Clamied By The Alpha Outcast
The forest was alive with whispers.
Leaves rustled under Aria’s boots as she tiptoed farther away from the border of her pack’s territory, ignoring every rule drilled into her since childhood. The wind teased her long chestnut curls as the moonlight slipped through the canopy above, bathing everything in a ghostly silver glow.
She shouldn’t be here.
She knew she shouldn’t.
But tonight… she couldn’t breathe inside the walls of her father’s estate.
Tonight, the whispers in her chest were louder than her fear.
Her wolf stirred beneath her skin, pacing, restless, hungry for something she couldn’t name. Something wild. Something real. Maybe it was the full moon. Maybe it was fate. Or maybe it was the fact that tomorrow, her father planned to announce her betrothal to Alpha Damon of the Blackfang Pack—a cruel, power-hungry brute she could never love.
“I’d rather die than be chained to that man,” Aria whispered bitterly.
A twig snapped in the distance.
She froze.
Every part of her screamed to turn back. She was too deep in rogue territory. No protection. No guards. No one would find her if something happened.
But her feet didn’t move. Instead, her heartbeat picked up as a haunting howl sliced through the silence. It was close—low and drawn-out, filled with pain and fury and something else she couldn’t place.
Longing.
She didn’t know what possessed her to follow the sound.
He stood at the edge of the river like a phantom born of moonlight.
Tall. Bare-chested. His muscles rippled under scars that told stories of survival. His dark hair hung in waves over his brow, and his piercing silver eyes glowed like twin moons in the night.
Aria gasped and took a step back.
His head turned slowly. Their eyes locked.
Time stilled.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then he spoke, his voice deep, rough, edged with warning.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
Her breath hitched. Her wolf whimpered inside her. Something ancient stirred between them, unseen but undeniable.
Mate.
She felt it in her bones. In her soul.
In the way her heart flipped and her knees nearly gave out.
In the way the world suddenly felt too quiet, too still, too focused on him.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
The man’s jaw clenched. He looked away as if the sight of her burned him.
“Leave.”
“Wait—”
“Leave,” he growled again, sharper this time, the air vibrating with his command.
Aria flinched, but something made her stand her ground. She didn’t know why, but her instincts told her not to run.
She studied him closer. The scars. The feral aura. The loneliness clinging to him like a second skin.
“You’re the rogue,” she breathed.
“The one the elders warn us about. The one who was exiled…”
His expression darkened.
“Alpha Kade.”
The name fell from her lips like a secret.
He met her gaze, unreadable.
“Not an alpha anymore.”
But she felt the power radiating off him. Even without a pack, even without a title, he was more alpha than anyone she’d ever met.
“Why are you out here alone?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. He could probably smell her emotions—fear, frustration, sadness.
“You’re running,” he said softly.
She crossed her arms. “So what if I am?”
A bitter smile played on his lips. “Then we’re both running, aren’t we?”
---
They stood in silence, a fragile thread connecting them across the river.
Aria should’ve turned back. She knew that. But instead, she stepped closer.
“Why did they exile you?” she asked.
Kade’s entire body tensed. His wolf flickered beneath the surface of his skin. His voice was low, controlled.
“Because I refused to become what they wanted. I wouldn't kill for power. So they tried to kill me instead.”
Aria’s heart clenched.
“They said you were dangerous.”
“I am.” His voice was cold. Honest.
But something in her didn’t believe it—not fully. There was danger in him, yes. But it wasn’t the kind that destroyed. It was the kind that protected.
“Why are you telling me this?”
He stepped forward, just slightly. “Because I can smell it on you too. You don’t belong in their world.”
She blinked. “You don’t even know me.”
“But I know your scent. And I know your eyes. I’ve seen them in my dreams.”
Her breath caught. Something inside her trembled—her wolf, awakening to something she couldn’t explain.
“Who are you, really?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
He didn’t answer with words.
Instead, he crossed the river.
The water only reached his knees, but the moment he stepped onto her side, the air crackled with something ancient. Their bond sang. Her wolf surged to the surface, desperate to get closer to him.
“Don’t,” she whispered, though her feet didn’t move.
He stopped just inches away, eyes locked on hers.
“You felt it, didn’t you?” he said.
“No—”
“Liar.”
His hand brushed her cheek, and her breath shuddered.
Electricity danced where his fingers touched.
“You’re my mate,” he whispered.
The world tilted.
Aria staggered back. “That’s not possible.”
“It is. You know it.”
“But—I’m betrothed. My father already—”
“I don’t care about your father.” His voice deepened. Possessive. Primal. “I found you. I’ll never let them take you.”
“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.
His gaze softened.
“But I will.”
Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Her body trembled, torn between fear and a wild, dangerous desire that pulsed through her like wildfire.
She should run. She should scream.
But instead… she stepped closer.
A branch snapped behind her.
Too late.
Four wolves leapt from the trees—massive, snarling, and all wearing the insignia of her father’s guards.
“Aria!” one of them barked. “Step away from him!”
Kade’s eyes flashed, and a guttural growl ripped from his throat.
“Touch her and die.”
Aria spun around. “Wait! Don’t—”
Too late.
They lunged. So did Kade.
She screamed.
The fight was brutal.
Kade moved like a shadow, faster than any wolf she’d ever seen. He shifted mid-leap, black fur bursting from his skin, claws slashing. Two guards went down instantly.
Blood splattered the leaves. Teeth sank into flesh. Kade roared, a sound so loud the earth seemed to shake beneath her feet.
But there were too many.
One of the guards grabbed Aria, yanking her backward.
“You’re coming home,” he snarled.
She struggled, kicking, screaming.
“Let me go!”
Then suddenly—he let go.
Kade had him by the throat.
“She’s not going anywhere.”
The last guard fled, terrified.
Kade turned back to Aria, blood dripping from his shoulder. His eyes were still glowing.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered. “They’ll tell my father. He’ll send more. He’ll come after you.”
“Let him,” kade growled.
She reached up, her hand brushing his bloody skin. “They’ll kill you.”
“Not if I take you first.”
Her heart stopped. “What?”
He stepped closer, his voice fierce and soft all at once.
“Come with me, Aria.”
“I—I can’t. I barely know you.”
His fingers wrapped gently around her wrist. “But your soul knows mine. And mine will never survive losing you.”
She stared into his eyes. The outcast. The rogue. The man her world told her to fear.
But her heart… her wolf…
They only whispered one thing.
Mate.
And somehow, she knew her life would never be the same again.
