The Husky I saved is a Powerful Alpha

Lena's POV

The words Seraphina had said kept replaying in my mind. Unlocking your powers will cost you your life. I couldn't ignore them, but deep down, I knew I had no choice. The mark, the curse, the power inside me—it was all too much to ignore. I had to understand it, even if it meant facing the consequences.

"I'm ready," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. Asher looked at me, his eyes scanning my face, as though searching for some sign that I understood what I was really asking for. He didn't say anything right away, just stood there, his gaze heavy. After a long pause, he nodded.

"Alright," he replied, his voice low and serious. "If you're sure."

I was sure.

Training with Asher was harder than anything I had ever done. We pushed through long, grueling hours, trying to draw the power from inside me, trying to unlock what was buried deep within. His focus was relentless, and he was always one step ahead, guiding me through each exercise with precision. There were moments when I could almost feel it, that raw power stirring inside me, but I never quite reached it. Each time I failed, my frustration grew. The power was there, I could feel it, but I couldn't access it—not yet.

But it wasn't just the training that was getting to me. It was him. Asher's presence was hard to ignore. His energy, his determination—everything about him made it impossible to think about anything else. At first, I convinced myself that it was the danger, the fact that we were both in this mess together. But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized it wasn't just that. There was something else—something I couldn't explain—that pulled me toward him.

I tried to push it aside. I had to focus on unlocking my powers, not on whatever this thing was between us. But no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I couldn't deny it. Every time our hands brushed, every time his gaze lingered on me, the connection between us grew stronger.

The clearing was quiet except for our heavy breathing. My muscles ached, each movement sending a wave of exhaustion through my body. The moon hung above us, casting pale light that seemed to make everything shimmer, but it couldn't drown out the tension I felt between me and Asher. He was sitting across from me, his eyes focused, studying me like he was trying to read something I wasn't showing.

"You're pushing yourself too hard," he said, his voice low, more serious than I was used to. His gaze held me captive, as if he could see past the mask I wore. I didn't like how vulnerable that made me feel.

"I'm fine," I replied, but the words tasted hollow on my tongue. I wasn't fine. I was a mess, sore and frustrated, struggling to get the power to respond to me the way I wanted. My breath came in quick, uneven bursts. I should have said something more, but the weight of his look made me shrink inside.

Asher didn't speak again. He just watched me, his eyes intense. I could feel the space between us getting smaller, his silence pulling me closer. My heart began to race, but not from exertion. It was something else—a charge in the air, something thick and heavy. I couldn't tell if it was him, if it was me, or if it was just the weight of everything hanging between us. But I felt it. I couldn't ignore it.

Without a word, Asher moved forward, closing the distance between us. His gaze never wavered, and neither did mine. I didn't have time to question it. I didn't have time to stop myself. His hand reached out, slow, deliberate, and brushed mine. It was like a spark—gentle but burning—and I felt it shoot through me, up my arm, into my chest. My breath hitched, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe altogether. The world around us seemed to fade. There was only him. Only the heat of his skin against mine. Only the way my heart skipped, then raced.

He didn't pull away. His touch lingered, his fingers brushing against mine like he was testing the connection. My pulse was pounding in my ears, my whole body reacting, aching, wanting—too much. I looked at him, and for that one second, it felt like the universe had paused, like time had stopped just for us.

Then, before I could blink, Asher moved again. His face was so close to mine, the air between us electric, humming. His breath was warm against my lips, and I could see the storm in his eyes, the battle he was fighting, one that mirrored my own.

And then he kissed me.

It wasn't soft, not at first. It was urgent, almost desperate, like something we had both been holding back for too long. His lips were warm, pressing against mine with a hunger that felt deep, like it had been building for a while and now it couldn't be stopped. My body responded before my mind could catch up. My hands moved on their own, slipping around his neck, pulling him closer, desperate to feel more of him, to close the distance that had been too much for too long.

For a few heartbeats, it was perfect. The world was nothing but the taste of him, the feeling of his hands on my skin, his lips claiming mine like he was showing me something I hadn't known I needed. Everything else—everything we were—faded away.

But then, just as quickly, it ended.

Asher pulled away, leaving a cold emptiness in the space between us. My chest was tight, my breath ragged, as if I had been holding my breath for far too long. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I stared down at my hands, feeling like they were still tingling from where they had touched him. Everything inside me screamed to say something, to do something, but the words wouldn't come.

"We... we shouldn't have done that," Asher said, his voice rough, almost apologetic, but it didn't take away the sting of his words.

I couldn't meet his gaze. Instead, I stood up, my knees shaky, trying to gather some semblance of composure. "Yeah. You're right."

But even as I said the words, I knew it wasn't just a kiss. It wasn't something I could brush off. I had kissed him. And something in me had shifted. The way I felt now—complicated, unsure, and raw—it was more than just that moment.

The connection between us had deepened, and there was no way of pretending it didn't matter.

The days after the kiss were a blur of training, each session feeling more intense than the last. But something had shifted between us, something I couldn't ignore. I could feel it in the way Asher watched me, in the way his movements were just a little more guarded. It wasn't just about unlocking my powers anymore. It was about everything else, about what had happened and the way it lingered between us, unspoken.

We didn't talk about the kiss. We didn't acknowledge it, not directly. But it hung in the air, thick and heavy, making everything harder to focus on.

By the fifth day after it, I could barely look him in the eye without feeling my stomach twist. Every time his gaze lingered on me, I felt something inside me stir, a tension that I wasn't sure how to deal with. And every time I caught myself thinking about him, about the way his lips had felt against mine, I forced myself to push it all away.

It was during one of those moments, right after our training session, that I felt it. A change in the air, a subtle shift. Asher was standing a little farther from me than usual, his posture stiff. His eyes weren't on me, but I could feel the weight of them on my skin, like he was trying to keep something buried deep inside. His jaw was clenched tight, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

For a second, I thought he might say something. I waited, but he didn't. He just looked away, his gaze hard and unreadable.

"Let's call it a day," he said, his voice low, distant. It was strange. Usually, when we finished training, there was always something to say, a hint of satisfaction or frustration or even a joke to ease the tension. But not today. Today, his voice was flat. Like he wasn't even really here.

I opened my mouth, ready to ask him what was wrong, but before I could get the words out, something hit me—sharp, cold, and like a punch to the gut. A wave of fear. But it wasn't mine. It was his.

My breath caught in my throat, my heart hammering in my chest. The sensation was overwhelming, as if I could feel his fear pulse through my own veins. It made my hands shake, and I took a step toward him, desperate to understand what was happening.

"Asher?" I called out, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "What's going on?"

His eyes met mine, and I saw something there—something dark, something raw. His face was twisted in pain, and for a moment, I saw something in his eyes that made me falter, something I couldn't quite name.

"Lena," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I... I need to protect you."

Before I could say anything else, the world around us seemed to shift, the air growing thick with danger. My heart raced as a sound echoed from behind us, a rustling in the shadows. I turned, my stomach sinking.

And then I saw him.

Darius.

He stepped into the clearing, his smirk wide and cold, like he already knew how this would play out. His presence filled the space between us, suffocating and suffused with power. My breath hitched, my body going rigid in fear.

Asher's expression turned fierce, his posture straightening as he stepped in front of me, but Darius's eyes never left mine. He took a step forward, the same cold, calculating smirk still plastered on his face.

"Let her go," Asher growled, his voice full of authority and fury.

Darius didn't move. Instead, he glanced at me, his eyes gleaming with malice.

"Asher will come for you," Darius said, his tone chilling. "And when he does, it will be his downfall."