Ruin Me, Alpha-Chapter 35: Ghosts, Puppets and the Price of Obsession

I pushed away from Devon’s chest, my body still humming from what we’d just done, but my mind screaming to get distance. He watched me dress with that predatory gaze, like he was already planning the next round. I didn’t say a word as I yanked on my clothes, ignoring the ache between my legs. He followed suit, pulling on his pants and shirt, but his eyes never left me.

"Ready to meet the others?" he asked, voice low and casual, like we hadn’t just torn each other apart.

I shot him a glare. "Others? You said there were only three."

He smirked, buttoning his shirt. "Three besides me. Come on."

He grabbed my hand before I could protest, tugging me out of the bedroom and down the hall. The frozen world outside the windows still creeped me out—everything seemed frozen except the people moving around like they were being controlled by a remote. We reached the elevator at the end of the corridor, the doors sliding open with a soft ding that echoed too loudly in the silence.

We stepped inside. The doors closed, and the small space felt even smaller with him in it. His scent wrapped around me—musk and pine and that faint metallic tang of blood from where I’d clawed him. I hated how it made my pulse quicken. I leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, staring at the floor numbers lighting up as we descended. Or ascended? The buttons glowed, but I couldn’t tell.

"So," I said, breaking the silence first because I couldn’t stand it. "This your big reveal? Parading me around like a trophy in your ghost town?"

He chuckled, leaning back casually, but his eyes were locked on me like I was the only thing in existence. "Not parading. Introducing. You wanted to know if I was alone here. I’m showing you."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. Because transparency’s your thing now. After lying about everything else."

"I never lied about wanting you," he shot back, voice dropping an octave. His gaze flicked to my lips, then back up. "That’s always been real."

Heat crept up my neck, but I shoved it down. "Wanting? Try obsessing. You built a whole world and decided to trap me. That’s not love, Devon. That’s insanity."

He pushed off the wall, closing the distance in one step. The elevator vibrated around us, but it felt like the world had stopped again. "Call it what you want. I watched you for years. And after you killed me, I planned every move to get here, deciding our game of cat and mouse is not done yet. And I’d do it again." His hand came up, fingers brushing my jaw. I slapped it away, but not before a shiver ran through me.

"Don’t touch me," I snapped, as if he wasn’t balls deep insde me just few minutes ago, even as my body leaned in a fraction. God, I hated this pull.

He didn’t back off. "You touched me plenty back there. Clawed me. Bit me. Wrapped your beautiful legs around me. And you loved every second."

I shoved his chest, but he caught my wrists, pinning them to the wall behind me. His body pressed close, thigh slipping between mine. "Let go," I hissed, but my voice cracked.

"Why?" he murmured, lips hovering over mine. "You hate me, but you kiss me like you can’t breathe without it. You fuck me with every last strength left in you. Admit it, Irene. This—" he ground his hips against me once, making me gasp—"this is us."

I yanked one hand free and slapped him. His head snapped, but he turned back with a grin, blood trickling from his lip. "Do it again."

"You’re sick," I spat, but my fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer instead of pushing. "You killed people for this. My brother. Innocent packs. And now you’re holding me hostage in some frozen hell."

His expression darkened, but not with anger—with something deeper, more twisted. "I’d kill a thousand more to keep you safe. To have you look at me like you did when I told you I ended Simon. That smile? Fuck, Irene, it haunts me." He released my other wrist, hands sliding to my waist, gripping hard. "You’re mine. I’ve known it since the first time I saw you that evening, fiery as hell. I couldn’t stop thinking about you."

"When was that?" My curiosity piqued.

He smirked. "Secret. I am not telling you. "

I froze for a second, then shoved him back. "Stalker. That’s what you are. Obsessed freak." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He laughed, low and rough. "Guilty. I built empires and broke them just to get to you. And now? Here we are. No interruptions. No one else."

The elevator dinged, but neither of us moved. I glared up at him. "You think this wins me? Trapping me doesn’t make me yours."

His eyes flashed, and he yanked me flush against him, mouth crashing down on mine. I bit his lip, tasting blood, but he groaned and deepened it, tongue demanding. I kissed back, hating myself, nails digging into his neck. We broke apart gasping.

"It does," he rasped. "Because deep down, you want this too. The fight. The fire. Admit you feel it."

"I feel nothing but hate," I lied, but my voice shook. My body betrayed me, pressing closer.

"Liar." He nipped my ear. "Your heart races when I touch you. Your scent changes. You hate me, but you crave me."

I headbutted him lightly, just enough to make him grunt. "Shut up."

He wiped the fresh blood from his nose, smirking. "Make me."

I grabbed his collar, yanking him down for another kiss. Brutal. Teeth clashing. His hands roamed, squeezing my ass, lifting me against the wall. The elevator doors had opened at some point, but we ignored it.

Finally, I shoved him off. "This doesn’t change anything. I still want out."

He adjusted his shirt, eyes burning. "We’ll see."

We stepped out onto the sixth floor. The air was colder here, sterile, like a hospital mixed with a fortress. Steel walls gleamed under harsh lights, and pack members shuffled around—zombie-like, eyes vacant, movements mechanical. One bumped into me without apologizing, just kept going.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered.

Devon grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers. I tried to pull away, but he held firm, leading me around a corner. "The pack house. My design. Quiet, efficient."

"Creepy," I shot back.

We approached massive mahogany double doors at the end of the hall. He pushed them open without knocking.

Inside was a large study—bookshelves, a massive desk, maps pinned to walls. But I froze at the doorstep, my blood turning to ice.

Astrid. Sitting in a high-backed chair, but not the Astrid I knew. Her hair was blonde now, sleek and straight, and her eyes were colder, like chips of ice. She looked up, expression blank.

"What—" I started.

Devon squeezed my hand. "Irene, meet Molly. She’s the one I sent to lure me into your world. Posed as Astrid to get close."

Molly stood slowly, her movements precise, almost robotic. She tilted her head, assessing me. "In this world, no one dares cross my path. Well, except Alpha Devon, for sure."

Her voice was flat, distant. No chatter, no warmth. Just cold facts.

I yanked my hand from Devon’s, stepping forward. "Lure you? What the fuck does that mean?"

Devon leaned against the desk. "I needed a way in. Molly slipped through, took on Astrid’s mannerisms, and fed me intel. Pulled strings to get me where I needed to be."

Molly nodded once. "Mission accomplished."

I glared between them. "So you used her as a spy? In my life?"

"Obsession requires tools," Devon said simply, his gaze on me intense. "Anything for you."

Before I could snap back, the doors jerked open with a bang. Three people strode in: a woman in her fifties with short red hair, sharp features, and a no-nonsense stride; a man with long black hair tied back, looking brooding and silent; and a girl with a tight bun, bright eyes sparkling with that familiar energy.

The girl bounced over to me, grinning wide. "Hi! I’m Astrid. Nice to meet you!"

She even waved the same way—enthusiastic, a little awkward. Exact mannerisms as the real Astrid from the real world—"the assistant Alpha had appointed for me".

I whipped my head to Molly. "What the hell?"

Molly crossed her arms. "I stole her mannerisms to slip into the real world. That’s how it’s done. Mimic, infiltrate."

Devon nodded, stepping closer to me, his hand brushing my back possessively. I shrugged it off, but he just smirked. "You also need a powerful witch for the ritual. Chant an incantation the whole time you’re there. If it breaks—any interruption—you get stuck. Die in seven days."

I stared at the newcomers. "Who are these people?"

Devon gestured casually. "The woman? Thelma. Our witch. Handles the spells, the crossings."

Thelma dipped her head. "Pleasure."

"The man? Christopher. Toph for short. Muscle and strategy."

Toph grunted, arms folded. "Hey."

"And the girl—" Devon started.

"Astrid," she chirped, bouncing on her toes. "I help with... stuff!"

Devon turned to me, voice calm but his eyes obsessive, tracing my face like he couldn’t get enough. "All of them? They are dead. Ghosts, like me. This world is for us."

I swallowed, glancing around. "Dead? What does that say about me? My status in the real world?"

Molly met my eyes, cold and direct. "Well, you’d be dead in twenty days in the real world and join us ghosts here if you don’t return."

The words hit like a punch. Twenty days. I backed up a step, but Devon was there, hand on my arm, pulling me close. "Don’t worry, baby. You’re not going anywhere."

I shoved him. "Don’t call me that."

He just pulled me closer, lips brushing my ear. "Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it pretty much soon."

The room went tense, but no one moved. Thelma cleared her throat. "We have work to do?"

Devon ignored her, eyes on me. "Stay. With me."

I met his gaze, hatred and that damn attraction warring inside. "Or what?"

"Or I make you," he whispered, but there was desperation under the obsession.

Molly sighed. "Alpha—"

"Out," Devon snapped at them. "All of you."

They filed out without argument, doors closing behind.

Alone again, he backed me against the desk. "Twenty days? Plenty of time to convince you."

I slapped his hand away as it reached for my waist. "Convince? You mean force."

He growled, grabbing my chin. "I mean show you. Every day. How much I need you."

"You are so sick. I can’t stay with you in this frozen world as a ghost. No matter how much I hate it over there, I don’t want death and I never will. Not even you can change my mind."

"You would."

I raised a brow. What a narcissistic.

"Call that witch, whatever her name is. Take me back to my world this minute else, I’ll course a blood bath right here. If a ghost can fuck, they can die too, right?"