Ruthless Alpha, and his Curvy Saint-Chapter 22

Angel’s POV

I stared up at this man who looked like an angel fallen from heaven - the kind the priest used to describe in his sermons, with features so perfect they seemed almost unreal. Dark hair that caught what little moonlight filtered through the trees. Silver eyes that held depths I couldn’t fathom. A face carved by divine hands.

Or maybe he was Lucifer himself, considering how breathtaking he looked with that small, knowing smile playing at his lips.

The thought should have terrified me. Instead, it made something warm unfurl in my chest.

"Who are you?" I asked again, my voice coming out breathless and strange.

"I’m Uriel."

Uriel.

The name rolled through my mind like a bell. "Uriel? Like one of God’s angels?"

The words tumbled out before I could stop them, reverent and awed. I felt like I might swoon, might actually collapse right there in the forest like one of those delicate maidens in stories.

His expression hardened for just a moment - a flash of something dark crossing his features. Then the smile returned, gentler this time.

"The only angel here is you," he said quietly. "I’m far from being one."

The self-deprecation in his voice sparked something in me. Something that overrode my fear, my pain, my desperate need to escape.

I stepped closer without thinking, the distance between us shrinking to mere inches.

"That’s not true," I said firmly, surprised by the conviction in my own voice. "God isn’t biased. He loves everyone the same way. And despite what you’ve done in the past - probably under the command of your master - God can still forgive you. He can welcome you into His embrace. It’s never too late."

The words poured out like water from a broken dam. Passionate. Earnest.

What is wrong with me?

I barely knew this man. Didn’t know him at all, really. And here I was, preaching to him like some street corner evangelist, spouting scripture and salvation like I had any right to speak of such things.

I wasn’t even a full nun yet. My ceremony had been interrupted by news of my family’s deaths. I had no authority, no wisdom, no business telling anyone about God’s love when I could barely feel it myself anymore.

But I couldn’t seem to stop.

Uriel watched me with an expression I couldn’t read. Something that looked almost like wonder.

"Do you always see the good in everyone?" he asked. "Or is it just me?"

The question caught me off guard.

I smiled.

The action felt foreign on my face, muscles moving in ways they hadn’t for... how long? A week? The last time I’d smiled was in my convent room, preparing for my ceremony, before everything had shattered.

Yet here I was, smiling at a stranger in the woods while wearing rags and covered in blood.

"I know you’re good," I said, the words coming easier now. "Because you’re literally the first man I’ve encountered in a long time who’s being friendly and nice to me despite how I look right now."

It was true. Even before I’d joined the convent, no man had never spoken this kindly to me before, let alone, a werewolf. And after the disaster, every other man - from the slave traders to Hawkins to his guards - had looked at me with disgust or cruelty or predatory hunger. Never kindness. Never this gentle concern that seemed to radiate from Uriel like warmth from a fire. Except Harland of course, but he was Hawkin’s son.

Uriel’s eyebrow arched. "I’m honored to be the first, then." His gaze traveled over me slowly, and I watched his jaw tighten slightly. "And about how you look... you look great. In fact, if you weren’t an angel, I’d say you look like a seductress."

His eyes dropped to my chest as he spoke, then quickly away, like he was fighting not to stare.

But I’d seen it. Seen the way his gaze had lingered on where my torn dress barely contained my breasts, the thin fabric doing nothing to hide my body.

Heat flooded my face so fast and so intense I thought my head might actually explode.

Seductress.

The word echoed in my mind, foreign and impossible. Me? A seductress? Girls like me didn’t seduce anyone. We were the ones men avoided, the ones they ridiculed, the ones they looked through like we didn’t exist.

Was he telling the truth? Or was this some elaborate game, some trick to make me lower my guard so he could use me like all the others?

I had no idea.

I was naive when it came to men. Completely, utterly inexperienced. I’d never been kissed, never been courted, never even had a man speak to me with interest instead of mockery.

I didn’t know how to respond to compliments. Didn’t know how to tell if they were real or lies designed to manipulate.

All I knew was that my heart was racing and my skin felt too tight and something low in my belly was twisting in a way that felt ungodly.

Things an aspiring nun definitely shouldn’t be feeling.

Especially not for a man I’d just met. A werewolf warrior who probably killed people for a living.

"I..." I started, then stopped, having no idea what to say.

I’d never spoken to a man this long before without him snickering or insulting me or making some cruel joke about my size. This was new. Strange. Exciting in a way that terrified me.

Uriel was looking at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. His silver eyes seemed to see straight through me, past the blood and bruises and torn dress, to something underneath.

"I love speaking with you," he said softly. "You’re an interesting woman, Angel."

My breath caught.

Interesting.

Not pathetic. Not ugly. Not worthless.

Interesting.

My heart was beating so fast now I felt dizzy. This man - this beautiful, kind, impossibly perfect man - was making me feel things I’d never felt before.

Heat. Desire. Want.

The realization hit me like a physical blow.

I wanted him to keep looking at me like that. Wanted him to keep talking to me in that gentle voice. Wanted things I couldn’t even name, things I’d never allowed myself to imagine.

"I wish I could stay longer and chat," Uriel continued, and I heard genuine regret in his voice. "But we need to get back to camp and get some sleep before morning."

Reality crashed back in like ice water.

The camp. The monster. The Alpha who’d destroyed everything.

I stumbled backward, shaking my head frantically. "No. No, I can’t go back there. That monster - he destroyed my life. He’ll do worse to me if I don’t escape right now."

"Angel..."

"You don’t understand!" My voice cracked, panic rising like bile in my throat. "He killed them. My sister. Her baby. My parents. Everyone I loved, he murdered them all. And now he’s taken me and I can’t... I won’t..." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"I understand." Uriel stepped closer, his hands raised in a calming gesture. "I understand what you’ve been through. More than you know. But running away isn’t the answer."

"It’s the only answer!"

"What if you meet a fate worse than the slave traders?" His voice was gentle. "What if you run into bandits? Wild animals? Other packs that won’t be as... restrained?"

"I don’t care!" But even as I said it, doubt crept in.

I had no weapons. No food. No shoes. I was injured, weak, lost in unfamiliar territory.

I probably wouldn’t survive the night.

"I promise you," Uriel said, and something in his tone made me believe him. "I will protect you. I’ll keep you safe from the Alpha. I’ll always be with you, watching over you. But you have to trust me."

"Trust you?" I laughed bitterly. "I don’t even know you."

"Then get to know me." He smiled, and it was like the sun breaking through clouds. "I promise I’m worth knowing."

The arrogance of the statement should have annoyed me. Instead, it made me want to smile again.

"Besides," he continued, "I won’t let him touch you. I won’t let him marry you or claim you or do anything you don’t want. I’ll talk to him. I’ll convince him to let you go."

I stared at him, suspicion warring with desperate hope. "Why would the Alpha listen to you? Who are you really?"

Uriel’s expression turned thoughtful. "I’m one of his warriors. But we’ve come a long way together, the Alpha and I. Sometimes he listens to me. Sometimes I can... influence his decisions."

"Sometimes isn’t good enough."

"It’s better than nothing." He took another step closer, until I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. "And I think you’re worth fighting for, Angel. Worth arguing with an Alpha for. Worth protecting."

My throat tightened with unexpected emotion.

No one had ever said I was worth anything before.

"Stay," Uriel said softly. "Stay, and let me learn more about these heavenly angels you speak of. Let me understand your faith, your convictions. You’re fascinating, and I want to know more."

He extended his hand toward me, palm up. An offering, not a demand.

"Please," he added. "Trust me. Just for tonight."

I looked at his hand. Strong. Capable. Gentle.

I looked at his face. Beautiful. Kind. Earnest.

I looked back the way I’d come, toward freedom and probable death.

Then back at Uriel.

I was being stupid. Foolish. Reckless.

I was sacrificing my freedom - my one chance at escape - because of a man. A handsome man who’d spoken kindly to me for all of ten minutes.

The nuns would have been horrified. My parents would have been disappointed.

But they were all dead. And I was alive. And this beautiful stranger was looking at me like I mattered.

Like I was worth saving.

When would I ever find someone like him again? In this lifetime? Never.

Slowly, trembling, I reached out and placed my hand in his.

The contact sent electricity racing up my arm, hot shivers cascading down my spine. His skin was warm, rough with calluses, but his grip was gentle as his fingers closed around mine.

"Thank you," he murmured.

We stood there for a moment, hands clasped in the moonlight, and I felt something shift inside me. Something terrifying and exhilarating.

"Come on," Uriel said gently, tugging me forward. "Let’s get you back before anyone notices you’re gone."

As we walked back toward the devil’s den, I couldn’t quite believe what I was doing.

Couldn’t believe I was willingly returning to captivity because a handsome man had smiled at me and called me interesting.

And why was my crazy heart singing instead of screaming?