she wasn't.

Yet.

The next morning, when Erica was still sleeping, I got a message from an unknown number.

Unknown: You think she's safe with you? Think again. She's marked. We're coming.

And just like that, everything shattered.