The Alpha's Claim: From Island Dreams to Moonlit Bonds

recognize the room-the clean lines, muted tones, and distant hum of city life beyond the windows. For the first time in years, she hadn't been jolted awake by a child

ou

as in

on

utside her window, shimmering with early morning energy. Buses and cars moved in a steady str

help with shoes. She missed her children with a fierceness that surprised her, but she also felt-free. It was

ork out the kinks in her shoulders. Hot water cascaded over her shoulders as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She could alrea

earrings. Her long pixie cut was styled in soft waves, and she applied minimal makeup-just enough to feel polished. A

r narrow alleyways where old women sold gimbap and fried sweet potatoes fro

ldren performing a traditional dance in a public square, their colorful hanbok fluttering with every spi

and glass. He stared out over Seoul, the hum of the city below lost beneath the

a human-especially one who smelled like sunshine and sea bre

ld fee

e air inside was warm and smelled of honey and roasted beans. Marisa ordered a matcha latte and took a

n shadow, still and watchful. A

nce dawn. His instincts warred with logic, and for once, instinct wa

ouldn't

He saw the way her smile reached her eyes, the way her aura pulsed with warmth. Everything about her call

nd. Let her live he

turned to leave,

d. She looked

eyes

rowed to a single

, strikingly handsome, and somehow... familiar? He

nd to her chest.

mething deeper, more primal. Like her soul had mome

t had rattled him more than he cared to admit. She'd seen him. Really seen him. And she had f

was t

in her dreams, in the pull of her senses. It would start subtly-an unexplained

't make mistakes. He knew this. But he also knew the danger he lived with. Th

to that world

d his eyes, all he c

he air before a storm. She tossed and turned, finally rising to stand by the wind

, "What's hap

e pounding, but not from fear. From exhilaration. From something-or someone-calling to her. S

his hidden estate. Shirtless, his chest rose and fell with each d

d feel

. Her confusi

d was a

hunt h

. She told herself the matcha was really good, or that the spot by the win

? She wa

ghts, half-formed feelings, things she'd forgotten she even needed to say. Travel w

n-but this time from inside a black

lf," Jun said without lo

kno

's h

kno

oked over. "Bu

tightene

thick. Even the wolf inside

to know," Jun

e woman across the street who had no ide

longer something

me to sto

art cl

only by the soft glow of the bedside lamp. She stared at her phone screen, debating whether to call Janessa for the fifth time that day. She missed the

ss in her chest, like a question with no answer. It followed her

a knock at

usly. Maybe it was housekeeping. Maybe she'd ordered something

white box o

ide, nestled in white satin, was a single, hand-crafted moonstone pendant on a

sent it? Or one of the

night wind tousling his dark hair. He could sense the moment her fingers

d behind him.

im. "She needed some

t grunt. "You're

ready

his own bloodline. If any supernatural force tried to harm her, he would f

ng in her palm. Her chest felt tight. She didn't know what to make

r dreams took

figure-tall, broad-shouldered, golden eyes glinting in the darkness. Her name ec

are

swered only

the forest, th

epped

e as if on autopilot, but her mind felt foggy, her senses unusually sharp. The weight of the

the edge of the city. It was a place meant for reflection, but even as she wandered through sto

a

about him. But her dreams whispered it, again a

rby, a monk lit incense and began to chant in low tones. The sm

osed h

d feel h

chi

it

tec

eyes trained on her from afar. He didn't dare step closer. Not yet

ding it, the more it tethered them together. The magic was doing its work. S

hone

u

to the estate. The

e replying. Then f

eturn

to watch over her. Tomorrow, the war o

to

was his onl

d back toward her hotel, the city

ng by the exit gate. He wasn't dressed like a monk or tourist-he wore dark clothes, a hood

o a shaded walkway between shrines.

shadow moved-faster, larger. Kai appeared from nowhere, ste

to her without turning arou

Kai's stance-his power, hi

breath caught in her throat. When she turned

dn't shake the memory. How had he appeared so quickl

drawn to a tranquil park nestled between two towering buildings. A narrow path wound through flowering trees, and in the center

a

nd this time,

e of the path, his

spered, her vo

wly, cautiously. "I did

arlier, wasn't it? At the temple. And outside

was wrong, especially at the temple. That man-he

ng between them. "I don't know what would've happened if you

I... I saw you before. O

follow you. I just... neede

re whether to be flattered or

ated. I know I owe you answers. An

don't even know me. Why wo

t to. Because from the moment I saw you, something ancient

d. "That's not poss

it too. Don't you?

ds wouldn't come. She did feel something.

u?" she fin

ungwoo Lee. I'm... not exactly like you. I

"Alpha King? L

owly. "Werew

was serious. "Okay. Sure.

hifted-just slightly, but enough th

ed back. "You

adl

the bench behind her. "Ok

tance. "I didn't want to involve you. But the Moon

n for

ted. "To

ou

ma

ther. A tourist. I'm not par

ys you are. And I know you're scared. So a

ggling to breathe. "This

... wear the pendant. It'll protect you. And if a

kily. Then walked aw

he expected. But he wouldn't push. He had waited his

en them had on

ever misse