chapter 3

Alexander's POV

I stood outside her hospital room, hands clenched at my sides, fighting the rage that churned in my gut. Stella. The human who somehow managed to find her way into my life and into my soul in a way no one else ever had. The bond snapped into place the moment I laid eyes on her.

She was mine, and I couldn't escape that pull.

But I couldn't have her.

I had to reject her immediately. I couldn't risk allowing the bond between us to grow stronger, because she was weak and that was the truth.

And yet, as I turned and walked away, the pull tore through me, clawing at my insides, dragging me back to her. Every step away from that hospital room felt like walking through fire. I wanted to run back inside, grab her, and never let her go.

But I had to leave. Because she couldn't handle this world. She wouldn't survive it.

I'm protecting her, I told myself. She's just a human and she doesn't deserve to get hurt.

I mean, I’m a monster and she is a human. We don't belong to the same world.

"I'll never see her again. Never," I muttered under my breath, trying to convince myself.

But every time I shut my eyes, I saw her face. Her voice echoed in my head. "You said I'm yours, right?" I saw her vulnerability, her question, her hope.

I saw recognition in her eyes, like she had been waiting for me her whole life, just waiting for me to come and sweep her off her feet.

And maybe she had been. But instead, I came and broke her heart.

I cursed under my breath. The worst part? I couldn't even drive. My hands were shaking too badly, my wolf was too close to the surface, fighting me for control, demanding I go back to our mate. The steering wheel would snap in half if I tried.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Seth. I needed him to drive me out, to anywhere. Anywhere far away from her. Because the more I stayed, the more she clouded my mind, the more my resolve weakened.

"Yeah?" His voice came through the line, calm, but I could hear the underlying concern. Seth always knew when something was wrong.

"Come and pick me up," I ordered, my voice sharper than I intended. "I need to get out of here."

There was a pause. "Where are you?"

"Memorial Hospital. Just... get here."

"On my way," he replied, not questioning me further. He never did when I used that tone.

It only took fifteen minutes before Seth's black SUV pulled into the hospital parking lot. He stepped out, tall and broad-shouldered, his dark eyes scanning me immediately. Seth had been my beta for years, but more than that, he was my best friend. The only person I trusted completely. He had a way of reading me that no one else did, seeing through the walls I put up.

He didn't even wait for me to speak. He could see it in my eyes, in the tension radiating from my body.

"You look like hell," he said bluntly, walking toward me. "What happened?"

I didn't respond right away. Instead, I pulled open the passenger door and got in, the cool leather seat feeling like an anchor. Seth climbed in after me, starting the engine but not pulling away yet. His eyes were on me, patient but expectant.

"Drive," I muttered.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere. Just drive."

Seth pulled out of the parking lot, merging into traffic with practiced ease. The silence stretched between us for a few minutes, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Seth knew when to push and when to wait.

Finally, I broke. "I found her."

His eyes flicked to me briefly before returning to the road. "Her?"

"My mate."

The car swerved slightly before Seth corrected it. "Your mate? Alexander, that's... that's incredible. Why do you look like someone just died?"

I let out a harsh laugh that held no humor. "Because she's human, Seth. She's human and she has no idea what she's gotten herself into. She doesn't even know what I am."

Seth was quiet for a moment, processing. "And you told her?"

"I rejected her."

The car swerved again, harder this time. Seth pulled over to the side of the road and put the vehicle in park, turning to face me fully. "You did what?"

"I rejected her," I repeated, my voice hollow. "Told her she wasn't what I needed. Told her she was weak. That she couldn't be my mate."

Seth stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "Are you out of your fucking mind?" His voice was low, dangerous. "You felt that bond, didn't you? You felt it snap into place. That's not something you can just walk away from, Alexander. That's fate. That's the moon goddess herself telling you this is your person."

I clenched my fists, feeling my claws threatening to extend. "She's human, Seth. Do you understand what that means? She can't shift. She can't heal like we do. She can't defend herself against the enemies I have, the threats that come with being my mate. I'd be signing her death warrant."

"Or you'd be giving her a chance at something extraordinary," Seth countered. "You don't get to decide what she can or can't handle. That's her choice."

"She doesn't even understand what's happening! She looked at me like I was insane when I said the word 'mate.' Our world is still so strange to her."

Seth ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Then you explain it to her. You don't just reject her and walk away like a coward."

The word 'coward' hit me like a physical blow, and my wolf snarled in response. "Watch yourself."

"No, you watch yourself," Seth shot back, unafraid. "I've known you for ten years, Alexander. I've seen you face down rival alphas, take on entire packs, make decisions that would break most men. But this? Running away from your mate because you're scared she might get hurt? That's the most cowardly thing I've ever seen you do."

I wanted to argue, to defend myself, but the words wouldn't come. Because deep down, I knew he was right.

"You don't understand," I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. "I saw her collapse, Seth. The moment I rejected her, she collapsed like I'd physically struck her. The bond... hurt her. And if just a rejection does that, what happens when she's caught in the crossfire of pack politics? What happens when my enemies find out about her and use her to get to me?"

Seth's expression softened slightly. "So you're saying you'd rather she suffer from the rejection than risk her getting hurt in your world?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." I pressed my palms against my eyes, feeling the weight of it all. "All I know is that I can't think straight. She's all I can think about. Her face, her voice, the way she looked at me with such hope before I crushed it."

"The bond won't let you forget her," Seth said quietly. "You know that, right? Rejected or not, she's still your mate. That connection doesn't just disappear because you want it to."

"I know," I admitted, hating how defeated I sounded.

Seth started the car again and pulled back onto the road. "Where does she work?"

"Club Imperium."

He nodded slowly. "And where are we going now?"

"Your place," I decided. "I need to clear my head. I need to think about anything other than her."

Seth glanced at me skeptically but didn't argue. "Alright. But Alexander? Running from this isn't going to work. The bond will only get stronger. And the longer you fight it, the more it's going to hurt. For both of you."

I didn't respond because I didn't have an answer. All I knew was that every mile we drove away from that hospital felt wrong. My wolf was clawing at me, demanding I turn around, that I go back and claim what was mine.

But I couldn't. I wouldn't.

For her sake, I had to stay away.