THE ALPHA'S FORBIDDEN FLAME.

TALIA'S POV

I just stood there, frozen, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Ramon's voice was calm as he gave instructions to Ingrid, as though my world hadn't just been torn apart and reshaped without my consent.

"Have her ready," he said. "She'll meet the elders and a few important members of the clan."

Clan.

The word alone made my knees feel weak.

"These people are very close to me," he added, turning his gaze to me. "I'd like for you to meet them."

I nodded numbly, though none of it made sense. My body felt distant, disconnected, as though I were watching everything unfold from outside myself. I felt weak from my head to my toes. None of these made sense. I kept pinching myself in the hope that I'd wake up.

Nothing changed.

Another woman entered shortly after-quiet, respectful. She didn't look at me the way Ingrid did. Ingrid's gaze held curiosity, assessment... understanding.

The woman led me to the bathroom, where warm water steamed gently in a large tub. I washed mechanically, my thoughts spiraling as I scrubbed away the dirt, the mud, the fear. When I emerged, a gown lay waiting-soft fabric, deep in color, nothing like the clothes I owned.

It felt like a costume.

"You should eat something, Miss," Ingrid said gently when I returned.

Food?

I almost laughed.

That was the last thing on my mind. I didn't trust this place, didn't trust the people, and certainly didn't trust the man who had decided my fate without asking.

I sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

When Ramon returned, the air in the room shifted.

He was dressed in a black suit-tailored, regal, unmistakably powerful. The fabric hugged his broad frame, and for a moment, my anger faltered beneath something treacherous and unwanted.

He looked devastatingly handsome.

"Come," he said. "It's a long drive."

That was when I knew.

If I didn't try now, I never would.

Outside, the car waited. The gates were open.

Opportunity stood right in front of me.

Ramon unlocked the door for me, then turned to his side of the car.

I didn't hesitate.

I bolted.

The world blurred as I ran, adrenaline screaming through my veins. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. Anywhere was better than here.

My lungs burned. My legs ached. And then-

I tripped.

I fell hard into something wet and cold. Mud. Thick and clinging. As I pushed myself up, humiliation burning hotter than fear, I felt it.

Eyes.

Watching.

I froze.

Three-no, four figures stood a few feet away. Wolves. Shifters. Whatever they were, their gazes raked over me with open curiosity... and disdain.

And Ramon stood among them.

Arms crossed. A slow, infuriating smirk on his face.

"Who is she?" one of them asked.

"She's not from around here."

"I haven't seen her before."

Another wrinkled his nose. "She smells like human blood."

I wished the ground would open and swallow me whole.

Ramon stepped forward and yanked me roughly to my feet.

"Alpha Ramon," one of them said cautiously. "Do you know her?"

"Yes," he replied coolly. "She's my guest.

I'm taking her back."

There was a pause.

"No trouble, then," another muttered.

"Carry on," Ramon said.

His grip tightened as he dragged me away, pulling me like a lamb about to be slaughtered.

***

I sat on the floor while he tended to my cuts, his movements efficient but not gentle.

"Why did you run?" he snapped. "What the hell was going through your thick skull?"

I flinched.

"Do you want to get yourself killed?" he continued. "Those rogues are still out there. You are no match for them."

That broke me.

"Who are they?" I demanded, tears spilling over. "What do they want from you? Why were they attacking you?"

My voice cracked. "If you weren't wounded, I wouldn't have even come close to you."

Silence fell.

Then he spoke.

"They're rogues. Former members of my pack."

I let out a weary breath. "There we go again."

"They want my position," he continued.

"My title. The Alpha."

None of it made sense.

"So what does that have to do with me?" I asked. "Why can't you just let me go?"

I looked up at him. "What do you mean when you say I'm bound to you?"

He met my gaze fully this time.

"Don't you feel it?" he asked quietly. "The pull. The spark."

My heart betrayed me by pounding harder.

"Your pulse quickens near me," he continued. "Your blood responds. When you touched my blood last night, my wolf connected to you."

His voice dropped.

"There's heat. Intensity. A need to claim what's mine."

My breath hitched.

"Tell me you don't feel it," he murmured. "Tell me it doesn't feel like fire under your bones."

I couldn't lie.

The air between us thickened, heavy with awareness. My body reacted before my mind could catch up-heat curling low in my belly, breath shallow, pulse racing.

Then his lips were on mine.

Not gentle.

Not tentative.

The kiss was consuming, stealing my balance and my reason. My hands clenched in his clothing as the world narrowed to heat and sensation.

Everything inside me responded.

The more his lips crushed mine, the more I hungered for something more and then his lips journeyed from my lips to my neck,I let out a soft cry.

I wanted him, all of him.

His hand found its way into my clothes and cupped my breast and I arched my body closer to him.

His mouth settled on my breast, so hot and demanding like it had been his even before now.

His lips circled my breast, teasing, stroking just driving me crazy and when I felt like I was going to explode he stopped and drew himself away.

He stopped.

Abruptly.

I reached out to draw him back to me but he held my hands.

He pulled away, holding my wrists firmly.

"Luna," he said softly. "We can't."

I stared at him, dazed and furious. "Why not?"

"You're not ready."

Anger flared. "I didn't stop you."

"I can't just make love to you now when you haven't even given yourself fully to me." He responded.

"What the fuck do you mean by that, I didn't protest, did I?"

A humorless smile touched his lips.

"When I claim you," he said, stepping back, "it will be because you choose me, because you want me. Not because fate cornered you."

He turned away.

"Ingrid will attend to you."

And just like that, he was gone-leaving me breathless, shaken, and painfully aware of what he'd awakened inside me.