The Alpha's Claims

The medical report in Sienna Ashford's trembling hands might as well have been a detonator, ticking down to her inevitable destruction. She read the words over and over, but they didn't change: Four weeks pregnant.

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the couch, the frayed fabric rough beneath her fingertips. The walls of her tiny apartment seemed to close in around her, suffocating her with the weight of the realization. This wasn't just any pregnancy. This was his.

Cassian Valtor. Alpha of the Silver Shadow Pack.

Sienna had spent years avoiding packs, their rules, and their suffocating dominance. Her mother's warnings echoed in her head: Stay away from wolves. They'll take everything. And she had-until Cassian. He was everything she had sworn to avoid: commanding, powerful, and dangerous. Yet one night, one lapse in judgment, had tied her to him in the most permanent way possible.

Her wolf stirred uneasily inside her, sensing her turmoil. There was no denying the bond between her and Cassian now, faint though it was. That night had forged it.

---

[Flashback: Sienna's Past]

Sienna's life before Cassian had been a relentless cycle of survival. Raised by her human mother, she had spent most of her life hiding her wolf nature from the world. Her mother, once mated to a rogue who abandoned them, had instilled a deep distrust of packs and Alphas in her. Packs meant submission, and Alphas meant control-two things her fiercely independent spirit couldn't accept.

Her mother's death five years ago had left her truly alone. Since then, she'd drifted between towns, avoiding any place with too many wolves. But loneliness had a way of creeping in, chipping away at her resolve until one night, she'd let her guard down.

The bar on the edge of Silver Shadow territory had been dimly lit, the kind of place where no one asked questions. Sienna had been nursing a drink, her thoughts a storm of regret and exhaustion, when she felt him. The moment Cassian walked in, the air shifted. His presence was magnetic, his storm-gray eyes cutting through the room to find hers as though he'd been searching for her.

She should have walked away, but she hadn't. That night had been a blur of heat and inevitability, their connection consuming them both in a way neither could deny.

---

A sharp knock at the door shattered the silence, sending her heart into her throat. It wasn't polite. It was firm, deliberate, and laced with authority.

"Sienna," came the deep, resonant voice from the other side of the door. Smooth, commanding, and impossible to ignore. "Open up."

Her pulse quickened as she stared at the door, her hands trembling. She didn't need to check the peephole to know who it was. Her wolf stirred again, torn between excitement and defiance.

The knock came again, harder this time. "Don't make me break it down."

She flinched at the finality in his tone. Cassian Valtor wasn't a man who waited. With a shaky sigh, she unlocked the door, barely cracking it open before it was pushed wide. Cassian strode in, filling the small space with his commanding presence.

The room seemed to shrink around him, his storm-gray eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her chest tighten. He was wearing a dark jacket and boots, his hair slightly tousled, and the faint scent of pine and earth clung to him.

"What's going on, Sienna?" he asked, his voice low but sharp. His gaze dropped to the crumpled paper in her hand, narrowing slightly. "What are you hiding?"

Her instinct was to step back, but her legs refused to move. "It's nothing," she said quickly, clutching the report tighter.

His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. "Nothing?" he echoed, taking a deliberate step toward her. "You forget who you're dealing with."

Her chest heaved as he advanced, but her defiance flared. "I don't have to tell you anything, Cassian."

His smirk deepened, and the flash of his wolf in his storm-gray eyes made her stomach twist. "Don't you?"

Before she could react, he closed the distance between them in a single stride, backing her against the wall. His hands came up, bracketing her head as he leaned in, his body mere inches from hers. The heat of him was overwhelming, his scent wrapping around her like a vice.

"Let me see it," he growled, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down her spine.

Her chest tightened as her thoughts scrambled. She turned her face away, clutching the report like a lifeline. "No."

He chuckled softly, the sound dark and unrelenting. "You're stubborn," he murmured, his hand sliding down the wall to brush against her arm. His fingers were warm, deliberate, and impossibly gentle for a man who exuded such dominance. "But I don't have time for games, little wolf."

Sienna gasped as he gripped her wrist, prying the report from her grasp with infuriating ease. She reached out to grab it back, but he caught her other hand, pinning it against the wall with a firm but careful hold.

"Cassian, stop-" she began, but her voice faltered as he lifted the paper, his storm-gray eyes scanning the words. The air grew heavier with every passing second.

When he looked at her again, his expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with intensity. "You're pregnant," he said, his voice low and filled with certainty.

Her stomach churned as the truth hung between them, heavy and suffocating. "It doesn't change anything," she said quickly, her voice trembling. "I don't need you. I can handle this on my own."

Cassian tilted his head, his lips curving into a slow, predatory smile. "You really believe that?"

"I know that," she snapped, though her defiance felt fragile under the weight of his gaze.

His grip on her wrist softened, and he brought her hand to his chest, pressing it against the steady thrum of his heartbeat. "You're carrying my heir," he said, his voice softening slightly but losing none of its authority. "That makes you part of my pack, whether you like it or not."

Her breath hitched as his thumb brushed over the inside of her wrist, a deliberate, soothing gesture that confused her as much as it infuriated her. "I'm not part of your pack," she said, her voice shaking. "I don't belong to you."

His eyes darkened, his wolf flashing again. "Don't you?" he murmured, leaning closer until his lips brushed against her temple. His voice was a low growl, dark and intimate. "You've been mine since the moment I laid eyes on you. And now, so is that child."

The possessiveness in his tone sent a ripple of heat through her, and she hated the way her body responded to him. Her wolf stirred under his dominance, torn between defiance and submission. "I don't belong to anyone," she whispered, though the words felt hollow.

Cassian's hand moved to her jaw, tilting her face up to meet his. His thumb brushed against her cheek, his touch both firm and tender. "You can fight it all you want," he said softly, his storm-gray eyes locking onto hers. "But it won't change the truth. You're mine. And I will protect what's mine."

Her chest heaved as she stared up at him, her thoughts a whirlwind of fear, anger, and something she couldn't name. She wanted to push him away, to tell him he was wrong, but the intensity in his gaze rooted her in place.

"This isn't over," he said finally, his voice leaving no room for argument. He released her hand but didn't step back. "You're coming with me."

Her jaw clenched. "You can't make me-"

"I already have." His lips curved into a smirk as he turned toward the door. "Pack your things."