CHAPTER 34: OWNING ME

The night dragged for too long. I couldn’t sleep. I was tossing and turning. My body ached as if I had run miles through the forest, barefoot and hunted. I watched the ceiling, staring admirably at it. It was carved with faint patterns of wolves and moons, but my mind wouldn’t rest long enough to notice them properly. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw everything that had played out in that secret basement.

I turned on the bed again, curling into myself. The mark Alpha Dawn had left in me pulsed softly, as if it had a heartbeat of its own.

I pressed my palm against my heart, whispering to no one in particular, "Please stop."

It didn’t.

The memory came back in pieces. From the moment Alpha Dawn marked me without my knowledge to the moment I unlocked a power in me in that basement. Then the voice—the one that called herself Freya. My wolf.

My wolf.

I swallowed hard, trying to believe it. For years, I had been told that I didn’t have one. That Omegas like me were too weak to summon their wolves. Too broken. But now...

Now there was a voice inside me.

"Hello. My name is Freya."

Those words haunted me as I stared at the window.

And under those howls, my heart beat to a strange rhythm. It wasn’t only mine. I could feel another one, deeper and stronger, pounding faintly inside my chest.

His.

Alpha Dawn’s heartbeat. His mark had not only unlocked a new power in me but it had also left a part of him in me.

~~

By morning, the pain in my muscles had eased a little. I forced myself out of bed, wincing as my bare feet touched the cold floor. My reflection in the mirror startled me— I was on a strange grey t-shirt and black pants. The black pants almost didn’t fit and the t-shirt was an oversize. I shifted into it. Alpha Dawn’s scent. It was his cloth.

A soft knock broke the silence.

I turned sharply. "Who is it?"

"It’s me," a familiar voice said.

I hesitated before opening the door. Dawn stood there, dressed in a black shirt and slacks, his dark hair still damp as if he’d just bathed. His presence filled the doorway—commanding, calm, unreadable as ever.

His eyes swept over me slowly. "You didn’t sleep."

"I couldn’t," I murmured.

He stepped in without waiting for permission—well, it was his second room so he needed no permission. The scent of pine and rain followed him. He glanced at the untouched tray of food on the table, then back at me. "Eat something."

"I’m not hungry."

"Eat anyway."

The tone of command in his voice made me flinch. I turned away, folding my arms. "Why did you bring me here?"

His brows furrowed. "Because it’s safer."

"For who?" I asked quietly. "You or me?"

"Both."

That one word carried so much weight I didn’t know what to do with it.

Dawn walked to the window and drew the curtains wider, letting morning light pour into the room. His movements were precise, almost too controlled—as if he was keeping his own thoughts in check.

"What happened last night," he said finally, "wasn’t supposed to happen so fast. I didn’t know the powers will unveil so fast."

I sighed. "Yeah. Me too. I was scared."

"You have nothing to worry about. Once you are done with the process, you’ll qualify to be my Lu—"

"I don’t want to hear it, please. I’m only going through this process because I have no choice. You already marked me and gave me the power and I have to find a means to control it. When I’m done training to control it, we will go our separate ways."

"I’ll decide if I want you to stay or leave." He bit out.

Then, he turned his head towards me, his eyes locking on mine. "You survived. That’s all that matters."

"That witch said its a power very dangerous for even me."

"It’s not. Dont listen to her. The power i gave you can and will be managed by you." His tone was final, cold—but there was something beneath it. Something like guilt.

I sighed and sank onto the chair by the window. "Ive never felt like this before, Dawn. Yesterday, all my senses were heightened. My hearing sensitivity. My smelliny sensitivity. It was sharper than ever."

He stayed silent for a long moment, then said, "It’s the mark. It’s merging with your blood. It’ll continue like that until its permanent and it sticks."

"And that’s supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. But it means it’s working."

I frowned. "Working for what?"

He turned to face me fully. "To make you stronger."

"I don’t want to be your Luna."

His expression didn’t change, but his silence told me enough.

What I was about to say took me enough courage...

"I like you, Dawn. I like you so much. You make me feel ways I’ve never felt before. You make me do unexplainable things and make stupid moves. I don’t want to admit but I don’t have a choice. I like you a lot."

I didn’t see what his reaction was but I feel him freeze beside me.

"I can’t deny the feelings I have for you even when I try. But that is it. I can’t be more than your breeder. I can’t be your mistress not to speak of being your Luna. That position is not meant for someone like me."

"Stop," he said softly, but the edge in his voice was unmistakable.

I shook my head. "I’m serious, Alpha. This is not because of the Luna but for myself. I never wanted to be in this position. I never wanted this for myself. You have to understand."

Dawn’s jaw clenched. He leaned into the wall. "Well, you wouldn’t be my girlfriend when I ask nicely so what more do you want me to do?"

"But, this is too far. Becoming your Luna?Hell no. And, just because you want me to be your Luna, you marked me without my permission and instilled a dangerous power in me."

What Calandra said about the power to much for me, I couldn’t tell him that.

"What do you suggest I do, then?"

"I will remain as just your breeder. Nothing other than that. Obey the rules. Visit you during full moons alone for us to mate."

"Don’t piss me off with that crap. You think if I wanted that, I’d be doing any of this?"

He moved closer, his fingers wrapping around my jaw—gentle, but claiming, like he owned the right to touch me. His voice dropped, rough and low.

"I want you. Every damn moment. Morning, afternoon, dusk, dawn—you. I want to see you when I wake up and when I close my eyes. I want to breathe the same air as you, feel you next to me, know you’re mine. I’m obsessed with you. Don’t you get it?"