Oops… I Went Into Heat and My Alpha Daddies Claimed Me

KEISHA’S POV

The address on the letter led far beyond the busiest parts of Ashveil.

I had called Lyra’s number several times but it never went through. So here I was.

It wasn’t difficult to understand why this location had been chosen. Hardly anyone came here anymore. Most of the warehouses had been abandoned years ago after newer storage facilities were built closer to the trading routes. The few that remained standing were almost forgotten.

I slowed my pace as the warehouse came into view.

Its massive sliding doors were half open, leaving just enough space for someone to slip inside. One of the hinges was crooked, and the faded company logo painted above the entrance had almost disappeared beneath the dust and peeling paint. Everything about the place suggested abandonment, yet the fresh tyre tracks I had seen through the dirt outside made implications clear.

Someone had been here recently.

I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder because I knew Dane was somewhere behind me.

I couldn’t see him, and that was exactly how it needed to be. We’d agreed before leaving that if anyone was watching, they had to believe I’d come alone. He would remain hidden until the right moment, no matter how much either of us disliked the arrangement.

Drawing a steady breath, I stepped inside.

The warehouse smelled exactly as I expected— dust, damp wood and metal left to rust. Every footstep echoed through the enormous space and sunlight filtered through broken windows, illuminating the dust particles.

It was empty. Or at least they wanted me to believe it was.

I walked farther in, my eyes sweeping across every corner without making it obvious. A place like this offered dozens of hiding spots. Anyone waiting for me could watch from almost anywhere.

"I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind." The familiar voice echoed from somewhere ahead.

I turned as Orin emerged from behind a row of wooden crates, looking almost exactly as I remembered him. His clothes were cleaner than the last time I’d seen him, but there was something increasingly unhinged about the way he smiled, as though he’d spent too much time convincing himself that everything happening around him was perfectly reasonable.

His attention remained fixed entirely on me and I took a step back.

"I came," I said evenly. "Now tell me where my sister is."

He smiled wider. "Straight to business."

"My sister!"

"She’s safe."

I searched his face for any sign that he was lying.

"If you’d refused to come," he continued, "that might have changed. Fortunately for her, you still care enough to listen."

A knot tightened inside my chest. "You haven’t touched her?"

"I haven’t even gone near her."

Something about the answer caught my attention. "What? You haven’t?"

"No." His smile lingered. "I didn’t need to."

He hadn’t claimed to have Lyra. Only that she was safe. Then why couldn’t anyone get through to her?

"Why am I here, Orin?"

He ignored the question. Instead, he began walking towards me at an unhurried pace but I didn’t move.

He stopped barely an arm’s length away. "I’ve missed you."

"I didn’t ask what you missed."

"I know." He smirked.

"I asked why you brought me here."

For a brief moment, disappointment crossed his face, as though I’d failed to react the way he’d imagined. "I thought we’d have more time before talking about unpleasant things."

"I’m not here to reminisce."

"No," he murmured. "You’re here because you still think you can save everyone."

Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist and I twisted instinctively, trying to pull free, but he had already dragged me several steps towards one of the support pillars near the centre of the warehouse.

Only then did I notice the chains. They had already been secured around the thick steel column, prepared in advance.

My stomach tightened. Fucking bastard.

"So this was your plan."

"It saves time." He forced my arms above my head before snapping the first cuff shut around my wrist.

I drove my shoulder into his chest, trying to throw him off balance, but he anticipated the movement, catching my other arm before fastening the second cuff.

" Fuck... I told you this was stupid." Diane huffed in my head.

I pulled hard against the restraints but they didn’t budge.

Tell me about it.

The chains rattled loudly as I tested them again.

"You’ll hurt yourself." Orin tilted his head.

"I’ll survive." I spat at him.

"I know you will."

I stopped struggling long enough to glare at him. "What exactly do you think this achieves?"

His expression softened in a way that unsettled me far more than anger would have. "We finish what was interrupted."

"There was never anything to finish." I threw my head back with a sigh.

He shook his head slowly. "They kept us apart."

"No. I made my own decision."

His jaw clenched. "They poisoned you against me."

I almost laughed. "You really believe that?"

"I know it to be true." His voice was soft. Almost soothing.

"You’ve convinced yourself every choice I’ve ever made belongs to someone else because accepting the truth would force you to admit I simply didn’t choose you." I said every word with spite.

His face darkened. "You don’t mean that."

"I do."

"I can still fix this."

"There isn’t anything left to fix!" I yelled.

"There is if you come with me."

I stared at him. "You dragged me into an abandoned warehouse, chained me to a pillar and threatened my sister, and you somehow think the next logical step is asking me to run away with you?"

"It doesn’t have to stay like this." He shook his head as he stepped closer. "We can leave Ashveil."

"I won’t." I shook my head fervently.

"We’ll disappear somewhere nobody can find us." He continued as though he didn’t care about my opinion.

"I’m not going!"

His breathing became heavier. "You belong with me."

"I don’t belong to anyone." My breathing was ragged asI tilted my head slightly. "What happens if I refuse?"

"You won’t." He smirked again.

"And if I do? Will you kill me?" His eyes narrowed and I continued. "Or perhaps you’ll let those masked men do it for you."

The change in his expression was immediate and he froze, every trace of confidence disappearing beneath genuine surprise. "...What did you say?"

"The masked men." I repeated.

His eyes searched mine. "How do you know about them?"

"I’ve heard enough." I said vaguely.

"From who?"

"Dane."

The name alone was enough and his face twisted with unmistakable resentment. "Dane." He muttered.

I remained silent.

"He just can’t stay out of this, can he? He filled your head with lies. He turned you against me."

"No. You’ve been turning me against you all by yourself."

His hand tightened around the knife he carried. "You keep saying his name."

"Because he’s been trying to stop innocent people from dying." Before I could finish the sentence, the knife came down on my cheek and pain bloomed there. The cut wasn’t deep, just grazing the skin enough to draw blood.

A warm trickle of blood ran slowly towards my jaw and I inhaled sharply but refused to cry out.

Orin crouched in front of me, gripping my chin so I couldn’t turn away. "Where is he now?" he asked quietly. "Is he going to burst through that door and save you?"

I didn’t answer, because, over his shoulder, I caught the slightest movement between two stacks of crates.

Dane.

He’d made it inside and he was hidden exactly where we’d planned.

Our eyes met for only a fraction of a second and I gave the smallest shake of my head.

Not yet.

He couldn’t intervene now. We still needed answers.

I turned my attention back to Orin. "You never answered my question."

"What question?" His brow furrowed.

"How did you get involved with the masked men?"

He studied me carefully. Then, to my surprise... He smiled. "You really don’t know."

"I wouldn’t be asking if I did."

"They found me." The admission came so easily that I almost thought I’d misheard him. "They’d been watching me for a long time. They knew what I wanted."

"And what was that?"

"You." His smile widened. "They understood something everyone else ignored. They knew you belonged with me. So they offered to help. They said if I cooperated with them, they’d remove the obstacles standing between us."

My heartbeat quickened. "What did they want in return?"

"Nothing unreasonable."

I held his gaze. "What did they want?"

"Information."

"What kind of information?"

"The pack." He shrugged as though discussing the weather. "Movements. Patrol routes. Security changes. Anything useful."

"So you betrayed Ashveil."

"No, Keisha. I made a trade."

"You committed treason against the pack, you bastard."

"I made a choice."

My fingers tightened around the chains. "People died because of those choices."

His expression didn’t change. "They weren’t important."

I swallowed the anger threatening to rise. "What about Doctor Fenn?"

He remained silent.

"The nursery? The attacks?" I pressed.

His smile returned. "They had plans."

"Who are they?" I asked, my breathing ragged.

"I’ve never met all of them." He admitted with a shrug.

"But you’ve met some."

He nodded. "I know where they stay."

Every muscle in my body tensed. "Where?"

He gave me the location without hesitation and I committed every detail to memory.

It was farther north than I’d expected, hidden among abandoned quarry buildings beyond the river. If he was telling the truth, Callum finally had somewhere to begin, I forced myself to remain calm. "Who’s leading them?"

For the first time since we began talking, Orin laughed. Almost like he didn’t believe I would be that stupid. "You really thought I’d answer that?"

I said nothing and he slowly rose to his feet. "You’ve been asking an awful lot of questions."

My pulse quickened. "I’ve always been curious. You know that about me."

"No." He shook his head. "You’ve been buying time."

A chill travelled down my spine as his eyes drifted away from me and towards the stack of crates where Dane was hidden.

"I wondered why you came so willingly," he said. "Then I realised something."

My mouth went dry.

"You aren’t brave enough to walk into a trap without a backup plan." His smile returned. "And I may be obsessed..." He lifted the knife. "...but I’m not stupid." He snarled.

Before I could shout a warning, Orin spun and hurled the knife with terrifying speed towards the exact place where Dane was concealed.

My heart stopped.

"Dane!"