Chapter 6 The Rogue and the Alpha

Adrian

It was like something primal had snapped inside me.

Her rejection hit harder than I expected. No one had ever dared to turn me down, not like this. Most women either melted at my touch or begged for more. But this one... she didn't yield. Her defiance lit a fire under my skin, something dangerously close to rage, but also... fascination.

I grabbed her wrist and shoved her against the wall just outside my room. The thud of her back hitting the cold surface reverberated in the quiet corridor. Her eyes flew open, startled. The small box she held dropped from her hands and hit the floor with a dull thud. She looked up at me, breathing hard, eyes wide.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" I asked, my voice low, deliberately laced with menace. I wanted to see fear in her face, wanted her to understand the mistake she'd made by pushing me away.

She flinched slightly as I placed my hand on top of her head, blocking her view. Still, her voice didn't shake.

"Who doesn't know who you are?" she said, her tone flat but steady.

I paused, taken aback. Her eyes slowly lifted to meet mine, and I felt the first crack in my armor.

"Adrian Martinez, Alpha of the powerful Blackwood Pack," she added, her voice carrying a quiet strength that made my wolf, Blaze, stir.

How did she know who I was? And if she did... why refuse me so boldly?

I slowly dropped my hand, giving her space. She didn't move. Her courage wasn't loud...it was stubborn, enduring. And strangely beautiful.

"Now that we're on the same page," I said in a calmer voice, "you should realize I'm not someone who makes casual offers. You could've apologized, taken the chance I was giving you. But instead..."

She lifted her chin, her mouth pressed into a firm line. Her silence spoke louder than any words.

Most women would've begged to stay after hearing my name. She didn't even blink.

"You're not like them," I said, almost to myself. "You're the only woman who's ever turned me down. That alone makes me curious. Makes me want to know everything about you."

She blinked, something soft flickering in her eyes. Then she spoke, her voice quieter this time.

"You're not wrong," she said. "I do need a place to stay. I'm starving. And I'll take the job if it's still open."

That flicker of hope should've satisfied me, but what she said next stopped me cold.

"But I won't sell myself for shelter or food. If that's the price, then I'll sleep outside and hunt for scraps."

There was no dramatics in her words, just conviction.

My brow furrowed. Something deep within me shifted. Blaze stirred again, not with lust this time, but a strange pull. Like he recognized her scent, her energy. He'd never been quiet when I was with another woman, always restless, irritated. But with her... he was alert. Curious.

She ran a hand through her hair, her fingers trembling just slightly. "I might be willing to join your pack, Adrian. But only on my terms. I don't belong to anyone. Not even an Alpha."

I let out a short breath, the corner of my mouth twitching into a smirk. She was infuriating... and captivating.

"Terms?" I stepped closer, my voice dropping an octave. "You think I'm here to negotiate?"

My gaze swept down her body with deliberate appreciation. "I'm interested in your face... and everything below it."

She stiffened.

"I gave you a choice. You made yours." I tried to keep my tone light, but I couldn't mask the tension in my voice.

She didn't respond, just stared at me with something unreadable in her expression.

"She's not like the others," Blaze whispered in my mind. "Her energy... it's wild, unbroken. Her scent is like nothing we've smelled before. Don't treat her like the others. Don't ruin this."

I clenched my jaw, struggling to rein myself in.

"I'm not going to force you," I said sharply. I stooped to grab the box from the floor, then turned and walked into my room, the door slamming behind me with a finality that echoed through the corridor.

Inside, the scent of perfume hit me before I saw the she-wolf waiting in my bed.

"You were gone a while," she said softly, a note of insecurity in her voice.

I didn't answer. My thoughts were elsewhere, locked on a pair of fierce, defiant eyes.

"It's nothing," I said through gritted teeth, grabbing a condom from the drawer and tearing it open with my teeth. I didn't want this. But I needed the distraction.

"You ready for me?" I asked, forcing a smile as I turned to face her.

Her blanket dropped to the floor.

"I've been ready," she murmured, climbing onto the bed with slow confidence.

I moved into position, trying to focus, trying to feel something, anything. But even as I pushed into her, my mind drifted. Her gasps were hollow to me. All I could think about was the rogue girl, her eyes locked with mine, her voice strong, unwavering.

I thrust harder, as if trying to drive her memory out of me, but it was useless.

"God, you're so good," I groaned aloud.

But I wasn't thinking of the woman beneath me.

I was thinking of her.

The rogue.

The one who said no.