Run Away from My alpha a thousand times

The return to the Cross mansion was unusually quiet.

No guards in the hallways. No servants in their rigid lines. Kaiden had dismissed everyone the moment they arrived. For once, it was just him and Lucia inside the grand, echoing house that had never felt like a home.

Lucia said nothing as she stepped through the massive double doors. She didn't ask questions. She didn't glance his way. Her arms were crossed tightly, and her steps were cautious but steady.

"I had dinner prepared," Kaiden said as he closed the door behind them.

She turned to him slowly, eyebrows raised.

He motioned toward a smaller, more intimate dining space tucked in beside the main hall , a warm candle flickered between two steaming plates.

No long table. No ten-foot space between their seats. No audience of silent staff.

Just… dinner.

Lucia hesitated, then walked toward the table. The scent hit her, garlic, basil, fresh herbs. Her favorite kind of pasta, creamy and simple.

She sat stiffly, picked up her fork, and twirled some linguine without eating it.

Kaiden sat across from her and began eating in silence.

"This smells better than yesterday," she murmured.

He looked up. "Amelia told me you liked this."

Lucia blinked. "You asked her?"

"I listen."

That silenced her.

The meal passed slowly but without tension. Neither of them brought up the office. It was as if they both silently agreed to pretend for now, that the storm hadn't happened.

When she finished, Lucia pushed back her chair. "I'm going to bed."

Kaiden stood. "Wait. Stay with me tonight."

Lucia turned, confused. "Why?"

"Because I can't sleep when you're not beside me," he said honestly. "Nothing else. No touching. Just… stay."

She stared at him for a long time, searching for a trap. She didn't find one.

"…Fine," she said at last. "Just for tonight."

He nodded, and they walked in silence to his room.

She definitely might not miss her old room

---

Lucia laid on the edge of the massive bed, back to him, facing the windows. She could hear Kaiden undress quietly, shirt removed, pants changed. Then the soft rustle of sheets as he slid under the covers beside her.

The room went still.

She kept her eyes closed, not because she was asleep, but because her heart couldn't take reading his face.

He didn't reach for her.

He didn't touch her.

But somewhere in the quiet, his breathing calmed.

And hers followed.

---

Morning light poured through the wide windows, falling across Kaiden's face. The first thing he became aware of wasn't the sunlight.

It was warmth.

A small, soft body curled into his side.

Lucia.

He glanced down and found her pressed against him, one hand resting on his bare chest, her face half-buried against his shoulder.

His chest tightened. Not with tension. But something deeper.

He exhaled slowly and let his hand drift down to the curve of her belly.

Still flat.

But not for long.

There was a child in there. His child.

Something ancient and protective surged through him. Not just as a wolf but as a man.

He leaned in and brushed her forehead with a gentle kiss, then slowly pulled away, careful not to wake her.

---

By the time Lucia woke, the sun was already high.

She reached out, instinctively searching for him only to find the space beside her cold and empty.

She sat up, frowning.

"He left?" she murmured, brushing a hand over her hair.

A soft knock came at the door.

Amelia entered quietly. "Good morning, Luna. The Alpha asked that when you're ready, I bring you to his office. Breakfast is downstairs."

Lucia blinked. "He left me here? Alone?"

Amelia smiled softly. "He left instructions for everything. Clothes, food, and… a note."

Lucia climbed out of bed and found the note waiting on the breakfast tray.

*Eat. You'll need energy. The office awaits. K.*

She sighed. "Of course."

Still, she dressed, light blue blouse, sleek black pants, and flat shoes. Comfortable, but still elegant. There was thought in every piece. Kaiden's attention, again.

She ate quickly, then followed Amelia to the car that took her to Cross Corporation.

---

The tower was buzzing as always. Lucia entered through the private entrance as instructed, nerves tingling.

Today was a new day.

She was back.

This time, by choice.

She moved confidently toward the employee elevators, but just as she reached for the panel, a sharp voice rang out behind her.

"Excuse me."

Lucia turned to find a tall, model-thin woman in a sharp gray suit and bright red lipstick standing behind the receptionist's desk.

"You can't be here."

Lucia blinked. "I work here."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You? Where's your employee badge?"

"I'm Kaiden's—"

"Kaiden?" the woman cut in. "Chairman Cross doesn't take personal visitors through this entrance. Clients use the side elevator."

"I'm his wife," Lucia said evenly.

The woman laughed.

Actually laughed. "You're not even wearing a wedding ring."

Lucia gritted her teeth. "Look. Call him. Ask him. Or better yet, move. I have work to do."

The woman stepped in her path.

"I said " she began.

But Lucia never heard the rest.

*SMACK!*

The receptionist's hand struck her across the cheek.

The slap echoed in the lobby.

Gasps rippled across the room as every head turned.

Lucia staggered, one hand pressed to her cheek in shock.

Eyes blurred. Heart racing.

Her entire body froze.

Then someone screamed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

And that's where the world began to burn.

The air in the lobby felt like it had been sucked out. Time stood still.

Lucia's hand trembled where it hovered over her cheek. It still stung, but the heat spreading across her face wasn't just from the slap, it was from the humiliation, the disbelief, the reminder that she didn't belong in this world no matter how many times Kaiden told her otherwise.

But Kaiden was already moving.

He crossed the space in long, dangerous strides. Every inch of him radiated fury, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles twitched.

He didn't speak until he was standing directly in front of the receptionist.

"Who. Touched. Her?"

The woman's lips parted, but nothing came out. Her face drained of color.

"I said," Kaiden growled, stepping closer, "who put a hand on my wife?"

The woman flinched, backing up a step. "S-sir, I didn't realize"

"Didn't realize?" His voice was ice. "You didn't realize that slapping a guest my wife in the face was a problem?"

Lucia tried to speak. "Kaiden, I"

He held up a hand. "Not now."

The woman scrambled to salvage herself. "Sir, I was told to follow protocol. She didn't have clearance, she refused to leave "

"You didn't think to verify anything? Call my office? Security? My assistant?" His voice dropped lower. "Instead, you assaulted her in my building."

"I-I didn't mean to hit her that hard"

"That hard?" His voice cracked like thunder. "You don't get to measure your violence."

Lucia swallowed thickly. The lobby was still watching. Every receptionist, intern, and staff member too afraid to move.

Then Kaiden turned not to her, but to the surrounding floor.

"Listen to me closely," he said, voice amplified. "This woman is my wife. The next time anyone questions her place in this building or in my life will be the last time they walk through these doors."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

He turned back to the woman, his face blank. "You're fired."

The receptionist stumbled backward. "S-sir, please"

"Security," Kaiden called.

Two guards appeared almost instantly.

"Escort her out."

"No! Please, I didn't know" she wailed.

Kaiden didn't flinch. "Get her out of my sight."

The guards obeyed.

Lucia watched, dazed, as the woman who had slapped her was dragged away.

Once the doors shut and the lobby returned to uneasy stillness, Kaiden finally turned to her.

His eyes softened. Just a little.

"Are you okay?" he asked, stepping closer.

She nodded. "It was just a slap."

"That doesn't make it acceptable."

"I didn't say it did," she said quietly.

His jaw flexed again. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."

Lucia looked up at him. "Would it have mattered? You think I belong in this world, Kaiden, but your people—they don't see me. They don't respect me. I'm just some… girl who wandered in."

Kaiden exhaled slowly. "They'll learn. I'll make sure of it."

She didn't say anything.

Instead, she reached up and touched her cheek again, wincing slightly.

Without thinking, Kaiden reached for her hand and gently pulled it away. Then, in front of everyone, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Whispers swept the room like wildfire.

But Lucia didn't care.

In that moment, the warmth of his lips on her skin, the solid weight of his presence beside her it made her feel strangely seen.

Maybe not respected yet. But noticed.

Wanted.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Let's go upstairs. You need ice."

Lucia nodded silently.

And together, they walked into the elevator the entire building watching as Kaiden Cross held her hand like he was never letting it go.