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“Look at me,” he says.

I do. I look up at his dark, cold eyes. They’re an empty, muddy sort of brown. If cruelty weren’t obvious in every single line on his face, I’d probably consider him handsome, though he’s a little old. But all I can see is the way his eyes light up when he sees my tears rolling down my cheeks.

“I love the taste of your fear,” he murmurs.

I guess my hopes were too high. There’s no way he won’t have the same cruelty he had before.

“We’ve made an arrangement for you, Luna,” my father says.His beer belly stretches against his shirt as he shuffles his weight from foot to foot. “A permanent arrangement.”

“Per—permanent?” I croak out, the words barely a whisper past my lips.

My eyes flash to Alpha Niall as I scramble backward on my mattress until my back meets the cold concrete wall. A frown covers his face.

“I would’ve thought you would’ve been broken in by now,” Alpha Niall murmurs. “It’s the highest honor, that I want my bond mark on your neck.”

“Show the alpha proper respect,” my dad spits. “You’re going to belong to him from now on.”

A bond mark between an alpha and omega is supposed to be the best thing ever, at least according to the small collection of romance novels I have in my bedroom upstairs. It’s supposed to be the ultimate demonstration of loyalty and love.

The bond Alpha Niall is talking about fills me with sheer terror.

“Wh—what?” A bond to the alpha in front of me might as well be a death sentence. He may keep my body alive but every single last part of my soul will die forever.

A bond is basically permanent. I would never be able to leave him. Ever. Even if I managed to run away and escape, everyone would know who I belonged to. I’d be dragged back to him. “Please—please Dad.”

Alpha Niall liked breaking me when he had me, but he likes knowing I’m broken more.

I suspect that’s why he encouraged my parents to earn a little money by selling me to betas during my heats. He thought I’d see how horrible not having an alpha was during my heat and become his good little submissive omega.

Based on the way his face keeps on growing more and more furious, I’m not being submissive enough for him. His hand shoots out, jerking my face up towards him in a painful grip.

“What are you?” He asks, leaning down so close I can feel the warmth of his breath on my face.

“I—I’m an omega,” I whimper, clutching my blanket to my chest as tightly as I can.

“Wrong answer. You’re mine. You will crawl and beg me all the time like you do during your heats,” he growls.

Tears flow openly down my cheeks, making his hands sticky where he’s still gripping my face.

“Say it,” he barks. His dominance rolls off of him in waves so thick I nearly choke on the air I’m breathing. “Say you’re my little omega whore.”

My mouth opens without my permission. No matter how hard I want to fight it, my throat starts sounding out the words.

“I’m your little omega whore,” I say, my voice unnaturally high-pitched with strain as I fight myself.

The smile that spreads across his face is sadistic.

He pushes me back into the wall and I slump against it. If I weren’t already on my knees, I would’ve fallen, my body weak with the useless attempt to fight his bark.

I know I shouldn’t. I know that fighting back doesn’t hurt anyone but me, but it’s been nearly a year since my last heat with him. Long enough without hearing an alpha bark for my silly dignity to kick in.

“I expected her to be ready by now, Roger,” Alpha Niall spits, turning to face my father. “I expect this to be remedied if you want me to keep up my end of the bargain.”

“Yes—yes sir, this will be fixed immediately,” my dad says, wiping away the sweat beading on his brow despite the cold. He shoots me a disgusted glare.

“I’ll see myself out, then,” Alpha Niall says. I hug my knees to my chest, tucking my head down. His footsteps are as ominous up the stairs as they were coming down.

“You fucking bitch,” my dad hisses.