Run Away from My alpha a thousand times

Kaiden Cross didn't panic.

That wasn't how he was built. Not when his company faced billion-dollar mergers. Not when rivals tried to outmaneuver him. And certainly not when his enemies threatened war.

But right now, his heart was beating too fast. His breathing too shallow. There was no bloodshed, no corporate ambush, no enemy ambush. And yet

Lucia was gone.

The moment his assistant entered his office with that pale, nervous look on her face and said, "Miss Lucia never returned from her break," something inside him snapped.

She hadn't told him where she was going. She hadn't even texted.

She had simply vanished.

Kaiden stood by the glass window of his office, high above the city skyline, eyes unfocused. His reflection stared back at him with quiet rage.

He knew she was going to try and escape but he never thought that she'll do that on the first day . He had underestimated her.

And under that polished, stoic mask, something far more primal stirred.

His wolf.

Restless.

Angry.

Worried.

The worst part? He knew exactly where her heart might have taken her. To that man. That other human male Will. The one she still hadn't let go of.

Kaiden's hands curled into fists at his side.

She's carrying my child, his wolf growled. She belongs with me.

He reached for his phone and made a call

"Lucia Hemmingway. Find her. Now," he said coldly. "Every camera feed near the building. Subway. Street view. Drones if necessary. Don't come back without results."

"Yes, Alpha."

He ended the call and turned toward the shattered glass from the whiskey he'd crushed earlier. Rage wasn't unfamiliar to him. But this rage was laced with something far more dangerous.

Fear.

---

Lucia sat on the couch in Cassandra's cluttered but homey apartment, holding a warm mug of tea with both hands. Her fingers trembled slightly, but she felt safer than she had in days.

Wrapped in a soft blanket, legs tucked under her, she watched her best friend pace the floor in her pajamas.

"I… I just, are you hearing yourself right now?" Cassandra asked. "A forced marriage? A man you barely know, running a private army of staff, controlling your phone, your clothes, even your food?"

Lucia nodded wordlessly.

"And now you're pregnant?!" Cassandra's voice cracked with emotion.

"I didn't plan this," Lucia said softly. "I didn't even realize at first. I was sick, dizzy. I thought it was stress until I took a test. And then two more. I didn't want it to be true."

"And he knows?"

"I don't think so. But I can't be sure. He's so…" Lucia sighed. "He notices everything."

Cassandra collapsed into the seat beside her. "Lucia, this is insane. You've basically been kidnapped and forced into some billionaire wolf -wall-street situation—"

Lucia flinched at the word *wolf*. If only Cassandra knew how close that guess might become.

"I didn't know where else to go," Lucia whispered. "I needed to see someone who knew me before all of this. Before Kaiden."

Cassandra grabbed her hand. "I'm glad you came. And listen no one's taking you back unless you want to go back. I'll fight him myself if I have to."

Lucia gave her a small smile, comforted despite herself.

Then came the knock.

Three, heavy, deliberate knocks.

*Boom. Boom. Boom.*

Lucia froze. The tea sloshed in her cup.

Cassandra stood immediately, eyes flashing. "Stay right here."

"Cass—please, just don't "

But Cassandra was already at the door.

She opened it to find two men in black suits and earpieces standing like statues.

"We're here for Miss Hemmingway," the taller one said. "The Alpha has requested her immediate return."

Cassandra stared them down. "Alpha? Oh, right, the human dictator who thinks he owns people. Yeah, no."

"Miss Lucia is not permitted to leave the premises without clearance," the second said smoothly.

"She's not a flight attendant. And she's not going anywhere," Cassandra replied. "You can turn around, gentlemen."

They reached for their phones simultaneously.

"We'll report her location to the Alpha."

"Do that," Cassandra said flatly, then slammed the door in their faces.

Lucia stood nearby, trembling.

"I think you just signed my death certificate," she whispered.

"I dare him to try," Cassandra said.

But moments later, the knock came again.

Only this time, it wasn't forceful.

It was quiet.

Cassandra opened the door slowly.

Kaiden stood there.

No guards.

No menacing threats.

Just him.

Tall, unreadable, dressed in dark gray. His green eyes landed on Lucia instantly. He didn't say a word for a long moment.

Lucia took a breath. "I needed space," she said.

"You disappeared," he replied, his voice low.

"You wouldn't have let me go if I told you."

"No. I wouldn't."

Cassandra stepped forward, blocking him. "She doesn't belong to you."

"I know," Kaiden said calmly. "That's the problem."

Lucia blinked.

Cassandra hesitated. "She's not leaving unless she wants to."

Kaiden didn't fight it. "I didn't come to drag her. I came to ask."

He looked at Lucia then. Really looked. There were shadows under his eyes. His jaw was clenched. But the tension in his shoulders—the fear—was visible.

"Can we talk?" he asked her.

Lucia nodded slowly. "Just us."

Cassandra stepped aside reluctantly.

---

They stood just outside the door under the glow of the hallway lights.

"I thought you went back to him," Kaiden said.

"I didn't."

"I lost my mind when I couldn't find you."

Lucia crossed her arms. "I was overwhelmed. Everyone in your world walks around like you're some untouchable king. I needed to be somewhere real."

"I know," he said. "And I'm sorry."

That surprised her.

"I've never apologized to anyone in my life," he continued. "But I don't want to be the man who makes you run."

Lucia swallowed. "Then stop treating me like your possession."

He reached out slowly and brushed her hair from her face. "I'm trying. I don't know how to love… gently. But I'm learning."

Lucia stared at him for a long moment.

This was perfect, he would be trying and she'll be having enough time to perfect her escape plan.

Then she said softly, "I'll come back. But only if you understand this: I'm not a symbol. I'm not your Luna. I'm Lucia. And if you want me to stay, you have to accept that."

His eyes flared slightly at the word *Luna*—but he nodded.

"I will."

Lucia gave him one more look, then turned toward the apartment.

"Cass?" she called gently.

Cassandra appeared, eyes wide.

"I'm going with him," Lucia said.

Cassandra looked like she wanted to protest but bit her lip. "Promise me you'll call me every day."

"I will."

Kaiden stepped closer. "You have my word. She'll be protected."

Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "She doesn't need protection. She needs freedom."

Kaiden gave a rare, small smile. "I'm working on that."

---

Outside, the car waited with the door open.

Kaiden held out his hand.

Lucia hesitated for only a second then slipped her fingers into his.

She was doing this for her baby.

It wasn't fear that drove her this time.

It was the quiet hope that maybe—just maybe—this wasn't the end of her freedom.

And as Kaiden held her hand tighter, vowing silently that he would never let her go again, a part of him stirred with something foreign.

Tenderness.

He would try.

For her.

For their child.

And for the strange, growing thing inside him that he had never known before.

Love.

And he never thought he was capable of it and he wasn't capable of it