Page 5 of Alpha's Hidden Gem

My packmates and I were huddled up, speaking quietly on the patio at the local diner. It had been only a couple of hours since I inspected Lila Taylor's food truck, and I couldn't shake the memory of what I'd encountered there.

Elena's gaze flickered past me, and she nudged my arm. "Axel, that girl is totally checking you out right now," she murmured with a smirk. "The one from the food truck, right?"

I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, there was Lila. She was talking with a friend, but her eyes kept darting in my direction. As our gazes met, a jolt of electricity seemed to arc between us. I quickly looked away, unsettled.

I could sense the disapproval radiating from my packmates. Ethan's eyes narrowed, and Finn muttered something about 'compromised leadership.' They were right to be concerned. An Alpha couldn't afford to be distracted, especially not by a human.

"Let's talk about this later," I muttered to my packmates. "I'll be monitoring her food truck for some health code issues, and that will give me time to get to the bottom of that scent."

The next day, I head into the office, my mind still spinning. I can't seem to shake thoughts of Lila - her fiery hazel eyes, the way her auburn hair escaped its messy bun to frame her face, the fullness of her lips as they pursed in irritation at me.

Goddamnit.I swear under my breath as I slam my car door shut.

I can't believe I'm letting myself get distracted by a woman who can't even follow basic health code regulations. As Alpha, I need to set an example of order and discipline, not moon over some rule-breaking human.

Fuck.

Her stubbornness, her disregard for rules, the way she challenged my authority - it all grates on my nerves. And yet, I can't stop thinking about her.

When I witness Gio, that untrustworthy character, approaching her truck, being overly friendly and flirtatious, I sense my inner wolf awakening, becoming restless and hostile. It was like every instinct in my body was screaming at me to protect Lila from him, to keep her safe from whatever game he's playing. I had to clench my fists and take deep breaths to keep from shifting right then and there.

The overwhelming urge to shield her, to put myself between her and any potential threat, caught me off guard. I'm not used to feeling so possessive, especially over a human I barely know. But there's something about her scent that calls to me on a primal level, that makes my wolf want to claim her as ours.

Damn it, I need to get a grip. I can't let myself get distracted by some infuriating, rule-breaking, gorgeous woman who's clearly trouble. I have a job to do, a pack to lead, and a secret to protect. I can't afford to let my guard down, no matter how much my body and my wolf might want to. However, as I strive to concentrate on my responsibilities, I am aware that I won't be able to resist being around Lila Taylor for much longer.

But it's not just her fiery personality that's got me on edge, it’s that scent that didn’t belong there. It was faint but unmistakable to my heightened wolf senses.

She's everything I don't want or need in a mate.

Lila’s everything I've tried to avoid - chaos, unpredictability, the messy human world that threatens to expose our secret. My life is about control and protection. How could someone like her ever fit into that?

I'm not looking for complications, and a human with some mysterious connection to the werewolf world is a major complication I definitely don't need. I'm the Alpha and my pack has to come first. I can't afford distractions or weaknesses.

But despite all my resistance, I can still feel that insistent tug - the primal urge to track her down, to unravel her secrets and stake my claim. My wolf prowls restlessly beneath my skin, drawn to her in a way I've never experienced before. What the hell is it about this woman? And what exactly is she hiding? I know I won't be able to rest until I find out.

As I stride into my office, the scent of fear hangs in the air, seeping through the open window. My wolf senses sharpen, a low hum of tension vibrating just beneath my skin. Something's wrong in Millfield. And it's not just the memory of vanilla and cinnamon that's been haunting me since I inspected Lila's food truck.

No, this is something more sinister.

My wolf stirs restlessly inside me, hackles rising at the unseen threat to our mate. He's been agitated ever since we caught her scent—the one I can't get out of my head. It's unnerving, how connected I already feel to her.

I need to stop thinking about her.

I have bigger concerns right now—pack concerns, rogue concerns—but my thoughts keep drifting back to Lila.

She's the one, my wolf rumbles, his thoughts circling back to her. Our mate. You felt it too.

I close my eyes for a moment, letting the memory wash over me. The instant I caught her scent, the pull was so strong it nearly brought me to my knees. Every instinct, every fiber of my being screamed at me that I'd found her—my mate. The one I've been waiting for, the one who completes me in ways I never imagined possible. It's terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

But with that realization came a wave of dread so heavy it still clings to me now. Lila is human. Human. And in all of shifter history, there's never been a mated pair between a human and a shifter.

It's not just frowned upon—it's impossible.

A violation of the laws that govern our world.

She's still ours, my wolf insists, stubborn as always. Not impossible. Laws be damned.

There's a primal certainty in his tone, something that shakes me. He's never been this determined before, not about anyone. This is different.