Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother Chapter 8

Derek's POV

Power comes with responsibilities. That's what my father always said when I was growing up. As the Alpha of the Darkwood Pack, I'd learned to balance power and responsibility with ruthless efficiency. I made decisions based on facts, not feelings. I put the Pack's needs above my own desires. Always.

Which is why the events of last night were so infuriating.

I stood at the window of my office, watching the rain slam against the glass. Dawn was breaking, though you could barely tell through the storm clouds. My reflection stared back at me—hard eyes, tensed jaw, the face of a leader who didn't tolerate complications.

And that girl was definitely a complication.

Erin Blackwood. The name itself had become an irritation over the past twenty-four hours. A nobody. An Omega wolf from a family with no significant standing in the Pack. Aaron Blackwood's little sister.

My Soul Bond? Ridiculous.

I'd felt it, though. That was the part I couldn't dismiss, no matter how much I wanted to. When her scent hit me in that crowded room—wild honey, summer rain, and something uniquely her—my wolf had surged forward with such force that it had taken every ounce of my control to hold him back.

"Mine. Mate. MINE."

I'd never felt my wolf so adamant about anything before. Even now, he paced restlessly inside me, sensing her nearby.

Because she was still out there. I glanced down at the main gates where that slip of a girl had been standing for hours in the pouring rain. Soaked to the bone, shivering, but refusing to leave.

Four hours. What kind of person stood in a freezing downpour for four hours just to speak to someone who had just threatened them?

Either she was the most determined person I'd ever met, or the most foolish.

Probably both.

It had been easy enough to punish her brother. Stripping Aaron of his Enforcer badge had been a calculated move—a warning that I wouldn't tolerate his sister's disruption of Pack business. But watching her stand there, hour after hour, made me question if I'd miscalculated.

This wasn't the behavior of someone playing games or seeking attention.

"You can't avoid this forever," my wolf growled inside me. "She's ours."

I pushed him down again, refusing to entertain the thought. I had important plans that had been years in the making. The alliance with the Silverpine Pack would double our territory and cement our position as the dominant Pack in the region. Mya might be cold and calculating, but she was the daughter of the Silverpine Alpha, which made her the perfect political match.

I didn't need a Soul Bond complicating everything, especially not with someone like Erin Blackwood.

A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.

"Enter," I commanded, not turning from the window.

"Alpha," my father's deep voice resonated through the room. "We need to talk."

Robert Stone had been Alpha before me, stepping down due to his poor health. He still commanded respect, his tall frame only slightly stooped with age, his silver hair the only real sign of his advancing years. Even without the Alpha power, he carried himself with the dignity of a born leader.

"This isn't a good time," I replied, finally turning to face him.

He sighed, shutting the door behind him. "But we need to discuss what happened last night. The girl's claim—"

"Is being handled," I cut him off sharply.

My father's eyes narrowed. "By 'handled,' do you mean firing her brother? Or leaving her to stand in the rain until she collapses from hypothermia?"

"I didn't ask her to stand in the rain."

"Yet she's been there for hours." He moved closer, his eyes finding the small figure by the gates. "A girl from a respectable family, claiming to be your Soul Bond, and you're leaving her out there like a stray dog."

I turned away, irritated that he'd caught me in such a callous statement.

"What do you want me to do?" I demanded. "The binding ceremony with Mya was supposed to happen last night. Our entire alliance with Silverpine is now at risk because this girl decided to make a scene."

"You think she planned this?" My father raised an eyebrow. "Soul Bond claims aren't something wolves typically fake, Derek. The punishment for a false claim is severe."

"Then maybe she's just confused. Or delusional."

"Is she?" His gaze was too perceptive. "Your wolf didn't react at all when she made her claim?"

I remained silent, unwilling to admit the truth.

My father sighed. "That's what I thought." He moved to the desk, running a hand over the polished surface. "You know the old laws as well as I do. If she truly is your Soul Bond—"

"I know the laws," I snapped. "No Alpha can reject their Soul Bond without consequences for both parties."

"The Alpha loses his position, and his mate loses her life," my father finished gravely. "A harsh price for denying the Luna's choice."

Before I could answer, another knock interrupted us. My chief security officer entered without waiting for permission, his expression tense.

"Alpha, the girl at the gate... she's still refusing to leave. She says she needs to speak with you about her brother. What are your orders?"

"Bring her in," I said finally.

The guard nodded and left quickly, seemingly relieved to have clear instructions.

After my father left, I returned to the window. The guards were approaching Erin now, helping her toward the main entrance. Even from this distance, I could see how badly she was shivering, her dark hair plastered to her pale face, clothes clinging to her slender frame.

Something twisted in my chest at the sight—something dangerously close to concern. I squashed it immediately.

This was business. Nothing more.

\---

Twenty minutes later, the door to my office opened again. Two guards entered first, flanking a third figure who looked so small between them that for a moment I thought they'd brought in the wrong person.

Erin stood in my office, soaking wet and visibly trembling. Her clothes—cheap jeans and a thin sweater—were completely saturated, water pooling around her feet on my expensive carpet. Her dark hair hung in wet ropes around her ashen face. Her lips had a bluish tinge that spoke of hours in the cold rain.

Despite her pitiful state, she held herself with a certain dignity, chin up, shoulders straight. Only the occasional violent shiver betrayed just how cold she truly was.

"Leave us," I ordered the guards.

They hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances. "Alpha, she's... not well. Perhaps medical attention—"

I looked at them coldly.

They bowed slightly and backed out, closing the door behind them.

Alone with her now, I was struck again by her scene. My wolf stirred, pushing against my control. I tightened my grip on the edge of my desk, knuckles turning white with the effort of restraining him.

"You have five minutes," I said coldly. "Explain why you're here."

Erin's teeth chattered as she tried to speak, the sound grating against my nerves. "R-restore my b-brother's p-position," she finally managed to stammer out. "P-please."

"You stood in the rain for hours to ask for your brother's job back?" I raised an eyebrow. "He's lucky I didn't have him exiled."

"He d-didn't do anything w-wrong," she insisted, wrapping her arms around herself in a futile attempt to stop shaking.

"His sister disrupted a sacred binding ceremony and made a false Soul Bond claim against the Alpha," I replied sharply. "As your closest male relative, he bears responsibility for your actions."

Her eyes flashed with sudden anger. "It w-wasn't false."

I moved around the desk, approaching her slowly. She tensed but held her ground, even as I invaded her personal space.

"So you maintain that I—the Alpha of the Darkwood Pack—am somehow destined to be paired with a nobody from a middling family with no political connections, no wealth, and no standing?" I kept my voice deliberately cutting.

She shot back, surprising me with her boldness. "I d-don't want to be tied to someone who c-clearly hates me." A particularly violent shiver ran through her body. "But my w-wolf recognized you. I c-couldn't control it."

I studied her face. Her hazel eyes held mine steadily. There was fear there, certainly, but also a stubborn determination that was... irritatingly admirable.

"What do you want, Erin?" I asked more directly.

"My brother back in his position," she replied without hesitation.

"And what are you offering in exchange?"

Her gaze dropped for the first time. "I'll do whatever you want. I'll publicly retract my claim. I'll leave the territory if that's what you want. Just don't punish my family for what I did."

Something about her willingness to sacrifice herself for her family struck a chord in me. It was... unexpected. Most wolves would be scrambling to secure their position as the Alpha's mate, not offering to leave the territory entirely.

I turned away from her, uncomfortable with the direction of my thoughts.

"The Darkwood Alpha cannot reject his Soul Bond," I said finally, my voice carefully neutral.

Her eyes widened slightly. "So you believe me now?"

"I'm acknowledging the possibility," I corrected.

I moved back behind my desk, putting distance between us. Her scent was making it difficult to think clearly.

"I will consider reinstating your brother," I said after a moment. "But in return, you will follow my instructions exactly. No questions, no hesitation."

Hope flickered in her eyes. "What instructions?"

"For now, you'll wait for my command. We need to handle this... situation... delicately." I leaned forward slightly. "The alliance with Silverpine is too important to abandon, but I also can't ignore Pack law regarding Soul Bonds."

She hesitated only briefly before nodding.

I nodded curtly. "One more thing. Stay away from my family, especially my brother Bradley. I know about your relationship with him, and I want it ended."

Pain flashed across her face at the mention of Bradley. "That's already over."

"See that it stays that way." I turned back to the papers on my desk, dismissing her. "Wait outside. Someone will attend to you shortly."

After she left, I released the breath I'd been holding, allowing myself to relax the iron control I'd maintained throughout our conversation.

My wolf was restless, dissatisfied with how I'd handled the situation.

"She's ours," he insisted again. "You're fighting the inevitable."