Chapter 5 5.

Asher’s POV

I wanted to ask her the one question that kept bothering me.

“Why did you reject me?”

She remained silent and not comfortable in letting out her emotions. Silence bounded us, heavy and suffocating. I’m not in a rush to hear her answer but I wanted it.

She gave up and told me, “Because I don’t want to betray my father.”

Her voice was steady, but not her eyes.

I stared at her in disbelief because It was such a small, fragile answer for something that had ripped my ego.

“Your father?” I asked, “That man doesn’t deserve your loyalty.”

She looks at me in shock, she didn'texpect it.

“I know who he is, Alyna. I know everything about him and you.” I continued, “He wasn’t born here. He and your mother came to this pack as refugees, didn’t they?”

"That everyone knows and that doesn't mean he isn't a good person," she said. She doesn't want to leave her father's side.

“Your father served in the army. A good soldier, perhaps once. But he’s now a drunk omega who has lost his purpose in life," I said.

"People drink to let out their sorrows, but he's a good man. He was so loyal to my mother, and after her deat,h he couldn't forget her," she said.

"But he never treated you right, he though you're the reason for all his misfortune,"

"It's not like that,"

“I heard the way people talk about you,” I said quietly. “The bullying. The isolation. The way they look at your eyes as if you’re cursed. You grew up with no one, didn’t you?”

Alyna didn’t answer. Her silence was its own confession.

I took a step closer, lowering my tone. “You don’t owe him anything. Not love. Not loyalty. Not your life. You have to choose me, it's our destiny,"

Her lips trembled, but she didn’t lift her gaze. I know she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

“Alyna, I can give you a better life than that man ever could.”

"I'm already living a good life," she said.

“I don’t mean luxury,” I said. “I mean peace. Respect. Safety. You’ll never have to look over your shoulder again. No one will dare hurt you while I’m breathing.”

I could tell my words were breaking through the wall she had built.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” I added gently. “Just tell me what it is that keeps you away. Is it me? Don't you like me?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, that’s not it.”

“Then what?” I pressed, my voice softer now. “Is there someone else?”

Her gaze snapped to mine, startled. “No!”

The denial came too quickly, too earnestly. I almost smiled.

“Then what’s stopping you?” I asked quietly.

She opened her mouth but said nothing.

I reached out, slowly, deliberately. My fingers brushed against hers, and an intense bond flared, a jolt of warmth spreading through both of us.

“Whatever it is you’re afraid of,” I said softly, “don’t think about it. Don’t think about him, or the pack, or what anyone says. Just… hold my hand.”

She froze, staring down at my open palm.

For a long, agonizing heartbeat, she didn’t move. I thought she's easy to convince but she's not. She's quite stubborn, perhaps to get my full attention. She's quite clever, I thought.

Then, I heard it the faintest whisper, not from her lips but from the bond itself. “Say yes.”

She looked lost. Torn. But her gaze softened — first with hesitation, then with surrender. She knows she can’t fool her destiny and escape it. She wanted to know what’s waiting for her if she holds his hand.

Finally, slowly, she reached out and placed her hand in mine.

The moment her skin touched mine, warmth surged through my veins — fierce and wild. My wolf roared in triumph inside me, his voice a low rumble of satisfaction. “Ours.”

I sighed as my grip tightened around her hand. I have never felt this way holding anyother women. The way she makes me feel different. The smallest smile curved my lips because I know I'm going to get everything I wished, the power, the dominance and the eternity of my name when she's by my side.

I wondered why she’s chosen for me. Like she said, she’s nobody but there could be a reason. Moon goddess must’ve chosen her because she’s much better than the women from the royal bloodline. There must be something in her and she’s hiding it very well. The shaman once said that my mate will bring my greatest victory and I won’t be false.

I will keep her no matter what.

“You’re nothing as I imagined. Are you not telling me the truth about you,” I ask, playfully. Her eyes shot in surprise.

“No,” she nodded.

She looked up at me, her mismatched eyes wide and uncertain, but not afraid. For the first time, I saw the spark in her, the one buried under years of neglect and fear. It was fragile, but it was there.

She didn’t pull her hand away, even as the silence returned. We stood there, bound by something, fate, maybe. Or something crueler. I know I have selfish intentions but in this world who isn't.

But when she finally looked away, I knew I had won the first battle.

She didn’t have to say the words. The way her hand stayed in mine was enough that she wants to be in my life, in my big castle and by my side as a queen. Now I know that we both are selfish in our own terms.