Claimed by the Wrong Alphas Chapter 19: Darkness and danger

Charis.

"No!" I pushed away from Kael, who seed like he didn’t want to let go. "Aren’t you both ashad of yourselves? I’m leaving."

I waded to the tub steps, my heart still racing from everything that had just happened. Behind , I could hear Kael calling out, his voice slightly rough and confused.

"Eamon! Where are you going?" He asked, and I could detect sothing different in his tone—an arousal that made my cheeks burn.

I paused just enough to say. "I need so space," and then grabbed a nearby towel, wrapping it tightly around my body.

I walked faster, not trusting myself to remain composed if I saw his face again. The kiss-the heat, the way his hands had pressed into the tub’s wall like I belonged there—had exposed sothing inside .

That was the problem.

Because it wasn’t just the heat or the pressure, it was as if my body had responded, as if it knew him. I wanted more. I had enjoyed the kiss far more than I wanted to admit.

You’re not a boy, I reminded myself, gripping the towel tighter as I moved through the maze of lantern-lit paths of the pool area.

That aside, I could feel my chest bindings starting to slip as I erged from the water, and the fabric had clung to my skin entirely. I had to return to our tent imdiately to change and adjust my disguise before anyone noticed.

Maybe I could also use this opportunity to shower properly and find an alternative to the chest bindings. It was also an excuse to scrub out Kael’s scent that clung to my skin and the sensation of his lips.

The path back to the tent area was—empty, thankfully as everyone else was still at the pool, lost in whatever drug-induced haze had taken over the camp. But just as I reached the corner bend that would lead to the square, the lights went out.

The darkness was so complete and sudden that I stopped walking entirely, expecting the lights to flicker back on at any mont. But seconds passed, then a full minute and everywhere was still dark.

I was in the midst of that thick vegetation on both sides of the path, and my only options were to continue forward towards the tents or retreat to the pool area. The problem was that the canopy overhead was so dense that even the moonlight barely penetrated it, leaving in total blackness.

I didn’t have a phone that I could use as a flashlight, nor had I rembered to bring one.

Trying not to panic, I started moving forward again, using my hands to feel along the edge of the path to stay on it. But after only a few steps, I had this odd feeling that I wasn’t alone.

I turned around, straining my eyes to see into the semi-darkness behind . Nothing. Just shadows and the vague outlines of trees and bushes.

Shaking off my paranoia, I continued walking, this ti, I was moving faster. But the feeling of being followed only intensified with each step I took. My heart began to pound with fear, and I felt my wolf pacing inside , trying to warn .

I walked faster, trying not to scream. Then I heard it—a low, throaty snarl from sowhere in the darkness behind .

I froze. My breath caught as the sll hit .

Rogue wolves had a distinctive odour—wild, unwashed, tinged with madness and bloodlust. It was a scent that every werewolf learned to recognise and fear from childhood.

You can tell a rogue was in the area long before you saw it, and that acrid, dangerous sll was filling my nostrils now.

Panic clawed at my throat as the reality of my situation crashed down on . I was alone, in the dark, being hunted by a rogue wolf.

I started running.

Branches slapped at my face, twigs snapping under my feet as I ran blindly. I didn’t even know which direction I was running to; all I wanted was to run far away from the danger behind .

The towel slipped from my shoulder, but I didn’t stop.

Behind , I could hear the pounding of the rogue’s paw getting closer with each second. Tears blurred my vision as I kept running mindlessly.

Suddenly, I burst out of a tree line into what appeared to be a small clearing. It was not a familiar place to , but it was brighter here, thanks to the moonlight.

But my relief was short-lived as another snarl echoed through the night—the sound was different from the rogue’s. It sounded...wrong.

In the dim moonlight, my eyes caught sothing that made my blood freeze.

A figure was moving toward , but it wasn’t quite human and wasn’t a werewolf at all.

Its skin had an unnatural blue tinge that seed to glow faintly in the darkness, and its movents were jerky and unnatural, like a puppet being controlled by an inexperienced puppeteer.

I scread, stumbling backwards—

The blue-colored creature ran toward with inhuman speed. I continued screaming, frozen by fear. Just as it seed about to reach , a massive brown wolf launched itself between us, landing with a mighty thud that shook the ground.

The wolf was magnificent—large and muscular with rich brown fur that caught what little light from the moon that was available. It positioned itself between and both threats. Sothing about its presence felt familiar and comforting even in the terrifying situation.

I squinted at it closely, and I felt relief wash over .

It was Zair: Slater’s wolf, Zair.

The brown wolf caught the rogue, which was rushing towards again, easily by the neck and sent it flying through the air until it landed on the ground. The rogue rolled on its back and rose to its feet instantly, snarling as it charged towards Zair again.

Zair aid for its neck this ti, tearing away part of it, as blood spattered across the clearing.

Another rogue lunged from the trees—

And a black wolf intercepted it mid-leap. This new wolf was sleek and as dark as midnight, which could easily be mistaken for a panther except for the strange blue markings around its eyes.

It moved like a killer, tearing into the rogue with terrifying speed.

A third wolf, ash-grey and slightly smaller, circled from the other side, staying near . I continued trembling uncontrollably against a tree, while the black wolf helped Zair fight the rogue wolves that fought like they were possessed.

Finally, after what felt like hours, they succeeded in killing the rogues. The clearing fell silent except for the sound of heavy breathing and my quiet sobs.

Imdiately, the brown wolf shifted to its human form. Slater rushed towards without bothering to find clothes, choosing instead to remain in his torn clothes and underwear. His chest and arms were sared with blood.

"Hey," he called out gently when he ca to . "Are you alright?" his hands hovering over as if he were checking for injuries. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Unable to contain myself any longer, I broke down completely sobbing against his chest while he held protectively.

The other two wolves also shifted back to their human form, clad in nothing but their swimming trunks. The black wolf with blue markings was Kale. The ash-grey colored wolf was Rhett, though he looked far more serious than I’d ever seen him.

Both Kael and Rhett were staring at the blue-colored creature, which had suddenly gone completely limp from the single blow Zair had dealt it. It lay motionless on the grass.

"What the hell is this?" Rhett asked, looking confused.

Kael crouched beside the creature, examining it without touching it. "I’ve never seen sothing like this in my life ever."

Just as Kael reached out toward the blue figure, five camp staff mbers appeared from nowhere carrying an empty cage.

"Get away from it! One of the staff commanded, inserting himself imdiately between Kael and the creature.

Kael froze instinctively as more staff mbers began pouring in. They carried the blue creature efficiently with a coordinated movent that suggested this wasn’t the first ti they’d dealt with such a situation.

Kael straightened properly and blocked the staff who had shouted at him to stay away from the creature.

"Excuse ," Kael said. "That thing almost killed a student. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the student’s welfare?"

The staff mber’s face remained blank as his gaze flitted to where I was. "The student appears to be unhard. It shows the situation is under control."

"Under control?" Slater moved to join Kael, placing a hand on the man’s chest to stop him. "There were rogue wolves loose on the campsite, and so...creature. How exactly is that under control?"

"Go back to your tent, you shouldn’t be here, this is a restricted area," the staff said in response.

At this point, Rhett, who had stayed back, joined Slater and Kael.

"Is this for real?" Rhett scoffed. "You don’t seem bothered that a student almost died."

"Do as I have said, boys," the staff said again.

Suddenly, I noticed sothing.

"Rhett," I wobbled to my feet, pointing at his chest. "You’re bleeding."

Rhett looked down at his shirtless chest and touched the dark streaks running across his skin. "Wow, it appears so," he said with his characteristic nonchalance, though his voice sounded weaker than usual.

Then blood began trickling from his nose.

Kael imdiately noticed and approached him with alarm in his pale blue eyes. "Rhett, do you have your dicine with you? Tell you took it today."

Rhett, who was trying to stop the bleeding with his hands, shook his head weakly. "I totally forgot that I couldn’t shift without taking it first," he rasped. "Dammit—I shifted."

Before anyone could react, Rhett’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.